tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71193761229567032712024-03-12T04:28:01.750+00:00Happening upon HappinessDeciding to leave a well paid job is a big step. Would we manage with less income? Would I feel lonely and worthless being at home again? Far from it! I have stumbled across a deep sense of satisfaction. The freedom to be creative and fill my home with hand crafted treasures, having the time to plan and cook healthy meals for my family and the time to 'Just Be'. Living a simple life is truly something to aspire to for everyone.Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.comBlogger309125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-40005390803870298842017-08-21T14:11:00.003+01:002017-08-21T14:11:47.166+01:00VisitorsI'm generally a fairly sociable being and I like cooking and entertaining. Mr D also loves having guests. Good job too. Between moving in last August and the end of the following March, we had 33 sets of visitors. That's approximately 1 set per week!<br />
It will be great when we can move our bedroom across to the extension, thereby creating a guest room.<br />
It's the summer holidays presently, so we have had several sets of visitors already with more to come this week. I'll be a bit busy so will blog again soon :)<br />
Meanwhile let me leave you with some photos of my second eldest daughter's room. We decorated it ages ago, but it was at that point that I couldn't seem to upload photos, so here you go....<br />
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The wardrobe was free from my sister in law. I swapp d it for some chicken run panels</div>
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These are how it looks now. It's west facing so only really gets sun in the late afternoon/evenings. Fortunately, my daughter wanted white walls...</div>
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And this is how it started. The walls were deep purple and deep pink! I honestly didn't think I would ever get it covered!!<br />
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And this is how the previous owners had it when we came to view the house. Quite a difference from before to after! </div>
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Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-30409966877263244302017-08-15T08:02:00.002+01:002017-08-15T08:02:31.801+01:00The Polytunnel - part 2Welcome to my two new followers. Sadly I am absolutely rubbish at the technical aspects of this blog and can't work out how to see who you are to welcome you personally, but you are very welcome regardless 😁<br />
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This is the view of the tunnel right now. It's coming along quite nicely. We have been amazed at the speed with which everything grows in there and sometimes it seems quite hard to keep up with it all.</div>
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We have six raised beds, 4 single height and 2 double height on the left. The right side is south facing so we put the taller beds on the left so as not to block too much light. We had 4 scaffolding planks left over from the beds, so I made four hanging shelves and hung them from the crop bars. On those, I have peppers, chillies and aubergines. The fourth shelf is in amongst the Jerusalem artichokes on the left so only has a pot of lemongrass on it.</div>
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A very early photo to show the growth</div>
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I have planted oca, artichokes, first early potatoes (all eaten now), pumpkins (too many!), yellow and green courgettes (also too many), summer squash, melon, beetroot, chives, oregano, Rosemary (in a pot), lettuce, salad leaves, rocket, mizuna, parsnips, spring onions, red onions (pulled now and drying on the staging), yellow onions (also pulled and drying), garlic, leeks (went to seed but the flowers looked great), yellow French beans, green French beans (both dwarf), sweetcorn, peas, sugars nap, purple mangetout, three varieties of tomatoes, basil, turnips, kale, cabbage, sprouting broccoli and Brussels, Chinese cabbage, pak choi, chard</div>
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A view in the brassica bed which I netted whilst they were younger. I obviously have some caterpillars but I'm picking them off as fast as I can. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I planted cauliflower but they were rubbish and got thrown on the compost. I planted carrots, but they didn't do anything. I tried cucumbers twice - once was too early and by the time the tunnel was ready they were too leggy and etiolated and the second time the slugs ate them whilst I was on holiday. Fortunately my sisterinlaw has plenty and is happy to share. I had wanted to plant sweet potato but by the time I had a bed ready, they were out of stock - next year....</div>
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We thought we would try strawberries in guttering as I don't yet have an outside bed for fruit. My verdict? Completely pointless! You win some, you lose some. It's now a case of keeping the plants alive until I can plant the. Outside next year. </div>
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I also had a pot of nasturtiums to decorate my salads and a pot of sweet peas and grew marigolds. On my staging I have some ginger growing in a pot and seedlings of perpetual spinach and winter lettuce ready to plant up. I'm also growing some flowers even though I don't really have a garden much yet to plant them in! </div>
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Most things have been fairly successful, but it's obviously a huge learning curve and I guess each year will be different anyway. I'm constantly reading to see what I should be sowing now to keep a continuum of planting and trying to find different recipes to use any surplus. I did drown in courgettes, but gave a whole load to a local start-up restaurant which serves only vegan food. I believe she used them to make courgette schnitzel, a recipe I tried myself.</div>
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So that's a whistle stop tour of the inside. As and when I will add some specific photos, but I've got a house to paint today so need to get going! </div>
<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-28857298548475674312017-08-14T07:22:00.002+01:002017-08-14T07:30:32.634+01:00The polytunnel - part 1 One of the reasons for moving was to start the process of becoming more self sufficient...mostly in fruit and veg, with the addition of eggs. When we bought the house, it came with a three acre plot. The plot isn't flat and can get very wet in places. It had previously been used to graze sheep, although they had also had pigs and turkeys on there too.<br />
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There was a fenced off area at the bottom of the field which was one huge bed of nettles. Now I know all about keeping nettles for butterflies, but this was totally excessive. Our neighbour helped by strimming. I then sprayed with glyphosate and then we membraned the whole area and covered it with scalpings, except for the site where the polytunnel would go which was left just membrane.<br />
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The builders put up the hoops - we didn't trust ourselves to get them level!<br />
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We then set about building a series of six raised beds from old scaffolding planks within the skeleton of a frame. An order of 15 tonnes of topsoil was delivered and barrowed into the beds 😓<br />
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It took us weeks to build the beds and the frame. My brother had bought an identical tunnel, so every weekend we would build some more of his, then come to ours and build the same section. The instructions with the tunnel were good, but the concept stated on the front page, that "an extra pair of hands would be useful" was an extreme understatement!! They are a project that's for sure. If I ever did it again, I might cough up for the experts to build it for me!<br />
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Finally at the end of March we were ready to put on the super therm cover. Suddenly it felt huge! Mind you at 14 by 42ft, it is quite a size :)<br />
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We added scalpings to the pathways. I set up a working corner with my potting bench and some staging and added a couple of picnic chairs. I had already grown a lot of seedlings in the utility room so I could start planting straight away.<br />
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View from higher up the field. The area with pallet sides is a double compost bin. </div>
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We moved the greenhouse from the garden to be next to it and the builders set me up with mains water - a godsend with a tunnel, especially as it's water from a borehole so free. </div>
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Tomorrow's post will move inside the tunnel...... </div>
<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-9511139481232666982017-08-11T08:58:00.003+01:002017-08-11T08:58:40.995+01:00Jam makingOnce again, I have been busy making jams.<br />
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There is a very old blackcurrant bush in the garden which is smothered with bindweed and interspersed with nettles, but it bravely battled on and produced enough currants for me to make six jars of jam. Sadly it will be its last harvest as that entire bed will be dug up soon.<br />
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I have also made 10 jars of plum jam from the windfalls. I'm not sure which plum it is, but boy are they sweet! It didn't set the first time, so I had to faff around reboiling, but hopefully I'm there now.<br />
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When we started the ground works for the extension, a very large rhubarb plant had to be removed, but bless the builders, they chopped off all the stalks for me first, knowing I'd want to make something from them. I froze half and made rhubarb and ginger jam with the rest.<br />
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I really need to practice putting the labels on straight! </div>
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Today I have made marrow and ginger jam. Like everyone who grows courgettes, you always end up with the odd monster, so I thought I'd give it a go. I only made a small batch of 5 jars initially but after tasting, everyone judges it to be a success, so I might make another batch. I used a huge yellow courgette and because I didn't think it would set without, I added liquid pectin. It did take an age to boil to setting point, but we got there eventually!<br />
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I also made about 7 jars of cucumber relish. The slugs ate my cucumber plants but my sister-in-law had loads, so I said I'd try making a relish similar to the old Cubitt's relish for those who remember it. I haven't tasted it yet as I feel it will improve with time, but it looks good. It took my flipping ages finely chopping everything but I think the end result was worth the extra effort.<br />
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A photo from the reverse to show you the finely chopped vegetables, mustard seeds and dill </div>
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My next project will be a spicy summer squash chutney to be served with curry. Oh and the sloes will be ready soon for another batch of sloe gin. I might try a beetroot ketchup and I have lots of tomatoes to make tomato ketchup too. Blackberries will have to be foraged as well......still I have a large larder to store it all in now!Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-4787187838802389462017-08-10T07:16:00.000+01:002017-08-10T07:16:01.262+01:00Also new in the kitchenYou might remember the pink tiles behind the stove and the fact that I wanted to replace them with more appropriate white ones...<br />
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Tad dah!<br />
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So much nicer than this ......<br />
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I painted the base cupboard with "Mole's breath", the same as all the other base cupboards in the kitchen.</div>
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We also had a slightly useless alcove behind the rocking chair, so our builder built me a large deep cupboard, which now houses the contents of the dresser, two book shelves for all my cookery books and a cupboard above, in which we will keep little used items. I'm going to have a spotlight fitted in the base of the cupboard which will then light up the area with my rocking chair. I love the fact that<br />
I'm sitting in my mums's chair. The weigh scales behind belonged to my grandmother as did the platters above the stoves. These items help to ground me in my own past and make me smile every time I see them.Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-78023774975041744772017-08-09T07:46:00.001+01:002017-08-09T07:50:28.602+01:00Toilet to larderThank you for the 'welcome back' messages - you really are a great bunch :)<br />
Oh and apparently I missed off a horse - there are 6! Oops. We went for a celebratory drink with our neighbours last night at our local and they reminded me about the poor equine I had forgotten!<br />
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Chronologically, this is not the first thing to share, but I'm über excited about it, so here it is....<br />
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Welcome to my new walk-in larder..<br />
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Once upon a time, this was a hideously pink downstairs shower room where you could sit on the toilet and look out directly on to the dining room table. </div>
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This is the end of the room that will form the entrance to the extension, but it shows you the colour.... </div>
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Three quarters of that room is now a larder and the final section will eventually become the entrance to our new extension. We had to lose the dresser so we could create an extra door, but it looks great</div>
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now. Obviously the door is reclaimed so it all matches. </div>
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Looks as if it's always been there</div>
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I used black card and paper fasteners to label the baskets in the larder. It takes some of the fun out of watching Mr D searching through every basket to find where I have 'hidden' the food, but I am so very happy with the organised feel of it. Before, our food was split across multiple cupboards and I was finding it hard to write sensible shopping lists. Now I know exactly what I have and there is a place for everything. Happiness can be found in an organised larder... </div>
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I used some beads to cover the light pull which should help keep it clean.</div>
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<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-32170676185708385662017-08-08T07:22:00.000+01:002017-08-08T07:22:08.412+01:00One year anniversaryWe have lived in our lovely new house for exactly twelve months today.<br />
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I am sorry to have been absent for so many months. I'm not even sure I can say quite what happened - it was most likely a combination of the utter frustration of not being able to put photos on, being super busy and just losing the plot a bit in the winter months.<br />
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Anyhow, I apologise if I gave anyone cause for concern. We are all fine, especially Jet who is still like a pig in clover! He cannot believe his luck, adopted from a second floor flat with working 'parents' to free range living with multiple furry, human and feathered friends to romp around with. As our house is the original farmhouse, it sits in the middle of a group of houses created mostly from the original farm buildings at the rear of our house. We therefore live in a cluster of five houses - four of which belong to members of the same family. Within this cluster are 32 bullocks, 5 horses, three sheep and a ram, 5 dogs (including Jet), about 8 cats and numerous ducks, chickens and cockerels - so Jet is never short of someone to play with. We too often have visits from his mates so it's all very friendly.<br />
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As you can imagine, a lot has happened in the last 8 months and I will try to update you on some of our progress in upcoming posts. In brief, the house has been completed re decorated, we now have a large polytunnel, the start of an orchard, the start of an outside veg plot, a new chicken enclosure and the house will be almost a third bigger than it was....not bad for a year's work!<br />
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We still have loads to do of course. The garden has had nothing done to it; we started an outside vegetable plot, but it's in a sorry state and needs lots of work before it can be truly productive; the building work is still ongoing and will be for some time to come yet and we have no shed so our tools are crammed in every nook and crevice. We have lost three chickens along the way, but recently gained an adorable Peking cockerel named Odin. He will eventually be big enough to keep order, but not big enough to 'do the business', which suits us. We haven't done anything about animals as we cannot agree on what the best plan is. Best not to rush in I feel.<br />
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Waking up here one year on, is still an absolute joy and I don't imagine it fading anytime soon.Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-70009034519759000292016-11-27T16:02:00.001+00:002016-11-27T16:02:09.155+00:00Vegan thanksgiving We have a house full this weekend. All four children are home plus a friend and a boyfriend (of the children, not me!).<br />
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Enough shoes to sink a ship! </div>
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My second eldest daughter wanted to hold a vegan and gluten free thanksgiving as a memory of her year in America. It took daughter number one, daughter number two and myself three hours to prepare it, but it was very yummy!<br />
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We had garlicky green beans, caramelised sweet potato, glazed tofu with roasted sprouts and brown rice, a lentil loaf with sweet maple glaze, sage and onion stuffing balls, cranberry sauce, maple roasted parsnips and a mushroom gravy. The dessert was pecan pie and vegan ice cream. All washed down with vegan wine. There was not a scrap of good left which is always a good sign :)<br />
Today we are having a roast dinner...excessive? Possibly, but we all enjoy our foody get togethers :)<br />
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We have been allowing the chickens to roam the garden. I was feeding them some scraps through the kitchen window and a 'helper' appeared! Obviously he thought the scraps should be for him. He's so good with the chickens :)<br />
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We went for a walk around the grounds of Chirk castle today. Is a very nice walk taking in views across North Wales and shropshire, the castle itself, parkland and woodland.<br />
This tree was around in Henry VIII's reign and is still growing!<br />
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Hope you've all had a good weekend x </div>
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<span id="goog_227922649"></span><span id="goog_227922650"></span><br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com23tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-61408588925171236412016-11-24T16:20:00.001+00:002016-11-24T16:20:19.210+00:00The bathroomWhilst we have felt it necessary to redecorate every room, as we couldn't cope with the colour schemes, we have been very fortunate in many respects with this house...<br />
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The bathroom suite is white and perfectly fine, so doesn't need replacing<br />
The carpet up the stairs and throughout the first floor rooms was quite new, plain cream and in good condition. I just hired a carpet cleaner one day and gave it the once over.<br />
The kitchen units were absolutely fine as were the utility room ones, so no need for expensive refits<br />
The windows are all double glazed. Some of the hinges have worn out and one of the sealed units has 'blown' but a much less pricey job to repair than replace all new<br />
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All of these things have meant that we have been able to completely change the feel of the house without spending a lot of money. Everything we have needed, except for the two rugs, has been sourced second hand or passed on by people who no longer needed the item. I reckon we could easily have spent £50,000 plus already if we'd had to do kitchens, carpets and bathrooms ...and just think of all the mess and chaos involved too!<br />
I do have to think though that if the previous owners had just toned down the colour scheme BEFORE putting it on the market, they could have got quite a bit more for the house...but of course, I'm also pleased they didn't!!<br />
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The bathroom upstairs is a decent size and has a bath and separate shower enclosure. There is a heated towel rail and underfloor heating, although we have yet to make that work! The tiles and enamelware are white too. There was a large bathroom cabinet fitted into the recess above the toilet. It had a mirror attached to it originally, but with its positioning behind the toilet, that wasn't working for me! I was imagining that removing the mirror would destroy the cabinet door, but all it left was two little screw holes. I've covered them with a little wooden heart, which I have painted to match the medicine storage unit brought from our previous house. So, no money spent yet....well except for the tin of paint.<br />
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The walls were a combo of turquoise and caramel. That had to go. Out came the white again - four coats this time!<br />
I scraped out and replaced the silicone around the window and sink; all of the woodwork was sanded and glossed and I whitened all of the grout with one of those sponge applicators (a very tedious job, but it does make it all look a lot fresher)<br />
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There had been a metal mirrored shelf unti with light above the sink, but I REALLY didn't like it. We had looked in a local bathroom shop for a new cupboard and found a lovely one...£200! Ikea had a cabinet of similar style and dimension for £60. We had an electrician to de commission the light and replace it with a shaver socket, which we put inside the new cabinet to keep things neat. It did mean cutting a whole in the back, but at £60, I didn't mind.<br />
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I added one of my lovely handles to each cabinet - bought in bulk as they were better value that way. </div>
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Inside the cabinet - it's slimline because its directly over the sink, but is perfect for storing all the toothbrush holders. I bought them very cheaply in a pound shop and my daughter labelled them with a permanent marker. </div>
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I don't know about you, but every toilet roll holder I have ever owned, has drooped! I decided to dispense with them altogether this time and bought this rather natty number. It even stores spare loo rolls neatly </div>
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Who'd have thought a post about repainting a bathroom could be so long?!!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-41977727658663817082016-11-22T13:24:00.000+00:002016-11-22T13:24:11.380+00:00The loungeFirstly perhaps I should answer some queries from yesterday's kitchen post. Thanks for all the encouraging comments by the way. I'm glad you're enjoying the makeovers.<br />
To prepare the units I sugarsoaped them well, filled any holes (like the extra hole from the handles I removed in the utility room) and lightly sanded any rough bits. I didn't remove the door fronts, but I painted the fronts first with the doors shut, let that dry, then opened the doors and painted the edges, then repeated the process for the second coat. I used a brush to apply the paint and both utility and kitchen needed two coats. In the utility room, I haven't had any issues with peeling or chipping, but in the kitchen the units were handmade and not on smooth runners, so the edges have 'caught' a bit as I open and shut them. As the eggshell is water based, I just touch up any chipped areas occasionally with an artists brush. It dries really quickly too so it's no great hassle - 5 mins effort here and there to keep it looking nice - but as I say, the more modern units in the utility have shaped up very nicely.<br />
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And now to today's post ..... The original stone cottage dates back to the mid 1800s. Then in 1906, four rooms were added to the front of the farm house - two generous lounges, that beautiful hallway and two large bedrooms. The front of the house is south facing and all those rooms are naturally light and warm.<br />
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Curious then, that the previous owners had decided to decorate one of these rooms in a dark claret colour - not just a feature wall, but all four walls <b><u>and</u></b> the section above the picture rail. Although I had nothing against the colour itself, it was way too much and we found the room cold and oppressive. </div>
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Having done so much decorating, we had actually decided to leave it until after the half term holiday when we had multiple sets of visitors coming. But .... Mr D went away for a couple of days the week before half term, so my sister-in-law and I rolled up our sleeves and set about a surprise transformation. On the first day, we painted two coats on the walls (we chose a sandy colour) and three coats of white above the picture rail. As we were finishing up, we had the exciting thought to hire a floor sander the following day.... As you do! So the following day, the floorboards were sanded. By the time Mr D came back, the lounge looked like a completely different room. He was amazed and very pleased, especially as we could show it off to our friends in half term. </div>
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The following day we had the log burner installed correctly - it had been put in with no flue and even had the stack on upside down! No wonder then that they couldn't provide us with a HETAS certificate.<br />
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The computer desk will eventually move into the office when we have the extension. The curtains were a free hand-me-down from my sister in law. </div>
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The rug is a treat. I had seen an identical one in Mr D's cousin's house and really liked it. It was an expensive treat but we've done so well transforming the house for relatively low expense. </div>
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Unfortunately there is a hole in one of the floorboards near the skirting presently covered with parcel tape. I forgot about it when I was doing the final coat on the walls, placing the ladder with one leg over the hole. Of course I climbed up about three rungs with a tray full of paint before the leg broke through the parcel tape falling down the hole, tipping me off backwards. BUM!! Nothing broken - just badly bruised and the paint was soon mopped up. A close shave though as my head narrowly missed the corner of the hearth :( </div>
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The floor has been varnished and the one new addition is a stripey rug. (We sold the other rug for £45 as it didn't quite match the new scheme)</div>
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I have to say we all enjoy relaxing in this room now especially with a roaring fire on the go. In fact I'm in there now typing this :) </div>
Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-92126951965506379062016-11-21T13:07:00.000+00:002016-11-21T13:07:35.343+00:00Modernising my farmhouse kitchenThe kitchen/dining room in this house was a huge selling factor. In fact it's huge - 26ft long no less. It had been extended into the original pantry by the previous owners. The kitchen is solid wood, hand built to fit the space and incorporating much of the slate from the original pantry. It even has many of the meat hooks in the beams (not popular with my vegan daughters!). There is an old, but fully functional Stanley range cooker which heats the house and water and a separate electric oven and induction hob; the sink is a double Belfast sink. All sounds fab doesn't it?<br />
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Before photos....<br />
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The dresser is ours from the previous house </div>
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Well, it is actually, BUT me being me, I wanted to tart it up a bit. The walls and ceiling definitely needed a freshen up; the wooden units were two-tone and neither tone matched the oak worktops, the skirting boards were stained dark brown, the large central beam had been stained mahogany.....<br />
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So Mr D was tasked with dealing with the ceiling, beam included, whilst I painted the walls and then the units. The base units and central island were painted a soft grey ("Mole's Breath" by Farrow and ball) and the wall units were painted a lighter grey. It's given it a whole new look and I feel it's brought it into the 21st century. I still plan on replacing the pink tiles behind the cookers with white ones.<br />
It took longest to decide on which lights to choose! Why is it so hard to find light fittings that aren't way too fussy, or ridiculously expensive?! Eventually we chose clear glass shades with a vintage look.<br />
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Jet has his home made bed in here so he has somewhere cosy to lie when I'm cooking </div>
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I like this photo in particular as it shows how much lighter the room seems now. </div>
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One unexpected expense was needing to replace the electric oven, but it was a good move as even if we had had the other one repaired, I suspect something else would have gone wrong with it - it had been well used! We obviously paid an electrician to fit the oven, but Mr D and I put in the new ceiling lights. We put some fairy lights on the beam - I know it's not necessarily in keeping but I love fairy lights in the kitchen and they're not too obtrusive.<br />
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<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-83370979655829442552016-11-20T09:57:00.002+00:002016-11-20T09:57:47.218+00:00The front doorJust a really short post today, but plenty more room makeover posts to come yet!!<br />
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You may remember that even the front door was pink...<br />
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Well no longer ...it's now 'Lichen' another Farrow and Ball colour made up in an exterior eggshell finish. Our local independent decorators merchants are brilliant. They are great for advice and tips, but also very helpful in making up all sorts of paints in my favourite Farrow and Ball colours. It's saved us a lot of money and the base paints they use have been of very good quality too. They'd need to be for that amount of coverage! We have also used lots of white which is cheaper of course - I think we are at 40litres used now and I'm on my third tub of white gloss too.<br />
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Much nicer to come home to, although now the winter months are setting in, we are training ourselves to use the back door more often as it leads straight into a boot room.<br />
Along with the extension, we are aiming to have an oak framed porch added to the front to provide shelter from the weather.<br />
<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-34095543551913935622016-11-19T13:20:00.002+00:002016-11-19T13:20:41.938+00:00Utility room makeover on a budgetThanks for all the positive feedback on the rooms so far.<br />
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We are lucky enough to have a utility room which is in fact as big as many peoples kitchens! I have bought a huge chest freezer to go in there and it also houses an under counter fridge and our washing machine. It's been really handy to have the space to leave tools and pots of paint where they aren't in the way.<br />
The units were perfectly ok, but I felt they were a bit 'modern' looking for the style of the house. The chrome metal bar handles in particularly were out of keeping. The walls were salmon pink.<br />
I began by removing the handles, filling one of the two holes left. I replaced the metal handles with wooden ones recycled from the various second hand furniture I had bought for the white bedroom (waste not, want not). I used a water based eggshell paint on the cupboard fronts including the handles in a cheerful blue. The walls, ceiling and woodwork all got the white treatment. The window was thoroughly cleaned and the silicone replaced. The worktops just stopped with no edging, so I did have to succumb and buy metal finishing plates.<br />
I'd still like to replace the taps - a) they leak slightly and b) they are quite uncomfortable to turn, but that is a job for later.<br />
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Before ish...I had already changed the handles</div>
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After - a much brighter space. I even painted the basket unit on the left we brought with us from our other house so it matched. I use it to house cat food and dog treats in the top basket, onions and potatoes in the bottom two. </div>
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All in all, the makeover cost about £30 for the paint used and another £15 for the two worktop ends to neaten everything off. I'm also planning on selling the chrome bar handles on eBay. </div>
<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-39321022941608601382016-11-17T18:33:00.002+00:002016-11-18T16:20:23.087+00:00Hall stairs and landing When we first moved in, we had talked about getting someone in to do the hall stairs and landing, partly because the ceilings are so high in parts and the woodwork was in such a state on every length of skirting and all 8 of the doorways. It was all a bit daunting, so we had decided to pay someone else.....well, I rarely pay someone else to do a job I can do myself, so when Mr D went off to work one day, I just got out the brushes and set to. There was one moment where I realised that I could seriously injure myself or indeed die if the ladder I was on slid sideways. You'll be pleased to hear that I got down until my son was around to stand guard! I might be a bit gung-ho but I'm not totally stupid!<br />
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By the time Mr D arrived home 2 days later, the pink wall had become a dark grey photo wall and the mint green walls (yes I know - an interesting and slightly unpleasant combo of minty-less-than-fresh-green and lurid pink) were an elegant pale grey. I hadn't managed to paint the high bits, but with him around, we finished them off in a jiffy. <br />
I gritted my teeth, sanded, under coated and glossed all of the woodwork. Goodness what a difference it all made. The ceilings are white again and it all seems so much brighter.<br />
One of the features I had initially loved about the house was the beautiful sweeping staircase. Sadly the previous owners had obviously got into the habit of draipsing their wet towels over the hand rails on the landing so they were looking decidedly lacklustre. I bought a tin of stain and three thin coats later it looked as good as new.<br />
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The front landing of the Edwardian part of the house with freshly stained stair rails. Luckily the carpet throughout the upstairs of the house is in good nick, so that's one expense less.</div>
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All that woodwork..... </div>
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The colour I used is "down pipe" from Farrow and Ball - dark but not too dark.</div>
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The landing at the rear of the house. The previous owners had had this section of the house reconfigured which is fortunate - it wouldn't have worked for us otherwise as originally you had to walk through one bedroom to get to the tiny bathroom, then through that to get to the toilet and then through the toilet to get to the fourth bedroom could have been a bit awkward of you were on the toilet and someone decided to have a long soak in the bath! The two bedrooms and good sized bathroom are all seperate entities with their own entrances now. </div>
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Every time Mr D goes away, I get itchy fingers and start a new job around the house! I don't think he minds much :)Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-56749372791155369682016-11-17T18:33:00.000+00:002016-11-17T18:33:00.915+00:00From pink dungeon to white haven<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Ha! I'm like a London bus - none for ages, then two in one go! </div>
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As you know, the colours in this house were intense to say the least! My second eldest daughter was in the States when we moved, so had not seen the new house at all. Although she was fine with the fact we had moved house whilst she was away, I think she would have had a fit if she had come home to this. It's a west facing room, so not massively light (not helped by a dozen Leylandii blocking both light and view) and these dark colours made it seem very miserable in there. </div>
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So, five coats of white later (yes FIVE!), it was transformed into this :-</div>
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I am particularly pleased with how little we spent furnishing the room. She needed a double bed, a wardrobe, a chest of drawers and a bed side table. We re-used some shelves that were in there, having painted them white of course. The bed cost us £20 from Gumtree, the chest of drawers and bedside table cost £60 for both from a local second hand furniture shop and the wardrobe was free because I swapped it for some chicken run panels with my sister in law! Having sold her single bed for £25, that takes the grand total to £55. Obviously I then bought paint and some handles for the wardrobe (I already had some for the chests), but considering the end result I'm very pleased! </div>
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<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com26tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-83023952502542135972016-11-17T18:30:00.001+00:002016-11-17T18:30:11.759+00:00I'm still here! I know, I've been missing for ages. Thanks to those of you who asked after me and checked in. I appreciate the fact that people were thinking about me.<br />
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Initially the whole issue with Google/picasa and the photos got me so irritated I thought I'd take a break and then I was just so busy decorating that everything else got put on the back burner!<br />
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Quick update on Jet - I know many of you were concerned. He is doing really well at the moment. We have taken his recovery slowly and he will be on medication for life, but he is managing long walks now and has been allowed his tennis ball occasionally so he is pretty happy with life! We are so very relieved even though we know that his life will no doubt be shortened, at least we can make his years fun ones.<br />
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We have now decorated pretty much every room in the house. I so want to get everything how I like it, so we can start living in the house as I want to. There are still some small chores left to finish in some of the rooms, but it's all now clean, calmly decorated and set up to feel like our home.<br />
I submitted plans for an extension which have been given initial approval. We now need to do formal plans and go through the full planning process, but are hoping to start as soon as we can in the New Year.<br />
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In other news, our son went over to the States for a month to join his sister for her final four weeks of travelling. They had an amazing time managing to squeeze in San Francisco, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Yosemite, Lake Tahoe and the Grand Canyon. They're back with us now and getting jobs so they can earn enough to travel again!<br />
Our youngest is doing extremely well at her new school and seems settled. She has had some of her previous friends to visit too which was nice for her.<br />
Our eldest is still slogging through the daunting amount of work needed to study medicine, but has found time for a few visits to our new home - she likes it very much here.<br />
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Anyway, this serves as a bit of an explanation as to why I've been silent. The next few posts will give you a taste of some of our decorating activities! I'll try to be a better blogger!Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-29530792671118324882016-09-16T13:43:00.001+01:002016-09-16T13:43:13.067+01:00Still no photos<br />
I have no idea what Google are up to with their photos. I can only assume they are tweaking, but in doing so certain features disappear, so I am left unable to upload again! It drives me totally barmy, but I will try to remain zen like about it because it really isn't worth stressing over. I may end up posting a couple of post with just photos.<br />
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I picked 7.5 kg of damsons on Wednesday. I made one batch of jam then and took jars round to the neighbours as one of the trees technically belongs to them, but they were more than happy for me to pick the fruit in exchange for jam. There are still plenty on the trees, so I can feel a batch of damson gin coming on next. </div>
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I ended up making 25 jars of jam, plus a part filled one which we will use. Getting the stones out is a bloody nightmare. I wait until I add the sugar and they mostly float to the surface, before painstakingly spooning them out. Does anyone have a better plan? I certainly didn't remove them all, but a good number of them ended up in the chicken run along with a good coating of the fruity syrup - the ladies were pleased. </div>
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We bought a wooden double bed for £20 from Gumtree on Thursday, which I then painted (white of course). It looks very nice in my daughter's bedroom and is perfectly comfortable. I'm going to do a swap with my sister in law - a wardrobe for the white bedroom in exchange for several chicken run panels that are now excess to our requirements. Perfect! </div>
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Our next purchase probably needs to be a new built in oven. I could get the part, but it has really seen better days and I'm wondering if it's a false economy. I also want to buy a big chest deep freeze to go in the utility room, so I can order both to be delivered. </div>
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I have submitted my sketches for the extension I'd like to build, to be considered by the local council in a pre-application process. It seems like a good idea to get an initial verdict on whether it may pass or not before paying for the services of an architect. There's nothing too contentious so hopefully it will be ok.<br />
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Jet had his stitches out this morning and the vet is very pleased with his progress. He has to go back in two weeks for ' a cuddle and a biscuit'. I think the vet likes him.<br />
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Back soon :) </div>
Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-81598655321266112492016-09-14T07:13:00.001+01:002016-09-14T07:13:35.335+01:00No longer in the pinkI think I must be boring everyone with my constant talk of painting and decorating! I have to say, I was right royaley hacked off half way through painting that back bedroom so I can imagine it's not hugely interesting to you either!<br />
My plan is to get the house as sorted as we can before the growing season starts, so I can be freed up to start on the plot. I haven't even thought about that really yet other than to keep walking around the three acres in a state of joy and disbelief that it is ours! The view from up there across the Shropshire Plains is stunning. It'll be a wonder if I ever get anything done :)<br />
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We had a very pretty sunrise this morning<br />
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Photo taken from my son's room, which is ironic seeing as he is never awake early enough to see a sunrise....unless he's coming back from a night out of course!<br />
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Today has seen more painting. The front door is no longer a ghastly shade of baby pink! I have chosen 'Lichen', a Farrow and Ball shade, which is a tad more subtle.<br />
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We are now only left with one pink wall in the hallway, an extremely pink downstairs shower room and pink tiles behind the Stanley stove (!!) - once they are all gone, we will have obliterated all traces of pink. I didn't used to mind pink particularly but I am a lot less fond of it now.<br />
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I also finished off painting a chest of drawers for the white bedroom. We just need to source a double bed and a wardrobe in there now. She had a triple wardobe, but it won't fit round the return on the stairs, so it's in our bedroom.<br />
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We've had the piano tuned today too. When we moved in, the removals van was too big to get up the drive, so Mr D and the four removals men had to carry the piano up the garden (it's not a small garden!). Now it's had a chance to settle, we felt it deserved to be properly tuned. It took four hours!<br />
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We will also get the chimneys swept in the next week, so we can start getting ready for the cooler weather. One is an open fireplace and the other has a wood burner in it. The wood burner looks like it needs some repair work before being safe to light. So far, I haven't found the house cold at all, which is good considering the large rooms and high ceilings. The weather today started out boiling and then rapidly turned to heavy rain, thunder and lightning. We see it all up here - you feel much closer to the weather and I presume we will to the seasons too, which is great.Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-13415435977357734422016-09-11T19:41:00.002+01:002016-09-12T08:21:11.818+01:00Busy dayWell actually it started with a lie in and a cup of tea in bed as Mr D set his alarm to go and let the chucks out, so I didn't need to. No one else around here seems to close them up at night, but I'm nervous that the first time I don't Mr Fox will come and murder them all. Little miss runty is out anyway because she has chosen to roost in the tree, but I feel I would sleep easier at night knowing they are safely tucked up.<br />
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Today, we have finished painting the back bedroom - it is now pristinely white and just waiting for furniture and finishing touches.<br />
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I have painted my sons chest of drawers from the previous house and added some funky handles. It looks so much better. I also re appropriated our old toy box as an ottoman to give him some extra storage.<br />
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The second hand bookcase is on the landing just outside his door, loaded up with some of his books. (I so hate the green of those hall walls, especially as it's teamed up with pink! - eventually it will be a very soft grey)<br />
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I have also painted a little bedside table for the newly painted white bedroom and found some pretty floral handles. It looks quite cute in the corner there.<br />
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Mr D decided that the ivy on the front of the house was coming down today. We had sliced through the trunk already to weaken its grip and it wasn't one of the 'super grip' ivy types either. We will need it gone when we build the oak framed proch/canopy. It has exposed the plaque on the front of the house which is a nod to the history of the house. Lord Harlech had the house built and owned all of this land until it was sold off by the final Lord Harlech in the 1960s due to crippling debt! Their family history is a very sorry tale with multiple accidental deaths, alcohol and drug issues and mental illness. The former estate of 200 years is up for sale for about £5 million.<br />
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After re-arranging all of the furniture, I hoovered that area of the house, but after that I was utterly pooped, so had a bath with my home made bath salts. I was then reinvigorated just enough to make a tomato and basil pasta dinner. Half a bottle of red later, I'm feeling relaxed and much less achey!!<br />
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Still to do? Too much to contemplate now!<br />
<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-87976732456416761082016-09-10T16:56:00.000+01:002016-09-10T16:56:17.701+01:00Nowhere nearer to normality yetThank you so much for all the kind comments about Jet. Thus far he is doing extremely well and has made lots of friends at the vets! He's such a trooper :)<br />
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There is so much to do here that normal things like washing, ironing, cleaning just aren't getting done. We have had lots of visitors so I have been making and stripping beds and washing bedding and towels more frequently than usual anyway. My bedding however hasn't been washed, so I have said to Mr D that we are stripping it today and I will put it on a timed wash so I can hang it out first thing. I just love to slip into a freshly made bed. I have done four loads of washing today already. I think living in the country means more dirty clothes!<br />
The ironing basket will have to wait though - don't feel like it! As will most of the cleaning - decorating makes more mess anyway.<br />
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We have a Stanley range cooker which also heats the water and the house, but also have a seperate electric oven and halogen hob. As the range wasn't on, we were using the electric one, but I made an apple and cinnamon crumble cake today with the windfalls, only to discover that the electric oven has packed up - I think the element has gone. I then had to give myself a quick lesson in using the Stanley. It's on and the cake is cooking, but I certainly wouldn't have chosen a cake as my first ever try at cooking in a range oven! I'll take a photo when it comes out....<br />
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It looks cooked... </div>
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Meanwhile, we have been working on obliterating the deep purple/Barbie pink combo in the other back bedroom. Three coats of white later and we have gone from this.....<br />
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It still needs one final coat, but it's already so much better. It is a west facing room and not particularly light, especially as we presently have a dozen or so pine trees out to that side which will be chopped down, but are cutting out both light and view at the moment.<br />
There were two wooden shelves in that bedroom, which had been 'pinked' around the edges, so I decided to paint those too. The shabby chic effect was an accident, but we all rather like it, so it can<br />
stay.<br />
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We have bought some second hand furniture pieces to paint up. So far we have acquired a double bed, a bookcase, a chest of drawers and a beside cabinet for £170. Mind you, I've fallen prey to the gorgeous drawer knob fetish, so that might make them slightly less good value!<br />
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<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-11925478427567008092016-09-07T17:51:00.001+01:002016-09-07T17:51:35.777+01:00Knocked for sixI wasn't able to blog over the last few days because we had had some news which had totally devastated us and I hadn't felt able to share it. We have since been given a possible retrieve, so the news is better now that it was.<br />
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As you knew, Jet had had to go back into hospital because his leg had become extremely painful again. He has stayed in because they put him on morphine. On Monday, they did an X-ray to see what was going on in the elbow joint and when the vet phoned, she shocked me to the core. She basically told us that the joint was in such a bad state that the two options open to us were amputation or euthanasia. We were utterly thrown and spent the whole day in tears. Our poor Jet, only 3 years old, the most adorable dog ever might either never come home again or have his life altered forever. This move was meant to be his dream 'retirement' too and he had been so very very happy here over the previous three weeks. It was all so unfair and totally unbelievable.<br />
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The vet had said she would forward the X-ray to their ortho expert for a second opinion. Fortunately, he felt it was worth a try removing the plate ( one of the screws had sheared off anyway), flushing the joint out with antibiotic solution and seeing how we went for two months. So that folks is where we are at now. We have collected him home today minus one ridiculously expensive titanium plate.He is moaning constantly but very happy to be home and we are obviously ecstatic to have him home. He has been granted a temporary, potentially, stay of execution and we will all keep our fingers crossed that he heals ok. The leg will always be weak and arthritic and he will be on medication all of his life, which may be shortened too, but fingers crossed he will pull though this to at least have that chance.<br />
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On other animal fronts, one of the chickens has a blocked crop so we are treating that too. The runt, who perches in the tree jumped onto Mr D's face the other evening and caused a nasty wound all down one side of his face. Only he could manage that!! The cats are much the same as ever and life progresses!<br />
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And I'm still trying to paint over all the pink...<br />
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Back soon!Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-19277413921410476122016-09-04T12:49:00.000+01:002016-09-04T12:49:13.675+01:00Peace resumes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A truly handsome fellow but too blinking noisy! </div>
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The cockerels have gone! Mr D had had enough, so emailed the lady who had left us the cockerels (admittedly without us requesting her to) and asked her to take them back. This was the email he received back...</div>
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Needless to say, it has caused many a childish titter at the double entendres! </div>
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We are now back to five of our ladies and five of their ladies and all is peaceful with the world in chicken land. They are all laying well and enjoying their male-free environment. I intend to improve their chicken run, but I need to get a tree surgeon to remove the ten or so pine trees that are in there first. We brought our own coop which our ladies are using and there are a few other enclosures in there already. I cleaned about 4 inches of chicken poo and sawdust out of them the other day. Not sure when they were last cleaned out thoroughly. I need to rebuild one of the structures as the nesting box is actually sliding off the side of it! At least they are well enclosed and have loads of space to scratch about in. One of their chickens hasn't yet developed a comb and seems to be the runt of the litter. At night time, she has taken to roosting in the pine trees rather than with the others. The first night she did it, we had no idea where she was. We had even sent Jet in to the run to flush her out with no success. I then had the thought to look up and sure enough, there she was, a little white blob in the branches above my head. Bless her! </div>
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Unfortunately, Jet seems to have developed his infection again. Yesterday afternoon he was obviously in significant pain and couldn't put any weight on his leg. We took him to the vets and they gave him morphine, antibiotics and kept him in. They will do an X-ray on Monday and we will go from there. The poor soul had just started to make some progress with his leg movement and strength. This is going to be a long haul. </div>
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I haven't done anything much outside yet in terms of jobs - some clearance and cutting back. Fortunately they had cut the lawn before they moved out which was very helpful as our little electric mower is definitely not going to be adequate! I'll borrow my brothers petrol mower for now and then we will look at buying ourselves a ride on. </div>
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We have had a constant steam of visitors over the last three weeks, which has been lovely as it has given us a good excuse to explore the local area, but I now need a period of time to get organised and finish off some of the jobs we have started. Next priority? My youngest needs to be ready for school on Wednesday and we need to book our son his flight to America next month. </div>
<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-49688938624181722162016-09-03T12:53:00.001+01:002016-09-03T12:53:03.533+01:00First room nearly finished<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Our son, who has just finished his A Levels, decided to stay in Surrey for August to be with his mates. He hasn't seen this house, so when he comes up tomorrow, it will be his first experience of our new home. We wanted to ensure he had a nice bedroom to come home to especially as this is what he had before.....</div>
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From this to this ....</div>
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To this....</div>
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Au Revoir to the Barbie pink walls and door</div>
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Bonjour to a more calming décor!</div>
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His previous room was definitely a single, so we have had to go out and buy him a double bed. One of the things I wanted to do here was not buy new furniture if I could source second hand and fortunately, after looking in multiple thrift shops, I found an excellent second hand pine bed frame. Two coats of white chalk paint and it's as good as new! We did dash out and buy him new bedding though :) </div>
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I'm planning on painting the rest of his furniture and updating the handles - the little football handles date back from when he was about 6! We haven't put all his stuff back in either. It's all in the store room so he can go through bit by bit deciding exactly what he wants to keep. I suspect, he's ready for a whole new feel in his room. </div>
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It's slow progress but at least we are making some progress! </div>
<br />Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-42390298967043780442016-08-26T07:56:00.002+01:002016-08-26T07:56:32.168+01:00Animal anticsYou may remember that the previous owners of this house asked if we would like some chickens, to which I said yes, imagining that we would end up with about 10/12 extra chickens. I wasn't sure what we would do with the eggs, but was happy to have some extra ladies to add to my brood.....<br />
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{OK, I've given up! You'll just have to imagine a photo of a jumped up white cockerel lording it over the roost! I cannot get my photos to upload again - GRRRRRR!}<br />
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I ain't no lady!<br />
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And indeed he isn't. He is the loudest beast in town waking me any time from 4.30 onwards. To top it all, he has a brand new band of brothers developing too as we seem to have at least three more cockerels.<br />
My poor ladies are horrified at this randy fellow chasing them all over the place.<br />
Fortunately we have found someone with a smallholding a few miles away who will take him off our hands and, after a Facebook post by Mr D, we may have a taker for the teenage pretender who is following rapidly in his footsteps! The other two cockerels are still young, so they can stay for the time being, but they may not last long.<br />
Even the ever gentle Mr D has been tempted into murderous thoughts in the early hours!<br />
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Talking of early hours, Mr D and I were woken at about 1am the other night by a loud noise outside. We had no idea what it was, but it sounded like an animal scrabbling about. Nothing could be seen outside and all seemed calm, so we went back to bed. About 10 minutes later more noise above our heads - my heart sank - "that sounds like a cat on the roof", I said to myself...sure enough, seconds later, loud meowing emanated from the roof above our window. Mr D and I ran out to see Freya perched precariously in the gutter, scared witless. We tried, unsuccessfully to entice her back over the roof with food but we realised she was stuck, so Mr D had to go back inside whilst I shine a torch upwards from the garden to illuminate the issue. He had to lean right out of our bedroom window, coax her along the gutter towards him and then reach out, grab her by the scruff and haul her back inside. What a hero!<br />
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Strangely enough, she hasn't been seen in the roof since! I think she was thrown by the steep angle and the slipperiness of the slate, rather than the tile she was used to at home. She even managed to dislodge a loose slate - miraculously it didn't break as it shot off the roof onto the front path. We'll have to get our builder to pop it back in.<br />
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So, as you can see it's all fun and frolics in the animal kingdom!Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7119376122956703271.post-72352611391105437352016-08-23T12:17:00.003+01:002016-08-23T12:17:29.455+01:00Funky coloursHello again. We have been mad busy decorating. We have done one bedroom at the rear of the house, although I still need to paint the furniture, buy a bigger bed etc. we have been trying to be very thorough when painting - filling in all the holes/gaps along skirting etc; painting ceilings and glossing all the woodwork. My thinking is that if we do it really well this time, any future decorating will be much easier.<br />
We have now moved in to my youngest's bedroom at the front. She wanted black (!) but I have talked her round to a very dark grey on one wall only. It looks amazing. I just need to do some neatening of the edges (my brush was too big for the cutting in) and gloss the woodwork. When I've done, I'll post photos.<br />
There is so much to do, that it's very easy to become rather overwhelmed, but we are trying to bite it off in chunks.<br />
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As I mentioned in my last post, there are some pretty wacky colours in this house....<br />
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One of the rear bedrooms </div>
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The downstairs shower room</div>
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Inside the music room cupboard </div>
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The office </div>
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Another of the bedrooms </div>
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More pink </div>
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Decals on one of the bedroom walls. </div>
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My youngest's bedroom. That is brick effect wallpaper. Well it was, until I painted over it yesterday! </div>
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Even the front door - a lovely stable door from my wish list - is painted baby pink! I have bought a delicious soft green for that, but have yet to get round to painting it. It's either too sunny or showers...</div>
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We are almost through 10 litres of white emulsion already. Goodness knows how much more we'll use to get the house looking how I want it to.....</div>
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In reply to some of the questions from the last post :- Jet is absolutely loving it here. He is like the proverbial pig in clover. We haven't needed to actually walk him yet as he can lolop around the plot with gay abandon. He's still recovering from his op and still limps a bit, but we will get there. The cats.... Our female cat, Freya, has settled very well and is managing the cat flap (a new concept to them). She is quite grave and going outside. Oscar, the black male cat, who disgraced himself so often before we moved is still regularly leaving us 'gifts' in the house. He knows how to get in and out of the cat flap, but is too nervous to do so. We put him out of the front door and he dashes straight round the back, through the flap and back upstairs to his spot in the sun. I guess patience is needed with him. </div>
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More soon x </div>
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Happeninguponhappinesshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03613360081052257464noreply@blogger.com12