Oooh! Our shoulders and necks ache

The plasterboard arrived first thing on Tuesday morning (I hadn't even had chance to dry my hair - what will they think?!).  The lorry parked at the end of the lane and the chap brought them down on the little forklift and plonked them on a pallet to keep them out of the mud (which is absolutely everywhere).   The sky didn't look too promising, so we thought we'd better move them inside before it rained.  We had to carry them up the garden and into the middle barn where there's space to store them flat.  Forty plus 8' x 4' sheets seemed to take forever, were quite awkward and quite heavy.  I kept saying 'Have we done half yet' (just like a kiddy in the back of a car asking if we're nearly there yet), but as it started to spit with rain, the pile didn't seem to get any smaller for ages.  They'd actually given us a couple of extra sheets - 'B*st***ds' was Bob's comment when he realised.  With our arms twice as long as they used to be, dislocated shoulders and sore fingers, we didn't quite see the extras as a bonus (as we should have done and obviously do now).

So, then (well, after I'd dried my hair of course) we cracked on with plasterboarding the bedroom ceiling.  That has to be the most awkward area, so we thought we'd get it out of the way.  We cut the boards to size downstairs to make it a bit easier to get them up the ladder.  As you know, nothing in this house is straight, especially the purlins and so there was then a lot of holding the board in place, taking it down, shaving a bit off here and there, back into place, more shaving and so on.  Not a quick job and is like weightlifting at the gym (not that I know much about that!).  We then ran out of 9mm plasterboard because, with the purlin in the middle it doesn't fit very economically.  Most of what we ordered was standard 12mm, but we thought 9mm would be better for the ceilings as they're lighter (and 3mm extra headroom might make a huge difference!).  So, we'll have to go and collect some more but it'll have to be the smaller boards - we can't really expect them to deliver just three boards.

Last night we had tea at neighbours, Bill and Maggie's with the mohican daughter.  Maggie had got a half price leg of lamb at Sainsbury's and needed someone to share it with, so like good neighbours we said we'd help them out.  Deeee-licious, I can't remember when I last had roast lamb and it was very nice.  Then they came to the smallholders meeting about poultry with us - they're thinking of getting some chickens.  This was the first meeting since the 'People's Revolution' (see 'What a Lovely Day' - 9 Feb), and was really good - a really nice atmosphere and very sociable, with no negativity.  This afternoon we had a break from plasterboarding to help Phil and Ann with their lumberjacking.  Three sycamore trees on their land had to be felled because they were close to power lines and they have spent the last few days chopping the timber up for firewood - loads of it!  So, we had an afternoon in the sun splitting the bigger logs (the contractors had cut them into manageable lengths) while Phil chopped them to size with an axe and Anne stacked.  We only got through a tiny portion, but every little helps.  It's about time we repaid some of our debts - they saved some nice straight pieces for Bob for furniture making, they keep an eye on our chickens when we're away, they helped us put the oak frame up and Phil is going to give us a plaster skimming masterclass . . . . yep, we probably still owe them. 

Molly is looking a bit better, just old now.  We decided to worm them which you're supposed to do every now and then and Molly had one of the classic symptoms . . . . . look away now and I'll whisper . . . . a mucky bum.  You're supposed to mix the powder with their normal food and give them that for 7 days, but when we tried that ages ago they all just stopped eating it!  So since then, we've measured out the week's worth (which is less than 10g) and each day mix a seventh in with something we know they'll like.  The only trouble is that Molly's now a bit slow when it comes to getting stuck in and grabbing treats.  So we've been dividing the medicated bread or whatever into four and trying to give them each their own portion.  What a laugh!  One person has to take Molly to one side and give her hers while the other deals with the other three which mainly involves keeping them away from Molly once they've gulped theirs down - you really need six hands and four feet to keep them away.  Oh, that sounds terrible - like we kick them out of the way . . . .honestly we don't we just 'herd' them with feet!

What a lovely day

Yes, it has been lovely here for the last couple of days, especially yesterday when  I had to drive over to Welshpool first thing to pick up a shower tray.  I saw several buzzards sitting on hedges and fence posts enjoying the sun, snowdrops along the bottoms of all the hedges, blue skies and sunshine - frosty but beautiful.  It really feels as if spring is in the air (we do keep reminding ourselves that it is still only February).  Best of all though was . . . no wind!  It really has been horrendous for the last few days.  Usually we hear the wind in the tops of the trees, but don't get too buffeted in our little sheltered hollow, but Thursday and Friday night were actually quite scary with the caravan being rocked and the wind howling all around.  Apart from the wheelbarrows being knocked over and lots of little twigs everywhere, there was no damage at all which really surprised us.  Needless to say, by Saturday we were both shattered as we'd had very little sleep for two nights.

We have now got all the studwork up for the en-suite upstairs - it's a bit complicated and either looks like a mad climbing frame or (if we painted it black) the wall of a Chinese restaurant.  We have managed to squeeze in a 1200mm x 900mm shower which isn't huge, but will be pure luxury after the tiddly thing we have in the caravan - you really are in trouble if you drop the soap! Hopefully, the plumber should be coming tomorrow or Friday and he can now put in the pipes for the shower and basin in there as well as re-routing all the pipes we had to take out last week.  Don't think he'll be very pleased with that bit, but I guess it would always be a niggle at the back of our minds during really cold weather, so best done.

On Monday night I went on a free taster course in Calligraphy which was quite good.   You obviously can't get very far in two hours, but better than nothing (and free!).  I had signed up for the 5 week course, but only two other people had enrolled so it was cancelled and they did this instead.  Tonight we are off to a pub in a nearby village for a Smallholders committee meeting.  The Chairman and Treasurer (a married couple) have both resigned over the purchase of computer and projection equipment with a grant a member had managed to get for us.  They would be useful for speakers who want to show pictures or have Powerpoint presentations, we could set up slideshows when we have stands at local shows and design leaflets and posters. They didn't think it was a good idea and have stalled the purchase for months and took umbrage at the rest of us trying to get on with it.  All sorts of accusations have been made and so we have a lot of sorting out to do to make sure the group keeps running smoothly without them.  Small committee politics, eh?  At least we can have a beer while we sort it out!

The stair hole's done

We have finished knocking through the hole for the stairs.  We actually finished the knocking through yesterday after a full day at it (that's the stage shown in the photo.  Then this morning Bob got the angle grinder to the stones that were well-embedded in the wall that's staying, but stuck out into the stair hole.  That done, we have both spent the afternoon re-building it!  Don't worry, there weren't any disasters, but we had to 'make good' the edges and fill in gaps - doesn't sound much, but it took us until 7pm.  It's a bit scrappy looking now, but also looks fairly solid.  Most of it will get a layer of our rough plaster like the kitchen and bedroom - angle ground (angle grinded?) edges don't look at all pretty so need covering up.  This will then blend into the painted-only stones that will make up the hall side of the wall.  We have had a few very long days of real hard work and are both now a bit achy and knackered!!  Oh, for a hot bath! 

Tomorrow we are off to defend our title as quiz champions at the Smallholders Group - should be a laugh and everyone brings lovely food!  I hope they don't mix the teams up because I think we owe our win last year more to our team-mates than ourselves. 

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!

Bandstand roof and pig-herding!

We have now finished the roof on the timber-frame extension.  Bob thinks it looks like a bandstand in a municipal park with its open sides . . . . we'll be holding a concert on Sunday afternoon at 3pm!  The roof took us longer than expected - we kept having to stop when neighbours stopped for a chat and a cuppa (three separate visitors on consecutive days), not to worry though, it's so nice to not be working to a tight deadline.  Gifts of eating apples and damsons (I feel a batch of damson vodka coming on!) accompanied two visits, so no complaints there!

The slating itself was also a bit slow going.  Although they are supposed to be exactly the same as the slates on the nextdoor roof, they just didn't seem quite as good.  Quite a few broke, even though they didn't 'ring' when we tapped them (they 'ring' if there is a fault in them).   The last corner was quite awkward as working space got smaller and smaller.  For the second to last bit of lead flashing I had to balance on a corner smaller than the space shown in the picture and then reach as far as my arms would stretch - all a bit precarious and I was very glad when it was done.

Unfortunately, we had to use Spanish slates for these roofs.  Welsh slates are supposed to be among the best in the world and that's what we used on the house roof.  The ones that were on there already (some of which we managed to re-use) were from the Llangynog quarry which is about 10 miles away.  They are really chunky and full of character and make slate experts drool!  The chap who delivered the first batch of reclaim slates said he'd give anything to have a house with those slates on.  At the time, we were a bit bewildered - they were just slates weren't they?  But, now that we too are slate anoraks, we can see why!  So, for the house roof we had reclaim Welsh slates (the ones on the side you can see in the picture above weren't brilliant, but the other side of the roof looks much better).  When we did the lean-to roof we managed to get some Llangynog slates from the people who did the scaffolding for us and they do look lovely.  But, by the time we got round to doing the extension roof, one of the main Welsh slate quarries had closed for health & safety reasons and Welsh slate had become like gold dust - all the decent reclaim stuff was snapped up overnight and so we have had to resort to foreign.  It was quite a hard decision to make, but it would have cost an extra £2,000 which is money we just don't have.  You can get Brazilian or Chinese slate, but they are apparently not good at all - very thin and some have little sparkly bits of metal in them which eventually rust leaving holes on your roof and they just look very flat and boring.  It's a bit like comparing a piece of burry elm with a piece of MDF - both do the job, but you just can't compare the look.  The Spanish slates we chose are approved for use in Snowdonia National Park and so can't be too bad.  There, that's your slate lesson for today - sorry to have bored you, but you just never know when it might come in useful!

Yesterday we ordered all the bits for the walls in the bandstand, even bought paint which is really quite exciting.  We also popped into a new furniture shop in town and bought a little pine chest of drawers for one of the spare bedrooms - think it's reasonably old (it has dovetail joints which newer ones don't have) and it was quite cheap so we bought it, just like that, no going home to think about it, just an impulse buy which we don't usually do, but I think we should do more of!  I'm beginning to get quite excited about living in this house - it's starting to become a real possibility instead of just a building site!

On Monday, we were on standby for pig-herding - how cool is that?  Some friends from the smallholder group we're part of had two weener pigs who were due to visit the abbatoir and they wanted backup on standy in case they had trouble getting them into the trailer.  As it was, they managed without any trouble and didn't need to call us - what a disappointment!  Before you say anything, yes, we do feel a bit of a fraud - does three chickens who don't lay eggs and a weedpatch really count as a smallholding?  Whatever, it's a really friendly group and they have some interesting talks - beekeeeping tomorrow.

Oh, before I go, I just wanted to say hello to Hayley who has just registered as a follower of this blog.  I get quite excited when I see a new follower.  Does that sound a bit sad and Billy-no-mates-like - pleeeease, be my friend!