Monday, August 26, 2013

Long and Dirty Weekend

We all love a good, long bank holiday weekend don't we, especially if it's a dirty one. Quite literally on our case as work continued in the house all weekend. On Saturday as the builders carried on working and made more mess (the good and welcome sort, meaning things are moving on, yay!) I shut myself in the bedroom (more to prevent too much dust in the room really) for most of the day and just....relaxed. I haven't done something so lazy for a very long time and boy did I need that. Laying in bed and marathon watching episodes of Tales from the Crypt was thoroughly enjoyable.

Ginkgo with an aura.... Ginkgo biloba 'Beijing Gold' and Dasylirion quadrangulatum
Then later in the afternoon, once the builders have left for the day I had a sudden craving to go to a....department store! We didn't buy anything, not yet for anything that we bring home will just get dirty anyway so it's best to avoid any buying until the house is finished. What the department store did provide are glimpses of clean furnishings, and sort of a reminder of what a dirt free living would be like again and a glimpse of a finished product. Again I needed that little trip, refreshing and inspiring. And whilst we sat down for some coffee just before we headed home I smiled when I remembered how similar my behaviour was to when we were still doing the big pond project. When things got a bit too hard and dirty then we would often make little trips to nurseries and gardens to gain inspiration and refresh ones motivation.

Which then reminds me, literally as I write this post that we ought to reveal the result of the big pond project very soon....

So come Sunday, we did lots and lots more cleaning in the house. Although dust and dirt will continue to settle in the house for the next few weeks it's always better to be on top of it.

And come Monday, we decided to turn our attention to another place that needed tidying up - the areas of the garden that were affected by the fire.


Clear up of the area has been slow due to the house taking priority but steady as we go bit by bit on some evenings after work. The builders who will be in charge of clearing up and rebuilding the 'Jungle Hut' are the same ones renovating our house so whilst house work is ongoing then they have very little time to devote to our garden. We did say though that we could do with restoring at least some of the privacy back into our garden by getting some of the new, replacement fences up which they did a few days ago.

From nothing to something, this climber is ready and raring to smother its obelisk all over again.

Thank goodness the Magnolia denudata 'McCracken's Variegate' is fine
So some of the new fences are now up and we have some privacy in the garden again. The rest of the fences will have to wait for now as well as the levelling and finishing off of what's up already.

And the inside of the Jungle Hut has been tidied up already and almost ready for demolition. We have salvaged what we can salvage, cleaned what we can clean, and most important of all cleared out and binned as much as needed to be binned.



As for the burnt plants, some are making a comeback whilst some are well and truly lost. But the clearing out of the dead plants and organic debris has been very minimal until this Monday when we went full steam ahead in cutting back.

The aim is to clear out as much as we could, in stages and leave the plans for replanting until most of the clear out has been done and when we have an almost blank canvass again. The less clutter the more likely we will be inspired and planning will be much easier.

A very special view
So lots of cleaning it was but my goodness there's just so much to look forward to here! I've never been so excited to be so.... dirty!

Mark :-)

32 comments :

  1. Marathons of good tv shows are so much fun! Jeannine

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    1. Indeed Jeannine, and there's loads more episodes left to look forward to!

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  2. So glad you had a really nice dirty weekend. I can't really imagine how you amused yourself locked in that bedroom for so long. Things really are looking good.

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    1. It was bliss Don :) Youtube can be very handy sometimes!

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  3. Tales from the Crypt, I never ever would have guessed! I need to do something similar soon, only with my ever growing pile of books.

    So odd how if the door was shut on the Jungle Hut one would never be able to guess from the front shot that anything had happened. Glad you're making progress.

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    1. True Loree, it's like the front of the jungle hut is a totally different entity altogether. We're still not sure how much of the front will be preserved but parts of it will defnitely recycled in rebuilding the new one

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    2. I had the same response--I saw the front of the Jungle Hut and wondered why it was being demolished. I can't wait to see the new structure and how you outdo yourselves. And cheers to vegging out in front of the tv. Sometimes you just need it (I've been mainlining The Twilight Zone lately).

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  4. Good for you for taking some time to relax! Can't wait to see the big pond reveal post! You guys are an inspiration with your seemingly endless energy and positive attitudes. (Does this make you dirty young men?)

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    1. Hehe, thanks Peter! Dirty and optimistic (relatively) young men :)

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  5. great that the light is at the end of the tunnel! good luck!

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  6. Sounds like a good day. Resting up then getting a lot done with the fire area. That in itself makes for a tough day, just trying to decide what all needs done and what needs replaced.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Indeed Cher, there's lots of decision to be made at the moment but we're steadily getting there :)

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  7. Given the volume of decision-making you've been facing with work on the house and the garden, I fully understand the need to take refuge in some good old mindless TV-watching. In any case, you're obviously making good progress on all fronts.

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    1. Thanks Kris! I seem to be rediscovering the joys of watching lots of TV at the moment. Rather relaxing to do with all the stimulation we're having at the moment.

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  8. Youtube, nurseries, department stores -- don't forget movie theaters! Lots of places to temporarily escape the dirt. You guys are so positive and energetic, you make starting over in the garden a tempting idea! New fence looks great.

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    1. Thanks Denise! Going to the cinema did cross our minds but nothing of interest to us was one last weekend.

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  9. It's got to be exhausting to have so much work to do outside, all while having so much work going on inside, too! Good to get away and get a little silence (or at least, not construction noise) for a while. I think having the fence completed and some privacy will give you some peace of mind, too.

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    1. Indeed Holley. Quite a stimulation to have both needing to be sorted out, and loads of decision needs to be done. We're getting there though :)

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  10. What a well-balanced life you seem to lead. I can say that now that you have revealed you are not above dorking out in front of the TV.

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    1. Not at all Ricki, especially both of us rediscovering our interest in watching tv shows again. Gaming might be next...

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  11. Sounds like that you are making some really positive inroads into sorting stuff out. Must be encouraging to be fenced in again :) Hope that your Bank Holiday Monday weather was as good as ours - what a bonus to have such a beautiful day.

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    1. Indeed Anna, so glad to see some of the fences up again and looking forward to getting them completed. And then there will be loads of fence painting to do...

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  12. So glad to see that many of your lovely plants are growing back again. You do seem to have never-ending energy - good that you had a day's rest too!

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    1. Thanks Ingrid! That day's rest was much needed :)

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  13. I am not good at sitting and doing nothing, I will have knitting or quilting on the go when sat and when upright I will be gardening or painting. I rarely sit in the garden and enjoy that either, think I will make it a New Year Resolution as I have too much to do before then lol!!!

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    1. I think doing lots of things can be relaxing in their own way too :)

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  14. Oh!! what happened? How did you get the fire :-(? Glad that you guys are okay and the house is still standing. Marathon watching of tales from crypt -- oh! I would love that. Only if I could see a real ghost or feel it in my life..

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    1. Happy enough to just see ghosts and ghouls on the tv and never on real life :)

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  15. couch tuner has so many complete seasons of real escapist stuff that one sometimes needs!

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  16. Just love to see all the progress being made! Love the new fences, very nice. I'll bet you'll be over the moon when it's all finished. I'd never have guessed you'd like 'Tales from the Crypt'. Last year my husband Doug and I discovered Downton Abbey and we spent a couple weekends watching all three seasons. It was a nice interlude in a busy schedule.

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