purplecat

The plumber turned up out of the blue to do some final checks and fill in some paperwork and apparently the whole caboodle is kaput in some mysterious fashion relating to the number 8.

Roofers Due: 1st Jan
Roofers Arrive: 23rd May
Head Roofer Goes on Holiday: 1st June
Remaining Roofer: Not seen since
Massive Thunderstorm: Today
Roof: Leaks
New Paintwork: Damaged

This entry was originally posted at http://purplecat.dreamwidth.org/44482.html.

Good: Eastercon
Bad: Getting behind on multiple fronts
Ugly: Arriving home to find the breaker had tripped in the kitchen and the fridge and freezer had warmed up to room temperature

The Fortunate: Freezer recently defrosted, no meat in fridge.

This entry was originally posted at http://purplecat.dreamwidth.org/40449.html.

Every year I intend to photograph the magnolia in our front garden during the week it is in bloom and then, one way or another, I miss it because it has come and gone so fast.

( However! )

This entry was originally posted at http://purplecat.dreamwidth.org/39391.html.

Having, in a fit or organisational enthusiasm, purchased 40 rolls of sheep's wool insulation I spent most of last weekend installing it in the cellar.

I should perhaps explain that we have a cellar under about half the house that raises that section about three feet off the ground. The cellar was clearly intended to be ventilated by several large grills. Some previous occupant of the house placed windows in front of these, thus causing a damp problem and the presence of a rather large I-beam holding up some of our joists. Almost the first thing we did on entering the house was to open said windows and observed the humidity in the cellar drop dramatically with, it must be said, a certain smug satisfaction.

Almost the second thing we did was rip up the remaining carpet on the ground floor. Sometime later we got the floor sanded. We have lovely floorboards but when a light is on in the cellar you can clearly see it shining up in the gaps between them. This winter we observed a startling temperature gradient from floor to about knee height as the chill wind blew through the cellar and up between the floor boards.

Hence the sheep's wool insulation plan.

We used some sheep's wool insulation in part of the roof. One of its advantages is that it is much nicer to handle than regular insulation - although I still used gloves in the cellar (in the loft I was also removing the remains of traditional insuluation so I was in gloves and breathing mask and the works). One of the disadvantages of sheep's wool insulation is that it smells of, well, sheep. The stuff in roof didn't really smell that much, thus lulling us into a false sense of security. For the past week our ground floor has been filled with the delicate* aroma of damp sheep. We are hoping that this will reduce over time. Otherwise I suspect our choices are between acquiring a sudden and intense interest in scented candles and their brethren or sacrificing 600 pounds worth of insulation and the prospect of warm feet this winter.

* read strong and pungent

This entry was originally posted at http://purplecat.dreamwidth.org/12687.html.

Consider the, entirely hypothetical, situation in which you have persuaded your wife, partner or other interested party to enter your attic to put into practice a theory of yours involving sheep's wool insulation and solving a leaky roof. You have persuaded them to do this on the, not unreasonable, grounds that they are smaller than you are and will have less trouble moving around up there.

They are now trying to get out of the attic. Recall that this is a short person. Getting out of the attic therefore involves dangling from a hole in the cieling and gradually edging themselves further and further out while you guide their feet to the top of the ladder.

I would like to suggest that, in this hypothetical situation, the observation "this would be a lot easier if you did more press ups" is not, perhaps, as encouraging as it sounded in your head.

I was about to Freecycle the greenhouse. It looks like I will now have to wait a bit.

We were woken up by the Earthquake this morning. I've never been in an earthquake before. There was one in Nottingham when we were there which I didn't notice (I forget if I slept through it or if I was away that day). Having never experienced an earthquake I was therefore more confused than anything else to be awoken by the house shaking. The sensation felt vaguely familiar (the Today program joined the dots for me this morning by noting it felt like a train going past - I grew up in a house that shook every time a goods train went past, even though we were too far from the track to hear anything) and in my confused half waking state I think I actually thought the house was moving by itself. I'm glad I didn't have the time to follow that train of thought down the - we're sleeping over the bit without foundations - remember that floor joist that crumbled because of wet rot? - in the outrigger - which next door no longer has because their one fell down - path.

"What was that?" I asked when it stopped.

"Probably an earthquake."

Oooh, excitement.

PS. I'm not surprised ladyofastolat didn't feel it. According to the Today program it was felt "as far away as Southampton"...