Tales from The Shire

wishingthemortgaheaway wrote: »

Sad to hear you are not your usual positive self Fortune, but you do seem to have a perfect storm of builder fatigue, snow fatigue and 'it's been a long year with a lot on' fatigue.

I'm sure these are just teething problems with the house, it will get better, easier and more able to be planned.

When you talk about the floor sanding I am picturing the people who sand and repair the velodrome tracks after the cyclists crash off and splinter the track, I'm sure you are not on the same sort of incline though.

You have such a fabulous way with words and, i think I've said it before, but you have a lovely clear voice which I can really hear. I enjoy hearing of your adventures and reading about your meals plans, careful money management and if course fdawg just adds to the enjoyment.

Have a lovely end of the week and weekend, I hope MrF is home soon. And keep smiling.

Wish.

That's exactly it Wish :T A perfect storm of fatigues :rotfl:

I'd never seen a velodrome being repaired so I G00gled it Same technique just takes much longer :rotfl:

Thank you for your kind words about my writing. One of the things I want to achieve next year is to publish a book of my short stories. Your lovely comments will spur me on

Fortune x

I escaped for a few hours today and it has done me the world of good.

I had a lovely lunch with a friend at a local garden centre and got to talk about subjects that didn't involve scissor lifts or concrete leveling :T We mooched around the shop after and I found a few Christmas decorations to bolster the current thin pickings. Friend gave me a Christmas present and suggested I open it before the day... so I did... of course... who wouldn't...and... it's a fabulous Christmas decoration :j So the house is looking quite festive now. Such a thoughtful gift.

The builders had finished the drilling by the time I got back so that's the noisiest part of the build over :T They will be shoveling stones tomorrow :undecided and laying the concrete on Monday. And I think that will be it for this year as they have two weeks off over Christmas. Part of me wants the construction part to be over as soon as possible and part of me wants a break from all the coming ad going.

This weeks grocery shop was delivered this evening with some interesting substitutions - Christmas pudding instead of Panetone :doh: and minute steak instead of braising steak :huh: I also got a 300g box of biscuits instead of a 600g box (hungry builders) so they let me have those for free I'll have to pop out during the week to pick up the missing items.

Most importantly... I decanted the Christmas Pudding Vodka.

Cheers everyone

Fortune x

Yesterday has really pepped me up and today has started well:

• the sun is shining and, dare I say it, but there seems to be less mud around
• it rained hard during the night again but I've toured the house for signs of leaking and haven't been able to find any. I've done this every time it's rained so far but I'm beginning to trust the house now. If we can get through a winter like this one, with all its storms and snow, I think we can survive anything
• the builders needed to turn the water off to the outbuilding this morning and I had no idea how to do that, however, we found the stopcock first time :T
• I've been filling the camping shower with very hot water just before walking FDawg and it's been exactly the right temperature to wash off his mud socks by the time we've got back
• no sanding was required yesterday but FDawg was in his crate for quite a bit. I am going to have to keep him in there whenever I can't keep an eye on him In the meantime, I have blocked his route to his sprinkling spot - if only that was an apt description :eek: - so that he can't get to it
• we have used the 500 litres of oil I ordered in October. The previous owner left us plenty though so I think I will wait until after Christmas to order more and hopefully the price will come down then. We have a big enough tank now to be able to fill up when prices are low Looking back over my previous orders for the old house, I sometimes bought 1500 litres over the course of a year so I don't think we'll be too far off that here. The electricity cost might be a different story though - my DD has just been doubled by the supplier :eek: I don't think they've calculated correctly though so I will send in another reading today.

Today I have more cleaning and ironing to do - I don't know why this constantly surprises me, I am a housewife after all :rotfl:

I also have a couple of final presents to wrap including Mr F's so I'd better do that before he gets home. Fortunately, all bar one of my outstanding deliveries have made it through now.

I've put up the decoration my friend made me and it looks fabulous - it's making me very happy

Have a great day everyone

Fortune x

maddiemay wrote: »

Fortune I just love your story, I do hope that you are able to get your book published.

Sun has broken through here now, waiting for OH to return from walking Miss Border Collie to report on the degree of coldness and the state of the pavements as I would like to make my usual Friday visit to the market for eggs, yummy baker's bread (for him not me sadly) and other bits and bobs including a rummage around the CS.

Cancelled my visit to the QE, but made Gobowen and have to try the new drug for RA for 6 months before returning:D

I have done virtually nothing towards Christmas, but must bite the bullet and talk to DSis about our elderly Ma, selfishly I really want to spend the day here with OH and dog, but cannot leave her on her own (not mobile and housebound) thankfully OH is cool and said we must do what needs to be done.

Thank you Maddie. I have lots of ideas for stories but I'm a slow writer.

The snow has almost gone here now. We had well over a foot of it in the end. It didn't really cause us any difficulty and I'm grateful for that - even though I was petulant about the cancelled socials

My FiL was housebound and we used to have him over every Christmas. I remember we felt quite constrained by it at the time but I miss it now he's gone as it did bring the family together. Plus he was very naughty - we still chuckle about some of his antics now. So good that your OH is supportive of the situation with Ma. I hope you all have a fabulous festive day.

Fortune x

I think we may have turned a corner with the renovations. The stone shoveling is complete and steel and timber has been fixed in the appropriate places ready to secure the cladding. The site now looks like something is being built up rather than torn down :T

Our drive is going to need some tlc though - it hasn't survived the digger :eek:

My plans for today were interrupted by the early return of Mr F :j He is now officially on leave although does still have to virtually attend some meetings :mad:

I did manage to get some ironing done but not much else.

Supper tonight was Kerala Prawn Curry - yummy

Looking forward to some peace and quiet over the weekend.

Have a good one folks

Fortune x