In last week’s blog I foolishly said that there should be ‘no excuse’ not to make a start with the construction of the new man shed this week. Once again, that was a statement too far and, while I could come up with a number of excuses, I haven’t yet laid any blocks.
If I’m being honest, last week was probably not the most productive week I have had since we moved here, so this won’t be a long blog and there won’t be too many photos.
One of the reasons it wasn’t so productive, was that we had some very good friends stay with us with their children as it was their half-term holiday. While this didn’t mean that I was too distracted during the days, it did mean we enjoyed a number of late nights and the subsequent late mornings!
The weather was, again, fabulous and especially so for late October. This was great for our friends who could do all the usual summer holiday things such as go to the beach and relax on sun-loungers, and would have been ideal for me to build walls too.
However, while I mentioned last week that I had the ‘bulk’ of the materials to start the build I was missing a couple of essential items. One was a large disc cutter, to cut the breeze blocks when required, which required a trip to Brest in the week to acquire (another ‘toy’ of mine as David would say); and the other was the sand required for the mortar. When I visited our closest sand supplier – only in Sizun, their digger was out of action so they couldn’t load the trailer and I wasn’t keen on shovelling it by hand. With David using the car for work during the week, I couldn’t then go back until Friday and it has been raining pretty much since then! However, I now really do have everything I need to start and the forecast suggests I should be able to make a start in the coming week.
It hasn’t been a completely idle week however. The large stone wall behind the old shed which I mentioned we would keep but reduce in height is now lower and where we want it to be. The advantage of having done this is that the 2 scruffy trees which had grown have been removed, where possible, otherwise killed so removing any risk of damage to Hayloft; the lower wall will also minimise Hayloft’s walls getting wet; and, when I build the new shed, I will do so such that I can access the hedge and keep it under control.
I have also continued to reduce the size of the gravel pile by laying it between the garage and where the man shed will be built but, other than that, it has been a fairly slow week.
We have seen a significant change in the weather in the last 48 hours, and from lovely warm autumn, we have very much arrived at the start of winter with a cold and wet weekend. With the clocks going back last night the evenings will be darker but all the more excuse to light the fire, which we did yesterday in our own house for the first time since last spring, and enjoy the season.
See – I said it would it be short. More, I promise, in the next 7 days!
Kenavo