tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-89709631468413480002024-03-13T10:27:18.518-07:00 ~ A Bonnie Life in the Country ~A diary of our DIY adventures as we renovate an old farmhouse........that is always full of muddy paws.Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.comBlogger38125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-201933803761352312016-02-09T07:18:00.001-08:002016-02-09T07:18:18.038-08:00Building the Kitchen Island<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I wanted to show you some pictures of the Island being constructed!</div>
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We have not built one before, so it took a few weeks as we were pretty much making it up as we went along! We used fence posts (planed and sanded) for the four corners and 2" by 3"s to create a base the size we wanted as a starting point.</div>
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We then built a unit to fit into the middle which would house the electrics for 2 sockets and create cupboards on either side and 2 drawers above them on the sink side.<br />
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On the seating side- we 'blanked out' the space where drawers on the other side would go.<br />
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Euan added in the sockets ( wiring comes through the new floor)</div>
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And finally we got the Oak top! Its a huge 140cm by 190cm and was made at Norfolk Oak</div>
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The oak that forms the open storage at each end cost a few pounds and came from the timer yard a few miles up the road. They were all different widths and lengths and looked like firewood but after we worked some magic on them with Euans planer/thicknesser, a good sanding and some oil- they looked gorgeous.</div>
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We added the supports at one end- cut in a curved shape to match the wall cupboard.</div>
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The bar stools proved difficult. We had 2 false starts with other sets of stools which had to be sent back because they were too tall....you couldn't sit at the island. In the end, I bought them from Neptune and they are perfect.</div>
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<br />Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-77004552359841619632016-01-31T08:37:00.002-08:002016-01-31T12:31:00.612-08:00A Kitchen Update....Our Island.<div style="text-align: center;">
When we came to view the house 3 years ago....it was the kitchen that we fell in love with because we could see that it would one day be big enough to have an Island and that was the dream. </div>
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But we 'finished' the kitchen 2 years ago without having built the Island because well, we wanted a large one and we didn't have the money. So we had to wait! </div>
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It was the bespoke oak top that cost the money...we could find only one company (Norfolk Oak) that would make us the worktop and it had to be driven up here especially from Englandshire....but it was worth it! Euan made the base of course. There are cupboards on both sides, drawers and open storage at each end.</div>
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I must apologise for the quality of these photos.....I need to get a decent camera or a steadier hand methinks</div>
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A few other things in the kitchen have also changed and been added.</div>
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We ended up replacing the oak worktops with granite. We loved the oak but it began to bow and stain, even with regular oiling and I was always paranoid about water around the sink.</div>
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We also extended the worktop into the window this time....the granite we choose is a really beautiful warm colour...Giallo Venneziano.</div>
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We also found a Welsh Dresser on Gumtree which now sits nicely on the far wall and gives me somewhere to display pretty things! Here it is a few weeks ago at Christmas.</div>
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The island is a joy to prepare dinner or do baking on.....sorry bout the mess in this one!</div>
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Euan made us a little extra unit to give us more worktop around the sink... he made it a wine rack with oak shelving to match the island.</div>
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Euan put in a big drawer and open storage at each end. </div>
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And here he is.....the kitchen maker himself! </div>
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We/I really mean Euan also got around to building us a proper larder which is wonderful and has really made life a lot easier! No more rummaging through wee cupboards to find things....its all in the same place!</div>
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We lived with wiring hanging out of the new floor under the old table for 2 years because we knew we would be putting power into the island when we got round to building it! Its really handy for appliances and for charging phones!<br />
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I am sorry I have neglected my blog. I will try to put together a post at some point showing a bit more of the making of the Island, rather than just the end result. </div>
Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-26283831926742790322015-05-23T12:30:00.003-07:002015-05-23T16:14:02.753-07:00Building a new Entrance Hallway and Staircase.....<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello! I am still here, I have not abandoned my blog........ but I dont know where the year has gone.............2015 is just falling away from me.<br />
Apologies
for not posting in a very long time......we have been busy working on the house and garden as usual and I have a couple of renovation
updates to come in the next few weeks.........but today I am going to
show you the new downstairs hallway and stairs which were finished last
year.<br />
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If you remember, we had to remove the weird metal spiral staircase which had been at one end of the kitchen in order to
cover the freezing cold stone floor and we wanted to add a wall to
create a proper hallway for some new stairs.<br />
The old kitchen was about 8.5m long so we could afford to loose the space and with the metal spirals location and orientation, the space underneath and around it was wasted anyway.<br />
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So it was removed......Cue Euan with an angle grinder and a sledge hammer........<br />
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Looking through from the entrance porch at the indoor fireworks!......</div>
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And here is the ladder that was to be our means of getting up the stairs to our bedroom and bathroom with a shower.........for 7 months over the winter.</div>
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Euan
built a new half landing and put together a flatpack staircase.<br />
Niether of us had ever done anything like this before so it was a bit scary I have to be honest.....</div>
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Once we had secured the stairs and landing in position on top of the new floor, the roof space above had to be reworked.....roof supports were removed and
stabilised, wiring and plumbing re-routed to allow the addition of 3 radiators in
the new upstairs and downstairs hallways. <br />
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Removing these supports and cutting the floor right back to the external wall here, allowed us to put in a half landing instead of a winder and move the staircase back about a metre from where the opening had previously been.......which made the world of difference.<br />
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This new hall is the smallest room in the house but its probably
been the renovation step that has been the biggest transformation for
us, having this new space between the kitchen and living room. <br />
It was worth climbing a ladder for 7 months to get to bed!<br />
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Theres a cute wee cupboard space under the landing and I found a lovely little reclaimed cupboard door on ebay that was an almost perfect fit.........we just need to get around to fitting it.<br />
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We choose simple spindles and the 8 Newel posts are actually just fence posts from the timber yard up the road! Euan cut them to size, ran then through a planer/thicknesser and sanded and painted them..........this large saving allowed us to buy a beautiful oak handrail of which we neede quite a bit as there is a gallery upstairs.<br />
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We are lucky enough to have a seperate entrance porch though that door there for wellie boots and coats so it didnt need to be big enough for those kind of things.<br />
We absolutely love the new space, it turned out a lot better than we expected and its hard to imagine the house any other way now. <br />
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But that was a while ago now..............and now that the weather has warmed up, we are getting stuck in outside again but my next post will be on the Kitchen Island.......... which is almost finished! <br />
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Lots of Love, Hayley x<br />
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<br />Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-50712614068126869172015-01-03T12:14:00.003-08:002015-01-17T04:41:40.824-08:00An Attic Bedroom and the last few days of Christmas Magic....... Happy New Year!<br />
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Our visitors have departed, we are have eaten our way through too many boxes of chocolates and the pile of wine bottles in the recycling box is rather embarrassing.....so the house feels a little empty.<br />
We had a really wonderful family Christmas here and there are just a few more days now to enjoy the decorations that made the house feel 'magical' this year.<br />
Then they will be boxed up and put away for another year which is the bit I always hate.<br />
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We have almost finished the downstairs bathroom now which is just captured to the left off the hallway in this photo......I will write post all about that's transformation very soon. </div>
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Poor Euan was literally fitting the shower on Christmas Eve in between his night shifts, ahead of our visitors arrival! We really cut it very fine. </div>
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"> An Attic Guest Room.</span></b> </div>
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This little attic bedroom was created in a bit of a hurry to accommodate our extra guests. Its turned out nicely though and has gone from being a 'through room' to the attic beyond and the coldest room in the house to the cosiest!! </div>
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This is how it looked not that long ago!!..... weird 'carpeted' built in desks and a piece of MDF forming a door straight through to the attic beyond. The ceiling has been plastered too low so Euan who is 6'3 had to tilt his head when in there...... with no insulation in the walls or heating.....you needed an outside coat on to be in here over the winter.<br />
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We put the roof up by 8 inches so Euan could at least stand in the middle!!!</div>
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We stuffed insulation in the walls, rewired it, re-routed the pipes so we could have a radiator in there, blocked up the door and put in an attic access ladder downstairs. </div>
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Its a really cute wee room now and very warm which is a delight!! </div>
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I am looking forward to catching up with everyone's blogs and plans for 2015.</div>
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Here's to a peaceful new year......I would raise a glass if we hadn't drank all the wine.</div>
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Hayley and the muddy paw gang xxx</div>
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Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-6622883330606287992014-12-21T12:50:00.002-08:002015-01-03T12:21:39.080-08:00 Merry Christmas.......... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Merry Christmas! I hope you are all ready for the festivities!<br />
We have my folks driving up from England and my sister and her fella coming from Australia this year...... its the first time we have been able to celebrate Christmas together in 8 years so everyone is very excited. Getting this project house ready for guests both in terms of finishing the main rooms, and renovating bedrooms and bathrooms to accomodate guests, has meant a rather intense few months of non-stop DIY.<br />
Mostly for poor Euan who is the builder, the joiner, the electrician and the plumber......when he isnt doing his actual job. <br />
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Frustratingly we just needed another week and all those unfinished things wouldnt have been. But we are out of time (and money!) Time for the christmas decorations!<br />
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The hallway off the kitchen was a lot narrower 6 months ago (you can
see from the ceiling lights which we havnt yet moved or replaced) and
just didnt feel right so we played around with the layout in this part
of the house which is an extension. We also put in a drop-down attic ladder.I will write a post about all that
work after Christmas!<br />
But its looking pretty back here with a real tree and some maileg pixies.<br />
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love my antique Mora clock, it makes such a beautiful sound when it
chimes and I had been waiting for the right place to put her.<br />
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We have changed a few things in the living room since its big renovation
2 years ago. I repainted over the magnolia on the walls....I didnt
realise how much I hated it or how 'dark' it actually was until it was
gone. I reupholstered the coffee table in some Linwood wool fabric bought for
steal on ebay and we treated ourselves to some new sofas at long last.<br />
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We have had the famous Ikea Ektorp ones for the last 6 years. They were cheap and cheerful and they did well but became so uncomfortable that I have actually preferred sitting on the floor for at least a year.<br />
God bless DFS and 4 years interst free credit. These are the Loch Leven ones from the Country Living range in Oatmeal and are massive in comparison to the old ones, incredibly deep and very very comfortable.<br />
For all our good intentions to 'not let the dogs up on the new sofas'...I know it wont last so we have some quilts on them to protect the fabric.<br />
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There was another reason I sat on the floor though......this is what happened all too often on the last sofas... <br />
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We also replaced the carpet (after the great new-carpet dissapointment of 2013.........)<br />
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We would have loved to have the Kitchen Island built in time but it would have been too expensive at the moment. Its on the New Year to-do list.<br />
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Have a really wonderful Christmas however you are spending it, hope Santa brings you what you are hoping for .......and fingers crossed for some snow. xxxx<br />
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Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-47350659353832613352014-10-17T12:19:00.000-07:002014-10-22T11:30:22.582-07:002014:The Year of the Garden.............<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well folks, its coming to the end of the 'outdoor work ' weather here in Aberdeenshire and so a chance to look back at what we have been able to get done in the garden this year. </div>
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It was only last year that the pond was filled in giving us a much larger garden space and the grass seed has grown over it nicely. In that area of the garden we marked and dug out some decent sized flower beds and planted them up with as many shrubs and flowers as we could afford.....roses, lavender, daisies, agapanthas, fuscia, more roses, potentillas, hydrageas, delphiniums, loopins......all the cottage garden favourites and some evergreen shrubs thrown in for winter structure. Even my parents helped me out with the digging and my Mum brought us up a car load of plants as she always does. </div>
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I have tried to give the lawn a shape with curved edges......its not a perfect cicle but I think we get away with it. We have also planted some trees randomly in this area, picked for either thier foliage in the Autumn or blossom in the Spring.</div>
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The flower beds are all edged in box hedging- they are only small just now but I know in a few years they will all join up and form a neat little hedge. So far we have put in about 500 of them at 15-20cm tall. </div>
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These shots were taken from an upstairs window. Bats live in that Ivy to the right</div>
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which has totally taken over our giant Ash tree.</div>
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We were able to tidy up the patio area quite a bit too by extending the original patio out to one side over a pile of rubble and meaning we can now actually use our utility room door. We dug out a gravel path along the front and this will exend all the way down the garden when I find more old bricks at the recycling centre to edge it with!!<br />
We added a new step down onto the path which is not quite finished and will use some old stone to clad the breeze block to blend the extension in with the old part of the patio when we get around to it.<br />
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We are planning on replacing all the windows with Georgian bar panes as it will look much nicer..........thats why there is only one window on this side that is glazed like that- it was the new one we had knocked through.<br />
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You can just see our 'trio of monkeys' looking out from the kitchen doors there...........<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yk-wQvYYpg4/VEFJ_ffWbMI/AAAAAAAABEo/6N6Xpf6P1Po/s1600/20140911_162241.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Yk-wQvYYpg4/VEFJ_ffWbMI/AAAAAAAABEo/6N6Xpf6P1Po/s1600/20140911_162241.jpg" height="640" width="480" /></a>I have used bark for the first time, mostly because the flower beds are pretty large and consequently there is a lot of bare soil...every time it rained, at least 100 new weeds appeared. It is working very well as a weed suppressant and just makes things look a bit neater. We got a delivery of 3 tonnes from the local timber yard. That was about 200 wheel barrows to shift.............my back will argue that it was more..............and we still have a lot left.</div>
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Around the other side of the house is the vegetable plot we built last year. We had such high hopes to really get stuck in 'growing our own' but we have been working so much over the past 12 months that we havnt grown anything but weeds. Next year!! </div>
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After the weedkiller had done its work...............a bit depressing isnt it? I wish I had more time.<br />
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Last winter we planted 300 beech to form a hedge around the property.......These were bought at 90cm and have really taken off, I think we only lost 3 or 4.Another 300 to go in bare root over the next few months.....its a much cheaper way of planting a hedge.<br />
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Its been a lot of work but I know the rewards in the long term will be worth it.....I kept reminding myself that we will never have a lovely garden here unless we plant one and its already come a very long way. <br />
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Back in May 2013.......what a mess!</div>
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<br />Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-85179996899315366242014-07-30T13:09:00.001-07:002014-07-30T13:09:57.715-07:00A Westie named ElphieWith Maggies passing in April, there was a spot open at Drumhendry. .....and it has been filled by this wee pocket rocket...... (centre)<br />
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We have taken on a 1yr old West Highland Terrier whose previous owner knew they wernt really giving her the time and attention she deserved so asked us if we could give her a new home.<br />
We have renamed her Elphie.....if you are a fan of Wicked you will get it! We have the CD on all the time, despite having not yet seen the musical ...got tickets for 2015 though! <br />
I have never had a terrier or a little dog of any sort before....I grew up with big dogs....Newfoundlands and German Shephards and am more of a big dog person but she is a sweetie.....very quiet, has scarcely made a sound in 2 months which is a relieve as I am not a fan of 'yappy.'<br />
Elphie is very gentle, loves a snuggle, follows us around like a wee shadow and totally idolises Molly and Isla. <br />
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As far as our cats go, she has made friends with Darcy, formed a very unlikely alliance with Buzz but unfortunately she likes to chase Tabitha...who runs away and being a terrier, she just has to tear after her. We are working on that.<br />
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I have never seen a dog SO excited about her dinner- she literally jumps and spins round in the air with glee.<br />
Euan is trying to get her swimming which is so funny...he lifts her in and her wee legs start paddling just before she hits the water. I dont think westies are really water babies but she wants to go in with Molly and Isla so much.<br />
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Its quite difficult to get a photo of her as she is on the move constantly..............a wee pocket rocket!!!<br />
But for some reason she likes to jump up and sit on the dishwasher door if we leave it open!!<br />
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Have a great weekend everyone xxx <br />
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<br />Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-19357127193639014652014-05-29T09:00:00.003-07:002014-07-28T01:31:05.639-07:00My Dream Kitchen.Believe me, I do know how lucky I am. Euan has done himself proud building us this gorgeous new kitchen. He has made the units, doors and drawers from beech and pine and we painted them in Farrow and Balls Dimnity,the insides varnished.<br />
I suppose its very like our old kitchen in terms of style but then, you like what you like dont you??!<br />
Its warm, light and friendly with all the essential elements of a modern country kitchen.<br />
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<b>The Country Range Cooker </b>- Our electric Redfyre is 5 years old now, it was a luxury purchase for our last house and there was no way we were leaving it behind! The beam came from an online reclamation yard, the brick slips from Ebay.<br />
<b>Clock</b> from TK Maxx.<br />
<b>Silver Letters</b> from Annie Mos- '&' given to me by my Mum and sprayed silver to match! <br />
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<b>The Belfast Sink and Taps</b>-Ebay. <br />
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<b>Solid Oak Worktops</b>- Ebay. The upstands are actually made from some oak going spare from new window sills being installed at my work that happened to be the right size.<br />
<b>Built in Dishwasher.</b> Another Ebay buy.<br />
<b>The Dresser</b>- The base bought on Gumtree and painted in Dimnity to match the kitchen units. The top with its glass doors and T&G back was made by Euan.<br />
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<b>Retro Fridge/Freezer</b>- Miles better than a SMEG by all accounts and bought online as a shop return because it has a dent in the side (saved quite a bit of money there)<br />
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<b>Curtains and blind</b> are from Next.<br />
Ghastly bare bulb has been replaced with slick modern ceiling spotlights.<br />
Doors replaced with period pine ones bought on Ebay and Gumtree.<br />
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I really wanted one of those gorgeous Neptune kitchens like below but we did not have the funds for that. Euans kitchen is a darn good copy though! We were even able to source similar handles and knobs online. <br />
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I love this little wall unit he has made for all our baking bits and bobs.<br />
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Its not quite complete..............theres no skirting, a few things to be done here and there and we still have the Central Island to build. I hope we can get that done in the next few months .... the cost of the huge oak worktop has put it on pause for just now.......and we are tackling this area instead. <br />
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But the horrendous strange and unsafe spiral is gone and after 7 months climbing a ladder, we finally got some stairs in the new hallway.<br />
Still a lot to do here but no more ladder!!! <br />
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All in all, this whole space that was once a freezing cold ugly kitchen with a skull cracking stone floor and falling-to-bits deathtrap spiral staircase in it, is a totally different space with a proper entrance hallway for the stairs.<br />
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Love to everyone xxxx<br />
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Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-77235927460303633182014-04-04T09:08:00.001-07:002014-05-25T09:39:10.981-07:00For Maggie......<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We had to say goodbye to our little cat Maggie on friday morning
so in the tradition I have seen many times amongst my blogging friends, I am
going to post a tribute to our very special little cat who will be dearly missed.<br />
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We adopted Maggie just 3 years ago from the SSPCA after
seeing her scraggy little face on their website. She was old and had been
waiting for a home for a long time. I couldn’t stop thinking about her so like
idiots we drove over 100 miles to Inverness to
get her. She hissed when we went into her compartment but we later realised that
we had startled her because she couldn’t really see.</div>
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She was tiny, literally half the size of our cat Buzz but really overweight. I used to joke that she looked like
she had been riding a really fat pony- she had real barrel legs. But a diet and
the chance to get outside soon fixed that.</div>
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She quickly because best friends with our two dogs and was
sleeping in their beds with them or on top of them within a few weeks. Molly
and Isla have always looked out for her and been unwaveringly tolerant ….she
was always clambering right over their heads as they lay asleep in the floor.</div>
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They have been very quiet, especially Isla, over the past
few days and this morning both kept going </div>
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over and sniffing her empty basket
and looking at me.</div>
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Maggie loved to snuggle and was very affectionate- you couldn’t
sit down in the living room without her climbing up your leg to get to your lap.
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Being blind, we have had so many comedy moments from her …..
the time she tried to jump onto our bed and jumped up about two feet away from
where the bed actually was…………. and she ran
daily into doors, furniture and the dogs, darting around fearlessly!! There are
still cushions on the floor all over the house in front of things she was
always running into.</div>
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But she was very happy, never happier than when there was a fire
lit and she was snuggled with her friends.<br />
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I found Maggie just as I was leaving for work, in her spot
by the fire but clearly having suffered a stroke during the night. She purred
when I went over to her but she couldn’t move at all. I carried her through to
the bedroom with me to wake up Euan and we both agreed that Maggies time had come. </div>
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vet wasn’t able to come to the house until lunchtime and that gave us a
few hours to spend time with her and say goodbye. I am so thankful for that
time. <br />
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We have buried her in the garden and I have planted some
snowdrops over the spot. They are out in our garden just now so we will
remember her when they come up each year at this time.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">We will miss you wee one xx</span></span></div>
Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-40590402020682109192014-02-28T11:55:00.002-08:002014-06-03T00:07:34.773-07:00We have a kitchen in our kitchen.......<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After complaints from my family (who all live a long way away) and who check in with my blog to see photos of our renovations progress .....I thought I had better put up some more pictures of the kitchen.<br />
I was avoiding posting about it again until we were all finished but that is still a few weeks away.........its taking a bit longer than we hoped. <br />
As you can see, its very much still a work in progress.......Euan is building the kitchen units from scratch again and he still has to finish and hang the doors and make the drawers.<br />
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The oak arched beam I bought from a reclamation yard about a week after we moved in in 2012.....I bought it knowing it was destined to go over the Redfyre one day so its been under the bed since then waiting for us to get round to the kitchen! The design is very like the kitchen we built in our last house....handmade painted wooden units with oak worktops....its just a lot bigger!<br />
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Buzz sunning himself in the window behind the new sink! </div>
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Half the drawers are untidily open in this picture but its been painted to match the new kitchen, new handles added and a top built. Again, thats not finished yet- its needs a top cornice and glazed doors!<br />
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We are going to build a big central island thsi time instead of a table, hence the wires sticking out of the floor under the table.<br />
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But we do have a working sink and a dishwasher so we are feeling a bit spoilt after going all winter washing up in the disgusting utility room as it has a sink but it has no proper internal walls or flooring!!<br />
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Its going to be lovely......just a few more weeks/months but we have come along way since...<br />
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Its feeling very spring-like, even this far north.......Cant wait to get stuck into the garden again- I have so many ideas!!! xxx Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-71952407905892813362013-12-18T12:36:00.001-08:002013-12-18T12:44:40.566-08:00Starting on the Kitchen.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We have started on the kitchen which is both exciting and scary. Its the
largest room in our house and its right in the middle.<br />
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Here is the kitchen before.....on the day we moved in. Its wasnt awful or anything.....we loved the flagstones, that there were patio doors (which are just out of the photo beside the fridge there) and how big it was but not much else.Just not our taste and it was, and looked very cold.<br />
The scary RED hallway was also hastily covered in 4 coats of magnolia, a quick fix to calm it down. I love red but not that RED- it gave me a headache.<br />
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The kitchen also had the staircase in it- a strange metal spiral staircase, more suited to a maritime museum I think! It felt weird having the stairs in the kitchen, they also felt very unsafe and made a horrible clanging sound as you climbed them. Euan took his grinder to it....that was a fun day!! Literally sparks flying everywhere! </div>
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We have since put in a stud wall and created a small hallway
for some new boring straight stairs.</div>
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There is just a ladder for the time being
until we can afford a new staircase.Climbing a ladder at 5am to get a shower in
your slippers is not that much fun I have to be honest. And quite sore on your feet! </div>
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The original flagstone floor created a real dilema. It was lovely and would be
extremely expensive to put in nowadays but the reality of having a floor like
that in Aberdeenshire is basically living with a block of ice right in the
middle of your house for 6 months of the year. After the first freezing cold winter and the 3rd
Emma Bridgewater mug got smashed to a thousand pieces on it.....we decided that
it had to go.We first laid down a very thick wool carpet underlay which acts as
an fantastic insulator and helped to even out any slight unevenness in the level of the
flagstones. We then laid a new chipboard floor on top <span style="font-size: small;">which worked really well. The kitchen is nowhere near as cold, the difference is really incredible. </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;">So here it is just now from the same angle as the above photo....Its rough obviously, thats the new stud wall and doorway.....and the new chipboard floor laid but its more of a blank
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<span style="font-size: small;">We are going to lay the new oak flooring this weekend. As usual there are pets photobombing every photo!</span><br />
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We brought our Redfyre with us from the last house and sold the range cooker the previous owners left.</div>
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This is the reverse of the new wall. To the left is the entrance porch and to the right is where the new stairs will go. Behind me is the door through to the living room.</div>
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I am going
to paint this huge 19 drawer unit, change the knobs and Euan will build
a dresser top for it. </div>
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It was the first thing we bought for this
house actually - a gumtree bargain at £100.We couldnt actually fit it in our old house or our car! So we had to borrow a car to collect it and ask the previous owners if we could store it here until our exchange date.</div>
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So, its moving forward. No hope of being finished by Christmas but never mind- We will be washing up from Christmas dinner in the Utility room for sure!</div>
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Hope you are all enjoying the festivities and the run up to Christmas .........making time for Mulled Wine.......thats one of the best things about Christmas xxxx</div>
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<br />Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-5332549870869670212013-12-11T12:07:00.001-08:002013-12-11T15:52:03.934-08:00Christmas in the Farmhouse Its my favourite part of Christmas...the decorating!!!!! Last year we had nothing out because the Living room was being worked on and in total chaos. People always say that if you start picturing a Christmas tree at a house when you view it, then its the house for you! We had to wait 16 months to put our tree up at a Drumhendry so we have loved decorating the house even more than usual this year. <br />
We put it in the wee snug off the living room but as
its all open plan through here- we can still see it from the main living room. I wish I had made up the sofa neatly before I took this picture now.<br />
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Now, this old sledge I might do a bit more with this year- I got it at a
local junk yard known as 'Steptoes yard' in the summer for £3!!! Its
perfect for some more of my pixies and reindeer from Maileg to ride on.<br />
It would have looked more Christmassy with snow outside but its actually 12 degrees in Aberdeenshire today! Crazy.<br />
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I love Maileg pixies....I have quite a few now- heres some mega ones joining us in the living room.....<br />
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We finally got rid of that awful ceiling light fitting but I havnt found anything to replace it with....I can buy table lamps all day long but I really struggle with ceiling lights.<br />
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I was really pleased with the mantle piece .....The wooden NOEL came from M&S and the greenery from the woods by our house.Mr Darcy the cat just snuck into the bottom of this picture....theres almost always a cat or a dog hiding in my photos if you look closely.<br />
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I really love looking at other bloggers christmas decorations at this time of year, I hope you have enjoyed looking at mine. xxxx<br />
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<br />Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-37299809125086188752013-10-03T08:16:00.002-07:002014-06-03T00:04:31.194-07:00Garden makeovers and Autumn approachesWe have been living at the farmhouse for a year now, I cant believe it! This summer we have been working on the outside and garden; it resembled a builders yard/tip when we got the keys- generally a mess of junk and rubble. With a little mechanical help and a summer of hard graft- we have build a vegetable plot, a sandstone retaining wall around the back of the house where there is a difference in ground levels, 3 news sets of steps, laid a smart patio at the front, tidied up rather a lot of crap, built a new roof on the porch and dug out some flower beds.......I feel knackered just typing it!<br />
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Its not quite finished - the top step isn't done in front of Miss Molly there and a few other tweaks to make but it started to rain today and I think that's the beginning of the nasty winter weather so we may not get much further now this year. But hopefully the grass seed we put down here will grow a bit. I bought the old Cart Wheels on Ebay.</div>
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We are so thrilled with it now- its been just a mess for the last year...it still looked like this 3 months ago when the digger made two distinct levels and believe it or not, it looked even worse when we bought it!</div>
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** wee update 8th November**</div>
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The awful weird patio front doors that you had to walk sideways through are gone....a weekends work had us make a new door frame, fill in the gap left by the old doors and fit a lovely proper front door. Even the Postie was excited about having a letter box to use!!</div>
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Excuse the compost bag in this one....I was just about to put in the buxus cones either side of the new steps ( Buxus £15 each- bargain in B&Q) </div>
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We were lucky in that the gorgeous sandstone was everywhere in the garden and so we had just enough to build this retaining wall the whole way round the house. I have become a champion cement mixer let me tell you!!</div>
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We had been stepping on a wobbly breeze block to get to the front door but no more.....lovely steps!</div>
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And here is the veg garden! We are growing an amazing crop of weeds at the moment but next spring- we will get stuck in. There is 7 raised beds in it with little gravel paths between them. </div>
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Inside, I have put out some little decorations for autumn, a few wee pumpkins here and there, twinkle lights on our mantle piece. I know I put on too many pictures of the living rooms but they are the only almost finished rooms!<br />
Plus, I look at my blog from work and wistfully pretend I am at home......<br />
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Its been an amazing summer up here in Scotland, the best I can remember for several years and we have been thankful for it. Now that the weather has turned, we will be starting on the kitchen! Yikes xxx</div>
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<img src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-o_n0EiLQujM/UdkPhoErmJI/AAAAAAAAAtA/TXyx1Kinx-g/s320/P6270283.JPG" height="72" style="left: 461px; opacity: 0.3; position: absolute; top: 874px;" width="96" />Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-43619060730477205962013-09-07T15:15:00.000-07:002013-09-26T21:55:56.054-07:00Maggies final adventure.<br />
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This week began sadly.<br />
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On Monday, it was a beautiful day and we spent it outside, building the stone retaining wall. The patio doors were open and we were in and out all day.<br />
After eating our own dinner, I went to grab a shower before my night shift and left Euan to feed the animals. That was when we realised little Maggie, our blind elderly cat wasn't there.<br />
She was always the first in the queue at dinner time-beginning her 'feed me' bleating at 6pm on the dot. Its quite funny to watch her racing through from the kitchen and making a sharp right into the utility room -she has only missed the doorway gap a few times and ran straight into it.<br />
But she wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere.<br />
We panicked, neither of us could remember when we last saw her after breakfast, we hadn't noticed her all day, we had been too preoccupied. I phoned work and said I had a family emergency and we frantically searched the garden and area immediately around the house. Maggie is so brave and loves being outside but she hasn't left the garden since we moved in a year ago. We ran up the driveway anyway, which is 1/2 mile long all the way to the road calling her. The farmer has recently harvested his barley fields and has ploughed and re-sown the fields so they are brown and flat all around us in every direction. Maggie is white- she would stand out a mile off. We were out looking for her well past dark, combing the ditches, woods and fields and then we turned the house upside down.<br />
Its about a mile to the nearest house. There was no way she would get that far.<br />
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She just vanished. I cried myself to sleep worrying about her, all alone out there somewhere, cold and scared. I was terrified that a fox had taken her or a buzzard. Neither of us got much sleep, every noise outside made us run to the door thinking she had found her way home.<br />
We were out again first thing, re-checking everywhere but by this time, the realisation that we would not see her again was sinking in. She was very frail, more so in the last few weeks and completely blind. We both began to feel that she wasn't really lost, she had simply slipped away to hide and spend her last moments alone. It was heart-breaking.<br />
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At work on Wednesday I kept to myself, I didn't want to talk to anyone, I was too upset. I know we both secretly hoped that when we pulled up at the house that night, she would be there to meet us. She wasn't of course. The best we could hope for was to find her little body; if she had gotten lost, there was no way she could survive two nights out in the open.<br />
I didnt want to give up and Euan knew that I was finding it really hard to accept she was dead -that night he found a butterfly sleeping in our wardrobe -he said that it was Maggie, she had turned into a butterfly and flown up to heaven.<br />
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On Thursday morning at work, I went onto the local Cats Protection webpage, I don't know why really. There was a message on the noticeboard asking for suggestions for a location for a car boot sale so I sent a response suggesting the village park in Luthermuir. At the end of my message, I decided to just add that we had lost our little blind cat in the unlikely event that someone found her in the woods and thought she had been abandoned. I did not expect to get a reply. <br />
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My heart jumped out of my chest when I opened an email a few hours later from the CP saying that a cat that sounded like Maggie had been handed in to a Vets in Brechin. I was shaking too much to phone them myself so I texted Euan, who was also at work and asked him to call.<br />
I told myself over and over while I waited for him to call me back....'it wont be her, dont get upset when he tells you, you know it cant be her'<br />
But....it was her. It was Maggie. A lady had found her at a nearby farm, and brought her in.<br />
Euan's crew was about to leave his fire station on a shout when he got my text and he asked his crew manager if they could hang back a minute while he made the call. They all knew we had lost our cat (don't worry, it wasn't a serious incident they were heading to) and he said he had to stop himself from crying like an idiot in front of his crew when they described little blind Maggie over the phone.<br />
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The Vet told us that she was in quite a state when she was brought in and with her age and blindness they very nearly put her to sleep.............but she perked up after some food and a drink and then they were contacted by the Cats Protection lady who works with them about my email!<br />
I still cant believe it-it feels like a miracle. To get to where she was found, Maggie, who cannot see a thing and is just a tiny bag of bones, had walked over a mile through ditches, woods and farmland, along a country road and survived 3 days without food or water at her age. She made it to a house in what's mostly just farmland in every direction, someone kind found her who bothered to pick her up and take her to a Vet.<br />
It was sheer chance that I sent that message to the CP, a message really about the Boot sale!<br />
Although I had phoned our own Vet because Maggie is micro-chipped, I didn't think to phone any other Vet! Given where we live, its not like she would be shut in someone's garage so we didn't see any point in posters or anything like that. We didn't think she could have made it out of the garden in all seriousness.<br />
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She started meowing and purring as soon as we came into the room at the Vets- she must have heard our voices in the hall and they said she hadn't made a sound before that.<br />
She is now curled up in her bed at home, where she belongs.<br />
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We know she isn't going to last forever, maybe not even that much longer but it was agony not knowing what had happened to her and I just cannot believe we got her back.<br />
Euan and I (okay Euan, more than me- but I helped) made a big carrot cake and took it round to the lady who found her to say thank you. <br />
The week ended much better than it had begun. Life eh? Sometimes you just cant believe what happens.<br />
<br />Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-12195253477837447122013-07-07T00:09:00.000-07:002014-06-02T23:58:28.377-07:00The gardens coming on.................slowly!<br />
We have been busy the last few weeks, mainly working outside landscaping the garden.<br />
As usual though, I have been pottering and rearranging a few little things here and there in the living rooms and dining room. Its a disease!! I have about an hour when I get home after a night shift before Euan gets home from his and its my 'pottering' time. <br />
A few wee things have changed, we put up a mantle shelf and got the door frame on. Still got that hideous central light fitting!<br />
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Watching the tennis yesterday afternoon as you can see......isnt the huge old style TV aerial a delight?? We dont have one on the roof yet.<br />
Its the final today and I feel nervous already.....especially after watching poor Lisicki loose.<br />
Come on Andy!!! <br />
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We have quite a big garden with virtually nothing in it, I could count on one hand the number of plants.<br />
There is one beautiful rose though, growing against a wall and I picked some blooms for the house.<br />
They smell as gorgeous as they look and it was lovely to be able to pick something from the garden instead of buying flowers.<br />
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I dream that the garden will one day be full of flowers like this.........but for this year our goal is to get it landscaped, tidy and ready for planting things next year.<br />
Our to do list is......<br />
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<li><strike>To get the pond filled in. </strike></li>
<li>To get the garden relatively flat so Euan dosent have to get up speed on the old tractor mower to get over areas of the lawn.Although it is pretty funny to watch.</li>
<li>To build a proper vegetable plot...white picket fence and everything. </li>
<li>To get some more trees planted on the north side.</li>
<li>To get rid of the wierd wall thing built around the beech trees and reuse the stone ......</li>
<li>To build a small retaining wall around the back and side of the house to tidy up where the extension meets the grass and 3 new sets of steps.</li>
<li>To get a nice gravel path around the whole house.</li>
<li>To mark and dig out out some flower beds. </li>
<li>To stay away from garden centres where I will be tempted to buy pretty flowers with nowhere for them to go when I get home. </li>
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We had some help from a digger to get the pond filled in finally.<br />
We removed the fake fur from inside it and sold the 'porn shed!' on Gumtree (We did not share our thoughts on what the previous owners of our house had been doing in there!) and we dismantled the decking underneath.That was a job and a half....my arms are seriously beginning to resemble Popeyes. Everything at the moment is heavy lifting and lugging rocks, digging, pushing loaded wheelbarrows.....its safe to say that my dreams of flitting around my country garden in a Cath Kidston dress aint happening any time soon!!!<br />
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We had let the water drain away since last Autumn and evacuated the newts (hundreds of them) and frogs to the local pond, using the hole as a dump for rubble in the mean time.Its been an eye sore for months now. <br />
It was a bit mesmerising watching the digger make light work of such a big job......but eventually, the pond and big bank were no more.<br />
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We were left with this- the dogs and chickens were straight on it to investigate. We have sewn grass seed in that area for now.<br />
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After a few days of trying to dig the trench for the retaining wall foundations out ourselves with spades, we admitted defeat and called the digger back- its took him 2 hours to do the whole thing which would have taken us a few weeks- its mostly clay so it was very slow going by hand- a total nightmare. Beautiful isn't it?!<br />
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So outside pretty much looks like a right mess just now. But its progress and that is exciting.<br />
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We have reused some timber from the old pond decking to begin making the veg plot.<br />
Euan and I are big fans of River Cottage and have been dreaming of having something like that and growing as much ourselves as possible.We know next to nothing about growing vegetables! I bought an Alan Titchmarsh book on Amazon last week and figure, we will learn by our mistakes.<br />
I pictured in my head a really pretty white picket fenced area with raised beds in it and little gravel paths in between so we have been building this area little bit at a time. <br />
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I will put on some pictures when the veg plot is all finished. </div>
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Its going to be so nice but, I think by the time we have completed it, we will have missed the time to plant a lot of things for this year. But it will be waiting, all ready to go next Spring. <br />
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I am off the sleep now after my night shift........Have a super weekend and if you are a tennis fan- I too will be screaming at the TV and hiding behind a cushion later on xx </div>
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Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-48090330578791887042013-05-08T01:20:00.001-07:002014-06-03T00:02:42.842-07:00Back at last<br />
Hello!! Its been so long since I wrote anything on my blog. Thankyou for not sending me to the sinbin and unfollowing me!<br />
I have thought about blogging an update on our progress with the renovations so many times but I havnt had any decent photos and the place has been such a mess for the last 7 months with walls coming down, dust everywhere, tools everywhere, a pile of plasterboard in the Living room behind the sofa for months.......it has been a long slog over the winter.<br />
We didnt even get up our Christmas Tree until Christmas Eve- there was just nowhere to put it in all the debri. <br />
But we have now almost finished the Living Room/Dining Room which is open plan and takes up the whole front of the original house and the little Sitting room extension at the front. Its still a bit sparce, we only got the furniture back in a few days ago after the carpet fitter was in but I wanted to put some pics on- let you see what we have been doing all this time! We have done everything ourselves (except cut the hole for the new window in the gable end) and its just nice to have one place to sit down and relax in that feels like ours.<br />
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Here is the Living room before.....not great 'before' photos I am afraid, it was the day we moved in in September.<br />
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Its basically one large room with a fireplace at each end. Before, there was a smaller bit (here in the photo) sectioned off at one end. It was too small to be useful and had a fireplace we didnt like.The stove hadnt been plumbed in correctly so it was also useless.Thats the huge mirror that we had to actually cut from the wall, plasterboard and everything as it had been glued. <br />
The larger Living room side didnt even have window to the outside in it so it felt really dark.It leads into the little Sitting room extension which they had built covering the external window and one of the 6 (some are going) external doors in the house.<br />
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You can see how dark it was with the stone wall and without a window.....like a cave!<br />
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We took down the stud wall dividing the space and moved the main Living room to the other end- the one with a window. We removed the weird dado rail thing which had an extra layer of plasterboard GLUED underneath it round the entire room.....just repairing, smoothing, filling and sanding the wall after this took us a long time.<br />
We put up a new wall, this time dividing the room better proportionally,
keeping the Living room at the end with the larger window and creating a Dining room at the other. <br />
We built a false chimney breast with an oak beam mantle, layed a new hearth and plumbed in a larger wood-burning stove. Its seriously toasty in there when the stove gets going.<br />
We went with good old Magnolia paint for now as its cheap and cheerful. <br />
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Looking through from the Dining end.......<br />
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You can see though to the little sitting room extension..... We sold the external glass door that was there and replaced with a reclaimed old pine one but it isnt fitted yet and theres no door surround or anything either.<br />
The light fittings arnt staying either....not our taste but not offensive enough for the expense of replacing them just yet.<br />
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I love the fireplace Euan has built, we stuck brick slips on the back to cover the dirty stone behind it. The flue coming out of the top is actually just placed there- the real flue exit is out the back of the stove into the original chimney. Its all an illusion!</div>
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At the other end, there was an exposed original stone wall but they had ruined it with an open fire which was not done safely at all and was a major fire hazard ( a definate nono for a firemans house.) With the lack of natural light, it felt very 'cave-like.' so it had to go.<br />
We covered it and on my birthday in March, a builder knocked through a window - that was a great day! The light flooded in and we could see the garden.<br />
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That's Euan and my Papa in the photo, putting the window in with the builder.</div>
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We had to design a fireplace that would work with the existing ugly concrete mantle which was very low, so we came up with the brick arch and fireplace which we built in front of it. We laid another new hearth there and put in another woodburner.<br />
We havnt got it properly set up yet so I will put some nicer pictures up when we do but you can see the space. <br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PV1KuH0CUqM/UY0E4Zg8IeI/AAAAAAAAArM/vlP-DZaQaBU/s1600/P2070034.JPG" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PV1KuH0CUqM/UY0E4Zg8IeI/AAAAAAAAArM/vlP-DZaQaBU/s320/P2070034.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a> This is a good before and after. That pine bookcase is right in front of the old open fireplace.....where the new fireplace is now.You can see the start of the new stud divinding wall going up.</div>
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I dont know if we will ever light that stove- the one at the other end heats both spaces really well but it looks the part! You can see the new window in the dining room...that room needed natural light so badly.<br />
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Euan made a lovely job of boxing it in and built me a window seat to look out onto the garden.<br />
I should put a better photo on of that. Here it is from the outside.....we plan to add georgian bar to all the windows eventually....add some character!<br />
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I am still unsure about the carpet. I came home from a night shift after it had been laid in my absence and cried ( silly I know, its only carpet!) because it was a lot darker than it looked in the carpet shop.<br />
It cost me 3 months overtime and we had the very cold and drafty floor boards for the last 7 months ....the wooden floor were actually nice but just too cold. Its not a warm house so we are doing everything we can to make it warmer. I was so excited about getting the carpet and its too expensive to change so I hope it grows on me.<br />
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Then there is the wee sitting room at the front... as it was the day we moved in....<br />
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Which now looks like this..........<br />
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Again, not totally finished or totally furnished but a vast improvement
on concrete blocks!<br />
We changed the outside door for a window, it meant the room
could be used much better rather than kind of being just a 'through' room.It will be a little sitting room and one day when we have kids, a play room.<br />
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So those are the latest developments. We have pretty much run out of money for now so over the next few months, now that the weather is warming up (Yes, even in Scotland) we will be tackling the garden. Thats mostly just labour and time.We are so lucky to have a large garden, we have a hundred ideas as its kind of a blank canvas and I cant wait to stuck in.<br />
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But yesterday, we decided to just enjoy being in it.......so we got ourselves a giant trampoline second hand on gumtree....you dont need kids to get one....so much fun! </div>
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Isla was desperate to get up on it but then got scared......<br />
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Euan did some awesome tumbles....<br />
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I hope you are all well and survived this horrendous british winter and I am looking forward to catching up with everyones blogs xxxx Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-87679223509456745442012-10-15T12:02:00.001-07:002012-10-15T12:02:28.452-07:00Autumn Decorations and a wee update on the House.......... <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Its been almost two months since we moved into the new house and it has been....... an experience so far. The previous owners, were nice but odd. They were also into DIY. Bad DIY. A lot of what we have been doing so far is more like just re-doing. Its frustrating because there is just so much to do, but everything we start uncovers another DIY horror! And there is almost no-where pretty to rest your eyes either.</div>
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We keep saying to ourselves that as long as we do something everyday, however small, we are moving forward and eventually we will get there. Our last house was a little cottage, we were there for 5 years and made it perfect- this house feels enormous and we will have to live with things we dont like for years until we have the money to change them.I want everything done 'yesterday' so that will be a big challenge for me! </div>
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We also have big things to pay for before we can decorate and really make the house into our home. That is hard for me too......It is so much harder to part with money for boring things like guttering and cement than it is for antique quilts and lamps!!!........but gotta be done. </div>
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So far we have been focussing on the outside whilst we have had the weather- cutting back the weeds and clearing the garden of most of the debris ( a smashed up old greenhouse, endless piles of rubble, earth, sand and general rubbish) We have put up a nice post and rail fence across the front and will plant a beech hedge along it to replace it one day when it grows. We are almost finished putting up guttering which is the first this house has ever seen and today we made a start on the living room- ripping out walls and the wierd fireplace which will be replaced with a proper woodburning stove. Ideally, we would like this done for Christmas (I am in for a dissapointment methinks). There is a classic example of the bad DIY.....above the existing fireplace was a very big mirror, we thought it was nice of them to leave it but in trying to take it down, we realised it has literally been superglued to the wall and a wooden frame stuck over the top. We have had to cut out a 5 by 5 foot hole in the plasterboard to get rid of it.........</div>
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I have been working tonnes of overtime and we sold quite a lot of bits a bobs on ebay and gumtree to raise the money needed to pay someone to render the extensions and get the roof put on the entrance porch; work begins on that next week hopefully.That should be the house wind and water tight then for the winter, which here in Aberdeenshire has pretty much started already.</div>
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We are enjoying it though, me especially- Euans a Firefighter so his job is action packed but mine is a lot of sitting at a desk for long hours and I am loving getting stuck in and my hands dirty. </div>
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I would love to decorate for Autumn, its my favourite season but there is so much mess in the house right now, there is almost no point!! </div>
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Have to be next year..... </div>
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And in the mean time, there is always Pumpkin and Butternut Squash soup to keep me feeling festive and autumnal...................yummy!<br />
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Does anyone know a good recipe for Pumpkin Pie?? I have a pumpkin pie scented candle and its making the whole house smell amazing and cosy but I have no idea how to make a real pumpkin pie..............xxxx</div>
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Here are a few snaps of the house...my Dad took these photos when he was up visiting so excuse the VERY cheesy one of me and Euan taken just before I left for work.As you can see its not a terribly pretty house......Yet... but it has tonnes of potential. I will post some more of the interior soon.</div>
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This is the back of the house looking towards the front; you can see the entrance porch which is missing its roof. You can also see the building materials that are piled up everywhere! </div>
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This is the front and other side of the house with the majority of the garden to this side</div>
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The lovely patio area which has double doors from the kitchen....one of my favourite features of the house!</div>
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This is the pond which we had a long think about and have decided to fill in. Mostly because the previous owners hadnt bothere to line it so the outside tap had to be continously on to keep it full which is totally impractical and probably illegal as its a waste of treated water. </div>
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We feel awful about the wildlife, we have been taking all the frogs and newts we can catch to the pond in the woods. The water has been slowly emptying and we will probably leave it till the spring till we fill it in</div>
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As for the shed in the picture.........it has been lined.... floor, walls and ceiling in..... fake fur. God only knows what went on in there but we call it the 'porn shed'. Like I said, the previous owners were very odd.</div>
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Hope you are all keeping cosy....its getting cold out there!!! xxx</div>
Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-50461960447563360062012-08-25T04:19:00.001-07:002012-08-25T04:58:28.594-07:00A New Adventure.....Hi girls, sorry I have been AWOL for a wee while........we have been busy buying a new home!<br />
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Its the property of our dreams, the house we will have our family in one day; a lovely farmhouse with over a 1/2 acre garden and a big barn. Its in a perfect peaceful location, up a half mile private road shared only with a steading conversion and a cottage.<br />
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Euan and I are so excited, its the kind of house we have dreamed of buying and never thought we could afford. We got it for a great price because its needs rather a lot of work...its been renovated and extended in places and some of it is very rough and unfinished .....part of it dosent even have a roof!! But we are young, dum and we just fell in love with it. We werent actually looking to move but I always nosy on the property websites and I saw it one night shift. Its not far from where we live so I drove up the driveway on my way home at stupid o clock and I just knew it was the house for us......I went home and woke up a sleeping Euan.<br />
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Getting the house was a serious drama .....we viewed it three times and had a really good relationship with the sellers, we had a lot in common with them, and they pretty much verbally agreed to sell to us.<br />
It went to sealed bids at a closing date (as is the custom in Scotland) and we didnt get it. We were heartbroken. I was really cross because I felt that we had been led on by the sellers but Euan kept telling me that he had this feeling that it wasnt over yet.<br />
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The sellers then showed up at our house the next day ( its only 2 miles away) and said that they felt awful because they really wanted us to have the house and if we could change our offer (although ours was actually the highest, it was subject to a few conditions for mortgage purposes which they didnt feel they could fulfil) they would pull out of the other deal. <br />
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After frantic phonecalls to our broker and instructing another survey (I called in sick to meet the surveyor at the house to bat my eyelashes), we managed to sort something out with a lender and so the sellers tried to get out of the other deal. They couldnt.<br />
Thier only option was to make the completion date only a few days after accepting that offer in the hope that they winning party couldnt fulfil........that was a tense week I can tell you, but luckily, the other party didnt even get back to them in time ( very strange) so legally- they could then accept our offer.I did feel guily about the other party but it turned out that they hadnt even viewed the house before offering at the closing date and they showed up at the house that night claiming to be unaware of any deadline for completion!<br />
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Getting a mortgage is a total nightmare. After the drama of securing the house, although we had an offer in principle from a lender, we then had to secure a formal mortgage offer. Our original lender backed out given the condition of the house, our back-up lender offered us less money than we needed. They scrutanise every little thing on your bank statments.....and they even took into account our student loans. That must be a new thing, I dont remember being asked about them when we bought our last house and they dont appear on your credit profile. We also only had a fortnight to complete the sale because the sellers were moving to Orkney and we were terrified that they would go to another party who were cash buyers if we didnt hurry up and sign the paperwork!!! But we got there in the end. <br />
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It has been without question, the most stressful 6 weeks of our lives. I dont think I have ever said the words "I need a drink" so much before.We had the house.... we didnt have it... we had the house.... we didnt have it.....we had a mortgage...we didnt.....we had a mortgage...we didnt.....up and down like a yoyo!!<br />
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Of course, now the reality of situation has hit us and we are walking around the house writing down a list of all the work that needs doing 50% excited and 50% terrifed!! We have next to no money left but the house is totally liveable, we can just close the doors to the parts that are scary.<br />
Its less than 2 miles away from our current house so we are moving car load at a time this week and then we have hired a van for next weekend.....I will post some pictures once things have settled down a bit.<br />
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I hope you are well, I have been keeping up with everyones blogs from work but the work computers block me from commenting........as soon as we get tinternet at the new house, I will be back!! xxxx<br />
<br />Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-59287241260400679512012-06-21T12:08:00.001-07:002012-07-10T08:37:02.565-07:00Home Sweet Home<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I love looking at other bloggers homes, getting ideas for my own. I think its a bit like flicking through free home interior magazines! Thats actually how I discvered blogging- doing image searches on things like 'country houses' and 'cottage interiors' when bored on a night shift at work.When I clicked on pictures I liked - I was taken to peoples 'blogs'; a concept I had never heard of before.</div>
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I loved that I was invited to see pictures of thier houses, use thier recipes and copy thier craft ideas!!</div>
So I would like to share some pictures of our home.<br />
Its a 3 bed mid-terraced weavers cottage built in 1840. When we bought it, it was quite modern inside; all the character had been taken out. Its taken 5 years to get it the way we want, putting some charm back into it. We saved a lot of money by doing virtually everything ourselves from building stud walls, plumbing, moving radiators to hanging doors and everything in between; its been a massive learning experience for both of us. Euans handiwork is everywhere in the house; in the kitchen especially which he built himself from scratch. I make all the soft furnishings and love nothing more than pottering about rearranging things!! Its been exciting, infuriating and exhausting at times but its also been a lot of fun. <br />
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The Kitchen.</h3>
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There are some more pictures of the kitchen and how Euan made it here <a href="http://welliebootsandmuddypawprints.blogspot.co.uk/p/our-cottage.html">Our Kitchen</a></div>
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The Living Room.</h3>
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The living room has been changed around a lot! Our tastes...wait, who am I kidding? like poor Euan gets much of a say.... MY tastes have really changed over the last 5 years -more than once! I think they are simpler now and more grown up. I painted the walls a gold colour when we first moved in and it was really bright and colourful with a lot of colourful accessories. The walls have been green as well. For a while the living room and hallway were one large room but when the winter came and the dogs began trapsing through snow all over the carpet from outside- we realised that taking out the hallway was a silly thing to do and we put the stud-wall back up. This time we put double doors in the centre of the room which works so well and the room feels much more spacious than before.<br />
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My lovely re-worked armoire and one of my antique mannequins stands in the corner.</div>
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We built the fireplace about a year after we moved in. There was a chimney but it had been capped at the top, plasterboarded over and an ugly electric fire attached to the wall. We had to pour in a concrete hearth to take the weight of the cast iron stove and all the brickwork. We bought the Oak beam online and the Woodburning Stove was second hand. It was a while before we could afford to get it professionally installed-the only work we have paid for in the entire renovation. Up until then we just lit candles in it! Its so cosy in the winter; all the cats and dogs love to get warm beside it. <br />
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There are some more pictures of the living room here <a href="http://welliebootsandmuddypawprints.blogspot.co.uk/p/living-room.html">Living Room</a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Guest Bedroom.</span> </h2>
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<br />Thats Tabitha on the bed.</div>
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I love old pine trunks- this one came from my parents shop. In Scotland we call them Kists. There are quilts everywhere in our house and the teddy bears on top of them were my Mums when she was a little girl.</div>
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I made these curtains from an old quilt. I cut it in half, hemmed the edges and sewed some curtain tape to the top. It has made lovely thick curtains which keep the drafts out in the winter and the sun light shines through them in places where the old quilt was worn through.</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">The Outside</span></h2>
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Its quite a cute little cottage. It will be hard to leave one day but its not really large enough to be our forever home. These photos were taken a few weeks ago so theres a lot more colour in the garden now but its chucking it down today so I dont want to get wet taking pictures.That hardly ever happens in Scotland ;) <br />
You can Mollys head poking out of the catflap.... She used to just jump through it to get outside when she was a puppy. And this is looking up the garden from the door ....<br />
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Euan built the brick BBQ and this is where our chickens live......We now have 4. I think my very first post was about them and thier little house. A garden shovel stylishly keeps thier wee door open....keep meaning to do something about that.....its on the list.<br />
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</h3>Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-14178427697587642152012-06-16T08:10:00.002-07:002012-06-16T12:58:07.447-07:00Best Buddies......<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Maggie is our little old cat, she was 12 when we adopted her, we named her after Dame Maggie Smith-another distinguished old girl. In the 18 months we have had her, her eyesight has gotten lots worse. She is almost totally blind now and keeps bumping into things, its really sad. She is however, one of the happiest cats you could ever meet and I think thats down to having two very dear friends-Molly and Isla who love her and look after her.xxHayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-18042444417920194312012-06-15T05:45:00.001-07:002012-06-16T12:57:40.430-07:00An Armoire for my Quilts....<div style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">I have been looking for a small armoire or wardrobe to display my antique durham quilts in for some time. I finally found one a wee while ago on Ebay for £80 that was close enough to go pick up. Euan and I tweaked it of course.I forgot to take a photo of it before we started but this one is basically the same. Ours had 3 different sized panels in the door and the bottom drawer is not curved like this one. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">I know its the fashion at the moment to paint furniture but I also love the look of old farmhouse pine. I think it comes from being around my parents stock as I was growing up and helping out in thier architectural salvage and furniture shop...it was all old pitch pine they dipped and stripped...I think its the smell and the soft feel of it after its been bri-waxed. So some of you will probably recoil in horror and think it looked better painted but not me!!!</span> I can always paint it again one day if I change my mind................</div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">We stripped the paint off, sanded it then gave it a coat of Bri-wax. Euan removed the panel inserts in the door, filled the gaps left in the frame and we attached some chicken wire to the back of the door. He made 3 shelves for me to put my quilts on, attached some drawer knobs to the bottom drawer and put some bun feet on the bottom. I am really pleased with it and I think it looks lovely in our living room. There is also still a bit more room in it for one or two more quilts as well.....I always keep an eye out for them.</span></div>
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Molly also loves it. She has a thing for armoires.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12pt;"></span>Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-86052864977126332952012-03-10T06:32:00.019-08:002012-06-16T19:58:45.089-07:00Scraps of fabric.............<div>
I had a few days leave from work last week so I have been having a clearout of some of the fabrics which fill every drawer and cupboard in my little house!!<br />
I sold some on Ebay, sent some to my Mum but I had some pieces that were just too nice to part with and too small to make anything substantial with so I got out my sewing machine and set to work.<br />
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I wanted to make some padded lavender hearts which I have seen a lot of lately in magazines and I always thought they looked easy to make but I discovered that they can be quite tricky!<br />
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Here are one or two things I learned by trial and error-</div>
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<li>Dont cut out 2 heart shapes and then try to sew them together- draw round a cardboard template on the wrong side of your fabric and just sew around the template (leaving a gap for pulling through.)</li>
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I made quite a few hearts using scraps and some old buttons and filled them with stuffing and dried lavender from my garden - I put them in a wooden dough bowl to make the spare room look and smell pretty for guests.<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IC3JkTDqGvg/T13khSswWvI/AAAAAAAAAVc/66lbsl5G-Gs/s1600/108.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5718978362436770546" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IC3JkTDqGvg/T13khSswWvI/AAAAAAAAAVc/66lbsl5G-Gs/s400/108.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 344px;" /></a>I also made Isla and Molly new beds sewing larger scraps of fabric together in a patchwork to make a giant pillow case with poppers at one end. I bought cheap Single Duvets from Matalan, folded them in half and then half again to make a doggie bed sized cushion.<br />
I put a few stitches using sturdy thread randomly through the folded duvets to ensure they keep thier shape and then put them into the giant pillow cases!! They turned out really well and I can take the covers off to wash them whenever they get dirty.<br />
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We took the dogs to the beach at Lunan Bay to celebrate Isla healing from her Operation.<br />
I grew up on a farm near Lunan Bay, we used to walk our dogs there almost every day and my sister and I used to ride our horses on the beach there too. I still love going there but I always have a little pang of sadness - my parents had sell up after 20 years here during the recession a few years ago and moved back to England.<br />
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</div>Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-37995623849963924202012-02-21T19:25:00.010-08:002012-02-22T14:45:18.538-08:00Jeanne D'Arc Living and Isla<div>I have recently discovered Jeanne d'Arc living, a Danish lifestyle magazine which is full of beautiful inspiration. All the pictures are of delightfully shabby rooms things. I think its another style thats lovely to look at but probably really tricky to maintain.......I mean, you get one bright coloured cushion or you leave a mug out that doesnt 'go' and the whole thing is thrown....nobody wants to live under that type of pressure do they?!!!<br /><div><div>But beautiful pictures to have in a book on your coffee table.I love the antique dressmakers dummies, the angel wings and the lovely old shoes....I like having old treasures out on display.</div><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.theartofconfusion.com/images/product_images/info_images/3_q_824_1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 349px; height: 350px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://www.theartofconfusion.com/images/product_images/info_images/3_q_824_1.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_DREK30vXBeY/TBtydnU63VI/AAAAAAAAGlA/h46-3KTC-3s/s1600/22255d.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 491px; height: 792px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_DREK30vXBeY/TBtydnU63VI/AAAAAAAAGlA/h46-3KTC-3s/s1600/22255d.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0o5SR9IfAA8/TnuylHER-WI/AAAAAAAAWlw/NVAtYFuZNEs/s1600/jda+roinaa+5.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 400px; height: 600px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0o5SR9IfAA8/TnuylHER-WI/AAAAAAAAWlw/NVAtYFuZNEs/s1600/jda+roinaa+5.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://frenchgreyinteriors.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/en0112_06_thumb3.jpg?w=500"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 321px; height: 480px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://frenchgreyinteriors.files.wordpress.com/2012/01/en0112_06_thumb3.jpg?w=500" border="0" /></a><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DREK30vXBeY/TIFJJqZT6zI/AAAAAAAAHKI/FhOqNKnIdxM/s1600/image005.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 510px; height: 766px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_DREK30vXBeY/TIFJJqZT6zI/AAAAAAAAHKI/FhOqNKnIdxM/s1600/image005.jpg" border="0" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-SxIelEi_4M/TA2i0Z3AmEI/AAAAAAAAEyM/Ovmm8on6IPI/s1600/jdljulytwo.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 422px; height: 621px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_-SxIelEi_4M/TA2i0Z3AmEI/AAAAAAAAEyM/Ovmm8on6IPI/s1600/jdljulytwo.jpg" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cEtzchCxBBc/TCEBtc6YwhI/AAAAAAAAADM/4GaydxCqWf4/s1600/jeanne+d%27arc+living+611217+metalen+kist+op+wielen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 512px; height: 768px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_cEtzchCxBBc/TCEBtc6YwhI/AAAAAAAAADM/4GaydxCqWf4/s1600/jeanne+d%27arc+living+611217+metalen+kist+op+wielen.jpg" border="0" /></a>All photos by Jeanne d'Arc Living.<br /></div><br />In other news, wee Isla was spayed last week and had to wear the traditional plastic lampshade collar.....making her and my life suitably awkward. Poor girl, she looked so uncomfortable in it, she hardly moved her head at all, it was like she was looking up all the time. It was so huge, it reminded me of the Jetsons spaceship....<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-vWkcXVcPk/ToyctSsaBcI/AAAAAAAADME/feUBjzqf3ro/s1600/The_Jetsons_d56a.jpeg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 244px; height: 192px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Z-vWkcXVcPk/ToyctSsaBcI/AAAAAAAADME/feUBjzqf3ro/s1600/The_Jetsons_d56a.jpeg" border="0" /></a>After a day of her bashing into everything, including me, and knocking over her water a hundred times, I decided to try and make her a 'comfy collar'. I cut a large ring out of some upholstery foam and pulled one leg of a pair of tights(hose) over it to keep it neat and to allow me to secure it with a knot.<br /><br /><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711947438056033074" alt="" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xVz_uAerUl4/T0Tp7oUISzI/AAAAAAAAAUg/ixgtr2v2MX0/s320/P2190041.JPG" border="0" /></div><div> </div><div><br />It works quite well, she cant get at her stitches and she is much happier. She is such a sweet girl, she jumps up beside me on the sofa and puts her head and front paws in my lap asking for a cuddle when she is a bit sore. We have always called her Isla Bear because we think she has a Polar Bears face.<br /><br />With Euan still away, I cant leave her home alone to take Molly out for a walk so we can only go for short ones with Isla on the lead so poor Molly is getting rather short changed on her walks this week...........she bears it tolerably well!!! xxx<br /><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LSpOZd_q2kY/T0TqbyPCKRI/AAAAAAAAAUs/5gHZb0b6LPs/s1600/P2190048.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; width: 320px; height: 240px; text-align: center; display: block; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5711947990474828050" alt="" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LSpOZd_q2kY/T0TqbyPCKRI/AAAAAAAAAUs/5gHZb0b6LPs/s320/P2190048.JPG" border="0" /></a><br /></div></div>Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-36348471308997546872012-02-15T00:05:00.006-08:002012-02-15T01:10:06.749-08:00Happy Valentines Day.........I hope you all had a nice day yesterday with your loved ones and that you ate as much chocolate as I did...(well you've got to, dont you??) I just wanted to post one of my all time favourite love poems and a absolute classic by E.E cummings.............<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" >I carry your heart.</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I carry your heart with me (I carry it in</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> my heart) I am never without it (anywhere</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> I go you go, my dear; and whatever is done</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> by only me is your doing, my darling)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">I fear no fate (for you are my fate, my sweet) I want</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> no world (for beautiful you are my world, my true)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and whatever a sun will always sing is you.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Here is the deepest secret nobody knows</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and the sky of the sky of a tree called life; which grows</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide)</span><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> and this is the wonder that's keeping the stars apart</span>..<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> I carry your heart (I carry it in my heart.)</span><br /></div><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_CarNcodpCMA/TSUad2FjSII/AAAAAAAAKTM/s0CShCd8qXo/s1600/vintage-valentines-clipart-graphicsfairy003a.jpg"><br /></a><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CarNcodpCMA/TU8c6_NK6GI/AAAAAAAAKtc/JSFZmLxZ8J8/s1600/valentine-clowns-graphicsfairy005b.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 427px; height: 282px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_CarNcodpCMA/TU8c6_NK6GI/AAAAAAAAKtc/JSFZmLxZ8J8/s1600/valentine-clowns-graphicsfairy005b.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-160WMuDV0-E/TVlejsZ7_mI/AAAAAAAAADk/mi3QDGdjjAw/s1600/free_vintage_valentine_card_2.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 354px; height: 558px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-160WMuDV0-E/TVlejsZ7_mI/AAAAAAAAADk/mi3QDGdjjAw/s1600/free_vintage_valentine_card_2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rFwpnD1AVzk/TVldBHZ5VWI/AAAAAAAAADY/h_rRfyCAbA4/s1600/antique_valentine_postcard-.jpg"><br /></a>This one reminds me of being a little girl and me and my sister tried to dress up our cats like Brides and Grooms.........<br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RWpktVDHoSo/TVldHsVmTfI/AAAAAAAAADc/4XolYj8JIDU/s1600/ValentineWeddingCats.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 440px; height: 272px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-RWpktVDHoSo/TVldHsVmTfI/AAAAAAAAADc/4XolYj8JIDU/s1600/ValentineWeddingCats.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>And this one just remind me of my sister because she is unlucky in love..........<br /><br /><a href="http://29.media.tumblr.com/cHQCLSotWjaf8mqwkPhlDvVuo1_500.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 322px;" src="http://29.media.tumblr.com/cHQCLSotWjaf8mqwkPhlDvVuo1_500.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CY3Qtghwl2A/TVbBgI9cUjI/AAAAAAAADDM/3eqbqJA98Fc/s1600/Vintage+Valentine+cards+07.jpg"><br /></a>Love to all xxx<br /><a href="https://carriagegifts.hostasaurus.com/va607A_lg.jpg"><br /></a>Hayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8970963146841348000.post-2994391528570775752012-02-05T20:20:00.000-08:002012-02-08T01:57:27.756-08:00Hydrangeas and regrets..............I am really regretting that I didnt dry any hydrangea heads last year. I have hydrangeas in the garden but they havnt really taken off the way I had hoped, maybe I planted them in the wrong place, too shady.<br />The year before last, I was on a training course with the Coastguard in November and there were several huge hydrangea bushes on campus with the most beautiful blooms I had ever seen. On our last day, I took a knife, which was all I could find from the kitchen and cut a bag full of them to take home and dry in my carry-on luggage. I forgot the knife was still in my handbag......until I went through security at the airport!!!!<br /><br />They brightened the house so much and lasted forever.........well not quite forever, until the spring. At this time of year when everything is so grey, I would have loved to have them around again.<br /><br />I will have to make do with some very pretty pictures instead...............<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3_V63Nu9XdI/TJ1QABwilvI/AAAAAAAADL0/yCkh_EsCf5M/s400/bowl+hydrangea+107.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 350px; height: 400px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_3_V63Nu9XdI/TJ1QABwilvI/AAAAAAAADL0/yCkh_EsCf5M/s400/bowl+hydrangea+107.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>bellasrosecottage.blogspot.com<br /></div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://thimbleanna.com/images/2010/AroundtheHouse/Hydrangea1.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 512px; height: 340px;" src="http://thimbleanna.com/images/2010/AroundtheHouse/Hydrangea1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://pa.locallygrown.net/files/product/image/26323/PB070085.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 640px; height: 480px;" src="http://pa.locallygrown.net/files/product/image/26323/PB070085.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>http://pa.locallygrown.net<br /></div><br />I love these wreaths........<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amesbury.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/hydrangea.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 500px;" src="http://www.amesbury.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/hydrangea.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>http://www.amesbury.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.amesbury.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/heart-hydrangea.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 500px; height: 500px;" src="http://www.amesbury.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/images/heart-hydrangea.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>http://www.amesbury.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk<br /></div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.enchantedtreasures.com/editor_uploads/octobermantel2009-1.jpg"><br /></a>I hope you remembered to dry some of your hydrangeas...... Hayley xxHayleyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13495653287224995397noreply@blogger.com8