Jeff – Page 67 – About Stuff

May 8, 2016

Shed Hedge

Pic of the week 8/5/16

The sun has finally shone (shorts worn for the first time this year on Friday 6th May) and we decided to tackle the hedge along the fence, in preparation for the (new) shed to go there, allowing the removal of the summer house that sits in the prime sunshine spot.

There was quite a bit of hedge to get rid of – this pic doesn’t really do it justice, but it was big, overgrown and very, very prickly.

Chopped back, awaiting disposal.

Starting to look a lot tidier

… and the finished space. Didn’t have quite enough membrane so the corner will wait whilst I order some more. The it will be filled with sand (finally getting rid of the dumpy bag left by the builders at the front of the house) mixed with a bit of cement and topped with paving slabs, ready for a new shed (still to be ordered.)

May 1, 2016

I Will Always Love You – Sarah Washington

Track of the week 1/5/16
Whitney’s original was always a bit too schmaltzy and saccharine, but I do like this “danced” up version of “I Will Always Love You” by Sarah Washington. Takes me back to my time in Germany, when I’d only just met Becky. I knew then, as I still do now, that I would always love her.

I like the sentiment and the lyrics:

I hope life treats you kind
And I hope you have all you’ve dreamed of
And I wish you joy and happiness
But above all this I wish you love

What more could you wish for for someone?

And that is why it makes the cut as a track of the week.

May 1, 2016

Becky & Me

Pic of the week 1/5/16

Taken on the evening of Friday 29th April 2016 before Becky & I went to the Prefects Dinner.

April 24, 2016

Garden

24 April 16 A garden update and a few pics for the record.

After a very mild winter before Christmas, it has been a cold Spring, but things are beginning to show signs of life.

Mowed the lawn for the first time last week (17th April).

The brown tree is beginning to bud and the first leaves are starting to form.

The big shasta daisies are greening up and putting on growth spurt.

Signs of life – hopefully will be able to compare some pics in a months time and the garden will be far further on (& I shall be sitting in it enjoying the sunshine …!)

April 24, 2016

Manic Monday – The Bangles

Track of the week 24/4/16

A sad week that saw the passing of Prince.

Always a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine, I had the album “Purple Rain” on cassette tape and remember listening to it on loooooong train journeys – often from the furthest reaches of northern Scotland to the civilization that was London, whilst serving at some far-flung outpost (think RAF Kinloss, RAF Lossiemouth and RAF Leuchars – the latter of which was at least only 50 mins beyond Edinburgh, unlike the first two which really were at the ends of the earth.)

A couple of years ago, I bought the album on CD and was pleased to discover it has stood the test of time, and still worth a listen. Finding Prince’s work online is not easy – he protected his copyright vigorously (fair enough), so all the more important to own a physical copy.

He also wrote a lot of great music – I knew he wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U” which was brilliantly performed by Sinead O’Connor, I didn’t know that he wrote “Manic Monday” by The Bangles, but he did, and that is enough to make it my track of the week

April 24, 2016

Kitchen!

Pic of the week 24/4/16

I think that we can now safely say that the build is “done” (although there is still a lot of decorating to do in the old build) and I think this picture encapsulates the kitchen.

If anything, the pic doesn’t do the vastness of the space justice, but it is a great space – I love it. Worth the disruption and empty bank account!

April 24, 2016April 24, 2016

Run stuff

24/4/16

Cold & windy – into wind outbound, at the back for the return hence the speed! Second post injury run and feels good. A 6K cruise – a great way to start the day. Now for a shower and toast, the highlight of my week!

April 17, 2016

That’s The Way Love Is – Ten City

Track of the week 17/4/16
Bit of a hidden gem from back in the day. Always liked this song, but it never really got much traction or exposure (although I’ve since discovered – the beauty that is Google – that it reached 8 in the charts in ’89.)
House at its best. Enjoy.

April 17, 2016

Run and room

Pick of the week 17/4/16

This rather arty shot neatly summarizes the last week – (at last) we have moved upstairs into our new bedroom, and very nice it is too. And yesterday I ran for the first time in two months, (at last) my knee injury seems to have healed up.

In the background, I am donning my running gear – my florescent jacket matching the yellow of the duvet cover. Co-ordinated, or what!

April 16, 2016April 17, 2016

Hedge Trimming

It was time to tackle the hedge at the front of the house.

It’s a bit of a monster – too high, a big green block of lelayandii. It needs top come down about a foot or two, perhaps to be level with the Box bush to its left.

And so the ladders came out and the hedge trimmer plugged in. Up I climbed, and set to work. Like a hot knife slicing through butter, the first fronds soon succumbed to my mechanical masterpiece.

But. But … then it ground to a halt. In the middle was not twigs and leafs that would bow before my blade, but thick, thick branches, standing proud and unyielding.

It became apparent that it’s not really a hedge, but two gert big trees throwing up some hefty branches in the middle. Out came my hand saw and I began to cut. I’ve chopped out some big branches, but there’s still more to do. From the roadside it looks fine, from above you can see my butchery. But I shall persevere. It needs to be done, to be literally cut down to size. The aim is to reduce its height such that a quick skim with the hedge trimmers a couple of times a year will keep it in check and looking trim.

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and a march of a thousand miles begins with a single step – today I took that first step and the foundations of Italy’s capital have been laid (and, it seems, I’ve butchered a few phrases as well as a hedge …)

Action shot!