Temps Perdu - Croix De Chambre

Work bench

Steve — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:36:27 +0000

Following on from finishing the downstairs loo, I’ve managed to build myself an L shaped work bench in the corner between the existing bench that was there when we bought the house and the downstairs loo.

It’s not very heavy in it’s construction, just simple and strong enough for my electronics type work. I’ve also got lots of cupboard and drawer space to hand, as yet not sorted out or filled! It finishes off that corner of the basement and makes good use of the space. I’ve painted the wall, it’s all gradually getting painted, but I’m using up my white paint and the price here is crazy so it can wait until we next drive over to UK.

Apart from the worktops I managed to reuse cupboards etc that we had brought over from Pembury, so most of it is recycled, none of it matches! but that doesn’t really matter in this part of the house. I’ve also put in a couple of mains sockets for lighting and powering things like my soldering iron, and test equipment.

Of course it now means I have to keep it all tidy! But I’m going to start sorting through all the various shelves in this area to put things of the same sort together.

The old computer trolley is next on my list to sort out, the machines on it don’t get actively used these days so I will be removing the reusable parts from the cases and taking the remainder to the tip.

Hedge Cut – Finished!

Steve — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 10:03:22 +0000

Well it took us a while this year, but then again we were not in a rush to do it like we have been in previous years. Also Alison has really got to grips with the thicker wood this year and it’s been thinned out in places.

We also tackled the ends of the hedge where it joins on to our neighbours so we can just about walk between the hedge and the fence which you couldn’t do before!

Annual Hedge Cut

Steve — Tue, 03 Aug 2010 10:35:22 +0000

Well the annual hedge cut is well under way, not quite so rushed this year, we can now afford to take our time doing it. When we first bought the house back in 2005 the hedge was about 3.75-4 metres in height… way too high to even think about tackling it ourselves. Legally it should not be more than 2 metres in height on a boundary. So each year we have to give it its annual hair cut!

We are well equipped for this operation, dust sheets for collecting the clippings, high sided trailer for transporting the clippings to the déchèterie (tip), electric hedge trimmers and rakes etc.

This was the hedge when we bought the house in 2005

Then in Feb 2006 we had a team of guys come in to give it a severe prune.

At last you can now see the house, and more importantly we could see out!

So here is were we are with this years cut, as always we start on the outside and work out way along the outside face and the top, still to do is the short bit to the left hand side of the gates and then the inside and the top inside, but it’s looking smarter already.

Downstairs Loo the final installment!

Steve — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 14:13:39 +0000

This has taken a bit longer than expected, but we are pleased with the end results. We went to get things like door handles and other accessories on Saturday and between watching the Grand Prix and Top Gear I managed to get quite a bit done. There are a few minor detail things to finish off… isn’t there always. But it’s all up and running now and it’s so nice to have a working loo just next to the office rather than having to chase upstairs to the other end of the house!

As you can see in the first picture I’ve also put up some kitchen cupboards ex-Pembury on the outside wall of the loo, this is where I’m going to have my electronics workbench which I will be building sometime in the next few weeks.

Philip’s Graduation

Steve — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 18:45:45 +0000

Alison went back on the train on Monday for Philip’s university graduation in Nottingham. Everything went to plan and she got back this evening. Here are some of the photos of the day.

There is also a video of the event on the Nottingham University website Click on July 20th, 11am and Philip appears at about 32 minutes in… you can just move the scroll pointer to 32 minutes, rather than watching it all!