The weather yesterday was glorious – amazingly hot sunshine beating down on my back as I helped my brother with some more D.I.Y. We’re building a fence in his back garden to link up with the one we did last year (was it really that long ago?) The cross beams are 12 foot so the fence is easily 48+ foot long.
It wasn’t easy – we spent yesterday digging the ten two-foot deep holes needed for the posts. I’ve got aching blisters on my hands – one right in the middle of my palm where several layers of skin have ripped off – and we repeatedly cussed at the obstinate posts before we finally got them all cemented in place properly. I’m aching all over, I can hardly walk, but it’s amazing how satisfying manual labour can be. There’s nothing more calming than an afternoon of hard labour.
Today the weather was fair, it was sunny in the morning but cloudy the rest of the time. It was supposed to be raining so thankfully it wasn’t (The weatherman has been getting it wrong most of this week?!). Today we worked on getting the cross beams in place. JP already had a 10 foot section he’d built from his house to his hedge but we removed this as it was squint. We decided to use the piece behind the hedge to save us trying to nail lots of slats on through the hedge (it would be a nightmare, trust me). It took all morning just to do that as we only had a small space to squeeze the panel between the hedge and the posts – we’d already hacked half the hedge away – but we’re immensly satisfied with the result as it’s bang on the property line.
After that we started firing up the rest of the cross beams and that went pretty quick. Dad came round to take away some of the rubble we moved last time I was there (did I blog about that?) – there’s alot of rubble, surely about 30+ sackfuls?? We got rid of about half of them, carrying them all to the van, before dad and jp took them to the dump. We also moved six patio slabs and a dismantled shed (They took the stuff away in about 3/4 trips).
While they were away Muffin and I painted the exposed fence (easier than painting once the slats are on). It was threatening rain hust as we finished so that was all we could do today. They kept offering me a money for my trouble but I repeatedly stated that they shouldn’t have to pay family. In the end I settled for a delicious Toblerone=)
So here’s some pictures of the fruit of our labours. It’s back to work for me tomorrow so they’re going to finish the slats – it’s actually one of the quickest parts once you get started – and JP will do the last two posts later. They’re lower than the rest of the ground so he’ll either step the panels or bolt extensions on top.
The ground here is lower than the rest of the garden hence the need for a stepped fence/extended posts. The rest of the area has been excavated for decking to be built at a later date.
The story so far. Slats need to be added to the rest of the fence and posts added in the foreground (As shown by the two holes in the previous picture). The existing fence from last year is behind the shed.
I’ve just had a shower so now i’m going to have my dinner and watch a film. iRobot is calling even though i’ve seen it lots of times. I’m just in that mood right now. Mum and Dad are taking the aforementioned shed to my sister’s so it’s just Rocky (my dog) and I tonight.
Shamless plug section-
Falling got me The Kooks album Inside In Inside Out as a belated birthday present (I managed to stop her buying me anything when I was in London). I became interested in them when I saw an advert for the album. They’re a fresh, young (One of them is 17!!) band from Brighton in England. Maybe that’s where the lead singer’s funky accent comes from? I don’t know but I like it! My favourite songs so far are: Naive, Ooh La, You Don’t Love Me and Sofa Song. Check them out if you’re interested.
With the book tokens JP & Muffin got me for my birthday I got Eldest. It’s the sequel to Christopher Paolini’s Eragon. They’re all about dragons and magic and war – fantastic! They’re chunky books but easy reads (Eldest is about 2 inches thick but I’m halfway through after 3 days) and full of twists and turns. Chris is really cruel to his characters at times and it really makes you care about them. Anyway, if it sounds like your kind of thing check out the books’ website and hopefully maybe buy them!
I also got a couple of books on Nice and French phrases as Falling and I have finally booked our two-week September holiday=)
Later.
