This week is going to be the first of, what I hope won’t be very many, blogs of 2019 that begins with my ‘wasn’t a very productive week’ statement!
My principal effort has been the man shed which is now completed externally and so is completely watertight. This has proven useful as the last week has been one of the wettest we had had for a while. Thankfully, as well as making it watertight I have also attached a gutter at the front. The north side of the Hayloft roof also drains onto what is now a larger shed roof. As such there is quite a lot of water which previously drained and pooled at the base of the new wall. The new gutter has now allowed me to divert the water away so the ground should dry out better.
We have also added some detailing at the front partly to hide and protect the wood but mostly to match the front of the adjacent Grange, albeit there is a gutter there hiding some of the slate detailing.
I have started to clear out the shed before I can fit it out although haven’t made as much progress! It took almost a day to cut up the old wood that I had been storing on the concrete pad both in and out of the old shed. Much of the wood was the frame of the old shed which I had stacked against Hayloft’s wall and built around – it is the pile now in the centre of the shed.
The things that will prove most difficult to dispose of are the old roofing sheets which are the old corrugated asbestos type. Unfortunately our déchèterie doesn’t take these, although others do, but we have been told of somewhere who accepts them. Difficulty of disposing aside, we needed to move them as I had stacked them against Hayloft and had protected the electrical supply behind them. Now they are moved I can progress with wiring everything else in.
I didn’t work on the shed on Friday as we were hosting a Burns Night supper. We can’t claim to have any Scottish ancestry or particular link to Scotland generally but it is always a good excuse for a party in darkest January and getting the posh dinner things out including the tartan table cloth and napkins that Dave made a few years back. Dave made a wonderful meal using traditional Burns ingredients but in a very imaginative and creative way.
The pheasant feathers we had bought for Christmas decorations also came in handy for the table. It did mean a night off our dry period which we have now resumed – you can’t have Burns Night without a wee dram. TBC whether we will have a similar temporary suspension next weekend at the start of the 6 Nations Championship – always a great competition.
This week we have also received the last proofs of some drawings of the gîtes that we have commissioned. We are really pleased with the pictures – some of the scans don’t do them justice as I have scanned them when they were already mounted in frames. We have ordered some copies for the gîtes themselves as well as some smaller black and white, and some colour, cards. The perfect memento of your stay with us or to send home to friends and family.
Next week will be continuing with the man shed – I have set myself a deadline of mid-Feb to complete the whole project. When I have the wiring, ceiling and lighting in I will be able to work later into the night – although it is already noticeable that the evenings are drawing out.
Kenavo.