Preparing for Winter V

mollythewestie

We have been in full winter prep this week:
Chimney has been swept and re-lined,
new chimney pot fitted,
gas fire removed,
fireplace enlarged,
lintel put in,
oak mantle shelf fitted,
slate laid,
chimney breast re-plastered

And today.....
The woodburner is being fitted !!!!

We have saved and looked forward to this day since we moved here 2 years ago.

DH has got friendly with our next-door neighbours' gardener who has said he can supply logs and will give us a really good price too.

We have also had a massive clear out of DDs room and sorted through her wardrobe. I found 6 pairs of gloves, several scarves and woolly hats too - this is after DD insisted that all her winter things had gone missing at school and we would have to buy all new this year.
We managed to empty a storage box from her room, so all winter accessories are kept in there now and cannot get lost in the depths of the wardrobes!

[Deleted User]

Kind of preparing for winter, we have just processed a large batch of apples and He Who Knows has the pulp in the press now juicing them to make the cider we ferment every year. The apple trees are starting to drop in quantities now and friends are starting to leave big bags of drops on the drive for us. A 5 gallon fermentation vessel full is burbling away beside me and we look like getting a couple more gallons from this batch of apples, all before they are properly ripe. It's nice to have the homemade cider in the colder weather as I mull it on top of the woodstove, makes the house smell amazing and is really nice to have it at the cost of some elbow grease, a little sugar and a sachet of cider yeast, makes for a happier winter altogether!

pollys

DH is off this week, so with the help of two of our DS we have cut back a huge overgrown ivy. This has taken many hours and trips to the recycling centre. We have also worked hard in the rest of the garden. We are trying to keep on top of it now. The garage and shed both need a coat of paint, hopefully get this done next week.
The joiner is due in the next couple of weeks. He is going to replace all the seal around the porch, replace the bath panels and sort out the floor by the back door. We have had a leak and the floor is now spongy.
We would have liked to replace one of the bedroom windows (last one that needs doing upstairs) but that will have to wait until funds allow.

That's it on the house front, but there's still clothes etc to sort.

Polly

Eenymeeny

I'm still waiting for Summer but it does feel quite Autumnal here...
I find that after a few years of prepping, things just have to be brought out of storage so that they are easily accessible.
One of the things that I do is to wash scarves, hats, gloves etc in Springtime and store them in a 'winter themed' bag for life. (Usually available around Christmas so a good recycle!) They stand up easily, can be hung if necessary, don't take up a lot of room and are easily spotted if stored in the loft or out of way place. I can then hang the whole thing in the hall or under the stairs ready for the first frosty morning.
Now I have to think of something similar for Winter storage of the seat cushions we use for the garden. (Although they haven't really been used much this year ) Any ideas please? (I did try one of those plastic, underbed zipped storage bags but it tore as we pulled it out of the loft this year.) Trouble is, the lounger ones are so big!

Brambleberry

Eenymeeny - have you tried the ikea dimpa zippered bags? They are quite tough and the perfect size for a folded lounger cushion.
I've had mine for about 4 years - still going strong and all the builders' dust and muck from last year wiped off and didn't get into the bag itself.

[Deleted User]

There is no end in sight to the heat down here, local farmers have almost finished harvest and boy there is a lot of grain. I am actually prepared for intense heat, have been preparing for a few weeks and that includes any winter prep as I certainly won`t feel like doing it when so hot. We had some rain a couple of weeks ago and that re-filled my 1000 litres water butt storage and also my rainwater harvester but it has been very warm for us this year and also very dry. Window winter insulation serves a dual purpose, ie keeping out the searing sun, which is now getting lower but remains very intense

Gutters cleaned, plants cut back, stove serviced, flue cleaned, all garden propagating stuff is packed away as I hate doing this when the weather turns wet and cold. Any needed trips to the tip have been done. Still got plenty of food stores, clothing and chocolate

The spare freezer is now on and is holding a large amount of allotment produce, including easy to use basics like courgette/shallot/garlic saute, good for soup/risotto/quiche etc. I have picked many pounds of large plump blackcurrants and blanched lots of beans. Feels as though this intensity is squashed into a narrow period as there are signs of autumn appearing amongst the plants

alice-mary

:wave::wave:Nice to "see you" Kittie xx

Eenymeeny

Brambleberry wrote: »

Eenymeeny - have you tried the ikea dimpa zippered bags? They are quite tough and the perfect size for a folded lounger cushion.
I've had mine for about 4 years - still going strong and all the builders' dust and muck from last year wiped off and didn't get into the bag itself.

They look ideal, thank you so much Brambleberry. I'll put them on the list for the next Ikea visit. (We never go anywhere near Ikea during the school holidays!;) )

Lucy5781

Well we've been in the new house almost two months now and it's been very warm in that time other than a few days this week where we had a small taste of how it handles cooler weather.

Upstairs seems to hold more heat but downstairs can get quite chill overnight. We have a fan heater fireplace in the lounge but it's a big room. Hoping daytime sunshine via the conservatory will help. In the heat, if left shut up it hits almost 40C in there :eek:

Baby's due pretty much anytime now. I'm 37 weeks in a few days. While other kind of prep and winter worries there lol

maryb

[QUOTE=kittie;71135830
Feels as though this intensity is squashed into a narrow period as there are signs of autumn appearing amongst the plants[/QUOTE]

Funnily enough Kittie I was thinking the same thing which is why I decided to catch up on the winter preps. It does seem as if autumn is coming early this year. The rowan trees were loaded with berries right at the beginning of August and when I go for a walk in the mornings there are loads of acorns underfoot