The Bathroom is finished - at last!!

told you i have been busy....

this is what i have been busy with...

managed to get a week off work so with a bit of forward planning got all the bits together so i could get on with it

i will describe it from where we last left off

i got some chrome pipe and chrome fittings and connected up the big shower head to the shower unit - i had planned this as i liked the idea of exposed pipework - so if you can see it why not do it in chrome and make a feature of it




i didnt want a shower door this time and any way i doubt i could get one to fit so a shower curtain was the way to go

it took a long time to find some thing that would do the job and not look too bulky - it also needed to be in chrome - this narrowed the choices a lot and we did struggle for a bit

this is actually two sets put together with some of the left over bits put together to make a rather nice tie back for the shower curtain

the ceiling was a disaster so we had to start again so it was re-done and done with textured polystyrene and polystyrene coving and then painted with umpteen coats of white till it looked about right



had a bit of a change of plan with the toilet side

i decided to do the bottom of the wall in the left over bits of the plastic stuff

the top of the wall didnt look right just painted white - even after all the trouble of filling it and sanding it down - so our lass chose this paper and i think it really sets it off

the pattern is wicked and actually matches the shower curtain

as you can see in the pictures our lass has been busy getting all the accessories to set it off



the towel rail over the radiator was a good find as was the towel rail under the slope

the fancy net curtains go well and i made a pole up from bits in the garage and all held up with pipe clips left over from the early plumbing jobs

overall i think all the hard work we have both done has been worth it - and we both love the end result
- it might not be everyones cup of tea - but tough - its our house not yours - and we like it

and now the sounding like our gill handy tip bit

cut a peeled onion in half and put cut side down in a saucer of water - this wiil get rid of the smell of paint


gotta go now other jobs to be on with - no rest for the wicked !!!

no i'm not dead just busy

not dead, just busy doing stuff - there will be words and pics when its all done !!!!

been out to play in the snow with the dog

been out playing in the snow with the dog

- its quite hard getting a good picture of the dog in the snow as it runs round like a demented idiot

this is actually a road we are playing on and not too far from our house

we go out here often as the road is quiet and the dog can run free

this is another one of our well gritted local roads as you can see - the gritters are only gritting major routes and this is only a local road so it doesnt get any

i would think it has been sort of cleared by one of the farmers as there is a farm down in the bottom

we didnt get too much snow up here but it has struggled to get much above minus 10 for most of the week - so it isnt going anywhere for a while i think

so off we went to play me, the better half, the youngest and the daft dog

we took the sledge as well and this kept me and the better half warm dragging it about and the dog ran about chasing the sledge and the snow

the dog looks knackered doesnt it - and it is asleep behind me in its basket at present - lucky thing !!

out and about this week in the wagon the weather has caused all sorts of problems

i have been in blizzards, white outs freezing rain and bright sunshine

yes its been fun to say the least

down south it was good as the roads were quiet as they all panicked and stayed at home - which was good as earlier in the week when they first got it they were taking it in turns to crash in ever more interesting ways

the further north you got the colder it got and the roads were more up to the normal traffic level - slightly less accidents but not by much

it just shows the difference in cultures - some people will take time off at the least excuse where others will just battle in - me, if i dont go in i dont get paid - simple as that - so into work i went

the weather may have been bad but over the week i delivered every load i was asked to and collected every load too - it was hard going at times - but the job has to get done - so you just get on with it

but it is nice on the weekend to go out in the snow and play with the family - enjoy it while i can back to work again tommorrow - hey ho !!!

snow snow and more bloody snow

what a day - snow and idiots

the bad picture is me parked up for the night bottom side of oxford - yes oxford - i dont think they have ever seen this much snow - chaos

right, idiots - been around the country a bit today - cumbria, humberside, yorkshire and down into oxfordshire - the same applies to all of them

there seems to be two sections of idiots on the roads

1/ see some snow, panic brake hard and then drive along at ten miles per hour

2/ignore all snow and other traffic and drive flat out and hope for the best

both are bad and usually cause an accident which wouldnt be so bad but they usually take someone else with them

there is no hard and fast way to drive in snow but try this it seems to work for me - look around be aware of others around you,leave a good gap in front of you(imagine the car in front had an accident could you stop with that gap)

drive at a steady speed do not brake hard, accelerate hard or steer hard - try to imagine a full glass of water balanced on your lap and any sudden move will spill cold water on your bits - i was lucky and got taught how to drive in snow and ice on a skidpan years ago and thats how they did it and yes i got wet quite a bit until i learned

another thing and this is a rant - before you set off clear the snow from your car - windows, lights, bonnet and roof - i have lost count of the cars and vans i have seen today looking like mobile snow drifts

think about it and look about at other vehicles and you will see - once these mobile snow drifts get going all the snow flies off and lands on the vehicles behind causing obvious problems - think harder - what would happen if snow falling from your vehicle caused an accident and they got your registration number ?

i know i go on but driving up and down the roads all day i see too many accidents and body bags and it gets to you after a while -

if only one of you take notice and save yourselves an accident it is worth the rest of you thinking i go on too much

nick....

covert ops

no pictures today for obvious reasons
been on covert ops to neighbouring area and half emptied one of the roadside salt bins (yes it was on a well salted road and unlikley to be needed)
needs be as needs must so the deed was done and the salt was fetched back to our hill and street and i spread it about on the hill and bad corner and the rest up the street a bit until it ran out
it seems a bit daft but what do you do nobody else was doing it so someone has to do it as a lot of people just couldnt get in or out
i looked out before and it seems to be working the road looks a lot better and hopefully it makes a few peoples life easier

i put one of those widget things on my site as you can see as i was interested to see who was looking at our site as most of you dont seem to comment on my drivel - so this way i can see if there are any more idiots like me out there

have fun...

i'm going out again later so decided to get the car ready
look all windows brushed off scraped and all snow brushed off bonnet - bit of a novelty as the current trend seems to be scape one square inch from the windscreen and then set off - a bit like a mobile igloo
rant over

i will brush the snow off the roof in a bit but am cold so came back in for a bit
as you can see we have a little bit of snow again and no salt or grit to be seen again - the salt bin down the road has been empty for a fortnight now so we cant even do it our selves - not that the council would in the first place

and before you all moan yes i have a four wheel drive - we both do a disco and a freelander - so i know yes i am personally destroying the planet - but unlike the chelsea tractor brigade i do actually need one and yes it does get used in four wheel drive in anger and yes i do know how to drive it
family gathering today and we all went through to mothers in carlisle and ate too much as she (as normal) made enough for several coach parties
it was good to get together as we cant do it too often as we are all busy most of the time
we went in the freelander this time as we havent had it long and wanted to try it out in the snow and ice - verdict good in snow but crap on ice - the four wheel drive system and traction control work great in the snow but ice is no good as none of the wheels get any grip at all - but the abs is great and no dodgy sliding at all
and before you say it no it wasnt me driving but the good lady who handled it brilliantly as per and then i took over for the last bit when it became sheet ice and got it home
so the point of all this - its snowed a bit and there is no salt so its worth driving carefully

better to get there late in this life than be early for the next