Starting work on the bedroom

23 September 2018

The last week was busy, with guests in the house, family meals and partying, and then on Wednesday we took the dog and the boat down to Sivota for a couple of nights away for Regatta.  Rob and Tanya moved into an apartment in Nidri for their second week - it's much more practical for them to be in town.  So we have the house to ourselves again.  As the music room is set up as a guest bedroom, it made sense to move in ourselves, and strip the bedroom bare so that work in there is made easier.

 Most of the work to empty the bedroom done

 ... just a few cabinets and the mattress to relocate

 The studio, once again, becomes a dumping ground!

 Our bed made up in the music room.  This room was originally planned to be the bedroom - next to the bathroom, east and west windows - so it is interesting to move in here for a while.  Hopefully only 7 to 10 days, though, as everything is difficult when disarranged.

 This photo and the one immediately below give some idea of the first job to do in the bedroom - scraping the wood clean.  The bedroom was one of the first interior walls we completed, and we didn't know enough to clean up as we went in those days!  Also, the plaster is about 2cm back from the front face of the wood frame, which creates a lot of little dust-collecting shelves.  We intend to put a skim coat of plaster on the walls, so after cleaning, the wood will need masking for plaster and limewashing.

 The same areas after scrubbing with a blunt chisel and damp cloth.

Cleaning up

14 - 16 September 2018

With only two days to go before Rob, Tanya and baby Vinnie come to stay, there's a lot to do to make us as baby-friendly as possible.

 This is the temporary terrace outside the kitchen door.  It was not expected to have to last this long, and the poor quality recycled wood we used is collapsing in places.  I'm terrified of someone's foot going through, or tripping up while carrying the baby - so we sacrificed some plywood in the name of safety and covered it.

 New cardboard on the floor.  Lots of new cardboard went into the music room, and I used the remainder to tidy up the living room.

 For my own sake, I scrubbed clean the kitchen window - it was extremely misty with splashes inside and out - now it is so clear, it's a joy to look out of!

 Dave and chairs relocated to the end of the living room away from the kitchen, so the dining table can be reinstated.  Hurrah to eat at a table again!

 The music room dressed up for visitors

 and from the other direction.  

Rather clashing patterns, but I used all our best stuff which isn't very well co-ordinated.

Dave's finished window, with a welcoming rose from the garden.

Window trims - another marathon

6 - 12 September 2018

While I was limewashing the upper reaches of the music room, Dave started work on the window trims in that room.  So far, only three windows have been properly finished, the rest of the house is still to do.  So this will be another long haul.  Each window needs 'quarter-round' beading against the glass, to hide the glass edge (this is fraught - as a misplaced panel pin will crack the glass); then the frame holding the glass needs a trim to disguise the slightly smaller fit of the frame to the box; and then the internal edge of the box needs some mitred-corner 2x2 cm trim to hide the plywood edges.  It's a fiddly job, lots of intricate measuring and cutting and then filling, sanding and painting.  I make it twelve more windows to do.  Not Dave's favourite type of job, but I've bagsed the limewash and plastering, so he's stuck with it!

 The west window in the music room was the one broken into in January 2017 while we were in the UK.  It has been screwed shut since then.  

 I finally got round to asking Rowan to look at it, and he replaced the splintered piece and filled the large damaged area, so Dave could get on with prettifying it

 Obligatory cute dog update photo

 Dave doing the delicate nailing on the glass trim

Some time later, the reinstalled window gleaming white (and I'd cleaned it!)

The room is now ready to dress up for visitors.

Glasshouse continues

5 - 6 Septembe 2018

Jade is working during the day on wood prep in the glasshouse frame, and Rowan calls by most evenings to check progress. 

 Paris and Naomi are also enrolled to boost the painting

 Rowan finds out why you shouldn't leave glass stacked in a heap without spacers - the rainwater suction between panes made the first one shatter.  Then our ladder failed (its little plastic feet collapsed with Rowan up a couple of rungs, so he slipped while holding the glass - it could've been very nasty but he escaped with a scraped shin, luckily) causing another pane to crack.  So work on getting the roof up had to stop, since each pane is slightly different measurements and they have to go up in the right order.

This is the area of rafter that had to be cut out because of weather and insects.  Rowan has constructed a filler piece.

Moringa Forest update

9 September 2018

The Moringa trees we started as seeds in the winter and planted out in April are now well over our heads, maybe 3 metres tall.  They really seem to like the on-contour beds manured and wood chip mulched in the winter. 

 A random plant in the Moringa bed turned out to be a pumpkin, which is spreading like crazy and has six fattening pumpkins at the moment

 The fattest pumpkin

 Moringa trees in flower - the bees love them

 At ground level, starting to look a bit forest-y?

One of the flowering trees has started to produce pods - long dangly ones, so we're hoping there will be a seed harvest soon.

A rash of visitors

6 September 2018

An out-of-the-blue phone call alerted us to Dave's ex-lifeboat buddies being in town.  So the September visitors started earlier than expected, with the knock-on effect of late nights and less work getting done.  Nice to see people though.

Andy, Gordon, Dave, Ernie and Mike - the advance party ahead of further arrivals on Sunday and again on Wednesday, lots of meals out to be had!

Limewash

5 - 9 September 2018

While the scaffolding is still in the Music Room, we can finally get to the last areas that need limewashing: all the spaces above the ringbeam that we couldn't reach easily by ladder.

 First section: side triangle and quartered circle - taped and first coated

 The puppy is getting bigger.

 And so, it seems, are the geckos!

 Centre of the wall, cleaned and taped ready for liming

On to the final section: loads of sheeting to protect the lower walls and door.

Work on the glasshouse

2 - 5 September 2018

While we finish the ceiling indoors, Rowan and Jade are at work on the glasshouse frame.  South-facing, it's hot out there.

 Hard to see, but Jade is lifting the first piece of roof glass up to Rowan

 Rowan seals it in place

 Rigging a working shade using tent poles to lift the fabric over the work site

Jade starts chipping out an area of rot and worm ingress in one of the beams

Completing the roof insulation

1 - 4 September 2018

Three rafter spaces left, but we're pretty slick at this by now, and everything is painted and ready to go, so up we went and finished the job.

 Just a little placeholder: a photo of its box taken with the new camera

 Three spaces to go.  First one with batons in and insulation

 The freshly plastered corner, still looking very damp

 First space completed, moving on to the second (last)

 Second space completed.  Final one to do.  Dave at work with the feather duster, clearing our cobweb collection.

 Last screws of the last section.  The roof is now entirely insulated.  Hurrah!  We finished quicker than we hoped, and still with time to limewash before our visitors arrive.