INDOORS 16

Finally - I mopped the floor clean. The room then needed to dry and air - and then I could begin to poly fill! Downstairs, in the spare room, where I am currently living, the chest of drawers is brightened by a bunch of flowers gifted from work.

Upstairs....

It is back to work! These great big heavy looking contraptions are planes - borrowed from my friend Liz - so I can work on making my closet door fit well enough to shut and the bedroom door a little less in size so that thicker carpet will allow it to open/shut properly.

Meanwhile - I took 2 days to polyfill wall cracks. The first day I did one wall, the second I did the rest of the walls and some of the closet. I need to re-do a few large cracks and use any spare filler on the hairlines then I will be ready to use those planes and 'attack' the doors!

OUTDOORS 10

Here they are - is the answer to the question from my last outdoor post. I decided that instead of tying them to things, I would dig them out and transplant them along the fence.

The fence will become a hedge - one day. I have small cuttings of box-privet and yew, a forsythia, and now 4 rose bushes planted - and have cut the mint back for winter and added 2 fuchsias from the front yard and my favored plant from Liz and a few bits and pieces...

Once grown a bit more, it should look nice. In the meantime, I added some scraps and stuff to 'hedgehog hotel row'.

Here are the latest artichoke tubers amassed by the zillion it would seem. I certainly think that 4 plants will be more than sufficient for growing next year. I still have around half in the ground, awaiting dry soil and free time to align to allow for me to remove them.

The tomatoes are beginning to be useless in the poly tunnel and there are maybe 4-5 left to pluck and pop onto the kitchen windowsill to hopefully ripen before I rip the plants out. I have numerous cauliflower seedlings, some of which I will pot up. I still have a little parsley and some chives going, too. But mostly, the tunnel growing season is done with - other than the caulis and possibly parsley.

Down the plot, I have done very little - it has been damp or wet and therefore not suitable to hoeing/digging. I have popped coffee grounds and scraps in the compost and harvested a few leeks. The last of the rocket might be coming home with me on my next trip and another bagfull of artichokes...

INDOORS 15

There were actually a couple of minor problems to consider before I did the task of vacuuming up the dust and filth. Above shows one board with a slightly chip next to a board that isn't straight. That I could not do much about. There was also a need for my hammer to assist me - 2 of the securing nails were up and needed banging into place - that, I could fix!

Alas, woodworm I could not - luckily it is only in one area and I figure that sunlight, cold weather and maybe a rub over with vinegar is the best I can do. So, the floor was finished after a vacuum - leaving a pile of broken linoleum outside all ready for when Liz gives me a lift to the tip!

That left me a little time free before my work duties - but not long enough to wash walls, so I decided to prepare the ingredients for my meals instead.... Vegan penne bolognese with port wine for lunch, potato wedges and rhubarb-ginger oat crumble for dinner.

Back to work, and here you see that I have been hard at work washing walls, ceiling, windows, doors and closet - so hard at work that my cloth is somewhat worn out!

This final photo for today shows the now clean ceiling, light and walls. Much blackened grime from dampness has been washed off and has not yet returned, so fingers crossed it won't.

INDOORS 14

I began to mop the walls down. I will need to go over properly with the cloth by hand and include the ceiling, but this 'first swipe' will do the job before I rip the linoleum out. I also had to clean the built in robe before climbing inside it to clean it properly later - so used the mop for this task also.

The bedroom now looks sorry for itself, also empty, ugly and a few more unpleasant words. The thought of it looking beautiful again and me living in it once more appealed enough for me to begin ripping out some of the linoleum after lunch, though. I could not get much further than a third of the room due to it being rather noisy - I figured I ought to stop being noisy at noon, as my son sleeps afternoons and works nights.

It was not a simple case of rolling it up either - I rolled/ripped one area, and had to tread it down to keep it from springing back open - and found more linoleum underneath! However, I am happy to report that the floor boards look in good condition and that I have a vivid imagination - able to imagine the luxurious carpet and beautiful furnishings I hope to install - 'shortly'.

The next day I got back to work and managed to rip out all the linoleum - GOING...

going...

GONE!

INDOORS 13

The next task might have been to tackle the closet or do some wall-washing, but the next job actually performed was to tidy the pantry. My first shot was to check best before dates on everything that was placed with similar items and line things up on the table - then replace them based on the dates they needed to be used by rather than what the item was.

I then proceeded to re-order the pantry again - this time separating 'instant/one meal items' to 'open and store' items. I then waited a day or so and then finally tackled that darn closet.

Disposable gloves on dry hands and braveness in mind I opened the door and began... There were suitcases, shopping bags, shoulder bags, plastic bags, back packs, a bag of sheets/towels/knitting, a bag of coathangers, a box of teenage acquired jewelry, my grandmothers' button tin, dust, filth and JUNK! A sample of the stuff is lain out on the windowsill:

The above shot shows memories. I once began to train as a nurse - the lump of crystal with fake gold on is from my great aunt and acquired from childhood summer holidays spent at her riverside home. But memories are not me as I am now, or me as I will become over the next couple of decades prior to death. I do not need to hold on to what was any more, because what is makes me happier.

There you go - evidence that I finally emptied that collection of stuff AKA a built in closet. Also, evidence that I may very well need to go buy a third tube polyfilla... :(