More Weeding, More Scaffolding Thursday, 5th March

It's been on and off again today, sometimes sunny then a wind would whip up, the sun disappear and it was freezing. Luckily for the most part it was fine. Martin the builder carried on alone with the scaffolding. It seems like an endless job.

I did manage to finish weeding the bed above the grotto and the grotto bed itself, so it all looks quite smart now, if rather bare.







In the Summer there isn't usually a space to plant anything!




















This is the right hand side of the above bed and it drops down to the grotto, see below.








The grotto. All the new ferns I planted last Autumn seem to be doing well. The Pieris Forrestii, centre of the left half, has white flowers out already, although the new red leaf bracts have not yet appeared.










The Grotto again. This little path goes round the corner, right round the barn.









It may seem like not much of a job but it was all covered in nasty weeds, dandelions, stinging nettles, grass, blackberries and ivy. I have previously cleared all these when I first made the bed, but they keep popping up again. I'll beat them though.
I also took a photo of the sleeping shed from the front, looking smart for a change.



Our little collection of old farm implements is on the right. The green thing is an old milk churn, planted with everlasting sweet peas.







My sign for the fairy garden had fallen from its place, hanging from the hawthorn branch. The chain has rusted and broken, so I have propped it in front of an old tree stump. I quite like it there. I also took a photo from the fairy hill, looking over this part of the garden.





Perhaps I should trim that bit of grass!












It's all coming along.









These lovely double daffodils are in the bank at the side of the sleeping shed. At last a photo with some colour in it.












This pretty deutzia is just starting to bloom







As I was out a bit past the cats' tea time, they hung about round me, another photo opportunity. They were also fascinated by Martin walking up and down.
Sandy looking rather fine in the late afternoon sunshine. He is the cleanest cat I've known. BlackJack can't be bothered to wash much, so in the evening, Sandy washes him too.











Sandy slightly out of focus as it picked out BlackJack and the light was fading.













This is when Martin walked past!








They are very handsome cats I think, but then I would.

Buster made me laugh this evening. I noticed he was licking the underside of my ironing basket (which is much too full). The side of it was hanging over the edge of the chair. I went to investigate and a bag of gold Christmas coins had somehow fallen in there and was dangling out the bottom! He was having a fine time munching them, complete with gold paper. I did remove them as they're not good for him, but he still managed about four. They were some I bought for Jim but I reckon they'll be off by now.

It's Jim's birthday today (Friday the 6th March) and he is still in the UK until at least Monday. So I have ordered something for him to be delivered there. I hope it arrives. He has waited in all day today for a delivery of polythene and bits for our poly tunnel and they didn't arrive. It's so annoying, especially when you arrange deliveries on a certain day because you only have a small window to receive them. The best laid plans and all that.

This evening I've managed to keep Stanley going all the time so it's not quite as cold in here as usual. I still have 2 jumpers on though. I also watched an excellent new 3 part series on Channel 4 called The Yorkshire Riding Hood I think! Set in the 1970s, it had some famous actors in it including Sean Bean as the bad property tycoon who had all the police in his pocket, Warren Clarke and David Morrissey. It was really quite gripping all the way through and I can't wait for next week's episode. I'll probably forget and miss it. Sadly the luscious Sean Bean won't be in it as he was killed this week.

A little sewing now then it's off to bed. Do you like my new blog layout? I've been 'updated'. It's supposed to be easier to manage. I'm all for that.

Return to Hell...... 17th December 2008

Well, as I said in the previous post, we arrived back at The Deenery at about mid-day and were a bit shell shocked at what was awaiting us. The builders had obviously been using our kitchen as a lunch/tea break venue which would have been fine, but it was absolutely filthy. In fairness, they did think we weren't returning until the 18th! I do wonder how much they would have cleared up though! The outside looked as if it had been raped and pillaged! Now I know there's going to be a mess, but neither of us were quite prepared with what greeted us.


Before shot of kitchen door and conservatory










and after shot below


























With the door open - no conservatory!! You can imagine how cold it is. The 2 doors left were on the inside and are now outside! Jim has sealed the gaps up with carpet tape which has helped a bit. We both just stood and shivered and almost turned round and went back to the UK.
















Outside the back door! Thankfully this pile has now gone and the pipes are beneath some stone.









The other important thing was that their first job was to connect up the toilet in our large bathroom as the small shower room with toilet was being demolished. Eeerm, we both arrived ready for the loo - and of course it wasn't connected! During the afternoon they connected it up temporarily thank goodness.








This is (was) the road down to the arboretum and meadow. AAAH!










Joe, the dad of the pair, managed to demolish this gatepost holding up the fence to the arboretum!


















The approach road to our parking area.









The back 'lawn' and our bench
















The back of our cottage 'before'. You can just see the white gate post on the right and the now removed wall.










and after!! Conservatory and shower room gone, plus gates and gateposts and wall! It looks so tiny and the owners had a family of 5 living in it!










The digger at work, back of the cottage and adjacent barn










Martin working out the sewer pipes. The extension will go right across the back of the house. It is already marked out and the ditches dug for the foundations of the walls. At the moment the new rooms look tiny, but apparently they always do until they're actually built.





Now don't get me wrong, we were amazed at how quickly the work had progressed. Thank goodness we'd been away when the back was demolished! Joe and son Martin are a real couple of workers. It's rained most days too. They are also very pleasant and Buster sits and watches them most of the time!

The following day everything looked a bit brighter. I cleaned the kitchen/diner and bathroom, which made a big difference and as I said, Jim plugged up the holes! Stanley has been working overtime and the house soon warmed up. We are short of wood but will fell some branches in the next day or so. The things we brought back from the UK we have stored in the 'sleeping shed' which is dry, as we don't really have any storage space at the moment.

It's really quite exciting seeing the work in progress but of course the mud is everywhere! Hopefully once the actual building starts, things will get a bit cleaner. For the past few days we've just adjusted to our new, confined surroundings.

I must say it's a bit difficult to work up much enthusiasm for Christmas but I have cut some silver birch twigs today which I will decorate tomorrow and we'll put the tree on the table, away from the animals! I usually have a large 'real' tree, but what with the dog, cats and building work I don't think that would quite work this time round.

Poor Jim was just recovering from a cold when we went away. Now he has brought back another one, this time even worse. He has an awful cough and has been sneezing for England. He sounds as though he's on his last legs but did manage a bit of shopping today.

I brought back lots of presents from our trip and put them on the windowsill in the 'snug'. One of them, from Jason and Sam, looked and felt remarkably like a tin of biscuits so we decided to open it today - lo and behold, a tin of Quality Street. I have to say we have make rather a dent in the contents. Yummy.

Jim's playing Christmas music as I type - how lovely. Oh, and it was the final of Strictly Come Dancing tonight and TOM WON. I was thrilled to bits. In the final they had to perform a 'show dance' where 'anything goes'. The first couple were brilliant and I thought Tom and Camilla had no chance. How wrong can you be? Their dance was quite superb, full of humour, talent, acting skills and brilliance. It was a done deal. Well done Tom and of course Camilla for her superb choreography.

'Christmas time, mistletoe and wine..........' rings out Cliff. Maybe the Christmas spirit is creeping in after all.

Just a few photos to finish for now:








one of our new vehicles...














A selection of pipe joints











Do you think the builder's asleep in here?
















The willow fence with piles of muck in front of it! This will be levelled towards the end of the work


This is one of the roads I built as this area was so wet. Oops, back to square one. It wasn't built to withstand dumper trucks and diggers.









Finally, the neighbours complained of course!! One of them pointed out that they couldn't walk up the road in their shoes, or they got dirty. Hmmm, boots anyone?? But Joe and Martin were very helpful and 'sweep' their access road at the end of each day and he says now when they pass in their car they give a big friendly salute! We haven't seen them yet. Keeping our heads down. It'll take their minds of all the flies we send onto their land!

Russ and Caz Wedding, 6.9.08. Gina 60 Today

Gina Deen (me) on 6th September 2008, My 60th Birthday. Ready for Russ and Caz's Wedding.


So it was back to Ireland on Monday 1st September. Much chatting to Jim about my weekend at my daughter's and the fun we'd had. Then only 2 days before we drove back to the UK for Jim's son Russell's wedding and our holiday to??. The secret location.

The days rushed by and I flew around the Worthing shops trying to finalise my wedding outfit and accessories. Both Caz and Russ liked my 'off the wall' suit, so that was the choice. I wanted something a bit bright to wear with it and it was going to be red or turquoise. I finally bought a red fascinator, then went to Debenhams and saw a great pair of shoes with a bag in their Jacques Vert section for sale for silly money! So I bought them, took the red jobby back and rushed around looking for turquoise jewellery!

On the Saturday morning, we were up with the lark, getting ready for the wedding. It wasn't until 1.30 but was quite a way away, so we needed to leave about 12. Ali was having her hair done and was our driver, having hired a people carrier. She was late picking us up and Jim paced up and down and watched every car that drove past our house! She finally arrived and off we rushed. Poor Ali was in a panic and when we picked Jenny and Matt up, the sisters ended up shouting at each other!! Weddings! We arrived at the venue in plenty of time. It was a lovely place, part of a vineyard. The building was wooden and the grounds lovely. It was even quite bright weather wise to start with.

We all assembled inside, the bride was fashionably late! A chap in a red jacket kept us up to date with proceedings and what we should and shouldn't do. Russell looked nervous, as expected, but his best man Graeme kept him calm and we all laughed and chatted. I took a few photos before the 'official' photographer arrived with the bride. Jim and I took photos of each other all dressed up and ready to go:













Jim Deen





Gina Deen





















The Bridegroom, Russell Deen, and his best man, Graeme, waiting for the bride to arrive. Russ on the right.

















All assembled. Jim's daughter Jenny checking her camera and her husband Matt (right) saying prayers?









Jim's daughter Ali (right) having a baby in December. Her husband Jo.

















The wind swept bridesmaids arrive





















Mr and Mrs Deen go off to another area for drinks


















Caz, the bride and the youngest bridesmaid























Caz









The buckets held bon bons. The little cakes were divine.









Caz

















The Wedding Cake











It was quite a drive to the reception venue. It was a lovely place called Slaugham Manor. Beautiful grounds and ruins in the garden. Sadly, it absolutely poured it down for most of the time so the guests weren't able to enjoy the venue as they could have. The reception was in a marquee in the grounds. The photos were also all taken inside and the food was a barbecue, of course we had that inside too. Having said that, it all went well, the food was fabulous and I'm sure the bride and groom had a great time. The decor and colour scheme were really pretty, and all done by Russ and Caz.

The Best Man's speech was brilliant, including a section about Russell's dancing. He apparently does an 'elbow dance' and all his friends got up and demonstrated!

I think you'll all agree that Caz looked stunning. She had also lost quite a lot of weight and her dress showed off her fabulous figure. Russell has also lost a lot of weight but I think he needs to put some back on. He's running a lot and his ambition is to be picked for the 2012 Olympic Marathon team. Well, fingers crossed.

Jim and I both laughed at the official photo of him and Russ as they both look like they've just got off their horses! Those photos are on Facebook though.

Jim gave a little speech about how much hard work the couple had put into the wedding and then did a little bit on my birthday. Ali came in carrying a birthday cake and they sang happy birthday, which was lovely. Russ and Caz also gave me an orchid plant, which I love. I also picked up a few more presents and cards during the day.

I had forgotten that Jim gave me his presents before we got ourselves ready and he took some photos of me opening them:





























This was the remote keyboard and mouse for my new computer (in the box on the floor) and if you look carefully you can see a huge bar of cadbury's chocolate on the desk! No wonder I look too large in the photos. Must lose some weight!

I hope you enjoyed the abbreviated version of the wedding. My next birthday treat started on the Sunday.

Russell and Caz get Married. 6th September 2008

Me ready for the wedding on 6th September 2008, my 60th Birthday

So after all the excitement it was back to Ireland on Monday 1st September. Much chatting to Jim about my weekend and the fun we'd had. Then only 2 days before we drove back to the UK for Jim's son Russell's wedding and our holiday to??. The secret location.

The days rushed by and I flew around the Worthing shops trying to finalise my wedding outfit and accessories. Both Caz and Russ liked my 'off the wall' suit, so that was the choice. I wanted something a bit bright to wear with it and it was going to be red or turquoise. I finally bought a red fascinator, then went to Debenhams and saw a great pair of shoes with a bag in their Jacques Vert section for sale for silly money! So I bought them, took the red jobby back and rushed around looking for turquoise jewellery!

On the Saturday morning, we were up with the lark, getting ready for the wedding. It wasn't until 1.30 but was quite a way away, so we needed to leave about 12. Ali was having her hair done and was our driver, having hired a people carrier. She was late picking us up and Jim paced up and down and watched every car that drove past our house! She finally arrived and off we rushed. Poor Ali was in a panic and when we picked Jenny and Matt up, the sisters ended up shouting at each other!! Weddings! We arrived at the venue in plenty of time. It was a lovely place, part of a vineyard. The building was wooden and the grounds lovely. It was even quite bright weather wise to start with.

We all assembled inside, the bride was fashionably late! A chap in a red jacket kept us up to date with proceedings and what we should and shouldn't do. Russell looked nervous, as expected, but his best man Graeme kept him calm and we all laughed and chatted. I took a few photos before the 'official' photographer arrived with the bride. Jim and I took photos of each other all dressed up and ready to go:













Jim Deen





Gina Deen
















The Bridegroom, Russell Deen, and his best man, Graeme, waiting for the bride to arrive. Russ on the right.
















All assembled. Jim's daughter Jenny checking her camera and her husband Matt (right) saying prayers?









Jim's daughter Ali (right) having a baby in December. Her husband Jo.

















The wind swept bridesmaids arrive



















Mr and Mrs Deen go off to another area for drinks

















Caz, the bride and the youngest bridesmaid





















Caz














The buckets held bon bons. The little cakes were divine.









Caz

















The Wedding Cake


















It was quite a drive to the reception venue. It was a lovely place called Slaugham Manor. Beautiful grounds and ruins in the garden. Sadly, it absolutely poured it down for most of the time so the guests weren't able to enjoy the venue as they could have. The reception was in a marquee in the grounds. The photos were also all taken inside and the food was a barbecue, of course we had that inside too. Having said that, it all went well, the food was fabulous and I'm sure the bride and groom had a great time. The decor and colour scheme were really pretty, and all done by Russ and Caz.

The Best Man's speech was brilliant, including a section about Russell's dancing. He apparently does an 'elbow dance' and all his friends got up and demonstrated!

I think you'll all agree that Caz looked stunning. She had also lost quite a lot of weight and her dress showed off her fabulous figure. Russell has also lost a lot of weight but I think he needs to put some back on. He's running a lot and his ambition is to be picked for the 2012 Olympic Marathon team. Well, fingers crossed.

Jim and I both laughed at the official photo of him and Russ as they both look like they've just got off their horses! Those photos are on Facebook though.

Jim gave a little speech about how much hard work the couple had put into the wedding and then did a little bit on my birthday. Ali came in carrying a birthday cake and they sang happy birthday, which was lovely. Russ and Caz also gave me an orchid plant, which I love. I also picked up a few more presents and cards during the day.

I had forgotten that Jim gave me his presents before we got ourselves ready and he took some photos of me opening them:





























This was the remote keyboard and mouse for my new computer (in the box on the floor) and if you look carefully you can see a huge bar of cadbury's chocolate on the desk! No wonder I look too large in the photos. Must lose some weight!

I hope you enjoyed the abbreviated version of the wedding. My next birthday treat started on the Sunday.