Scary Monsters!

No, they're not the scary monsters, cheeky!  That's Mum and Dad, who've been here for a few days.  We put them to work cleaning the kitchen floor.  We had lovely weather, so it was a good time to do wet stuff.  We borrowed a pressure washer and got a production-line going with Mum on the washer and the rest of us laying tiles out on pallets, turning them over, loading them into wheelbarrows then barrowing them down and stacking them outside the kitchen door.  It was certainly easier than scrubbing them by hand and made easier by having help.  So, we're now ready to lay them.

We spent some time this afternoon in the kitchen trying to decide on where our centre lines should be.  Nothing lines up, there are no right angles and none of the walls are straight so it's a bit difficult to decide.  The oak post in the middle of the room won though, so that will be the centre of the cross.  We also got the kitchen sink out of its box and balanced in in place on some work benches to decide where it should go.  We're going to sit it on brick pillars with wooden doors between - we saw similar in the cafe at Laura's monastry which we liked and thought we'd copy, so we marked out where that'll go.  We have a problem of lots of deep recesses in the kitchen which will be awkward to get to . . . so, lots of storage space for things that don't get used very often, but nowhere for the everyday things.  One such place will be next to the sink down the side of the inglenook.  Too big to waste, but awkward to use!  The access to it (under the worktop) will be quite narrow.  So we think we will invent some free-standing shelves on little wheels - three sets which will wheel into the opening and then push sideways into the awkward space.  The last one (ie the one that's easiest to get to) will hold the bins.  So, to get to the others you pull the bin trolley right out, pull the next one sideways and then towards you out of the opening and so on.  It's not ideal, but is the best we've come up with so far - work in progress I think. 

This morning we trawled around electrical and plumbers merchants getting prices for sockets, light switches, etc, etc, looking at light fittings, extractor fans, showers and so on.  Now need to decide where to get what and get on with buying stuff.  The electician is coming on 25 May to start 2nd fix and the plumber is booked for 6 June.  He did come on Tuesday to fit the bath and shower tray - bit frustrating as he didn't have a waste for the bath and the one Bob dashed into town to get wasn't right.  While Bob was out he got on with the shower tray, fixed all the little legs onto it, put it in place and put his spirit level on it and realised that it was bowed in every direction.  In effect there was a slight hump in the middle of the tray, so we would have ended up with a swampy moat around the edge!  Must have been a manufacturing problem because a cast resin tray wouldn't bow from poor storage.  Anyway we rang the plumbers merchant and they said they'd get another one for the next day, so the plumber picked it up and came back and fitted it as well as the bath yesterday.  So, at last we have a bath and we enjoyed relaxing in it this afternoon, lovely and deep - what luxury . . . . . shame there was no water in it!  Oh, we also ordered the floorboards for upstairs (should arrive on Saturday) and booked the electricity company to come and fit an Economy 7 meter (Friday, 13th!!!  Is that really a good idea?).  We need E7 for the underfloor heating which acts like a storage heater.  So, a busy day, but not really much to show for it.

Now to the scary monsters!  Just look at this  . . .

. . . . it's one of those May Bugs I told you about.  Somehow it must have got one of its feet stuck in the seal around the window and so was buzzing there for ages while we looked on horrified and took photos.  It kept buzzing really loudly trying to free itself and then it just sat quietly waving its antennae.  I felt quite sorry for it and couldn't just leave it there so, very bravely I thought, I got a ruler and opened the top of the window and gently pushed it along to free it - I guess it could have lost a foot, but it would certainly have died if it had stayed trapped.  All the time I was hoping it wasn't going to fly in through the window as soon as it was free.  Phew, it didn't - instead it went to get its friends and they carried on bombarding the window!   Yeargghhh - horiffying, but quite fascinating (when there's a pane of glass between!).

Christmas shopping . . . . . aarrghh!

Ho, ho, ho!  I should now be feeling christmassey having had a mega Christmas day yesterday.  I was starting to feel a little panicky at the weekend having not done any Christmas shopping at all and hearing all sorts of people saying they'd just about finished!  So Bob and I went Christmas shopping on Monday . . . . well, we drove over to Stockport to collect out cast iron radiator which is our Christmas present to ourselves, so that was two presents done!  We had to go to the bank in town on the way home and managed to pick up another couple of things.  Then on Tuesday I booked a day off with the boss and went to Shrewsbury vowing not to return until I had got everything - and I managed it!  I really wasn't looking forward to it - you know, shopping is just not my thing at all.  That said, it wasn't tooooo bad.  I have to say, Shrewsbury is a much nicer place to shop than the places I used to go - Northampton, Peterborough and Milton Keynes.  Everyone always seemed so stressed there, pushing and shoving with grumpy shop assistants.  But there was a really nice atmoshpere in Shrewsbury, shop assistants were helpful and cheerful and other shoppers just seemed more friendly, holding doors open, smiling and joking - just much nicer.  Don't get me wrong, I still don't like shopping, it just wasn't as bad as it could have been.  I got home at about 4pm having popped into Oswestry to get a couple more bits and then I spent all evening wrapping it all up.  Phew, all done!

Yesterday, the last day before the return of the big freeze, we made more mortar and put the last two extractor fan vents in, then used up the rest of the mortar around the back boxes for sockets.  Have you ever tried getting sockets straight and level on a random stone wall, wel it's not easy!  They are packed out with bits of slate, stones and mortar which will hopefully hold them in place.  Today we have been trying to clean up the purlins and woodwork upstairs.  Some parts of them are a bit dodgy so we have tried to remove the soft bits, some parts have been whitewashed which is fairly easy to get off and other bits have several coats of amazing paint.  However they used to make paint, it certainly sticks to wood.  Some bits just won't scrape off and if you use a hot air gun on it it kind of melts and soaks into the wood a bit more.  The same if you use paint stripper and sanding just seems to polish the paint rather than removing it!  We've tried all of them and there is still paint there, so we'll just have to keep having a go.  Once our shoulders and arms could take no more above-head sanding, we moved onto other jobs.  Bob boarded in the bit in the utility room where all the cables congregate ready for the fuse boxes (I know, they're not called fuse boxes anymore!) to be screwed on.  Lets hope he has all the cables grouped together properly or the electrician will be confused!  I have done some more insulation in the walls in the kitchen.

Yesterday evening we had a go at felt-making at the smallholders meeting.  It was quite messy and made your arms ache, but we had a laugh . . . . . especially when we looked at the finished result!  It looks like an old rag . . . but we're proud of it!  Now who shall we give this wondrous homemade gift to this Christmas?!!  Any of our parents should be proud to own it shouldn't they?  Tee hee, don't worry we wouldn't do that to you!  Here's how you could make something just as wonderful!  Take some washed (and in this case dyed) wool which has been carded (this is were they kind of comb it to get all the fibres going the same way which is the stage at which it would be spun into knitting or weaving yarn).  Then you pull bits off and lay them on a piece of bubble wrap (this is a very ancient art, but I didn't know they had bubble wrap way back when!).  Then put another layer on top with the fibres going at right angles to the first lot and then a third layer going the same way as the first.  Then you put warm soapy water all over it, lay a piece of net curtain on top and rub round and round all over it using a scrunched up palstic bag.  The bag and net curtain are to stop the fibres sticking to your hands.  After a while the fibres start knitting together and then you can turn it over and carry on, and on, and on!  Eventually it turns into felt and is quite firm and strong.  I think Bob and I were being too gentle and kept getting thin bits and holes.  When it almost felt, you can decorate it.  Everyone else used sequins, feathers lace and sparkly wool - in which case you arrange the decorations on top then lay a very thin layer of wool fibres over and then carry on with the water and rubbing.  Bob and I decided on a punky version of a Union Jack instead - well, it made everyone laugh!  We've decided it's an old battle flag and has certainly seen some action - it even has a bullet hole!

Frozen Jeans

Tee hee!  Look at my new jeans!  These had been on the line overnight and froze as stiff as a board.  Bob took them off the line to ask if I wanted to put them on . . . errrm, no ta!  This was a couple of days ago and they have now thawed out because it has actually been quite warm.  Well, when I say quite warm, I mean in comparison.  All the snow and ice has melted leaving just mud!

We have grabbed the opportunity during this heatwave to get on with all sorts of bits that can't be done in arctic conditions.  So we've squirted expanding foam all over the place, mortarred in (or should it be mortared in . . . or is that not really a word at all?) all the pipes and cables going through walls, built-up the threshold in the kitchen/garden doorway ready for the doorframe and painted various bits of cast iron pipe to make up extractor fan vents.  We have to have four extractor fans (just don't get me started on that subject - why on earth we can't be trusted to open the window I don't know!), but we can't bring ourselves to put plastic grilles on the walls where the extractors come out so we came up with a cunning design which uses bits and bobs we have lying around.  Not sure if you can see on this picture (not recent, by the way!) the little round black thing in the brickwork, well that is our patented design - four short pieces of small cast iron pipe shoved into a piece of 4" plastic pipe (which goes through the wall and connects to the extractor), then two bits of cast iron gutter surrounding the little pipes which is what you see from the outside.  They look a bit like gattling guns!  When I made the first one and came bounding down from the workshop pleased as punch to show Andy, the builder, he looked completely non-plussed and just said "Why?" which made me laugh.  Well, we think they look better than a plastic grilles.

Yeah!  Hello to Juliette (my new follower) - oh I get so excited when someone new 'joins', that's a bit pathetic really isn't it?!