Let it rain!

Our particular cloud with a silver lining is that the weather is so wet and cold, that we can comfortably work in the roof space! There's SO much to do here, as this is the location for the master bedroom. We're currently using the guest bedroom, but we actually have friends and family coming to stay soon, and we can no longer bear to shove them in the caravan. So. Hard, dirty work is the order of the week.

Welcome to the still life that is our life. If you peek down in the distant lower right corner, you can see my sample patch of re-pointing using my special (secret) lime mix.

Meanwhile, Kevin is tackling the walk-in wardrobe end of the room, making holes for switches and sockets.

Still Life with Fluff Puff and Off Cuts
June 2017

And now a bit more... It has been a mistake to work from the bottom here, as there is so much orangey-coloured mud to chip out, that it's staining the previously completed lime mix. I need to bring in the tower!

Kevin kindly assembled the tower and tested its stability while chipping out mud.

A doorway to the wardrobe appears...

Stones glued together with mud. Actual mud.This is what holds our cottage up.

Chipping out mud, while trying to avoid collapsing the entire end of the cottage...

The mud removing tool of choice! Until now, I've used a hammer and small chisel, but this worn down multi-saw is a great choppy vibrating mud remover!

There! The top part of the wall is now ready to point tomorrow! And the cottage hasn't fallen down! Let's hope there aren't strong winds tonight... Kevin says I shouldn't worry, as the walls are a metre thick. 

While I was up the tower attacking mud, Kevin was continuing to build the walk-in wardrobe; see how he's put in fluff puff and silver stuff! He started putting in the second Velux window a few days ago, but it hasn't stopped raining since then, so it's just a hole with a sheet of asphalt nailed over it. The rain has been absolutely torrential, so it's stood up well! The weather app promises clear skies and sunshine very soon, so he can get it finished before he dives into the dormer window project on the opposite side of the room. I need to finish my re-pointing before the sun comes, or I'll cook!

The Sad Story of the Apple Tree and the Pear Tree

MORAL: He who laughs last laughs longest.

Sometimes, I enjoy a little bit of gentle mocking. Especially when Kevin is the mockee. I cruelly and publicly mocked his ridiculously harsh pruning of his pear tree (i.e. cutting it down) and boasted of my perfectly pruned, chalice-shaped blossoming apple tree.

Pear tree at 'Mock Stage'

Pear tree today

Apple tree at 'Boast Stage'

Apple tree today- officially DEAD! Pesky late frost!

Come away from that now; it's a horribly sad story. Look at the beginnings of my gladioli corridor! They're feeling a bit dizzy due to the continuous onslaught of the bad weather, but aren't they just gorgeous! There'll be a mix of colours, but it seems that the pink ones bloom first.

Our vegetable patch is doing well, despite the heatwave while we were away in Japan. Typical! We're already enjoying strawberries, rhubarb, peas, mint, basil, cornichons, courgettes and lettuce. We await the ripening of: melons, chillies, sweet peppers, tomatoes, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, onions, and leeks. Vegetabliss!