Two weeks and no blog - shameful!

It's been a rather bitty fortnight really.  I've been working really annoying shifts - one day on, one day off for the last 10 days.  We have managed to get on with things, but not major visible progress.

A rare sight - two chaps reading the instructions!

Our third woodburner arrived which was quite exciting.  It is specially designed for a workshop which means you can burn sawdust on it - normally sawdust would just damp down a fire completely and not burn well.  This one has an internal flue which means air gets into the heart of the fire and so it will burn sawdust.  It is a little dumpy cylindrical thing - you can't see the fire like you can in a house one, but it should keep the workshop toasty and be a way to get rrid of all the wood bits and dust Bob will be creating.  So, we have now been able to finish putting the wriggly on the roof of the workshop (we had to wait for the woodburner to see the size and position of the hole needed for the flue).  We did that on Friday and were all ready to put the ridge on to finish it off completely, but hit a major snag.  Not enough overlap.  The measurements were always fairly tight, but between us and the chap selling the Onduline, we thought we'd just manage with one and a half lengths of wriggly up the roof and then a 9" ridge piece.  You need a certain amount of overlap to stop wind and rain getting under the top sheet, but when it came to the ridge it only just covered the top of the sheet - no good at all.  So the company are making up some new wider ridge pieces for us and they'll trim and crimp the ones we have so we can use them to go over the eves.  So, not much wasted except another week without a watertight roof.  Ho hum.

In the meantime, Bob has been getting on with the doors and their frames - almost up to the painting part on one of them and then that can go in.  We've put the big window in without any problems, but when we went to order the glass for the little window from the funeral directors we usually use we found out that they are no longer doing the joinery and glass side of things.  What a real shame - we really liked the idea of an old-fashioned local company who kept up the old tradition where the village carpenter also made coffins and so was, in effect, the village undertaker too.  Another piece of history disappears.

Here's a test for you!  Spot the Peregrine . . . can you see,
slightly north-east of centre there is a rock that looks like
three little upside down steps?  Well it is perching on top
of that. Just trust me!

Mum and Dad came to stay for a few days and while they were here we took advantage of a lovely sunny day to take the short walk up to the rocks where we saw the baby Peregrine and the thousands of orchids.  It was lovely up there and Mum and Dad enjoyed watching two lads rock climbing and then abseiling down barefoot.  There were no orchids of course at this time of year, but we were really surprised to see a Peregrine perching on the rocks.   It was difficult to pick out and Bob did really well to spot it so it was a real bonus.

And here's another bird picture.  A Chaffinch decided to check
out the shower in our en-suite.  It must have flown in through
the bedroom window and then into the shower.  It was difficult to
persuade it out though.  Because the roof slopes down towards
the window it kep flying as far as the purlin, giving up and flying
back into the shower.  In the end, Bob had to get into the shower
and then when to flew towards the window I held a towel up behind it
so it couldn't fly back and it eventually found its way out.

 Because severe frost was forecast a couple of nights ago, I decided the tomatoes weren't going to do anything further and picked them all green and red.  We had enough from our hanging basket plants to make a batch of green tomato chutney which I think is quite impressive.  We'll definitely grow them in there again.  I also picked what I assume will be the last bunch of sweet peas - although, there are still lots of buds on them I don't suppose they'll open now it's winter!  They've done really well too though.

Last night Phil and Ann came for dinner - all cooked on the woodburner - and so that was a good evening.  Carol and Graham are coming for a flying visit this week too, so fingers-crossed for good weather and we can go for a long walk.

Matty's last  great adventure before contributing to a very
attractive and tasty salad - easy riding around the kitchen
with Biker Dude, leaning into the corners and feeling the wind
in his topknot.  Just the most thrilling thing he ever did in his little
life - woo hoo!

Postcard from Welsh Wales

We have now got most of the roof on the workshop.  We actually got on quite well with it and had it done last weekend.  Bob was quite keen to get it done before we went away, but didn't think we'd manage it and we'd resigned ourselves to just getting one side done, but on Sunday morning I was wide awake at 6.30am and decided that if we got up and got on with it we might just do it.  So, I let Bob have another half hour's sleep (can't really get up and start hammering away too early on a Sunday!) and then we sprang into action. We got the breather membrane on vey quickly and then whizzed along with the wriggly sheets.  We did have a bit of a glitch in the afternoon when we were about three-quarters done.  There are rooflights made of clear wriggly part way along and we had measured the sheets and worked out where they would go so they were between roof trusses because they'd look a bit silly with a roof timber through the middle of them.  We'd been really careful and checked and double-checked our measurements, etc and Bob had put in extra noggins at exactly the right spots to support the rooflight, but be hidden behind the solid sheets.  Of course, we'd measured the wriggly sheets when they were loose, lying on the floor.  As you nail them in place they spread just a little bit and, as you work your way along the roof, all those little bits add up and by the time we got to the last rooflight the timbers were all in the wrong place.  So, that was a little annoying as we were doing so well.  Anyway, we moved the timbers and everything was fine and we got everything but the ridge on.  Oh, and a panel at the back which will have the woodburner flue going through it - we decided it'd be much easier to cut the hole for that before it's on the roof, but we can't do that until we have the woodburner and know the size and position.

On Monday it was my birthday and we were just going to have a normal day and get on with some cladding, but it was pouring down you'll be surprised to hear.  So we had a lie-in and read the paper in bed and then just pottered around in the morning and were about to go out for lunch when Maggie knocked on the door - she hasn't visited for months and months, so that was a surprise and she stayed for quite a while.  After a late lunch we decided we needed some fresh air and activity and, as the rain was now just drizzle Bob cleaned the chicken run out and checked the car over for our holiday trip and I did some weeding.  Phil and Ann rescued us from these chores and we were glad of an excuse to come back in for a cuppa.

Then we went on holiday.  We stayed in St Dogmaels which is just next to Cardigan on the coast.  The house was bright pink and sitting high up on a very steep little hill overlooking the river.  It was an upside-down house with the bedrooms downstairs and the lounge and kitchen upstairs to take advantage of the view - all very nice, just let down slightly by only having half a dozen sheets of loo roll left, a teaspoon of washing up liquid and hardly any soap in the bathroom, a bit stingy don't you think?  Still a quick walk down to the village store sorted that out and everything else was fine.  On the way down we went to an auction viewing - an old chap's workshop contents, goodness me what a lot of stuff and all very interesting, but nothing we wanted enough to leave a bid on (although Bob might have liked the two old motorbikes).  We also went to a wool shop in an old railway building which was amazing.  From the outside a drab old shed, but inside a total rainbow of all sorts of lovely wool - all Welsh and all dyed on the premises.  The wool is all multicoloured and dyed in small batches so it's sold in hanks not balls and you have to hang the hanks over your arm so that way you can see an expanse of the wool and make sure you have a good colour match.  You then wind the wool into balls, two or three to a hank and mix them up so the colour gets evenly distributed.  I spent some of my birthday money on some.  We also stopped at Macynlleth which is a nice little town with some interesting shops.  All a bit sad at the moment though because that is where the little girl (April) who is missing is from.  Sadly, we get used to hearing these things on TV and get a bit immune to it, but it's different when you see all the pink ribbons tied to fences, signposts and doors and then see all the police and mountain rescue teams gathered at the community centre - quite sobering.

Also on the way down we stopped at Newquay and booked ourselves on a boat trip to look at the famous Cardigan Bay dolphins - how exciting.  We also had a really horrible icecream each - really yuk, I'm not sure why but they were just horrible.  So, the boat trip the next day was lovely, but not a dolphin in sight - nice way to spend an hour or so though and Bob didn't even feel sick which I think he was expecting to.  Mind you, the sea was like a millpond.  In the afternoon we went down to Dinas Point and had a lovely clifftop walk.  We were lucky because the sun was shining where we were, but all around was very black and cloudy.  We could see for miles out to see and up the bay, but not a dolphin in sight.  I think it's just a myth made up for the tourists!  We did watch a seal playing in the mouth of a cave far below us which was nice.  On Thursday the weather wasn't good so we went to the Welsh Wool Museum which was really interesting (and free).  Mum and Dad would be so proud - they used to love going to these places and my sister and I must have been real pains moaning the whole time about how boring they were!  Driving back the heavens absolutely opened and the roads were like rivers with fords where there shouldn't have been any (we just can't get away from this rain!).  We went into Cardigan for a quick once around and very quick it was too because we got soaked.  Then going back to St Dogmaels, the road was closed because of flooding and the police had to give us directions for another way into the village.  It was bad enough to be on the Welsh news.

By total coincidence, Bob actually knew the chap that lives in the house next to ours and so he went round for a chat in the evening.  They let their chickens have the run of their downstairs and sit with them on their knees!  They're even softer with them than we are with ours.

Before coming home on Friday we went to Mwnt
which was lovely and had crashing waves
which is what I really need to make a sea-fix complete.

Also at Mwnt - it was sunny, but gosh it was so windy, I nearly
got blown off here.  Not a dolphin in sight . . . . definitely
a myth!

And so, back home and once again we got rained off after two lengths of cladding yesterday.  Back to work tomorrow - that week's gone so quickly!

Matty continued his Grand Tour and made it up to the high
shelf behind the stairs to meet Brian the snail.  I'm sorry Dad, but
it's just a fact of life that snails are called Brian - they always have been.
Even since I was tiny and wondered why grown ups called you Brian
when everyone should have known your real name was Daddy.
Anyway they got on famously and spent hours reminiscing about
life in the old country (the garden) and remembering their fear of
the monster chickens that roamed there and could swallow a small
tomato whole and do serious damage to a snail who wasn't careful.

Play has resumed

We are still having a lot of rain, but in between we've managed to get on with some of the cladding on the workshop.  The wany-edge larch boards arrived on Friday delivered by Pop Larkin . . . . not really, but if you've ever read/seen The Darling Buds of May, then the owner of the woodyard bears a striking resemblence (especially of character) to Pop.  He has a million stories to tell, an interest in everything and always willing with help or advice - there should be more people like him I think.

Anyway, we have now clad the two gable-end walls and up to the top of the windows and doors on the front.  The boards were long enough to do the sides in single lengths and the boards were fairly parallel so most of the end walls were really quick to do once we got into the swing of it.  Much quicker than the timber extension because the boards we had for that were wany in the extreme and so lots more working out needed to be done.  While I have been at work, Bob has been able to get on with the short pieces on the front and next to the window on the other end, but the whole lengths are just so much easier to manage with two people as you can imagine.  He has also got on with the noggins in the roof which takes a while and a lot of up and downing the ladder.

This morning we had to do an unexpected repair on the woodburner flue.  We decided to get a chimney sweep brush so we can sweep our own chimney instead of paying someone to do it.  We will eventually have two to do and the one with a backboiler on needs doing twice a year (the water cools it down so the tar and soot builds up quicker).  So it could work out quite expensive.  Anyway, yesterday it was raining so Bob couldn't get on with the workshop and so decided to sweep the chimney and clean all the insides of the woodburner.  All went well and he was really pleased with his efforts.  At one point while he was doing it, the chickens set up an almighty squwarking outside, but he couldn't see why and so assumed they were just 'crying wolf' as they are prone to do.  Later on he went into the garden for something and notice a short piece of metal tube lying on the ground . . . . mmmmmm . . . .wasn't that supposed to be in the chimney inside the top of the flexible flue supporting it so the clamp which holds it all in place can be tightened?   Oops, a bit of enthusiastic sweeping had obviously pushed it out and presumably it had almost hit the chickens as it fell - no wonder they made a racket!  So, this morning we had to set the scaffold tower up to its full height and get the roof ladder out and Bob gingerly climbed up to the chimney to replace the tube and screw it into place.  I offered to go up (honestly I did), but I know that if I had, Bob would have needed to see for himself that it was properly in place so there seemed little point in me doing it.  I was the support crew on the tower.

On Sunday, Bob was out all day at a meeting, so I had a very rare day here by myself.  I was hoping to do some gardening, but, guess what?  it rained most of the day.  Surprise, surprise!  So I got on with version two of the blind for the triangle window in the oak bedroom - you know, the one I made such a cock-up of about 6 months ago.  I have been putting it off and putting it off and I can't say I really enjoyed doing it, but it it is done now and just needs ironing and hanging.  THANK GOODNESS!

I had to work until 10pm on Saturday (a 10 hour shift) to do the stock-take - that seemed like a very long day I can tell you!  Still, I only have to work tomorrow and then I'm off until a week on Monday - yeah!!! Can't wait.  We're actually going away for a few days too which will be lovely.  Not going far, just to Cardigan for a bit of a sea-fix - every couple of years I just get a hankering to see some waves and breathe in some salty air.

Matty has been on a Grand Tour - introducing himself to the
other residents of the kitchen.  First was Bristles who he enjoyed
chatting to and got on very well with.  He was a tad worried though
that if they got on too well, Bristles might want a hug and
he'd just end up as juice!