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This last day of Summer coincided with the last day for family in Horning, sunny and mild after a cooler autumnal start to the day, the girls playing with the neighbour's daughters and enjoyed boating, sailing and messing about until it was time for Diana to take them home after lunch.
Alan dug my hole for the drainage tank whilst Steve and Dave first finished off the weatherboard cladding on the dyke side and then changed ends and did more than half of the roadside. This as I carried on staining and then, towards evening, I fitted two of the three upstairs window sets into their frames before resting for once
The last day of Summer coincided with the last day that the family stayed with me here in Horning. It was a very nice day for them to remember too; sunny and mild after a cooler autumnal start to the day. The girls played with the neighbour's daughters and enjoyed boating, sailing and messing about until it was time for Diana to take them home after lunch. I had slept until 7.30am and so must have been very tired and then it was a bit of a rush to get up and ready to start at 8.00am. Steve arrived on time and was joined by just Dave and Alan as the other carpenter was not available to us after all.
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A very stormy, wet and windy day for Di's Parents' Golden Wedding Anniversary Celebration at the University of Essex that started with me trying to retrieve building materials from the dyke after they had been blown there.
The long journey with Diana driving, Della in the front seat and me in the back intending to work on the way, planning the final stages of the building project and entering some costs in my notebook.
We got back to complete the recovery of my materials and to meet Ivan and Maureen Smith have been building their house Quay West since January and theirs has also taken longer and cost more than expected! It had stopped raining by this afternoon but remained very windy until dusk.
I woke up this morning to the sound of pouring rain and strong wind and it was soon apparent that I was in trouble as a stack of light wallboard had disappeared from the boat-house walk-way. I saw it missing and hoped that Steve had come down and moved it but, once I had my breakfast and got dressed and out, the stream of bubbles from the bottom of the dyke confirmed that my worst fears were realised. Masterboard is light and really soaks up moisture but, unlike plasterboard, regains its physical properties once it dries out. Therefore, I managed to catch hold of three of the sheets with the edging shears and lift them up to drain and start to dry them but the rest slipped beyond my reach and I had to leave them there. I got into quite a state moving timber around on the barge having the idea in mind of rationalising the storage of materials to avoid having the Masterboard outside, but time was running out and I could only secure more materials against the wind (which had risen to gale force). I also fished out a roll of damp course and several plastic bags from the dyke that had been carried there by the wind. The Blooms came by and had decided to go home because of the changing weather. Steve offered to help me for a few minutes but it was an hour's help that I needed and so I declined.
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An easier start to the day sitting and cuddling Della after breakfast together and reading the paper and then a hectic round of buying of building materials and returning to correct a kitchen lighting problem. The Blooms had prepared a fine barbeque and I ended the day rescuing two moorhen chicks again and getting a bath and hair-wash and then my journal before bed
I took things easily this morning for the first time in a long while sitting and cuddling Della after breakfast together and reading the paper. Then, once they were ready, we set off for Norwich to exchange some electrical goods, buy more Cuprinol Premier Wood-stain, collect the wash hand basin and then, after coffee, visit MFI. There we bought some sealing strip so that we are just about ready to install the work-top sections permanently. For the coffee break, I drove us to a part of west Norwich that we like and, as well as getting the drinks in a very friendly sandwich bar, we looked in on a roller blind place, electronic components shop and shop displaying prints and water colours.
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The end of the 9th week building ends as Diana joins me and is pleased with the progress on the Harnser kitchen and stairs. I am tired after a hard couple of months building work and will probably get another skilled carpenter in to help Dave to get as much done as possible. Mary Bloom also came with Andrew for the weekend and I let them have most of Heronshaw whilst we occupied the boat.
I was very late to bed but then awoke quite early to the sound of Steve snipping away at the wiring in the boat-shed storage cupboard. Some time before I was up, breakfasted and joined him and then I settled down to wiring the loft and compartment wall whilst Steve helped Dave to work on the end wall by the river. By the end of the day they had clad just about all of it and it looked a picture. Dave also helped me to cut the breakfast bar to a size suitable for the kitchen and this allowed me to fully visualise how the layout would work. Diana and Della joined me later in the evening for the weekend and they were pleased with the kitchen and stairs.
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