Cheer of the Day!

[Feltwell]

Far too much snow round here to do any work outside this weekend, but for the first time in 5 years we had enough snow to go sledging - yesterday and today

Just for the benefit of my kids of course, you understand. :wink:

 

[a twig]

That is a good cheer. For the kids, of course!

We had an absolute deluge, solidly snowing for 7 hours, yet none of it settled, so just very muddy/icy here and no sledging

So I spent the day building storage for the eleventh million recycling containers we have now since the switch to bi-weekly bin collection.

 

[noj]

At least I think it's a cheer...

This morning, after the heating had been on for a couple of hours and it was getting light I went round opening the curtains/raising the blinds and found thick ice on the inside of two windows I recently fitted 'duoshade thermal blinds' to - thanks blinds2go. And the bathroom window is directly over a radiator too!

Must mean they're keeping some heat in (and that it was cold last night). There was just some condensation on all the other windows - even the ones with thick interlined curtains

 

[Zebra]

Henry is home. After several years working away on another job, he's finished his contract and come home. Look how happy he is. I'm not sure there's much for him to do now though.....

 

[Me!]

He's looking longingly at that bit of ash on the front of the wood burner.
Go on, let him have a go at it

 

[malcolm]

My Henry went missing. I found him this morning lurking in a corner behind the TV (oddly I think he must have been there to clean the ash from the front of my woodburner).

My Henry has been busy today helping in a workshop and barn reorganisation prompted by a new router table I need to make extravagant and deviously complicated ovolo profiled secondary glazing. I think I must have hit my head fainting after getting a quote for ugly aluminium stuff.

 

[livias]

A dangerous season for a Zebra I suspect
Henry has been away for long enough that "Never again" could easily morph into "Next time ..."

 

[88v8]

Some new windows to paint. Outside, I've succumbed to the cursed water-based stuff.
But internally, Sikkens AZ, oil.
Peering up at the shelf in the garage, I see one can of satin, but it's white. Well, it is the toilet/shower, white's alright for toilets.
But I've decided to use cream. Our previous house was County Cream and Brunswick Green and I have a few cans left.

So down comes a can of 2010 gloss.
Gloss. Not regarded as very 'period'.

But it's lovely to apply. Flows on, blends in, no brushmarks, luvverly. Painting as it used to be.

Ivor

 

[philpjuk100]

A job that needed doing for the ten years since we moved in,really easy when I got stuck in,good weather and only took a couple of days.I needed somthing that would be ok when thw river floods and was pleased that my welder still works on the end of a very long extension lead!

 

[Abi Cott]

I finished a room!

Well kinda, the loft is now fully insulated. But having broken a rib doing the first half of the job and then putting it off for a year, I do think it deserves a cheer

 

[paulc]

I do think it deserves a cheer

 

[numberwang]

Bought my first SDS drill... why did I not do this before, they’re brilliant!

 

[noj]

Lovely find - I've been hunting the house for anything that could be vaguely interpeted as apotropaic for nearly seven years (with no luck) and then stripped the bressumer over the fireplace in our bedroom yesterday...






One crisp carving, that had been filled with plaster and painted over, and what seems to be a deliberate burn mark - so we're protected from witches and lightning!

 

[a twig]

Final coat of plaster went in today in the final room of a painful 6 year renovation.

Due to the horrendous pricing and lack of availability of trades, I resorted to teaching two plasterers the joys of lime myself, and they have done a fantastic job. The end is finally in sight, just some minor interior decorating still outstanding and some cleaning of the exterior stonework left to do then I can finally declare the place finished, and enjoy it for two years before we move out.

Highlight of the day was the trades being chased around the room by my dustpan and brush wielding 16 month old as she was not impressed with the mess!

 

[Feltwell]

Highlight of the day was the trades being chased around the room by my dustpan and brush wielding 16 month old as she was not impressed with the mess!

Congratulations on reaching the (almost) end!

Best kids entertainment we had was when we had roofers here - my 12 month old son was stood at the back door transfixed for hours, waving at the roofers as they waved back at him as they went to & fro!

 

[88v8]

Last night was summoned from the shower by OH... "there's something flying around in the sitting room".
There certainly was.
A bat.
I can only think that it came down the chimney. As it's closed at the top - flue liner - this doesn't say much for the state of the stack pointing in the old attic, where I presume we now have... bats.

My next foray into the old attic will be to get the Xmas decorations, but that only involves leaning in from a ladder, it's not a space I ever go into, I hope the new residents will be at the other end and won't mind me appearing.

It was a wonderful experience, this living creature from another world, zooming around in the near-dark of the room. Eventually I opened the external door and after a while, it went out and I went back into the shower

Ivor

 

[Gothichome]

Ivor, since you brought this up. I had an encounter with a bat a couple of years ago. Here is the story as written at that time.

Last evening I was relaxing in the best parlour when I hear a screeching and a wild plea for help from the back parlour. Seems upper management has been startled by a bat in the room. Now being the not so handsome prince of this castle, I grab the broom and with bravery in my hart I enter the room. With a swish and a swoop the uninvited guest flew about the room but before I could get the door closed behind me out into the hall way it flew, dam! It now has free run of the house. "The game is afoot" I follow in persuit.

Now, I wasn't aware bats were smart enough to know the value of our antique lamps, It used them to its advantage flying in random circles around them at roof level. Flailing my broom about in a Keystone Cops manner I made several unsuccessful attempts at batting it out of the air. A minute later into the front parlour it flew and once again I followed.
Again with a swish and a swoop it flew about the parlour, knowing, I think by instinct, to stay close to the safety of the antiques. Once again a half dozen or so attempts at enforcement of an eviction notice, it eludes my weapon of choice. Flying over my head close enough I could feel the breeze it shoots out of the parlour at rocket speed across the hall and into the dinning room. Now being up to the challenge of a lower life form I follow only to repeat my same failed attempts at victory and eviction. And as before, with no indications of its motive the demi vampire flies out of the dinning room and heads straight up the stairs.

Now, thinking to myself I've got to be smarter than the bat, I quickly close all the doors in the hall way save one. And like all master plans conceived by the hero of a tail, the wayward animal enters the room. Got you now I thought, and followed it into the bed room and closed the door.

Being the higher life form, I devised a strategie of watching and picking my moments to strike. With each swing of my broom and feeling nothing but the rush of empty air the bat dodged and weaved in an almost taunting manner. After five minutes or so of the cat and mouse battle, the unwanted guest changed its behaviour.

Have I mentioned yet how smart bats are?

This new behaviour was a change in its flight path. From a wide random flight path at room and mid room level to a low floor level pattern. Great I thought, I've worn it out. Only a matter of time till it falls from the sky and resides itself to the eviction. After many low level passes the creature violently crashes to the floor under a chest of drawers only to reappear in a flash and resume it floor level flight level. Ok, the end of this battle is near. I move closer. Once again it slams itself to the floor, under the bed this time. And once again reappears. Getting ready to serve the 'your not welcome' papers, for the third time, it slams to the floor. Too my amazement it flattens its self out and squeezes under the door to freedom.
It would seem my adversary had a master escape plan all along.
Whether by sight or bat sonar, it had found a way out of the predicament it found itself in.

Last I saw of my opponent it was heading down the stairs and into the front parlour. And as in past encounters I follow broom in hand, and with a greater respect for the winged rat, into the parlour I go. I watched and looked, but know sign of the bat, its gone into hiding.

Now in a big Victorian filled with antiques there are many, many, places for a bat to hide if it doesn't want to be found. I waite and I watched for a half hour or so, but no sign of the bat. So I go to bed, wondering which of us is the higher form of life.
I know the bat did not find its way out of the house the same way it got in so it's here still hiding and taunting me.
To be continued.

 

[Feltwell]

I'd love to have bats, you're lucky Ivor! We see them outside quite a bit, I think they roost in the church tower further down the road from us - literally bats in the belfry.

Not quite as exciting but I got a scream from upstairs the other day - Mrs F had been started by a juvenile sparrow of all things, poor bird had somehow got itself stuck between the inner and outer sashes of our open bedroom window! Managed to get it out without hurting it but then the daft thing flew under the bed. To cut a long story short I ended up taking half the room to bits before it finally flew out from it's hiding place and to freedom through the still open window.

 

[Flyfisher]

Yes, lovely to have bats around the place. Just never mention them of you have any building works in progress. :wink:

 

[88v8]

Ivor, since you brought this up. I had an encounter with a bat a couple of years ago. Here is the story as written at that time...

Haha excellent. Reminds me of the contest between a rat, and me with a cricket bat. Similar outcome.

Ivor