Just back from finishing off the last sections of plastering. Thank you Carl- for more of your fastidious work.
Once this dries out there's some painting to do next month but that's near enough, it.
Had a good run-in with the taxe people: "Our records tell us your property is different, how many shower trays/habitable rooms do you have and what is the primary material forming your walls and roof?". Dunno what that's all about but it was good to sit down opposite a fellow civil servant for some cultural exchange.
The fire bin hasn't shrugged off a year's work but what a good job it has done.
We continued to work in the Piggery - or 'Piggery of Personal (but Public) Pleasures' (working title). Took out the remaining wormy floor boards and joists to make a big hole.
Knocked down a few of the pig pen walls too and worked out they were much later additions to the original building. Not sure how it was envisaged to work before the pigs came in but maybe Carmen can help answer that. Notice the holes and wonder at how big the wood worms have grown-
Joist ends embedded into the wall so their consumption by worms wasn't visible. Think that through to 'what happens next?'...
Seeing all this made me wood worm obsessed as I asked Carl for a second opinion on the holes in the new landing laminate floor.. He licked his finger and wiped them off.
-Holliday. You're an idiot.
Plenty still to do in here but it feels a bit like architecture not just fixing back up again:
Van leapt from three months snoozing in the warm dry barn to 2000 miles in four days. Rain, snow, motorways and loads of stuff plus the occasional unintentional impact with scenery. Ooops, sorry, that'll polish out. With a bit of luck.
Fantastic year to look back over. Proud of who has helped us, what we've all achieved, and whom we can call our friends.
Here's to the next.