24 July 2011

Sorry, we have been busy, and the blog got delayed.

We were offered two sheep as lawnmowers, and I thought of doing a fence, but we really have not got the time, so that will have to wait.

Elna requested the deck on the northern side to be improved, so I spent some time on that. It looks better now, but it still is "Band Aid" and not even  "First Aid". I wonder when we will reach the stage where we can go out and buy the right material and do the job properly.

We also put some time into the cookhouse.

 It is looking much better now. The whole building is standing on  paving blocks, because we cannot dig a hole to put proper piles in. The other end has received no attention yet, maybe next week. Another big problem is that the chimney is at risk of falling in. We cut the plant that was growing inside the wall, but now everything is wobbly. The old lime mortar has been reduced to sand. I have put some braces up, but it can fall at any time. Problem is, I do not want to rebuild the whole structure, because of the time involved.

We found that the Ivy on the roof is still going strong. That is because everything up there is growing in compost generated over the years.

We have also spent time on repairing the floor. All the floor joists are completely eaten by the borer. The inside wall is resting on  the floor, so it needs to be lifted up, and I am not allowed to work in the ground. Now I put a plank on the ground and pack the joists to the required height.

I wish I had the time to tidy up the section, because, when we moved the stuff over, we just dumped it anywhere, and it is bothering me now. Will see where the spirit leads me in the next week.