And So It's Christmas . . .

Another year, another Christmas, but with Covid a little more in the background this time (booster jabs all done!), although as it turned out not without its alternative dramas . . .

We've had some nice days, sunny walks on the prom / up Consti, etc. and a proper break over the Christmas period, with a visit to family in Cambridgeshire for 'second Christmas' in the next few days.  

The run up to Christmas has however (aside from the Folly) also been occupied with the Saga of the Fridge . . . which stopped working at the end of November, but had to wait for service engineers in Oswestry to get to us to fix it under its guarantee.

On 8 December they finally arrived, replaced a faulty fan and left saying all should now be ok - only the fridge didn't get any cooler . . . 

We then had to wait for 17 December before they made it back to diagnose the added problem (everything had frozen up and the cold air couldn't get from the freezer section to the fridge!) and actually get it running again.

All of which felt perilously close to Christmas - trying to manage Christmas cooking with one fridge drawer kept cool with freezer blocks, was not a happy thought!

Christmas day brought its own drama, with an evening trip to A&E for a tetanus jab (following a minor incident with some firewood and a rusty nail).

All well though - just a sore hand for a few days - and only had to wait for an hour or so.

Hope you had a good one!

Getting There

Another 10 days in, and the bulk of the 'building' work is now done, with everyone due to take a break now over Christmas.  

The electricians have done their 'first fix' putting the cabling for the sockets and lighting in place, and the trench down the garden has been filled in.

The builders have finished boarding out the stud walls, and have plastered throughout:

They've also got the EDPM rubber roof fixed down permanently, and a metal lining tube through the stone wall to take the chimney for the wood burner.

It's by no means finished yet though . . .

 

There's still work to do on the feature wall; skirting boards and flooring to go down; and the second / final fix on the electrics - plus having the wood burner itself fitted.

Not to mention the decorating - which is my job!

One Week On . . .

 So, work has continued apace with the 'Folly' . . . 

The new glazed door and window have been fitted - the window is a breeze block width deeper than the old one, and together with the fully glazed door, should provide a lot more light inside.

They've boarded out the floating floor and started work on battening out for the interior stud walls, and tidying up the 'feature' stone end wall.

And some serious groundworks are underway for the electric cabling - bringing the electric across from the garage, which will get an updated fuse board as part of the process.

It's all moving on nicely anyway - although the garden lawn is currently a bit of a mess!

And We're Off

So today, work officially started on the woodshed conversion - or Folly as it will probably become known.

With a lot of input from Martin, the interior had been completely cleared out . . . 

Leaving an empty shell for the builders to work with . . . although some work had already been done at the weekend to fill a crack in the back wall.

The first job they tackled was the roof - currently formed of metal sheeting (noisy in the rain and prone to condensation), and held in place by just a small number of 'rafters'.

So off came the old roof - and they were soon busy re-raftering at regulation distance.

 

By the end of the day it was raftered and boarded over, with the new EDPM rubber roof covering loosely fixed in place (ready to be stuck down when weather conditions are right).

All-in-all it feels like a lot of progress has been made in just one day ....  further updates to follow!

Storm Arwen

End of November, and I managed to coincide a visit to my parents with the first named storm of the season!

Travelled over the day before the storm hit; opportunity to catch-up with family, take in the local Christmas lights, and help out with some bits and pieces.  

Had to delay my plans to return by a day though, in light of the weather, which meant leaving Martin to cope with the fall-out from the storm.

And this was a bad one - Storm Arwen hit Wales on the Friday, and by Saturday morning it had pretty much wrecked the smaller of our two greenhouses, with Martin spending a good couple of hours clearing up broken glass.

So we now have a glassless frame - the plants that survived the night having been relocated to the larger greenhouse (which itself suffered some minor damage.)

Will have to see if replacing the glass is worth the investment or if there is something else we can do to best make use of what's left.

Phil the Pheasant

We've had a new visitor to the garden recently, he's rather fond of peanuts, can be a bit noisy, but is a very fine fellow:

He also visits our neighbours and they christened him Phil . . .

He's providing Martin with some opportunities to get the camera out anyway, and me too I suppose, although I was more interested in Martin's approach to capturing the perfect shot here! 

Woodshed Developments

For a while now we've been thinking about the possibilities of adding a garden room / office to provide a bit more space for home-working among other things.

Martin is more sceptical about it all, but did raise the possibility of doing something with the woodshed at the bottom of the garden (pictured here). 

Somewhat to his dismay I ran with the idea - with builders due onsite in December to start work (after some months of trying to get people to quote, and then keep in contact afterwards!).  All of which meant that something had to be done with the firewood, random collection of other wood, and gardening supplies stored in there currently.

So today we got started on clearing out the contents - Martin did most of the heavy lifting bless him, while I did some cleaning out after.  Still have the shelving and some other storage to move out, but it is now a much clearer space and surprisingly large once all the clutter has gone.

Unfortunately the same can't be said for Martin's recently tidied out garage - which has become the interim repository for stuff, as well as storing the flooring, log burner, and futon frame eventually destined for the re-developed woodshed.

Hoping it all works out as planned - at the very least it has made us look at what had become a real dumping ground for all kinds of things - but it has already been christened my 'folly', so it will become a she-shed, housing all my spare time projects / home office once up and running.

Watch this space for further updates.

Remember, remember . . .

 And as it is the 5th November, what better day for a bonfire?

Got rid of the accumulated garden debris anyway!

Somewhere . . .

 . . . under the Rainbow (no bluebirds).

Who's That Tapping at the Window?

For the last few months, I've been putting sunflower seeds out onto a small tray attached to the window - and have got used to the flurry of wings, and occasional tap tap to remind me to fill it up.

My most recent visitor is this nuthatch - although there may be more than one of them, given the amount of sunflower seeds it gets through!

Powering Up

So today the 'powerwall' came into its own, when we had our first power cut of any duration - not that it was that noticeable as the battery picked up the load pretty seamlessly.

Shouldn't have to worry about storm season anyway! 😊

Firepit Barbecue

Haven't lit the fire pit that much this year, but as it was a warm late September evening, and we'd acquired a grill to go over the top, fired it up and barbecued some burgers for tea.  Then sat out by the fire into the early evening, watching the light fade, and enjoying the flames.

Nice end to the day . . .

Back in the Peak

So for this year's 'trip out', we decided to revisit Bakewell and the Peak District, by way of family in East Anglia.

On our way to Bakewell, we took in Calke Abbey near Derby . . .

. . . lots of deer, spooky service tunnels, and a rather run-down property (described as an 'un-stately home' reflecting the condition in which it came to the National Trust).

Fitted in a long walk along Dovedale on one of the nicer days, starting at Ilam Hall, crossing the iconic stepping stones, and on to Milldale and back (a bit further than we'd intended - although Martin also made it up Thorpe Cloud). 

Some great views (lots of caves and arches), and even saw a dipper by the stream.

 

Our visit to Hardwick Hall was a little damper - although it all looked quite atmospheric in the rain, and the house is always beautiful.  The autumn cyclamen in the gardens were also looking stunning despite the weather.

Bakewell itself was much as remembered, although the bridge pictured on our last visit in 2013 is now so loaded down with 'love locks' that it's no wonder it needs repair!

Finished the trip with a long-anticipated visit to Little Moreton Hall - a moated, half-timbered Tudor manor house - very quirky and picturesque, and we got to see it in the sunshine too!

Sun, Sea, Sand, Swallows and Cycling

So, it's September and holiday time, with the sun still shining and beautifully hot - although the swallows are starting to gather for the long flight south.

In between hedge cutting, there's been time to hit the beach, with a trip to Ynyslas - an actual 'swim', and some beachcombing for shells, which aren't already occupied  . . . not sure who is trying to oust who here!

Nice walk also through the woods to Bow Street to watch the Tour of Britain fly past in the sunshine.

So that's the first few days of the holidays - next, an actual 'trip' away!

Evening Light . . .

 Just because it's a nice pic - and a lovely walk . . .

Beetroot Rolls

 So - mixing it up a bit - lets add beetroot to sourdough . . .

It all looked rather dramatic as a dough - quite a vivid pink - the baked rolls look far more 'normal' - and they tasted good too!

Long Way Home . . .

There are times when living on the opposite side of the country to family can be a bit wearing - today's journey 'home' to Wales coincided with major roadworks on the M6 - on top of a half hour hold-up on the A14.  Some of it was predictable mind you . . .

Baking Hot

The latter part of July has been baking in more ways than one.  

From glorious sunshine at the top of Consti . . .

to firing up the pizza oven . . .

. . .  to a bonfire - disposing of the the last batch of garden debris.

Still hot enough to allows us to bake potatoes in the ashes the following day!

Sourdough Focaccia

So, time to try something new in the continuing adventure that is sourdough - this time, focaccia.  

Very splodgy dough, but it actually turned out really well - will be making this one again!

Birthday Visit #2

End of a week off - lots of gardening, hedge cutting, etc. done. - and then it was off to visit family for this year's birthday weekend . . .

Celebrated with a barbecue in the back garden - and one very interested little dog, when she wasn't hanging out in the shade under the foliage:

Great to be able to meet up with everyone again - and that the sun shone for us - good food too!