Bob's going to see a stripper!

Well, this working for a living malarky certainly interferes with normal day-to-day life doesn't it?!  I guess I feel a bit like little children do after their first week at school . . . . 'OK, I've done that, can I stop now?'.  No, actually it's OK and I'm getting used to it.  I've really just been on the tills all the time which can fuzzle your brain a bit after a few hours, but at least I'm getting to know what to do.  It's strange because after a couple of hours I find my voice getting a bit croaky - just not used to all this talking!  I've just finished my 'weekend' as I have Thursday and Friday off.  Back in tomorrow at 7am - whoever thought that was a good time to start?!  I should be awake in plenty of time though because the squirrels have taken to sitting in the hawthorn hedge above the caravan and throwing the haw stones onto the roof at a very early hour - don't you just love the little cuties?!!!

In between 'work', we've been quite busy, but not so much to photograph.  On Monday evening, when I got back from work we decided to walk round to a neighbour's with some cake to thank them for the trailer-load of logs they'd dropped off the day before.  Do you know, I'd stood right next to this huge pile of logs talking to Phil and Ann on Sunday afternoon and not even noticed them - I just don't know how I didn't see them.  Anyway, by the time we'd got back from quickly dropping off the cake it was 9.30pm and we hadn't even had tea . . . . beans on toast that night!
On Wednesday evening Bob joined a few of the smallholders for a walk in the hills.  It was a lovely sunny evening and they went along part of Offa's Dyke to a highpoint with absolutely fantastic views over the Shropshire Plains in one direction and off to the Welsh mountains in the other.  Unfortunately they set off too early for me to go (see what I mean about work interfering!), so I just joined them in the pub after for a beer and a tour of the micro brewery nextdoor.  The brewery straddles Offa's Dyke.  The Dyke is the ancient boundary between England and Wales and part of the brewery's marketing speil is how they have to keep nipping from England to Wales and back as they make their beer.

Yesterday we drove over to Hinkley to see the couple who came to visit us with Mum and Dad a couple of weeks ago.  Colin is a natural hoarder and has the barns to keep loads and loads and loads of 'stuff' in (much to Mary's disgust I think).  Anyway, they had some 80 year old pine doors from a wooden bungalow they'd demolished years ago which they said we could have.  We should be able to use most of them and it will certainly save a lot of time as Bob was going to make them.  A couple will need a bit of work to make them the right size, but it is certainly a bonus to get them.  While we were there we had a tour of the 6,000 chickens, all the barns and workshops - several old motorbikes in the process of being restored which Bob loved, a couple of cars, endless wood and machinery picked up for scrap yards, clearance sales and so on.  At one point Mary said quite nonchalantly 'I think we've got our old Volvo estate in here somewhere, but I don't really know where' . . . how can you lose a Volvo estate in your barn?!!!  Anyway, we had a really good few hours there before trundling back down the A5 with a trailer full of doors. 

This morning we took all the hinges and knobs off and Bob's going to take them to the strippers tomorrow - should I be allowing my husband to go and see a stripper alone?!  It'll be quite exciting to see what they're like when we get them back, at the moment they're covered in dark brown treacley varnish or white gloss.

I had quite a successful morning on Tuesday restoring the window latches and stays that were on the rotten windows we took out.  We chucked them in a bonfire first as that's the most effective way to get rid of the many layers of gloss paint.  Then a quick scrub with a wire brush followed by a coat of the blacking stuff I used on the bread oven and fireplace. They then needed a really good polish up with a cloth to get all the excess black off - don't want mucky hands every time you open a window.  I then gave them a coat of wax and another polish and they look really good and will have saved a fair bit of money.  I was really good while I was doing this and wore rubber gloves so a I didn't have black hands and nails for work in the afternoon (see it's getting in the way again!).  Trouble is, I forgot when  I did the last bit and the wax has some solvent in which, of course, took some of the black off and all over my hands.   Aaaarghhh, panic!  Thankfully a really good scrubbing got most of it off, phew!  Anyway, we've used some of the old window stuff on the new window in the oak-frame room.



Thought this was a funny little view of Bob working
on the window through the opening the window is
going to go in

 Speaking of which, we picked up the glass today and fitted the window this afternoon.  This one didn't have quite the dramatic impact the triangle window did because the view is of . . . . . sleepers, mmm, nice!  Some trailing plants are definitely needed and I'll have to look out for some interesting bits and bobs to brighten up the sleepers - sooooo glad we decided to put the triangle window in as well.  



And here it is in place with the reclaimed window stays.
See what I mean about the view?





Just found another old view for you . . . . .would you take on something like this?
I wouldn't!



This is a 'school night'!

Yes, I start work tomorrow (sob), so it feels a bit like the last night of the summer holidays when you're at school.  Got to lay out my uniform (well, something smart) and books (well, P45, birthcertificate, etc), have an early night and no drinking (not that that applied when I was at school obviously!  Hmmm). . . . and well, I might finish the wine I've already started.

So, here's what we've been doing with my last few days of freedom . . . . 



My sewing room - just ignore the ladder which is our stairs for
the moment, apart from that it looks quite cosy in there.  So,
kitchen curtains are done and now I'm doing the bedroom ones.



And here they are.  They still need the hems doing and the lining
sewing in, but I've broken every sewing machine needle I have
doing them, so it'll have to wait until I've got some more.  The pattern
is embroidered on with wool, so where there are several layers it
is really thick and that's what's done for the needles.

 

This moring we had a sort through our stored furniture and decided
to get this set of pine drawers out.  Bob's Mum bought these ages ago and sanded
and varnished them.  They were a little 'orange', so Bob decided to have
another go and they look much better (you can see them in the photo above).  They
date to the mid 1800's so a similar age to the cottage.  When Bob took the knobs
off we saw the original finish - white paint covered in varnish and worked to look like oak!




We also found this corner cabinet which Bob made before we moved.
The elm is from a village called Shelton (our surname), so we had to
make something for ourselves from it.  It has survived storage really well
and looks just lovely, we just need to find a corner for it - surprisingly difficult
as there aren't many right-angle corners here!  Not everything has survived
so well - I re-caned a little chair (another of Bob's Mum's purchases) before we
moved.  It took me ages, but looked quite good finished . . . the mice liked it too!

 

And we've tried the bath - had to put the immersion on to heat
the water because the solar's not doing anything at the moment.
Oh, what luxury - it's wider, deeper and longer than our old bath,
so you can really submerge in it.  I can't wait to get a cold now and
need a hot bath!!  Not really, but it is nice to have.



Heating for this winter weather

The electrician finished connecting the underfloor heating before he went on Friday.  Luckily for us Friday night was forecast to be really quite chilly, so we set the controls to full to see what happened.  Next morning the house was actually quite warm and you could definitely feel a difference in the floor . . . . . more that they weren't cold rather than that they were warm.  But what a relief!  I don't think I'd quite realised how much at the back of my mind I was thinking that it might not actually work.  For months when we ordered it all, we had real, real trouble with the company with them not being able to tell us what length/type of cables we needed, then sending extra cables/wrong cables/unlabelled cables.  You then lay the cables (and test them) then slap 2" of screed on top (and test the cables again), but it is all a bit of a leap of faith that they'll work at the end of the day and it really would be a major pain if for some reason they didn't!  Last night we left it on full again and again it was warm this morning.  So, we have now turned it all down to about a quarter capacity to see what happens . . . . . hopefully, it either won't come on at all (I think the weather is supposed to warm up tonight) or it'll just come on for a very short time.  Now I'm thinking 'What if it comes on for the full time again?  That'll mean that the controller doesn't work'.  I'm a bit paranoid about this heating, but that comes from the company not giving us faith in their product and their ability right at the start - it'll be fine!?!

We now have all the lights working, but need to do a fair bit of sorting out where light bulbs are concerned.  The move to low energy bulbs and the dictatorial way the industry is regulated now means that it is really difficult to sort out bulbs that actually do what you want them to and it is all soooo complicated!  We have a light in the bathroom that takes so long to warm up that it should just be bright enough to see by when you've finished having a wee, washed your hands and made a cup of tea - useless.  We have a light in the hall which is OK and is bright enough, quick enough but has writing all over the collar which is easily visible and looks horrible.  We have several light fittings which need a nice-looking bulb as part of the overall look, but you are no longer allowed to buy globe-shaped opaque bulbs.  There are possibilities out there, but of course you need to try them out in-situ . . . . at about £7 a go that could work out expensive.  Oooh dear, I've just realised what a moan I've been having, sorry!

While the electrician was here Bob kept out of the way by fitting some of the window catches upstairs which looks so much better than the little blocks of wood we used to have there.  Most of the windows just open on one side, but this is our bedroom window and has to open both sides to provide a fire escape.  This means that the left-hand side needs bolts to secure the window.  This window now makes us laugh a bit - it's a little busy with fixtures and fittings and really looks as though we just ordered one of everything in the catalogue and whacked it on!  I think there's a bit of space in the top corners which I'm sure we could fill with some sort of ironmongery!

I put the silicon around the shower tray and in the corners and as predicted made a real mess of it - I should be able to do it, I can ice a cake so what's the difference?  So, one of my jobs for next week is to try and sort it out.  Luckily I didn't do the bath in the same manner and so should hopefully have learned from my mistakes.

We have had the weekend off again as my son, Ben and his girlfriend, Lucy have been here for a few days.  Ben helped us move the woodburner over a couple of inches which was a great help - it is just so heavy and a real dead weight.  So, it's staying where it is now I think.  Yesterday we went for a good walk around Hawkstone Park which is full of Victorian follies in the shape of caves and pitch black tunnels right through rocks, meandering paths and worn, wonky steps, a tower with over 150 steps leading to fantastic views over the Shropshire Plains and little huts half built into the rocks.  Something different around every corner and a good way to spend a few hours.  We were going to look round the local annual antique show today before Ben and Lucy went home, but it has been pouring down non-stop so we have done nothing at all.  It's not good for you!  We feel shattered after doing nothing but cooking a fry-up and reading the paper.  Back to work tomorrow.  We have a new work schedule for the time before the plumber comes.  Tomorrow involves some roof work.  When they put the frame for the solar panels on the roof they disturbed the ridge tiles and very quickly put them back and pointed them.  The temperature then was way below that recommended for lime mortar, so we need to check the state of all that and re-do it if necessary.  We also need to silicone around the rubber grommets where the pipes go through the roof as you can see daylight through which probably isn't good.  We are also going to paint the bright orange rubber grommets black with some tyre paint to try to make them blend in a bit.  They are all fairly quick jobs, but it'll need both of us - one on the roof and the other passing things and checking what it looks like from the ground.  I did most of the ridge tiles in the first place, so I might do the roof bit if I'm still brave enough to get up there!