"When you get a groove going, time flies" Donald Fagen

I know there are a few people who follow my blog and I would like to apologise to them for not having updated since February. My thoughts are especially with the family of one follower who has suffered major trauma after a fall last November.

I have been working steadily on the project, mainly framing and insulating the kitchen. After two months of inactivity following minor surgery, I took over 64 sheets of plasterboard and a lorry load of furniture and effects which I collected from Aberdeen and Edinburgh. This entry will comprise a pictorial diary of progress since February. 

First a rotten beam was removed in the kitchen

Then a replacement length cut and treated

so that the walls could be framed and insulated.

The space above the kitchen was also prepared for the first fix

Finally a sink to wash up in - even though it's on a different floor from the current temporary kitchen

and permanent access to the upstairs storage area over the kitchen

An incident with an electric plane

whilst preparing the old floorboards led to the purchase of my latest toy - a wood thicknesser

which enabled us to get some idea of what the floor will eventually look like.

and finally the plasterboard

and the contents of the van

so that's the current state of play - except for possibly the most important addition to this wonderful old property

"The interval between a cold expectation and a warm desire may be filled by expectations of varying degrees of warmth or by desires of varying degrees of coldness."

The interval between the slates on the kitchen roof and the space below however, will be filled by some sheets of Celutex insulation (other brands are available)

The framing will be next, and made easier hopefully by the addition of this item to the toybox

"I have discovered the secret of happiness - it is work, either with the hands or the head. The moment I have something to do, the draughts are open and my chimney draws, and I am happy. John Burroughs"

One of the most satisfying things about this project is when you come across an unexpected problem. When all the doors, furniture and general detritus were removed from the kitchen one such problem became apparent.

A previous attempt to reconstruct a support for this massive stone lintel in the kitchen hearth seemed to be missing something

and turned out to be not the strongest - a gentle push with one hand reduced it to this!!! Over the next couple of days 

a stone support was put in place; ready for framing and insulating.

  

"You start out playing in kitchens, and you end up playing in kitchens." Trisha Yearwood

So now it's the kitchen, probably the most important room in the house. Somewhere to sit, relax, cook, chat, socialise and just generally live. It's a blank canvas at the moment - but my memory keeps filling it with images from my early childhood.

I clearly remember being washed in the stone sink in the kitchen of the pub where I was born. It was less glamorous but more exciting than this one - I used to get to "push the button" on the gas water heater to magic the cold water hot.

and the tin bath was put in front of the fire once a week, on Sunday, and my brother and I took it in turns to be scrubbed clean. Speaking of Mick and kitchens, I also remember the day he locked mum upstairs and shooed the chickens we kept into the kitchen before running away. She had to call for help from an upstairs window!

However warm and fuzzy these childhood memories are, I decided to bring the Manse kitchen into 21st century. To be honest, I didn't have to do too much to make a difference to the room as we found it. So...on with the show!

"You close the door on me and tell me I can't, I'm gonna find a way to get in." Tyler Perry

The winter season took its toll on the frames of the front and back doors. I had forgotten the first rule of the Manse - Beware the elements! The autumn and winter rains had sought out the wooden spacers I had fitted with the end result that it was virtually impossible to open or close either of them. This resulted in removing both doors and adjusting each of the frames.

with the addition of some expanding foam...

Viola; a complete absence of drafts and a door that opens and closes easily

"Being 'contented' ought to mean in English, as it does in French, being pleased. Being content with an attic ought not to mean being unable to move from it and resigned to living in it; it ought to mean appreciating all there is in such a position." G. K. Chesterton

Not that there's much in the attic over the kitchen at the moment - apart from 5 birds nests, umpteen 50 year old newspapers used to block holes, hundreds of nails in the beams and an accumulation of dust, guano, stones and general detrius.

but once it was de-nailed and cleaned up it proved to be quite a big space

And so we started to cut and fit the insulation for the roof

so hopefully this will be finished in two or three days - by my Man Friday - before I return next month