T is for tension, Take That and TT!

It seems ages since I was last here TWITTERING on but we are without internet access in our village and have been for the past few days. It is affecting those of us who use BT Broadband - AOL, Virgin users are not affected so I am using a local cafe's internet facility to catch up here, and more importantly to see what everybody else has been up to.
I can tell you, there has certainly been Tension in the household - the BT problem occurred as we were making our very first sale on Ebay!!! However, I was pleased to see the Aga go to a new home in Hull. A lady had wanted an Aga for years and being the good chap he was, her husband had the winning big on ours. Last night (Monday) he drove up from Hull, together with a trailer to take our beloved Aga to it new home. Yes I was emotional, yes I cried but felt reassured that it would be looked after in the new home. It has been part of our family for 20 years, in fact we bought it during the very first months of moving to our current home so the kitchen seems very strange without it.

I am sure the picture of an Aga is somewhat rose-tinted against the harsh reality of seeing one dismantled, lying in various piles around the kitchen, not to mention the dust and soot. It was all nicely cleaned and hoovered ready for the collection, nearly at the cost of a vacuum cleaner I can tell you! The Aga is packed with an insulating material which looks like grit - certainly of the same size and consistency - but there was tons of the stuff packed around the internal workings - which, to cut a story short managed to escape from the cleaner and distribute themselves around the kitchen - the dust cloud was like something from a science fiction movie and it didn't help my sore throat! Why a sore throat......well on Saturday I had been singing along at the TAKE THAT concert in Sunderland! It was TERRIFIC I can tell you, we had the TIME of our lives.

I think I have just recovered - in TIME to prepare for our annual TRIP over to the Isle of Man TT on Saturday. The arrangements are all made, ferry and hotel booked, Elsie, Freida and Ella booked into their various places of luxury accommodation and neighbours looking after hens.
We are away for 8 days and I am sure we will have a fun time! It will be a good break from the work we have been doing - and indeed on our return the work will resume - talking of resuming work - I guess it is time for me to return home and chisel away at more TILES! The joy of DIY eh?
Watch this space - not sure when I will be back - but as TAKE THAT said - when I am back, I hope I will be Back for Good! lol!
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S is for Selling

The dresser is up for sale! It has been packed away in the shed for quite a few weeks now and the kitchen seems very different without it, but all things considered it is the right thing to do. The top is an original linen press, we had the drawers made to compliment the press so it all fits together in proportion.
My late neighbour had the linen press in her pantry - it was used to store tins of dog food. The doors were originally filled in with cardboard and newspaper - a far cry from what it looked like after we restored it.
Whilst I am SAD to see it go, I know it will go to a new home where it will be loved and treasured, just as it was here.

The top photograph was taken a few years ago - the blue object is a fairing from one of our motorbikes which we had a little drop on! It was just a cosmetic repair - costing best part of £1,00! When we sold the bike Jon told me to take it down - not a good thing for a prospective buyer to see! lol!

Looking at the dresser (press) it has been used to store my various pieces of kitchen memorabilia over the years, but I have conflicting views over saving such stuff - it should be used really, on a regular basis. I tend to keep things "away" and then get upset if something is chipped when used. The consequence is a large collection of items never used - something I am hoping to address when the kitchen is revamped.

What special kitchen memorabilia to you have? and how to you use/display or store?

For m

It's a first!

Read here!


Never done this before - so it is all very exciting!

With under 2 weeks to go before we go on our annual pilgrimage to the Isle of Man we are now taking a rest from the DIY around the house. There is little we can do to be honest as once the Aga is removed and dismantled, the concrete plinth will have to be modified for the Rayburn. This is because the  flu is located on the right hand side of the Rayburn, unlike the Aga where it is central. The flu goes straight into the chimney and as we don't want a flu-pipe on a severe slant we will re-position the stove itself. Jon will have to assemble a new plinth which he will do when we return. Once this has set we will be able to re-position and modify the units.

The Rayburn is due to be delivered 2nd or 3rd week of July and everything will need to be in place by then. Normally I feel quite flat when we return from holiday but this year it couldn't be further from the truth.
I am making plans for our holiday - the pets are all booked into their various places of accommodation and the neighbours are looking after the hens. Over the next few days I will be making copious lists for our holiday and ofcourse I have the Take That concert to look forward to on Saturday - I am very excited about everything coming along - I will just have to exercise a little..............