New Step (by sarah)

Obviously we had to have the bottom step replaced - unfortunatly I wasnt there to get a photo of the old one being pulled out etc... but here is our shiny new step though I'm not entirely sure why they've made it wil so many screws visible on the top surface - I know they are counter sank but it still ruins the idea of having a middle carpet thing on the stairs with the sides exposed. I've never seen a step made like this. Still its sturdy and it means we are a step closer to being back in our home 🙂 Sorry I just had to get a joke in there somewhere!

Secrets of the Fireplace revealed (by sarah)

The Wood burner had to be removed for the holes behind it to be plugged up from the inside - the tunnel men have already repaired the holes in the tunnel. The wood burner also needed to be checked out for thinning from the rust.

Too our suprise lurking behind it is this buetiful cogg thing set into the wall - it looks like it was probably from the middle of one of the mill wheels or something. It seems such a shame that it is covered up by the fire - What I hope we will be able to do in future is replace the current wood burner with a smaller more effecient one with a glass door etc... which will be able to sit to one side of the cogg so that it gets seen - the builders have cleaned it out and it would make a nice little trinket shelf 🙂 Then the old preserving pan can sit the other side of it as our coal bucket etc... and it will look nice and rustic in a sarah and Al type of way 🙂 but for now it will have to go back into hiding.

A bit of a Catch up (by sarah)

As some of you may have noticed there hasn't been any blogging in Feburary - this was due to building work on the Bakery resulting in no power and no internet but I have been writing the posts off line - I have just sent them all live from the McDonalds in Stroud who turn out to have free Wiifi 🙂 I think I have just become a champion of drinking coffee very very slowely!

I will now endeverour to read about 1000 or so emials that have been waiting for me - also I abviously haven't been checking face book or anything. I have just a bit of work to catch up on here 🙂

Parafin Shower (by sarah)

Today has been stupidly hectic starting with dropping Jean off at nursery via convoys of cars due to the amount of road works going on enroute. Then to the shopping for food as I had forgotten several essentials such as more musili etc... Then home in time to discuess stuff with electricians and tunnel repairers, make lunch, I did start making dinner but somehow got distracted.

Then off to Stayte Services in Stroud to get our gas canisters refilled which was kinda urgant as at the moment its the only heating the Bakery has. i asked Barbara if she wanted anything and she said she'd like some parrafin from the Green Shop as they sell it 'loose' ie you can refill your own canister. So off we went - and after asking some confused people in the actual shop found that it was in the fuel part and was infact in the pump stand with the red diesal. This was where things really started to go wronge!

I don't drive therefore I do not use the pumps and therefore I managed to cover Dad in parafin getting the pump down from its cradle - it was alot heavier than I was expecting and I had trouble holding it. Still that wasn't too bad and we poked it into the canister and I squeezed the trigger and it thrummed to life - then I was fretting that I wouldnt know when it was full but Dad reconned it would have an automatic cut off - and sure enough it went thunk.

So....

I pulled it out of the canister and it was still glugging parafin - all over dad and all over the pump!

On top of that Dad had managed to park in the car lot where they where selling cars instead of in the shops car park and he dissappeared whilst I went to pay. I couldn't use my card as the transaction was under a fiver but I was apound short in cash so I had to leave the shop to track dad down. Grudgingly he gave me the quid and then it turned out I did have enough and now had about a pounds worth too much - this was becuase the lady had accidently told me 3 instead of 2 when I first went in as the sun was shinning on the display that told her how much too charge!

They let dad try and clean himself up in their toliets and then we had to chuck sand in the puddles of parafin and I was highly embarrassed especially as I managed to drop all my 'shrapnal' all over the floor - with it rolling under freezer units and shelves and everything and as it was all the money I had to pay with it all had to be retrieved - oh well!

I think I must have been over tired yesturday as I also managed to burn myself and blow the fuse box several times whilst attempting to cook dinner yesturday resulting in dinner being served about 9 o'clock :/

Of Bits Going Festy! (by sarah)

Unfortunatly though mum has mostly come through the radiotherapy ok the scar under her bust which had healed so fantastically has since become singed by the radiation and a thin uncomftable red wet line has taken over when the scar had been. This plus an absis has ment that she has had to go back on antibiotics and she is now at risk of cross infection 🙁

I am currently suffering from a bizar 'festy belly button' I am washing it out at least twice a day and yet it is still weeping a smelly liquid which I really don't like - it keeps happening and the pattern is wearing slightly tight trousers with a high nylon content :/ Everytime this happens and then it takes about a month to go away completely - so strange and probably not something you all wanted to hear about but never mind 🙂