Simple living in the country - back to basics

scandimore

Also having a bit of a lazy day here. I've put a load of washing in and that's it. We're all just reading / listening to radio / watching the sheep and birds / whatever we want. It's OK if you can give into it, not if you have that annoying voice in your head listing everything you should be doing,  I hate that! 

Cheery_Daff

Ha, thank you for all the reassurance! Glad to hear other people are having similar days 😁😂

I nipped to the village for milk, and we had a leisurely Cafe At Home at the kitchen table, with a nice candle lit and some flowers from the garden 😊

Finally about to get out into the garden for a bit of pottering - might today be the day I experiment with the brick acid for the windowsills?!

starnac

Another lazy day here. Instead of doing the thing that I should be doing, I have pottered about doing bits and pieces of other (more enjoyable) things. Ah well. Never mind. That's what bank holidays are for surely?

Cheery_Daff

Definitely! Sounds like a cheerful day 😊

Cheery_Daff

Well, I did a bit of experimenting with the brick acid - got rid of some stains very well, but not others. Problem is, these stones have all been in the barn for probably well over a hundred years, collapsed under rubble and goodness knows what else for a while, then had grass etc grown over them, so it could be anything 🙄😂 

Going to do more experimenting. So far stone cleaner has been rubbish, borax substitute ok, brick acid great for some things and not others, and most effective (although NOT least effort) has been powdered laundry bleach 😂 Havent read that as a tip, I was just raiding the cupboards, it's been a bit like George's Marvellous Medicine round here 🙈

Going to let it all rest for a few days and see what settles. 

Also did an hour of scything, finished row 9, started 10. But despite the late start I was SO tired, and Mr Cheery ordered me to have a nap about 5.30. Turns out he ended up falling asleep on the sofa, and not long came up to retrieve me 😂

So, my prediction of an unproductive day was right 😂 I might have a go at epilating a bit of leg 🙄 and I'll need some food, but otherwise all lists are hereby postponed until tomorrow 😂 

Tomorrow though, a few things could do with being done

* renew library books
* meal plan
* possible food shop
* more scything - can I get to the end of row 10?
* banking
* hang clothes up in bedroom - things got shoved in here for visitor preparation, but I want them sorted out before this week's flurry of visitors!
* maybe a bit of batch cooking

Right, best get up and at least eat something I suppose!

Karmacat

That's exactly what I came on here to do, to make a list for tomorrow!  I'm glad you haven't pushed too hard today - nor have I, I guarantee you 😁 but like you, I'll do a bit of a list before I turn this off.  Enjoy your meal  

KajiKita

Re the stone cleaning, perhaps the remaining ‘stains’ are actually the natural colour of the stone? Perhaps see how they compare to local dry stone walls or similar once they are dry?

KK 

Cheery_Daff

Karmacat said:

That's exactly what I came on here to do, to make a list for tomorrow!  I'm glad you haven't pushed too hard today - nor have I, I guarantee you 😁 but like you, I'll do a bit of a list before I turn this off.  Enjoy your meal  

Thanks KC. I had leek and mushroom pasta, it was most satisfying 😊

KajiKita said:

Re the stone cleaning, perhaps the remaining ‘stains’ are actually the natural colour of the stone? Perhaps see how they compare to local dry stone walls or similar once they are dry?

KK 

Maybe. I'm certainly not aiming for complete uniformity, and I'm not expecting them to scrub up to something you'd buy from the shop. Most of the stains are fading, so not the natural stone colour, but I think it's a mix of algae etc, soul, probably rust from the odd bit of metal, and general grubbiness 😂 This is the before pic of the one I did this afternoon

The stuff at the far right has gone completely, but the black in the middle has just faded a bit - I did two rounds of brick acid, so maybe several more will clear it.. who knows.

Will keep on with my science experiments!  As I say, not aiming for perfection, but as they're going to be windowsills in the kitchen, I want them to look not quite as grubby as they do 😂 To be fair, I chose the most grubby one to experiment with, I think the rest will fare slightly better.

Mostly I'm putting off having to think about cutting and fitting them - cleaning seems like the easy part! Do want to get it done before the weather turns too much though.

Cheery_Daff

Quite grumpy at the Happy Wheel this weekend - down another £18 today so down to £139 now 🙄 Obviously we know this can happen, but hoping to get a bit closer back towards £200 before the month is out! 

Nothing on Prolific today, standing at £27.44 with £2.64 pending, which will hopefully be approved thus week.

1P at £9.45

Mr Cheery is over £9 on Prolific now too!

KajiKita

To be fair I could happily live with that ‘stain’ as part of the character of the stone and there are a couple there in that line on the wall that are really nice. 

For the cutting you need an electric saw with a brand new diamond blade (we’ve been doing similar here but just with bricks and blocks!). I would also consider where you are going to do it - on a really hefty bench or on the floor? And where you want to direct the inevitable dust. Ear muffs and a good filter face mask might be recommended too 😉

Looking forward to seeing how these ‘lumps’ shape up 😊

KK