We thought the frosts were over but they are back again and causing havock with the seedlings!!! We are so excited to see the garden from the kitchen because finally the window is in.
The sunny spell of weather bought on the seedlings at a pace we got busy in the garden digging over the veg patch. Now with the complete change in weather back to chilly overnight temperatures its all go every evening to cover delicate new shoots and protect from the heavy frosts. In the morning all the plants are uncovered and the seedlings are taken back out into the bright and glorious sunshine. What a faff when you don’t have a green house or enough window ledges! Everything is ready to grow but the soil isn’t warm enough to nurture our little baby plants just yet.
We did get lots of knotweed root out of the ground and we also managed to clear plenty of the old wood out of the barn. We have stacked what is useable or burnable for the fire and all the rotten scraps went in to the kindling pile, chips for the garden or down the tip. There was lots of junk to clear, broken furniture beyond repair, old painted woodworm chewed doors, old TV’s… Most of it was rotten but anything salvagable like glass for new windows, pot’s, pan’s, cabinets and tables have been kept to transform in to something beautiful and useable again.
In other news, we had a minor bump in the car – Simon talks you though the smashed headlight and how we survived in our most recent video. I’ve added it to the bottom of this post for you to view.
The last couple of weeks in pictures
Finally the window is in!
In preparation for the new window I completed a rough coat of lime plaster around the window and tidied up the edges. This is very much a free flowing hobit style window surround to complement the fireplace and lintle in the kitchen and I’m in love with it all. I can see that it’s not to everyones taste. If you have seen our house back in the UK you know our style was straight lines and sharp modern interiors. Now it’s time for a different interior and we are going for a blend of rustic and modern / practical. Simon will be adding a wooden windowsill eventually.
During this recent cold snap I’ve been working inside on plastering over the lime rough coat. Filling all the gaps around the windows and creating a smoother plaster edge. It’s coming together slowly. I love the look and can’t wait to move on with the kitchen. Our plasterer is waiting for his covid jab before embarking on the journey to plaster our ceiling so the kitchen is back on hold. Not to worry there is plenty to do while we wait. We’re just so delighted that finally the window is in!
Simon has been busy digging holes for the redirection of the drains. The drainage pipes were located quickly and temporary so that we could get our septic tank installed. The barn wasn’t safe to work in at the time of installation. Now the loose tiles and falling debris has been removed Simon can re-route the drainage pipes from the house under the new barn floor and out through the barn wall. This includes digging out a load of old concrete from a cattle feeder in the barn. You can see the work in next weeks video on our YouTube channel. I’m editing it now so don’t forget to catch up on the progress and suscribe to our channel then you won’t miss an update.
The barn pointing is slightly paused until the freezing temperatures subside but we’re still working on many other projects to keep everything progressing. If you’ve missed our latest Barn post here is the latest news
This is just the tip of the iceburg of our renovation project. You can see where it all started here. This week has been a majour milestone because at last we can say ‘Finally the window is in’
