when in doubt just keep going

13.9.2011

BUILDING NEWS

Dion is back welding on the front roof beams. It turns out that Edd and he had a misunderstanding over the beam lifting and that Edd had agreed to do this. Edd is now a lot better after the mystery illness but I have also felt pretty crook for the last two days. Anyway the roof is going up and Edd was able to borrow the weapon of mass destruction again and raise up the heavy beams. One thing is certain. With those beams attached the roof will not blow away.

Steve has put up most of the ceiling wood in the kitchen on his own and is now working on the main bedroom whilst Edd is occupied on the roof. I was not able to get back to the grouting, so my sand mixture has gone off and I will have to start again and brew up a new batch. We got a bit depressed over the weekend when we felt so sick but the sun today makes it all feel possible again.

The truck came this morning with the big sheets of foam needed for insulation behind the house. It goes a metre and a half away from the back wall so the men plan to back fill and then re-dig a trench to slot it in. Luckily, the big poly house is almost empty so we can store the foam in beside Skiddy where it is protected from the weather.

I saw a mosaic floor from the first century on time team last night and it was the same colours as our pavers but much more intricate. Our house looks more like something from the past as it progresses but it is a nice look.

OTHER NEWS

I planted onions today. I am not sure if it was an onion planting day but I thought the seedlings would die if I ignored them any longer. We have eaten almost all the stuff we planted in that first raised bed and only have a few cauliflowers left of the winter planting. I desperately need to make the other beds but I need help and every available man is full occupied on the house. I so miss Tony. When we ran the host farm I employed Tony on Monday mornings and it was fantastic. All these jobs just got done.

There were two new lambs born yesterday but luckily they were single births and their mothers are coping well. It is getting to the stage where we need to sell some of the baby goats. They are all bottle trained and doing well but we need the milk they drink for ourselves. We will need to sell some of the older goats too but after this horrid wet winter they are not looking at their best yet and will look a lot better when they shed their hair.

I have ordered a skip for Thursday when the Eaton group return for another working B. We will have a go at moving the rubbish to the east of the old house. It is busy disappearing into the undergrowth and cannot be ignored any longer. There is no pottery this week because Maureen has a display for open studio weekends. I am wondering if she fired my pots and how they turned out. I have heard nothing, perhaps it all went wrong!