Back home. Eventually...part two!!

 Monday night on our way home we stayed in the first ever Travelodge on the A38 northbound near Burton on Trent

I wish there were more like this..basic, a good bed, shower and bath, a TV, a kettle, clean and tidy. No meals but a café...and a pub...nearby.

The Trent and Mersey Canal was right behind us and we had a pleasant evening walk on the towpath past Barton Marina to the lock at Barton Turn.

The view from our room

Pirate was checked out by a duck!

We heard the first boat chug by at nine the next morning, before we headed for home. 

Even out of rush hour the traffic was heavy and the driving cut throat...we were glad to leave the motorway at Gretna!!

A pleasant drive on the back road to Dumfries then up the A76 and home in daylight, and unpacked before dark.

Pirate had a restless night..so a test in the morning confirmed what I suspected...

Yesterday's skies....now we have a week off...and he has enforced rest!! That's what he needed anyway, but this isn't how we would like it arranged! Not that he would have rested enough without it!!

Therefore, on we go with the sorting and tidying of our own space!!

Back home. Eventually! Part one

 Another thing that Pirate picked up in the supermarket with his cousin's flowers was covid.. that's what he gets for hanging about in a supermarket queue waiting for me to finish food shopping, so he could pay, instead of just pay and go. After all he doesn't like being in shops anyway!!

Anyhow, it was a good trip, a object achieved. Front garden of niece's house cleared of brambles, two skips of rubbish so far gone, old Rayburn out and great niece has started cleaning and clearing with a vengeance!! It's great to see her being positive..I just hope she gets the job she is going for!

We visited the place that Pirate was born. Hinxhill near Ashford

That was the house he was born in and his bedroom was the white window..and it backs on to the Snowdrop Church.. although this time the Magnolia was gorgeous

We managed to catch up with Pirate's nephew on the Sunday..he is a very busy specialist joiner...who isn't taking on any more work at present as without any advertising has about eighteen months of work waiting !

Then off on Monday morning, braving the M25..and glad that we took the 20 mile longer clockwise route to avoid the Dartford toll..all the traffic jams were going anticlockwise!!

We headed up the  M1 ...a very boring road!! I was glad to turn off for Castle Donington where we met our late great friend Pete's brother for lunch...sat in the churchyard in the sunshine!!

A lovely town that we will be visiting again!

Faversham

 Day off! After delivering a bunch of flowers to a cousin..who was out with her daughter so we missed her...we headed for Faversham and a picnic lunch on the recreation ground where Pirate used to race grass track on his bike.

Coming back was more of a problem...the M2 was jammed because of Operation Brock sorting lorries to Dover..and as roads and lanes have changed with newer big roads being put in, what should have been straight back on a lane ended up being via Whitstable and Canterbury!!  Still, we managed it and it was a good day.

All the street name signs are this style, white on blue enamel.

We were so lucky that it happened to be market day!

The Aga saga

 

It took four days..but it's out!!

A lot of clearing has been done...no garden waste in the skip of course.

And another beautiful sunset on the way "home"..now for a day off!!

There is a front garden!!

 Under all those brambles!!

The other side there is an ex Holly hedge, now very overgrown.

Pirate had good exercise wielding an axe and bow saw to clear some hazel and ivy from the gateway.

Work in progress

 We are bramble and stove bashing for Pirate's niece and great niece....and enjoying the Kent sunshine!!

Also "exploring" some roads....as Pirate left here sixty years ago, his stomping ground then has changed a bit!!  We also agreed that lovely as it is, we wouldn't move here...too expensive, and even more than where we live, locals are priced out. A £350,000 house is called affordable.

If you are on Universal Credit that isn't much more than £10 a day....and the bus to Canterbury is over £6 return...and nothing after 6pm.

Anyhow, we are off again...if nothing else this is getting us fit for our own construction job!!

Spring? Progress

 

Gradually getting there! The oggin is down, dpc plastic protecting everything overnight. There is a French Drain going in in front of the verandah..you can see the trench...there will be stones in that, and also a gutter to cope with heavy rain.

Tomorrow we get some sand and place the slabs.  Then a break for a bit for everything to settle before finishing building work.

The garage had good news for us this morning, it was just a thin nail in the tread. That meant the tyre could be mended. Relief!!

We had the latest power bill..the charge for electricity and gas was the same amount...but the amount used was not!! So although we only use gas for the central heating and showers, we must use it even more carefully than we must use electricity.  It is fortunate that we are already fairly frugal. Now we must be decidedly frugal , plan ahead for power use when it is needed.

You can't just live at the flick of a switch any more.

Wet and windy

 A grey day

Today we were supposed to have been going to Glasgow for Pirate to ride the boards for an hour or two.

He isn't feeling happy as a cousin has just died...one younger than him...yesterday.

All sorts of niggly problems and other peoples' sadness gets to him...plus the state of the world.  How can humans be so awful to one another?

The car was packed and he did the usual check round... one soft rear tyre...go to our garage down the hill....no special lock nut opener....

The garaged pumped the tyre up hard...but we didn't make the trip, instead the car had a long overdue sort out. No widgit....back after lunch and leave the car for him to sort tomorrow morning! He makes sure that he keeps useful things like that from any car that gets scrapped...so,live in hope!!

I have done some house sorting while in the mood, making things more accessible in the kitchen and cutting clutter there and in the living room.

Neither are really good, yet, but it's work in progress!!  I can't be too drastic as that would really stress out Pirate!!!!

Now after a cuppa I must head to my study and think what needs doing to get back to doing craft/artisan fairs and markets.  I have a form to fill in,but no point doing that until everything else is ready.  Its been ten years since I did the last proper market selling.

Now I need to make signs and display units and think how I can present everything.

A proper challenge, but a constructive and creative one. A step in the right direction.

Windy day

 Yesterday was good. 

A low key get together, friends chatting and remembering and talking of the future.

Then JP's teammates recent and from former times had a session on the boards.    Just right.

Today is Mother's Day here..so himself made us tea...and no alarm this morning!!

The building progresses slowly as the wind is really getting to us, gusting over 30 mph..and as it channels between buildings it gets faster.

Still the brick surround is nearly all down. Oggin next.

I have been giving a hand and getting ready to sow more seeds in the greenhouse.

The onion sets, shallots and broad beans are already in and room is getting short! They will have to move out to the polytunnel very soon, but that is sheltering building materials at the moment!!

One bonus of mixed weather.

A split second and that was all that was left!