Our progress this week has been mainly hampered by the rain. We managed to get our first foray into painting completed, and installed the foam head protection by the stairs over the weekend; but intermittent showers over the weekend, and the storms that hit this morning, have definitely limited our desire to finish any of the outside jobs. The result? A half-built raised vegetable bed left at the stage that the screwdriver batteries died; a lawn that badly needs raking; and wasp-nibbled rotting fruit left in the trees at ladder height (the grass was too slippery to be safe).
Let’s be fair – we have plenty of dry jobs to keep us busy. It’s just that it would be nice to actually get something finished, before the rain washes the piles of soil back into theholes we dug it out of. And with the wind and the rain buffeting the house, I have no inclination to head outside and try to finish them!
Instead – we’ve researched recipes to use up the fruit we have (suggestions always welcome though!); we’ve started prepping the spare room for painting; and we’ve had the joy of trying to source bedding that works for a dual-purpose zip-and-link bed (a super-king that can be turned into two longer single beds). It turns out that affordable bedding for longer single beds simply doesn’t exist… and cue plenty of confusion when it turns out a zip-and-link duvet isn’t the same size as a super-king – despite the beds matching.
Our biggest success has to be trying out our new local. The Kings Arms in Stockland is a community-run pub that only re-opened in the last 12 months after a lengthy closure. And I’m pleased to say that the food is delicious! It’s easy to reach by foot from here (just over a mile along quiet country lanes), so I’m sure we’ll be frequenting it regularly. Once we’ve finished more jobs, of course :-)
The entrance to the Kings Arms 
The wine cellar and phone box 
Great typical pub sign! 
Beer taps at The Kings Arms
Ley Farm Cottages 