I’ve not been committing a lot of time to the spare room lately, so hadn’t gotten very far since before Christmas.
I made an effort today, though, so the floor’s now back down, removing the risk of creating a new, quicker route to the kitchen.
The vent on the far wall has been the subject of some discussion recently; it hinted at the possibility of a bricked-up fireplace.
So, we made the obvious decision to explore further.
While replacing floorboards in the spare bedroom, I found a small box.
The box, now in our bin since it seems to have been partially eaten many years ago by a mouse, had contained a (coal) gas burner. At ninepence, it wasn’t cheap in 1906. Its location suggests that the house had town gas lighting installed around that time.
Despite two divorces, my second mortgage (the first was paid off a few months ago) is no more.
While I knew this was going to happen, I was so looking forward to this letter.
The damn thing would have been paid off sooner, but I chose an ethical mortgage. Well, I didn’t want to contribute to arms deals or exploitation.
So we now own this little lump of Sodhouse Bank.
A great way to get some early morning exercise; moving a couple of tons of firewood.
Today is bin day on the hill and our bin is out, awaiting the bin truck.
Unfortunately, there is a big hole outside our house, so I’m uncertain as to whether our (very full) bin will be emptied today.
Yes, I know the picture’s blurry, but I’d a bus to catch and I needed some money from the cash machine first (for John the plumber).
I needn’t have rushed though; the hole has its very own traffic lights, so things aren’t moving very quickly.
You can’t beat a nice fire on a cold evening.
Today was mostly spend plastering. A first coat.
The second picture appears somewhat bumpy, but that’s due to shadows from a light shade.
A second coat should be possible on Tuesday. Assuming that I have no hangover, that is. Tomorrow evening is our second of three Augustines gigs.
After considering it for a couple of years, I’ve committed to a project for the autumn/winter.
Two rooms are soon to become one. Well, perhaps not exactly soon, because a project shouldn’t be rushed.
One door, and frame, has been removed and boarded over. And there’s a large hole between the two rooms.
Today was spent digging concrete out of the garden. A task made more arduous by a huge tree root wrapped around one lump. However, I have successfully excavated the various layers of concrete archeology from our garden.
In doing so, I found the base of the old extension, demolished in the early 80s.
It’s that time of year again.
All ready for colder weather now.
