Seating Area Remodel....Part Two

Sunday 29th August 2021, we continued where we left off last weekend by breaking the rest of the path up.

We used a lot of the broken concrete to fill in the rest of the bench seat.

The rest plus the earth had to be barrowed down the side and into the trailer.

(we also plan to tidy up the side but that will have to wait for now!)

The mess was real!!🙈

We came across a 20 cent coin whilst digging, and after cleaning it up, it happened to be from 2008, the year we moved here!.

I think we will embed it into the render as a memento!

The base coating for the seat went on.

rendering the back.

And that is another weekend of work come to a close.

Thursday 2nd September, Scott came home with some acrylic render he wanted to try as it is harder wearing than concrete render, so he started rendering the bench.

Saturday 4th September we started digging out where the steps are going to go.

First steps going in.

Then they get filled with cement.

No wonder my floor is filthy when someone steps in wet cement! 🐾🐶

More render.

Smoothed off and left to dry.

Sunday 5th September more sand and blocks had to be carried up the side to the back from the front.

This will be a garden bed/planter at the end of the seating.

Another garden bed/plater at the other end.

Sunday 12th September, leveler was put on the seating area to save puddles or rain sitting on an uneven surface.

Once it was dry we painted it white, it will need a few coats.

29th September 2021, Scott laid the breeze blocks.

Scott managed to get eight of these gorgeous breeze blocks for free, a lady he was doing work for was throwing them out so he got to take them away, we thought we would use them as a feature on top of one corner of the bench.

We then coated them in primer before painting them white to match the bench.

We planted the cacti on 12th December 2021 and that is our remodelled seating area complete.

Comments

Wha's Like Us?....Damn Few And They're A' Deid!

While sorting through things I came across this Scottish poem that my mum gave me years ago, my gran loved this one...so here it is.... Wha's Like Us ? The average Englishman in the home he calls his castle, slips into his national costume ---- a shabby raincoat...patented by.... ...Chemist Charles Macintosh from Glasgow, Scotland. En route to his office he strides along the English lane, surfaced by.... ...John Macadam from Ayr, Scotland. He drives an English car fitted with tyres invented by.... ...John Boyd Dunlop, Veterinary Surgeon of Dreghorn, Scotland. At the office he receives the mail bearing adhesive stamps invented by.... ...John Chalmers, Bookseller and Printer of Dundee, Scotland. During the day he uses the telephone invented by.... ...Alexander Graham Bell, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. At home in the evening his daughter pedals her bicycle invented by.... ...Kirkpatrick Macmillan, Blacksmith of Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, Scotland. He watches ...

Hickory-Honey Ham...Christmas With The Kranks

I got this Christmas movie cookbook during our 2022 holiday to LA see here and I still haven't made anything from it, so for our Christmas in July, I thought I would try the Hickory-Honey ham from the movie Christmas with The Kranks. Scenes from the movie where Nora is running towards the last ham in the store, only to be outsmarted by an elderly lady. I managed to get a couple of reduced shoulder hams from woolies back in May so this gave me an excuse to try a recipe from the book. We also got some Hickory smoking chips for the BBQ. It is a ham that has been smoked over Hickory wood chips for several hours, served with a honey gravy, not out of a tin which it is in the movie. Ingredients 8 cups hickory or other hardwood chips 2 large aluminum foil pans 1 (4kg) fully cooked bone in ham 1/4 cup salted butter 1 shallot, minced 1/3 cup honey 1/4 cup dark brown sugar 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard 1 tsp ground ginger 1/...

Corned Beef Stovies

We love stovies, the perfect comfort food for cold evenings and an ideal way to use up leftover meats. I had some corned beef leftover from Scott's sandwiches so that became the base for these stovies. Ingredients 1-2 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 kg potatoes (suitable for mashing) 300ml beef stock 1 beef oxo cube 1 tin corned beef Method 1. Peel and thinly slice potatoes. 2. Heat oil in a large deep pan over a medium heat until hot. Add onions and fry until golden. 3. Add sliced potatoes, beef stock and crumbled oxo cube. Stir to combine ingredients well. Cover with lid, turn heat up to medium-high, bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, simmer, stirring every few minutes. Cook for 40-50 minutes or until potato is soft and tender. 4. Using a potato masher, roughly break the potatoes into smallish pieces. Cut corned beef into small chunks. Add to potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Stir until well combined and corned beef has brea...

Daisy Chains and Picnics

Search This Blog