I have to report that my triangulation problems are still ongoing (Bob's are sorted).  On Wednesday Jan, Bob's stepmum, said she was coming to stay on Thursday.  So I thought I'd better try and get the blind finished in that room.  I didn't get around to looking at it until after lunch on Thursday, so the pressure was on a little.  I managed to alter the angle of the top to match the window better and then sewed the velcro on to attach it to the batten on the wall (you get velcro which is stick-on on one side and sew on on the other).  Trouble is, because I was sewing diagonally across the material, it stretched quite a bit and the top edge was almost frilly!  We tried putting up, but it just looked such a mess.  So, it got shoved in a carrier bag and the piece of cardboard came out again to cover the window.  On the positive side, the mechanics of the blind worked which is good, I just need to start again with the material, measure it properly and iron something onto the top to stiffen it while I sew on the velcro.


We had a good time with Jan.  It was the first time she had visited since Bob's Dad died and I think she was worried about how she'd feel because Arthur would have loved to come and stay (and I really wish we'd got far enough for him to do that).  As it was she was fine and we had a good laugh looking through old photos, ate too much and drank plenty.  In a way, Arthur did come to stay too.  He wanted some of his ashes to go in our wood among the wild flowers and so we sorted that out on Friday morning and he is now resting at the base of a cherry tree covered in wood sorrel and wild strawberries and we planted some bluebells and a cowslip nearby.  The birds were singing their little hearts out while we were doing all that and we all felt happy that he'd be happy with what we'd done.

I have now painted the panelling in the end bedroom and it's looking quite bright and cheery in there now.  This will have a top made from oak cut to fit the wiggles and dips of the stones in the walls which should look really good.  There will be a double bed in here with the headboard against this panelling so the white sockets won't show!



I have had quite a varied day today.  I started off by making some ginger cake and then while that was cooking I ripped out the old tiles surrounding the little fireplace in the kitchen.  They were horrible marroon tiles - you can see the only one to come out whole in the corner of the picture.  I wasn't at all sad that I had to smash them to get them out!  We have some cream tiles to replace them - some of them have hand-drawn chicken pictures on them, just line drawings in a tasteful slatey sort of colour.  I can't wait to put them in, I think it'll just look so different.  But I have to wait because first I had to make good the sides where they'll go, which I have done with lime mortar.  Once that's gone off I'll be able to put the tiles in then Bob'll cobble together some wooden bits to replace the iron that has rusted away and we can paint that black to blend in.  We're deliberating what to use the space for - wine rack or cookery book case are favourites at the moment.  Either way the back will be blocked off with more black wood.  Without it really being our intention, we realised the other day that we have not actually done all that much to this cottage that couldn't be removed to put it back to its original state.  Even the extension could be taken away.  Can't really imagine that anyone would want to put it back to how it used to be, but it feels right to be working with it rather than knocking it all about too much.

Anyway, back to my varied day.  Once the ginger cake was out of the oven I made some seeded soda bread for lunch - very tasty with homemade chutney and cheese (not homemade cheese, silly, I haven't tried that yet!).  Then I translocated some little wild plants from the woods into some gaps in the steps Bob built the other week.  I pointed them with lime mortar yesterday (making the most of a rare bit of sunshine!).  At the moment the plants look a bit deliberate, but hopefully they'll make themselves at home and sprawl a bit.  Wild strawberry, wood sorrel, violet and some sort of coppery leaved sorrel thing that has little yellow flowers should look OK and as they grow everywhere round here I assume the rabbits aren't bothered about them.

Bob has finished tiling the kitchen floor!  We had to leave the last few in the stairs corner until the oakwork for the stairs was in, but we shared yesterday's batch of mortar and Bob got this done.  Today he had to force himself to spend some time in the caravan - yuk!!!  That is where the Ash for the stairs themselves is stored so he was measuring up and working out what needs cutting out of what for that.  There will, I'm sure, come a point where the stairs will be at a point where the ladder won't go in, but we won't actually be able to go up the stairs . . . . mmmmm?  Oh well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it!  Talking of ladders, it did make me laugh at work the other day when the Health and Safety chap asked me if I'd done my ladder training.  All we use is a one step step ladder just so you can check dates on the stuff on the top shelves - it raises you about 8" off the floor.  He did see the funny side when I told him about slating a roof, standing astride the ridge to do something to the chimney and going to bed up a ladder.  Anyway, I'm now ladder-competant!

We're off in a minute to see if we can see the Peregrines that we spotted on a cliff a couple of miles away.  We've seen them twice in the same place and are trying to find out if that is a regular spot so that Ben can take some photos with his good camera when he comes in a couple of weeks.  So, better grab some tea first.