A Busy Time

Well, it has been a long time since the last post but has most definitely been a busy time for us. Let's see if I can re-cap for you. It can be really split down into two sections: the garden and the house. The house first I think.
We went to a Home Building and Renovation Show to try and get both ideas and guidance. There were various seminars going on telling you how to make your house Eco friendly or how to self manage a project etc. Sitting in on these proved to be an eye-opener but has not discouraged us. We were slightly swayed by their estimated figures but we are thinking that if we can do much of the work ourselves then we should be able to keep costs down. The only trouble with doing it yourself is you need to have the time to do it!

In terms of the existing house we are currently in the process of (as in we stand at the door, saying "We need to do something about these rooms") converting the two smaller bedrooms into a bedroom (I know, not much of a conversion) and a bathroom. This means re-laying the floorboards that came up after the new Immersion Heater was put in, taking down the current dividing wall and putting up a better one, then getting the bathroom fitted, the walls plastered, the hole in the wall filled (which is nice and airy but not so great when it rains!) and carpets/flooring fitted.

We also need to paint the hall, this is a big job as it contains the stairs and, as our upstairs essentially goes into the attic (very tall ceilings upstairs and down stairs) the stairwell also is exceptionally high! We are probably just going to paint it something light and airy, it is quite a dark stair when it wants to be. I would love the floor to have some red tiles, proper farmhouse style, at the bottom as it leads directly to the front door, but I think that may be in the 'later job' pile! The carpet in there needs cleaning too, not to mention the fact that the plaster is STILL on the banisters, even after 2 washes... ah the joys!!!

After all the excitement in the house it is nice to just get out in the garden. We finally got the potato patch dug and the potatoes planted. I could show you a picture but a photo of a large stretch of bare earth is pretty boring, hence all the pretty flowers. The Brussel Sprouts went out and were joined by some carrots, mainly because there was enough room at the end of the bed and I hate seeing empty space!!

I finally got up the courage and cut back the raspberry canes. They seem to be happy enough in their plot that I didn't think the shock would be too much and we had some wonderful weather so no sneaky frosts. I hope they do ok! Don't die little canes!!!

In the pot in the photo above are three Lavender plants, just little 'uns at the moment but I am hoping to get them nice and strong for next year as they are all different varieties of culinary Lavender and after my Lavender scones and Lavender & Blueberry jam I had a few weekends ago, I am going to be making some of that!!

After all that excitement it is just best to kick back!