• Other

    Blanket Ladder

    I eventually brought the blanket ladder I made in my woodworking class home.  This had been somewhat delayed by the fact that I was rather hoping that either R or J would help…

  • House

    Clocks

    The clocks we inherited have been the last thing to be properly unpacked – the two grandfathers have been leaning rather sadly against the wall with their hoods off, and two others have…

  • House,  Renovation

    The Victorian Boudoir

    This is the completed master bedroom.  It is not really entirely Victorian because the washstand is a bit modern looking (I did start to look into the idea of buying an original one…

  • House,  Renovation

    House Sign

    The sign for “Castlebank House” at the bottom of our drive was a very rusted dusty black.  My task for today was to renovate it. The easiest way by far would have been…

  • Renovation

    Repairing the Windows

    I noticed a few weeks ago that we had a patch of dodgy looking wood right under our big stained glass window.  I realized that some repair work was going to be needed,…

  • House,  Renovation

    Basement bedroom

    The latest room to be decorated is J’s basement bedroom and the two of us worked on it together.  It had been pretty grotty – this was the wallpaper.  The woodwork was also…

  • Food

    A delightful lunch

    I have had limited luck with buying meat around here.  The supermarket stuff is well, supermarket stuff, and the one joint I had from a local butcher was expensive and rather mediocre.  So…

  • House

    Winter tests

    Well we are nearly half way through September, and it is definitely getting a bit cooler.  So before it suddenly turns seriously cold, we have been assessing the state of the house, and…

  • Renovation

    The Decorator

    Today we have been decorating J’s bedroom.  But not without lots of help. Saphy really loves lying on top of things that are on top of other things.  Usually it is bags, but…

  • Other

    Two Amusing things

    First amusing thing.  This is a Japanese pull saw.  I bought one to saw some wood. The blade is about 12 inches long and razor sharp.  It is attached to a study handle…