Monday 6 January 2014

Back To Work ... and If It Can Go Wrong ...It Will ...


Hello there .... 
Yes .. its been a busy few days ..


Flowers are lasting well ...
 Back to work with a vengeance ... mind you we were glad to start trading again its been two weeks ... nice holiday ... nice rest ... but no work no pay.

So Friday we were all organised .. we would get up early on Saturday ( as usual on a work day) ... there were just some 'bits' to finish off ... and get the van packed for Sunday trading. 
It would be a nice gentle start back ... probably quiet due to the weather .. we could be home in front of the fire just after lunch .. hopefully with a few pennies in our pocket.

So Hubby P set the alarm clock ... it went off in good time ... the cat was stalking about the bedroom wanting to be let out ... 'For Goodness Sake' ... says I .. (or something similar)...
 'let that cat out!' .
So Hubby P rolled over to get out of bed ... it must be said .. with a bit of a Huff!

Bang ! Crash ! .... the bed collapses .. (on His side!)



So guess what the first job was.

Serves me right for banging on about Make Do and Mend.
We had to mend it ... we couldn't afford a new one .... 
luckily Hubby P has a stash of bed fixing wood ... 

I did mention that in other households ... the ladies would be taken to salubrious places such as Argos to look at shiny new beds...

Hubby P said he certainly would not be taking me there ..  because I would come home with a Greenhouse!
That's my next 'in the pipeline' project ... the ideal one resides amongst the pages of an Argos catalogue .. watch this space.

So after bed fixing ... and it is always mucky under there isn't it ... no matter how much you try climbing under with the hoover...

We were all behind with our plans...


Quick pic's of the sewing machine tables Hubby P made ... before the were put in the van .. 




Lovely things ... these still had their treadle plates ... they will make a lovely feature table in someones home.




He made the table tops from pieces of nice old pine ... and they 'polished up lovely'.
And they sold quickly on Sunday ... which was nice.

Knobs ... lovely old knobs....


I was given the job of cleaning them up then they could go back on the large Victorian chest of drawers.

Hubby P bought this the other day .. in a rough condition .. and after considering the best way of giving it a new lease of life ...
it was repaired and painted a nice soft grey.. and waxed to give it a fine shine and protective finish.



You can see how far behind we are ... its almost dark.
Hubby P was just giving it a final polish ... 



In between jobs I managed to run up some tea towels from the last piece of vintage linen ... I have made lots of these and they sell well ... and people keep asking me for more ... well this really is the last of the fabric. 
That's the thing in this job ... the way we find things furniture/fabric and what not ... there is often just one piece.. or one bag full ... or whatever ... there is no going back to the shop for more.
Makes everything more special in a way.

Oh .. and amongst everything else ... we had to clear an old shed (of useful ...wood and manly stuff ... including a 'spare' shower I noticed) ...
Because we said we would re home this little gang.




Their previous home was getting a bit waterlogged .. and their owner finding it difficult to care for them ... and he was worried what would happen when he goes into hospital ... so of course we made room at the inn.

I had so missed having a few chickens.

Again ... their home is a bit 'make do' ... and needs some work ..
when we have a spare few minutes ... they need proper perches and a wire ventilation door .. but they are on clean bedding .. with good food and water for now.



The little white cockerel is called Rocky ... he is very old but still a dapper chap.
He was once ours ... he and another cockerel came to us as youngsters and did nothing but fight .. one day Rocky escaped the pen ... we could not find him. He had run up the hill and joined a bunch of 'Girls' living around the ancient windmill.
We left him there ... he seemed happy enough .. and there he stayed for nearly eight years ... I know ... really knocking on ... we are amazed he's still strutting his stuff.

Sundays trading went well .... quiet but okay.

A chap hurried over to us and asked if we could possibly help him out ... the roof had been ripped off a static caravan with the wind .. and it needed clearing of all the contents .. before the wind cleared them for him ... all across the fields.

So we dashed home ... changed into our grubby work clothes and dashed off to the desolate windswept caravan site.
A lovely place in summer ... a happy family place ...children up and down on their bikes .. laughter ... BBQ's ... all good fun.

Early January ... a cold bleak place ...all the caravans shut up .. all looks cold and uninviting.

Anyway we did the job ... packed everything up ... the van was packed with stuff by now ...
climb in the van to go home ... no gears ... van wont move!

Just what we need ... we've been up since 4am. 

We called a kindly body ... my sister .. and she brought me home (luckily we were not far from home)
 .. to get the fire lit and a meal ready .. Hubby P sat four and a half hours waiting for RAC.

As the light faded the caravans appeared ghostly in the semi light ... the windows looking spookily like hollow eyes ....

I didn't dare mention to him ... before I left for hearth and home ... that it was like a scene from Zombie Apocalypse ... or some such film....

Enough for now .. I have gone on and on ....

xxx