Down on the Farm..

So, another busy weekend, many things being done in the house but there is plenty time in the week for all that hustle and bustle. Lest just spend some quiet time down in the garden. I finally got around to planting out the strawberries which had become somewhat feral in their 'Moving Day Pot', so they don't half look straggly!

Although it is several weeks past when I should have been putting them out, they seem a lot happier with some room to move and they have produced a nice lot of little runners which have joined them in the plot. Now it is down to some serious growing guys....

And what is this that has joined them? Oh yes, it is garlic. Now normally I wouldn't put garlic and Strawberries together but there is only one prepared bed and this is where they will have to go.

The Garlic that I planted in the container is already raring to go and has plenty of healthy looking green shoots so I am hoping that this lot can catch up. Probably about 30 plants in total planted, many another 10 in the container, so a very garlicky year 2010!

I went for a nice soft stemmed, I hope, garlic cos I want to try my hand at a bit of plaiting next year, watch this space for the, no doubt, comic attempts later in the year!!

Farm Dad - What's he been up to?

My dad has been a godsend and if it weren't for him, truly we could not have managed what we have so major hugs and love to him for that!

But apart from being around to let in (and keep an eye on ) the tradesmen, accept deliveries, supply tools for us and general be great, what has he been up to? Well, we already know about his handling of the placement of the kitchen - see The Kitchen is Complete & The Kitchen Progresses, but dad is quite the Joiner, and loves getting stuck in, and has made some great changes to the house!

Well, his first port of call was the living room, it had dodgy floorboards in places and the fitted cupboard under the window was full of wet rot and wood worm: So Dad, got stuck in, out came the floorboards and any offending wood around the window (which in the end was all of it!)
...and down went the new boards. The floor below is concrete so no worries about joists!:

Next the fitted cupboard got a great revamp, old wood out, new wood in. The old shelf and top were saved as we spotted that they were made of great wood, even if they were covered in many, many years of varnish! But after some TLC they came up great:

Then it was a case of varnishing it up and finishing the surrounds for the cupboard.


Just the sides and doors to add now! However, Farm Dad does the props for the local amateur dramatics society and they are currently preparing for their Panto, so he had to head home to put his creativity to use on a more dramatic level! So there will be more from Farm Dad later...

When The Cat Went Up the Chimney...

Our cat Monty featured in such posts as: Cartoon Cat & Upside Down Cat is a scaredy cat in the perfect sense. He is particularly bright but his first reaction with anything, and I do mean ANYTHING, is to run away. He runs away and then immediately turns back and goes to investigate the new thing, this includes his mum (me), his brother, cat food tins, strange paper bags and whenever Farm Guy stands up. This has got him in many scrapes, including being stuck up a tree, locked in the shed and in the attic and under the bed. In his latest exploit the scary-thing was one of the tradesmen, come round to collect his pay.

Farm guy answered the door and dealt with the monetary issue (I spend, he pays!! :O) ). He then came up the stairs to where I was laboriously painting the bedroom wall.

'Think Monty's up the chimney' says Farm Guy 'He's completely disappeared.'

We both troop down, while I think, I have no idea how to get a cat out of a chimney! Luckily we arrive in the living room to see what is now a completely black cat emerging from the chimney asking what the fuss was about. Phew!

Monty was given 24 hours to clean himself up (which he didn't, Monty isn't into personal hygiene) so I just had to wipe his face and neck cos I couldn't bear to see him looking such a state: although admittedly he didn't look much better after his wipe down!

At least he's black and grey now rather than black and black!

The Kitchen is Complete..

So, with the exception of the decorating the kitchen is finished and in use! And it is great, apart from the fact that it is FREEZING!!! There is central heating in the house but for some reason unknown to the layman, not in the kitchen so it is pretty chilly in the morning and evenings. Unfortunately we can't even leave a door open into the living room for second hand heat as it just steals it all and makes the living room cold too! The washing machine is great but the tumble dryer out-appliance's it! We have been used to a washer dryer that if you showed it a pair of jeans would just sit there getting hot! So a dryer that can do a whole load is just amazing!! So, a little kitchen re-cap...

It all began with this:

Quite quickly became this:

A brief layover with this:

And finally, we can reveal the new improved kitchen with units, please excuse the walls (no idea when we'll get them done!)

Ta Da Da Da Da Da DAAAAAAAAA.....

These cabinets are all Farm Guy and Farm Dad's handy work (with brief help from me and Farm Aunt and Uncle!) You can see more of the kitchen exploits on the How the Kitchen Progresses post - where you can also see the lovely yellow colour it will all become, when I get round to painting the other half of the room!