Conservatory Update - Pictures

As daylight slowly trickled in on Friday morning this is how the new conservatory roof looked.  Two sides had been covered in membrane and battened down.

It's appearing more balanced now, and although low and wide I'm getting used to the new look of this side of the house.  Because of the spare bedroom window we have had to have the roof at this angle.  Our house isn't as tall as it sometimes appears in pictures, inside we have quite low ceilings as would have been the norm for a farm workers cottage in the 1900's when it was built.

The slates we have chosen for this roof are a deep grey, which matches the  kitchen/bathroom extension at the back of the house and the slates on the small open porch at the front, but are slightly different from the slates on the roof of the house itself.  We thought that as you see the lower slates more than the roof from ground level this made much more sense.

By the end of Friday the battening had been done on all three sides and the first few slates were in place.

This is how it looks underneath the roof.  

I was trying to explain to Mum but sometimes it's easier to see it for yourself.

The roof is totally supported by the steel columns, which next week, hopefully, will be clad in dark grey brick.  The conservatory sits comfortably below it's new solid roof, with an overhang large enough to cover the steps that will lead to the doors, the sink we are fitting round the back for washing muddy little dogs in and a bench at the side of the conservatory in the picture above, so after a hard days work we can sit with a coffee, or wine and gaze at the wonderful view you see everyday on the top of the Blog.

Another week ahead of mess and mayhem, but now at last we are starting to see it all coming together.  In a minute I have to go downstairs and help Lovely Hubby mark our where the new lights will be hung inside the finished room ready for the electrician to start putting in the wires for them.  We have decided on two lights hung lowish over the dining table and two wall lights on the solid wall on the left-hand side.

As well as all this going on we have the boiler man back tomorrow to re-attach the oil fired boiler .... yay hot water at last :-)

Sue xx

Meat for Christmas, Money for Christmas

Did you shop yesterday, I didn't!!

The thought of shopping was so far from my mind yesterday, and watching the pictures on the news at teatime last night, it was enough to make me decide that I will NEVER shop on Black Friday.  I understand that some people need a bargain so much that trying to get that television for £250 instead of £400 must seem like a 'must do' type thing, but it's not for me.  The scuffles, fights, injuries and arguments are just not worth it in my opinion.  Anyway it seems like there was no rush for the majority of bargains, a lot of the shops in Llandudno, which we ventured into to get the car checked over for Winter today, were having 'Black Friday Weekends' ..... which made us laugh!!

I did my bargain shopping earlier in the week.  Thanks to Lovely Hubby filling the truck with fuel at Sainsburys last weekend he had a voucher for £3 off a £30 shop and one for double points.  So I decided to shop there this week, and for once struck lucky.  The reduced price section had just bee restocked and I was the only person there.

What I bought -

4 packs of Mackerel Fillets

2 Packs of Steak and Tomato Burgers

2 Packs of Salmon en Croute

1 Smoked Ham Joint

2 Welsh Frying Steaks

2 Pork Loins

1 Beef Roasting Joint

and

1 Pack of  Organic Pork Sausages

That little lot came to £34.45 and with a few other things that we needed I paid up and was given another voucher at the till for next time,  this time it was £10 off a £70 shop .  My first thought was that I wouldn't use it but I put it into my purse and headed for home.  On the way home I realised that I still had over £30 available in Nectar points so I've made my mind up to shop there again before the date is up on the voucher, get everything we need for Christmas and use the voucher and my Nectar points to pay for it.

All the meat, except the steaks which Lovely Hubby had for his tea last night, has been stashed into the freezer and will be used over the Christmas period.  In fact between that and the chicken and salmon fillets we already had in the freezer I don't think I will have to buy any more meat products until well into the New Year.... unless of course I see a real bargain.

We also have our Sealed Pot to open this weekend, which we decided this year to use for Christmas, so that's us sorted money-wise for the festive season ..... I wonder how much is in it?  I might just take it to the change sorting machine in Sainsburys when I go and tip it in, it's all in small change this year so I'm not expecting anything like the £371.27 that inspired my '365 Days - £365' Challenge of this year.

I'll be back tomorrow we some more conservatory roof pictures, we have some tiles on the roof now, not many ... but some, we're getting there at last  :-)

Sue xx

Keeping Warm

The house is cold, very cold, we couldn't have been without central heating and hot water at a worse time of year really, but we just have to grit our teeth and make do and manage until the jobs are all done.  So I thought for posterity I would do a post about how I am managing. 

The other day the sun came out and stayed out for a few hours, so I quickly got a couple of loads of washing done.  The biggest items, the towels and jeans were draped over the Aga for a while, taking it in turns to be on the rail and on the top lids.  As soon as the worst of the dampness was off them they were relegated to the airer which was set up in the spare bedroom near the window, to catch as many rays as possible.

Things like my jumper which come out just damp were put on hangers and hung from any available handle and knob to bask in the sunshine.

Lovely Hubby's T shirts from the previous day's wash were hung from the curtain rail to catch more heat, and a new knicks and socks that just felt chilled after being on the airer yesterday were laid in sun patches on the bed to warm up.  You can see in this picture a couple of pairs of socks on the radiator airers, these are damp and straight from the washer but as long as I drape them over two rails they dry in about a day and half without making the room feel too damp.  We have these little airers on all the upstairs radiators, and they work a treat when we have the heating on.

It's a real art at the moment getting the washing done and dried.  It's much too damp to hang anything outside, things go out and then come back in a few hours later with no perceptible difference, and with all the sawdust and mess of the building work at the moment I think they would actually come back in dirtier than before they were washed!!

As dusk fell after the day of lovely sunshine, and indeed on all other other days I quickly went into 'heat conservation mode'.  The blinds are all pulled down ....

... and then the curtains are pulled across, in every room of the house.  Doors to all rooms not in use are closed, and then and only then, is the wood burner lit.  I quickly get the living room nice and toasty during the evening, and then towards bedtime the hall door is half opened to allow some of the heat to escape into the bedroom upstairs,  the bathroom door is also half opened to make the bathroom (which is downstairs) tolerable for a shower.  Luckily the shower is run independently of the heating so we still have hot water for this ....phew!!

Hot water for washing pots etc is achieved by boiling the electric kettle, but to help with economies we also have the two Aga kettles sat on the Aga all the time.  Just leaving them their filled to capacity gives us two kettle fulls of water heated for 'free', without allowing any of the Aga's heat to escape by opening the lids.

One kettle full of water fills the two hot water bottles and these are popped into the bed an hour before we are going up, the difference these make is amazing.  No more hopping into bed with sharp intakes of breath :-)

I do a lot of these things all the time, but it seems even more vital at the moment.  Keeping up to date with washing and keeping warm are my main priorities for the next week or so.  The thing I'm most looking forward to having back is hot water, to be able to turn on a tap and have gushing hot water after a couple of seconds and to actually have a bath will be brilliant.

Things are coming on great with the building work and I think almost all the first layer of supporting beams are in place.

The overhang is changing my mind about the appearance of the conservatory, it will deflect bad weather from the building all year round and will also offer us a degree or two of shade in the Summer.

There is one Velux window going in on the side of the conservatory that has no windows to bring in some extra light, and the hole for it is now in place.  I'm a bit concerned that it is smaller than I imagined it was going to be, but as it's been manufactured to order it's too late to have a whinge and a moan about it ..... so for once I'm keeping quiet.

Unusual for me!!

Now I'm off to empty the washer and begin all over again ... but without the sunshine.

Charley is doing well by the way, she's back to the vets this afternoon for her post-op check and another anti-biotic shot, but she's coping well.  And although she overdid it a little bit yesterday, she will be resting with me on the sofa when she gets back from the vets.  I'll be lighting the wood burner a bit earlier and getting us all nice and warm in front of the television with a Christmas movie or two.

Sue xx

Charley and the Roof

She went from being a sorry little character, warming in front of the fire ...

... to snoozing on the sofa for the evening.

I threw some extra big logs on the wood burner and let them stay in the living room for the night, as she had snuggled in the bed that is currently tucked behind the sofa with big sister Suky at bedtime.  Judging by how stiff Suky was when she got out of bed this morning I don't think they moved at all during the night.  

This morning she is bright eyed and perky ... and has discovered that if you stick your bum in the air and relax your painkilling tablets soon kick in.

She's doing really well now, in a few minutes we are hitting the road and heading for Mum's to spend a day drinking coffee and chatting in a non-building site for a change.  The dogs will be fine in their beds on the back seat of the car for the journey, cosy and warm and much better for them both than the stress and chilliness of all this building work.

It's starting to take shape now and one side has all the beams in place, today they are working on the other side.  I'll leave them to it.

Sue xx

The Shape of Things To Come

By first light this morning as I walked back towards the house from Chicken World it was possible to see the shape of things to come.  The conservatory roof dark to match the house, an overhang to keep the rain away from the windows and steps .... 

... I could almost imagine it finished.

Then the sun came up properly and it was back to being a building site, with materials lying ready to be used and debris dotted all around, and the tarpaulin that's covering the gaping hole where the poly carbonate roof used to be, moving gently in the early morning breeze.

But it was nice to briefly be able to imagine the finished result.

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Charley went to the vets today, it's time for her to be spayed, I took her in first thing this morning, half an hour after taking the final picture above.  It's good to take them in early, that way they can't grumble too much about not having anything to eat for twelve hours, although she did manage a small breakfast of rabbit droppings as we went round the paddock early on.  She shook from head to tail when we were sat in the waiting room all on our own,  poor little thing I felt like such a bad doggy mummy.  

So I took Suky for a walk in Rhos on Sea to walk away the guilt and wander on the sand.  I cannot imagine what must be going through her little doggy head.  First Rosy and Mavis are left at the kennels, then we come away from the vets without Charley, does she think that she is next .... whatever is going through her little mind she's been sticking like glue to me all day.

You can't beat a walk by the sea early in the morning to banish everything that's wrong in the world for an hour or so.

Now I am waiting for that phone call that says "everything went well, she's fine .... come and pick up your dog, she's ready to go home".  It really does seem like the  l o n g e s t  wait.

Sue xx

Roof Off, Wood On, Bottle On

The roof is off the conservatory now and we are open to the elements.  Thank goodness our builder is local, he lives just across the road, and knows vagaries of our valley weather so well.  Every time he says it's going to rain .... it does!!

We were a bit dismayed when he didn't come to take the roof off on Friday of last week, we were expecting him .....  and then a couple of hours into the morning the heavens opened,  and they didn't stop for the rest of the day.  Today the guys have all sprung into action, the final supporting steel is in place and the wood is being attached.  There will be enough wood in place to hold a covering on for the night and then tomorrow the rest of the wooden beams will be installed.

Seemingly we should be 'felted and battened' by Thursday.

But it's making things very cold here in the house.  With no heating and no hot water the only way to get warm is either to stand next to the Aga or huddle up to the wood burner, but I'm trying not to light it too early as all the heat will just escape out of the open house doors and through the cracks in the wood that is protecting the kitchen from the roofless conservatory.  It's laid and ready and later when work for the day is finished I will light it up, close the living room door and keep warm for the evening.

Warming, stodgy foods are called for and once again I reached for the ready made pastry, at just £1 a pack on special offer it was worth buying to stash in the fridge for quick meals.  I think anything tastes good when wrapped in pastry!

These were Spinach, Feta and Carrot, I didn't season them well enough but they served the purpose and a pasty each made for a good warming and filling meal.

I've also decided that hot water bottles are not just for bed time, as I sit here typing in the freezing cold office I have one on my knee, warming me through and giving me something to warm my hands on while I check for spelling mistakes ..... and yes, I've found that cold fingers make more spelling mistakes than warm ones...... or maybe it's my brain that's frozen ;-)

They were the best £1.99 each money I've spent for a long time.

Sue xx

Getting On With Life (Hissy Fit Solutions) ..... and Basil Pesto

Sometimes having a hissy fit is just what you need, every now and then it certainly is for me.  The fact that you lovely lot were there for me with practical encouragement and words of wisdom helped greatly .... THANK YOU,  and today I am just getting on with things which I find is the best hissy fit solution of all.

My other hissy fit solutions are -

Treat Yourself

 Make Something

 Sort Something Out

Take Action

and  Do Something you've been putting off for ages.

So last night it was a tasty tea, and almost a full bottle of wine over the course of the evening ... hic!!

Today it was making the Basil Pesto

I sorted through some more books and things to take to the charity shop next time I'm in town.

I took action and sorted out the dogs for next week to make life a little easier for me and them.  The Jack Russells will be going to the kennels from Monday until Friday so they don't get totally stressed with the conservatory roof being off.  Suky the Pug is laid back enough for it not to bother her and Charley is going to the vets on Tuesday to be spayed so she need s to be at home, but will hopefully be a little subdued after her operation.

And I finally got round to tackling the ironing ... which means I have clothes in the wardrobe I can wear again!!

Hopefully that's things sorted for a while and me back on the straight and narrow, I firmly believe in doing something when necessary and not wallowing for too long!!

*** *** *** *** *** 

Making Something - Basil Pesto

Big Basil the basil plant from the kitchen windowsill was finally past his best, he's been cut right down to soil level on numerous occasions and sprouted right on back, but now he was ready to be used for the final time and give me back some much needed daylight through the window.

All his leaves were pulled off, his stems were thrown to the chickens and the spent compost from the pot was tipped into the compost bin behind Chicken World, ready to be transformed by the magic of warmth and worms back into usable compost once more.

I whizzed up the leaves with an equal amount in weight of nuts, in my case Cashew nuts, I didn't have any Pine nuts which are used in traditional Basil Pesto, I was also lacking o

in the Garlic department, but a good squeeze from my tube of garlic paste did the trick.  I trickled in Olive Oil until it was the right consistency and added some Sea Salt and freshly ground Back Pepper, then I tasted it and wondered why it didn't taste right at all ......

..... DUH!!  

I had forgotten to add an equal weight of Parmesan Style Cheese.

So I did.

Et Voila!!

Cubes of Basil Pesto to pop into the freezer.  Once these were fully frozen they were tipped from the ice cube trays into a lidded plastic box.  Now they are ready for action, I use them to make a simple pasta sauce literally just stirred into hot cooked pasta and then sprinkled with more Parmesan.  Dotted on pizzas or into quiches and pies they add a wonderful fresh taste,  and I add them to anything I want to give a garlicky, herby hit to.

The thing to remember when making it is to simply have pretty equal measures of Basil (or other green leaves), Nuts and Parmesan (or similar) cheese, then add oil to get to your desired consistency and salt and pepper to taste.

Sue xx