Breaking Through, Travelling On

misscousinitt

Have a lovely day KC.

Glad your energy levels are staying strong.

MCI x

beanielou

Hope you got a lovely lampshade for the cosy corner

Karmacat

Thanks both! Yes, energy levels still good, thanks, though "normally" tired when I got back plus I finally got in contact with the Man With A Van to take care of the collapsing shed and the cherry laurels. £280 which was a lot more than I hoped

This is the lampshade http://www.wilko.com/pendants+lamp-shades/wilko-capiz-angular-drum-silver/invt/0329149 wanted something with a little more character than totally plain, and you can't beat that for £6

I think I have to get some other quotes for that work, though, it's too much to pay out without doing that.

Otherwise, today, a bit of socialising I know, a shocker, coming from me, but something little and very local. Plus phone calls to my sister-home-from-France

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, cheerful lampshade! :j Gosh, that's a lot for the quote though - is it just one trip to the tip?! Crikey! Definitely sounds like you'd be wise to get another quote!

Karmacat

Glad you like the lampshade, Cheery

I wonder if I just have to bite the bullet on the handyman charges ... been doing some research: a van/light lorry of the sort he uses is £60 a day + VAT to hire locally. There are charges at the local tips for garden waste since 1 October, which he'll have to pay. And looking at local firms, a man and van (no labourer) is £50 for two hours. "A row of cherry laurels" doesn't *begin* to describe the number of tree-trunk sized "branches" he'd have to cut down, and take through to the kerb. Since they're at the very back of the back garden, he'd have to take each one about 100'. Plus dragging everything out of my shed, taking off the doors I want to save for a cold frame project, and then dismantling the shed and carting that the same distance.

I'll ring him on Monday and ask about cash ... if he doesn't budge at *all*, I'll do some more ringing around.

beanielou

Sadly things like that seem to be very expensive if you can get someone to do them at all.

Karmacat

Thanks Beanie - can you remember what you paid, please? PM me if you don't want to put it on the thread (I have no shame ).

Secret_Saving_Squirrel

Oh dear, that is a lot. If you lived nearer I would come and take the trunks for logs. Do you know anybody with a log burner? Only this morning I was in the garden smashing up an old fence panel for kindling.

Karmacat

Aw, thank you Squirrel! Actually, the guy over the road uses offcuts from his work as a carpenter to burn in his stove .... hmmm. I don't know if cherry laurel can be used in that way though. Might have to be a bit inventive at this - too much talking with my sister has possibly given me an attitude of "throw money at a problem with the house", even when I don't have money!

Okay. At the moment, I'm checking a walking route on an interactive map. Not going to do that. I'm off into the garden and investigate a little further....

thanks again!




ETA 14.45: brainwave, thanks to the lovely peeps on this thread. I'd done quite a bit of cutting back of the laurel myself, when I still suffering with the chronic fatigue. I can do more! Just cut three branches, and hacked away a fair bit more. So now, I'm hunting out my cute little BBQ (cast iron, 19th century, French) and I'm going to experiment with burning some bits. Can't see any neighbours with washing out, even though its so lovely right now, so its ideal. Better search online about firing up in elderly cast iron, and then I'm away. Had to get the vacuum cleaner ready to hoover up any ginormous eight legged unfriendlies that might be disturbed by moving the BBQ though they can shove off to the copse over the road

EatingTheElephant

Maybe lots of people will be looking for wood for bonfires soon too. I'm hoping to cut up some old fence posts and give them to my mum for her open fire. I would love to have one myself one day.