And now for a short break

It's seems to be all go at the moment, just when we could really do with staying put.  A few days away for a family wedding, a chance to catch up with those we only see very occasionally, and maybe a bit of shopping for fabric, if I'm very lucky!  

On our return we will hopefully begin to resume some kind of order and routine.  We just need to establish ourselves in this place, to make it our home, not just the house we live in.  And we will.  

Wondering what to do, and another wedding cushion

Now that we have called time on the renovating (and again I say, phew!!) we find ourselves at a bit of a loss as to know what to do next.  It's an odd feeling, having had work stretching ahead for what seems to have been such a long time - six months in all - to now not have anything immediate and pressing lined up.  We've put a few bits and pieces away (paintbrushes, cleaning cloths, dust sheets and so on) and had a bit of a mooch around (if it would stop raining so heavily and persistently we could actually get outside) but really we seem to be in a 'what do we do now?' sort of state.  It's a bit weird.  Having sought out a simpler lifestyle, we allowed it to become rather more complicated, and I think we just need to take some time to find our way back again.

Ideas to start with

From the back

When all else fails, I've always found chocolate and sewing - either, or, or both, preferably - seem to help in these situations.  So I have sewed (and eaten chocolate) and have finished the wedding cushion with a day to spare.  It's going to be a little awkward to take on the train and Underground along with the other bags but no doubt we'll manage somehow.

Changing the subject completely.  All the little dark blobs in the photo above are birds.  Almost everyday, from our back doorstep, we see the flock in this tree, chattering incessantly.  I want to discover what sort of tree it is (my knowledge of trees is poorly lacking) and also identify the birds that use it as a roost.  I may ask N if he can get a closer shot using the more powerful zoom on his camera.  

Converted, finally

Before . . . 

. . . and after. 

 The garage conversion is finished and more or less furnished.  I must remember to refer to the new space as the guest room for that is what it will be and it is good to now have a 'proper' bedroom for visitors to stay in.  When we first looked at the property, the estate agent showing us around said the garage was 'crying out to be converted', and although it was not at the top of our list of things to do, it was a project to think over for the future.  We ended up doing the work sooner than we had originally anticipated but in the end that probably wasn't such a bad thing - if we had put it off, I think there was a chance it might not have got done at all.  We feel that it may be a selling point for the future, and presents more options for using the rooms available.  The fact that N was able to labour for our builder helped to keep the cost down; we think we have kept a firm grip on the budget.  There are one or two finishing touches we will probably add to make it feel a little more homely but for now we can safely close the door on this project.

Furniture as follows:
 - second-hand bed-frame, mattress bought new last year
 - wardrobe and chair we already had
 - chest of drawers is older than I am (!), made by my father at night school, or so I recall being told many years ago.  This piece of furniture has been in every house I have lived in, and the drawer fronts have changed colour accordingly.  (Lilac doesn't really go with anything else in the room and I may need to get the paintbrush out again.)  
 - bedding kept when the children moved out over 10 years ago.
 - quilt originally made by my son when he was about 8!
 - meter cupboards as previously mentioned; an unwanted bathroom cupboard, and the other made by N from offcuts in the shed.
 - curtains courtesy of Save the Children charity shop.

We will eventually get a double-bed but in the meantime the single will suffice.

It is a relief to have this completed and to see an end to the renovation.  How people who work full-time, or have a young family (or both!) manage this kind of long-term project - well, I have much admiration for them.  All I can say is that N and I are glad there's no more to do!

However, there is still the garden . . . .

Have we finished?

I have just discovered, having downloaded the photos this evening, that whilst I have 'before' photos, I don't have any 'after' ones so I think I will leave pictures of the conversion until tomorrow and write myself a note to remember to take photos of the new room furnished.

The carpet waiting to be fitted!

The carpet fitter did a grand job yesterday, all done in half an hour (again, just why did we think we could do that ourselves?).  Needless to say, N and I were straight to work moving pieces of furniture from various locations in the house into their new, and hopefully permanent positions.  Oh, it was good to begin reclaiming the house once more.  There is more to do, and I think quite a bit of decluttering (again) in the process but there is such a sense of relief that the building, decorating and renovating is, for us at least, completed.  By the evening we had quietly collapsed into our chairs.

We had visitors last night, complete with birthday-eve excitement - the anticipation of nearly being seven was almost too much to bear!  These grandchildren seem to be growing up way too quickly; the eldest will be into double figures next year.  But it's lovely to be able to cosy up on the sofa with one or the other and have the latest electronic game patiently explained ;-o

Sunrise yesterday morning

It's been clear and bright for a couple of days, but chilly.  We're quick to winge about the drop in temperature but really it's nothing compared to the snowfalls that eastern American has experienced this week.  A couple of new England blogs I read had photos of snowmen, so we really shouldn't complain too loudly (but we still do).

I had a mammoth baking session yesterday while we waited for the carpet to be fitted.  A loaf of wholemeal bread, soft bread rolls, a tea loaf and a batch of ginger biscuits.  I think I may try adapting the biscuit recipe as the basis of chocolate chip cookies, the ones I made with the grandchildren during the summer weren't quite right but these were wonderfully chewy and I think would work well.  

Having had a bit of a block with the wedding cushion (a bit stressful as it must be finished by Monday), today I just sat down at the machine and sewed, successfully.  I think it must be something to do with the fact that finally 'the sewing room' is actually beginning to look like one, and therefore far more conducive to sewing.  That is probably just as well as there is a huge pile of projects waiting to be started and/or completed.  I had such grand expectations and hopes of a handmade Christmas this year and I don't think I will be able to achieve a great deal (I was told yesterday it's now just five weeks to the day - oh dear).  But then I stop and think what we have achieved since we moved in here and I guess I shouldn't feel too despondent.  A bit of perspective is what's needed, I think, and we'll get that over the next few days.  In the meantime, we're sorting ourselves out, yet again.

Taking our own advice

A few weeks ago, N and I strongly advised Son and DIL that paying for carpet-fitters was a 'really sensible thing to do' as they know what they are doing and therefore do the job properly.   Strange, then, that we seemed unable to take our own very wise advice.  Why we thought we could competently fit a carpet in the conversion ourselves is something of a mystery we have yet to work out!

So, after an hour or so of heaving, tugging and falling over the said carpet, we looked at each other and agreed that a phone call was needed.  The professionals are coming to fit the carpet tomorrow.  Wise move.

In the meantime, the poor house is in such a mess as we try to manoeuvre pieces of furniture towards their final destinations.

sewing shelving in the bathroom;

mattress, carpet, freezer and clothes rail in the lounge;

and very large (and out of focus) wardrobe in the hallway!

Tomorrow we will be sorted.  I hope.

Almost there

I should have learned by now that a glass of wine followed by a glass of prosecco renders me incapable of typing; I had planned to blog last night but apparently consumed too much alcohol to do so.  Hmm, I really should take note of this for future reference ;-)

The pasting-table is on it's last, rather wobbly legs but as this is the last papering to be done we'll forgive it.

 

Very smart meter boxes.  The top one N made from offcuts he had in the shed; the other is a spare bathroom cabinet.  Waste not, want not around here!

However, today I can happily announce that the decorating in the new room is done.  Fully painted and papered, although, naturally, not without a hitch along the way.  Four sheets of wallpaper went up yesterday morning, and shortly afterwards those same four sheets of wallpaper came down again, ripped from the wall with a measure of disgust at how unobliging the paper was being - stretching out of shape and bubbling at will.  After taking a bit of time out, we had another attempt and of course the paper went on a treat!  It's always the way, isn't it, when you just want the job done quickly, that little glitches seem to crop up to thwart progress.  Anyway, we pressed on and managed more than we had planned, and today we finished the papering completely.  We are really pleased, not to say relieved, that's it done.  The carpet is being delivered tomorrow for us to lay ourselves, then just some furniture to shift around, bed to be made up and we should be there.  Simples!

The leaves on the tree in our neighbour's garden caught my eye yesterday morning; bright golden yellow . . .

. . . and just a few minutes later the sky turned extremely dark (rain followed shortly after!!) and the leaves seemed to shine.

More rain, in fact it seems to be permanently wet at the moment.  I think it's just as well we have plenty of things to do inside through the winter because if this weather keeps up, we won't be venturing out much at all.

Getting there

The painting is finished.  Phew!  For a brief moment I thought it might all get too much but all of a sudden we can see the end in sight, and with that we seem to have relaxed.  Today I tackled the ceiling - never my favourite decorating job.  Having used a brush on the other new plaster ceilings here, and not being at all satisfied with the finish I got, I decided to use a roller this time.  And I have to say it was actually much easier (paint splatters aside) coverage-wise, although my shoulder and elbow were complaining by the end.  One coat, then I shut the door and left it.  Later, on inspection, I decided that it would do.  Is it perfect?  No, but it is perfectly good enough.  And that will do.  I have learned not to beat myself up because I can't achieve a flawless finish; what I have done is more than acceptable.  And the odd blemish can stay.  That's it, painting finished.  It's all very white.

As I type I can hear fireworks going off, again.  Firework season now seems to start before the end of October and carry on till the money runs out mid-November.  Last night N and I watched a lovely display, about a mile away, from the warmth and comfort of our bedroom - being at the top of the hill means we have a good view over the surrounding area.  In my childhood (that's getting to be a long, long time ago), it was a packet of sparklers on Bonfire Night and sometimes a party at a friend's house - a few rockets, catherine-wheels nailed to a tree, and potatoes wrapped in foil and baked in the bonfire embers.  

I'm a bit worried about the apple seedling - it's not looking very happy at the moment :-(

With the painting completed, and a few hours of dry weather, I took the opportunity to walk into town.  I passed some trees in lovely autumn colours, but many of the leaves have now fallen, and are a soggy mass on the ground (or clogging up the drains).  I managed to get some embroidery threads for the wedding cushion, and then I had a quick browse around a couple of charity shops.  My lucky day - the Cancer Research shop was having another sale - all donated items £1 each.  The shop was packed and doing a roaring trade.  I picked up three men's shirts and a long Laura Ashley dress, all 100% cotton and ideal for patchwork.  (NB  When I got home and showed my haul to N, he took a fancy to one of the shirts and we now have a stand-off as to who wants/needs it most!)  I've also seen a pair of lined curtains which I think will do quite nicely for the new guest room so I'll pop back in on Monday to pick those up.  

The past week has found me avoiding the mirror too much - my grey hair had got too long and was making me look way too old for my liking.  There is a point at which even I can't ignore it any longer so I took the mirror outside and gave myself a much-needed haircut.  Short is so much better and I felt I was trimming a few years off my age, too ;-))  I must make the effort to keep it trimmed and not let it get out of hand again; it really doesn't take that long to do.

There's not much happening in the garden at the moment but in the greenhouse we have a few cuttings we're trying to nurture along.  We also have this plant:

Nicandra physalodes (shoo-fly plant).  A few years ago a colleague at work gave us a handful of seeds from a plant he had in his garden.  We duly planted them, and had a lovely show of these big, blousy annuals with blue flowers and interesting green papery pods.  It obligingly self-seeded, and we had another display the following year, then not much after.  Never mind, they were free.  So imagine our surprise when we were tidying up the garden at the flat, prior to our move here, to find a Nicandra seedling merrily growing away among the geraniums.  We re-potted it and brought it to the new garden, where it was abandoned outside to fend for itself.  It's now flowering it's little heart out, warm and cosy in the greenhouse.  A bit straggly, but clearly a survivor.  It has reminded me that all it takes is one little seed and the right conditions.  I am so looking forward to doing some planting next year.

And a brief mention that the blog has passed 10,000 page views, which seems quite a significant number.  Admittedly most of those are probably spam links to dubious sites but I know a few other bloggers do drop by from time to time, which is always appreciated.  If you are one of those welcome visitors, 'hello' and thanks for popping by.

Painting the day away

On with the list:

 - second undercoat on doorframes

 - topcoat on skirting board

 - first coat on coving.

Tick, tick and tick.  Lots of white paint is gradually transforming the room.

The loft-hatch, however, has swollen and is now jammed!  

N is now on light duties only; his knee continues to cause problems and it has been agreed (somewhat reluctantly on his part) that he really does need to avoid climbing ladders and kneeling on wooden floors for a while.  As painting is usually my job anyway it hasn't created too much of a work-shift, and he makes a good cup of tea ;-))  And, more importantly, he has come up with a solution to the furniture problem which has been taxing us for a while.  

Not much time for much else today.  We have rescued some seeds from the butternut squash and will see if we can get them to germinate (we definitely have enough room in the garden for squashes)

and N made a delicious veg soup for lunch - the chicken stock made from the weekend roast, an onion, some left-over potato, half a bag of supermarket 'value' mixed veg and a handful of blitzed coriander from the 'cheapie' shelf.  Enough for three meals for the pair of us, and it cost less than £1.  

And it has rained again, most of the day.  At least we have a choice of several rooms to dry washing in!

On a schedule

This was the sunrise from our bedroom window yesterday, lovely purples and pinks.  Then the rain started.  I have a feeling the rain may have set in for the winter :-(   

The washing gets pegged outside if there is the slightest break in the clouds (I would so much rather dry washing outside if possible) but today it was back in again within twenty minutes.  Ah well, at least I have space inside the house to dry on the airer if necessary, it just takes a lot longer.

Plasterboard 'sealed' with diluted emulsion; skirting board screwed to wall and first undercoat; arrows on floor marking position of battens

Man . . .

. . . and woman at work (boilersuits essential, just wish it came in my size!!)

We have had to draw up a 'schedule of works' for the conversion - we're both finding this last phase of the renovation a bit of a chore, if we're honest, and we need to stay focussed to see it completed.  It hasn't helped that N's knee has flared up again making it very difficult for him to continue with some aspects of the work so we have had to shuffle the workload around a bit.  Every little extra bit we get done is one less bit to do, so while N cooks the dinner, I paint the skirting boards; while he unpacks the groceries, I paint the loft hatch.  We are reminded, yet again, that there is always so much more to 'paint the woodwork' than simply painting the woodwork; it's all the preparation - filling in screw-holes, sanding down, two coats of undercoat, at least one topcoat etc etc - what, on paper, looks like a couple of hours' work will probably take two or three days, allowing for paint to dry sufficiently between coats.  Never mind, we are just very thankful that we have the time to do all this ourselves, thus keeping the costs as low as possible, and that we are not only capable of doing the work but actually enjoying it as well (and learning new things at the same time).

So we are aiming for next Friday.  Completed.  Finished.  Fingers crossed.

Lofty issues

We had a bit of a situation with the loft hatch a few days ago.  The hatch-cover is/was really quite heavy and great care needs to be taken when opening it to ensure it doesn't over-swing and hit the door to the sewing room . . . . 

Sadly this is exactly what happened, one of the hinges ripped off the hatch and it was left swinging precariously.

Now, I have already had issues with this loft.  Soon after we moved here, I nearly lost the end of my ring finger when the loft ladder slid open on it's own (it was incredibly heavy and cumbersome and had a mind of it's own), and since then I have had a complete phobia about using it.  So this second loft incident prompted us to take action.

Firstly N made a new loft hatch, and a very nifty job he's made of it, too.  It just goes to show that odd bits of wood, accumulated over time for a 'just in case' moment, really do come in useful.  Then a new lightweight loft ladder was bought, and there followed an interesting couple of hours while we attempted to fit it.  A little patience was required, and several practice attempts, but we got there in the end.  And I'm now confident that I can gain access to the loft without fearing for my fingers, which is certainly something of a bonus!

All I need to do now is have a declutter in the loft . . . 

I need to mention the weather.  It seems to be raining a lot lately.  Pouring, in fact.  Last week the roads were flooded again, drains unable to cope with the volume of surface water.  I seem to remember it was like this for a lot of last winter - wet and windy almost all the time.  And we've had thunder and lightening far more frequently than usual (last night, again).  I'd much rather have a dry, cold winter than a wet and windy one but I don't think I'm going to get my wish, somehow.  

Remembering through art

For the past couple of weeks, the country's imagination has been captured by a piece of art.  The Field of Poppies in the moat of the Tower of London has been installed to commemorate the outbreak of WW1, one hundred years ago.  It comprises nearly 900,000 ceramic poppies, each one representing a British or Colonial military death during the War.  Yesterday I met my daughter in London, and we went to see the Poppies.

The scale of the installation was difficult to grasp, as was the very visual representation of the sacrifices made.  As a piece of art, it was beautiful and mesmerising.  The poppies encircle the Tower, and in places fall from windows and over walls.  

It was quite stunning and very moving.  I am sure many families have a connection to a fallen soldier in the Great War - I am aware of two within my own extended family - and I found this commemoration had a real resonance for me.  A time for remembrance and reflection.

The queue on the opposite bank of the Thames - we were in the queue on the opposite side to them!

The flip-side of the popularity of the Poppies has been the thousands of people who have flocked to the Tower to see them.  The queue was long indeed.  I have to say, I haven't been in such a crowd like that before.  Even my daughter, who lives and works in London and is therefore used to lots and lots of people thronging around at popular events, said the crowds were pretty special. However, queues aside, she and I had a very lovely day together.

No longer a garage

It's done.  The garage is no longer a garage but a guest bedroom and a storage area.  Strictly speaking there's a bit of decorating still to do before it's fit for guests to sleep in but it is definitely no longer a garage.

We are really pleased with how this project has turned out, and that we managed to bring it in very close to our original (and slightly optimistic) budget.  N has learned a huge amount through working alongside a builder of many years' experience, picking up lots of very useful hints and tips.  The electrician was in today to finish the wiring, and to test the circuit.  

The new storage area with the guest bedroom through the open door.
The retro kitchen unit fits perfectly!

Now the dust sheets are put away, we've swept up and started to put furniture back.  We're gradually reclaiming our home again.  The plaster is still drying out, we need to fit skirting board and box in the meters but we can now see the room it will become.  

This morning, when I drew the curtains, I had a bit of a shock to see the shed roof was quite white.  A definite frost last night; I forget we're already a week into November.  We have taken to throwing a quilt (or two) over the bed at night and it certainly makes it warm and cosy!  After a bit of trial and error with the radiators and thermostat we seem to have found a balance, and with the colder weather these last three or four days, we have had the heating on for a couple of hours in the evening.  The house seems to warm up quickly and then retain the heat; it's early days but we're happy with how the system is working.  

Fully plastered!

The new room is now fully plastered.  The ceiling was done today and now we just wait for the room to dry out completely.  This cold, damp weather we're having at present is a bit of a hindrance in this respect and we are considering popping the little electric heater in there tomorrow to help things along.  We'll see.  What we will be doing tomorrow is begin moving furniture around, sweeping up and going to the tip (again).  I think I have turned the corner with this project, in my head at least.  

I walked into town this afternoon to change my library books, doing my best to ignore the heavy rain clouds that were hanging around.  I was a bit miffed to find I was a day late in returning them and consequently I had a fine to pay.  Actually I had four fines to pay, as I had taken four books out, and at 40p a shot, that was £1.60 I would have preferred not to have paid.  I will definitely not be doing that again.   I can remember, when I was a child, library fines were 3d a book!  

I'm feeling more settled today, possibly because I made bread.  A wholemeal loaf and some soft white rolls which we ate later, with homemade burgers, for dinner.  Very tasty indeed.

After much deliberation, N finally bought himself a new piece of computer technology, and he has been acquainting himself with that most of the afternoon.  The laptop I blog on has been 'unhappy' for some time, and keeps crashing without warning so we are up-dating just in time.  I shall begin the task of transferring my documents and files to the new laptop in the next few days, hopefully learning some of the new applications in the process.  Technology changes so rapidly these days; last year's computers are out-of-date almost before they've left the factory, it seems.  Thankfully we don't need the specifications for gaming or downloading/storing music and films, and in that respect it seems we are a bit different from most computer shoppers/buyers/users  ;-)

Slightly disorganised

The first Christmas cactus flower of the year

We have four plastered walls in the garage/bedroom, and for a few moments we even had a door - very exciting - but that has now been temporarily removed to the shed.  This is because tomorrow the ceiling is being plastered and clearly we don't want the door being plastered as well (or the meter boxes; another use for old plastic bags).

It was cold and wet today, and the workforce got, well, cold and wet.  However, the end is in sight, and I should start referring to the new room as the guest bedroom rather than the garage.  It will be good to get ourselves straight again; this state of upheaval with nothing in it's proper place goes against my sense of order.  Apparently the shed is in a similar mess and N is longing to have time to sort that out too.  By the end of the week we should be in a position to begin reclaiming some kind of order again, thankfully.   I find dis-organisation very unsettling (I always had to tidy the messy office at work) and know that the house runs far better if it is clean and tidy and I feel better if I have done the cleaning and tidying.  At the moment, even if I do know where something is I probably can't get to it.  *sigh*  I know it's only temporary but I think I need to take some lessons from it . . .
  

In the meantime, I have a sewing project that requires my attention.

In the garden

Gulls on parade yesterday

Having had the warmest Halloween on record yesterday, November began in similar vein - sunny, blue skies and temperatures far higher than usual.  Which was just as well as I had a date with the back lawn.

One of the biggest lawn problems - creeping buttercups 

I may be a little late with my autumn lawn workout but I take the view that it probably won't do the lawn any harm and it might just do it a bit of good.  So I have scarified with a sprung-tine rake (the 'workout' was a much for my benefit as for the lawn!), followed up with another cut with the lawn-mower.  The idea is to remove all the thatch - moss, flattened grass stems, old grass trimmings etc, and I collected enough to fill a dustbin so I think the effort was worthwhile.  I'm having to work with the weather - rain is forecast for the next couple of days - but the next dry day, I shall aerate the lawn then top-dress it.  The front lawn will have to wait; tackling one lawn is better than not bothering at all and as we plan to dig up quite a bit in the front, I guess it can wait.

Early this morning we had a welcome visitor returning after a few weeks' away:

Our green woodpecker stayed for about half an hour, feasting on ants and other delicacies.  His plumage looked really bright.

Now for the monthly photographic round-up of progress in the garden.

On the left, onions; right, garlic

Four rows of spinach.  At the back in the grey container are carrots.  The rest of the beds are now under plastic to try to keep the weeds at bay.

Back lawn (before scarifying).  The bird table had a technical - normal service will hopefully be resumed shortly.

I took these photos first thing this morning, when the sun was still quite low in the sky, so shadows and indeed the sun itself caused a few problems.  I must remember that for the next few months (if we see the sun much).  This border is in desperate need of a make-over, and I have already taken out a couple of straggly shrubs and more may follow suit.  I'm trying to salvage the slate chippings that have been used as a decorative dressing as I hope to use them elsewhere.  This part of the garden spends most of the time in shade (so moss is a big problem in the lawn) and doesn't really dry out during the day.  The plan is to make this border at least twice as wide and to plant it up with a selection of perennials, climbers and one or two shrubs.

Side border - nothing's changed here.  Still not sure what to do with this area.

The front lawn is just this huge expanse of grass with a couple of shrubs stuck in for good measure.  Considering the property was built about 40 years ago it's surprising just how 'bare' the garden is; so little planting anywhere.  However, it does mean that we really do have a blank canvas with which to work.  It's just that there is a lot of work to do.  

N has been out of action all day.  Bed rest, anti-inflammatories and ice-packs have been the order of the day.  The swelling round his knee is reducing gradually and it's just as well that there's no work on the garage conversion over the weekend.  Hopefully by Monday he should be able to hobble around again.  In the meantime we are watching the plaster drying.  A bit like a watched pot, it takes it's time.