Bonfires and picnics

We have investigated the problem I had with putting photos on this blog and it's not just me, it's a known problem with the Google Blogger that I use and they're working on it (I hope!).  Anyway, I have managed to put some photos of the woodburner on my previous post in a different way which is a bit more technical and awkward, but I can do it.  So, apologies if the photos are a bit all over the place until normal service is resumed!

We had a lovely day up in the wood on Sunday.  There were masses and masses of small branches to get rid of so we lit the bonfire first and then just kept feeding it all day.  It's such a fun and satisfying job - at the end of the day there was just a neat circle of glowing embers and ash and all the mountains of brash had magically disappeared.  As it was a lovely day and it was toasty next to the bonfire, we had a picnic up there for lunch - a novel idea for January.



 

When I got changed after, I realised I had quite a big hole burned into the shoulder of my sweatshirt - oops!   I must have looked funny walking round with a smouldering shoulder, you'd have thought I would have noticed wouldn't you?  While I fed the bonfire, Bob got on with cutting and chopping logs and separating useful bits from the brushwood.  There's still lots more to chop up, but that can be done now and then when we have a spare hour.

 

Yesterday I did more pointing in the lounge.  This time it was going over the wall I'd already done when we thought we were going to insulate and plasterboard it.  So the stuff I did before was very rough and not at all up to scratch for just being painted.  I don't know about you, but I find making good something you've already done is a bit demoralising - feels like you've wasted a lot of time.  Anyway, that wall's done now and I'm glad it is - the rest of it is pointing from scratch so to speak.

 

On New Year's Day, Bob and I had a planning meeting to draw up a list of jobs.  In May Mum and Dad are bringing some friends from Holland for a couple of days, so we have a deadline to finish the end bedroom and the lounge.  We always work better to a deadline and we now have a long list of things to work through and tick off.  So Bob has been getting on with some of those little fiddly jobs - finishing door frames, putting up shelves so we can empty some boxes and so on.

 

Guess what!  The blacksmith has just been round to try the stairs handrail for size!!!!!!!!  You may remember that back in June we asked him to make the rail which has to go round the newel post in an elongated helix shape.  He has had some trouble with it and we thought he'd given up on it, but he hadn't and the piece he brought round is almost right.  So he's gone off to tweek it and promises he'll be back soon.  I think they're short of work (he's had to put his staff on a 3 day week and he had time to sit and have a coffee) so the chances are he will have time to do it.  How exciting that will be!