.: I've been busy

Mum has been making a few comments about my lack of updates so before the tumbleweeds start breezing through this blog I'll tell you what I've been up to.

First things first, I won a giveaway held by the lovely Lorrie over at Fabric Paper Thread.

These were the goodies that came through my letterbox:

Some note cards made with photos of France which Lorrie took herself.

The viewpoints are fabulous

And very specially, the 'A' for Andi. There were two as you might see in the first pic but for some reason the photo of the second one hasn't appeared on my memory card.

Thank you Lorrie for a fab giveaway. I am thrilled.

Now,

Dogs.

You've got to love them, but they do bark. Especially if there are two very barky dogs living next door.

The fence between our two properties didn't help as they could see each other through the gaps, so we had a new, more solid fence put in its place.

This was the old fence ready to be broken up and put in the skip:

Basically sound, just not suitable for two dog-owning neighbours.

Hmmmmm. Can I really allow all that good wood to be thrown in the skip?

Absolutely not!

Our back fence was just as open which left us little privacy in the garden:

So with my trust crowbar and hammer, I took those fence panels apart:

And slotted the struts in between the gaps on the back fence.

The fence guys didn't understand. 'We can put up a new fence' they said.

Why? When I've got the materials right here to reuse, recycle and reclaim my privacy?

Oh it's grand not to feel on display any more!
(and not give the fence guys any more money!)

Also I've tarted up a junk cupboard.

Imagine if you will this cupboard stuffed with bin bags full of duvets, pillows and old curtains all piled up on the floor. Disused clothes jammed on the rail waiting for the car boot or charity shop, their drop hindered by the bin bags of duvets etc. The top shelf stuffed with junk. Got the picture? Not nice is it?

Here's me ready to pull it apart, sand it down and paint the walls.

(I didn't have any dust masks)

A trip to B&Q for wood, some erratic sawing and I now have a more respectable cupboard with lovely new shelves (goodness, with all that sawing and working with wood I felt like one of the Waltons).

Oh, and I built a greenhouse.

Well, that's not strictly true. I asked pal Eddie (who does a lot of work in our house) to help me build it but after about an hour he very tactfully said, 'You can go indoors, I'll call you if I need help'.

So here it is. My greenhouse. The tomato plants are doing nicely and the herbs are poking through but a lot of other things went in a bit to late in the season. Never mind, next year it'll be a riot!