Hello Dear Reader,
If you are in Australia, then today is your Summer Solstice whilst here, it's the Winter Solstice and the mark of the turning year. It's the shortest day and from now on, the days will get longer by a few seconds each day. It's been very overcast, with low clouds, a lot of rain and hardly any day light all day. It's also the first day of my holiday and I'm battling tiredness!
We had a burst of energy.
We fitted the rest of the secondary glazing film. It's surprisingly effective. I have altered the curtains to fit the windows. I had to butcher two pairs of curtains to make one longer set of curtains. The curtains in our dining room used to be in our spare bedroom. They were laundered and packed and now, they've been cut and sewn.
We also had a visit and quotation from the double glazing firm that we use. Double glazing for the entire house will cost us £???? (not telling) and we were offered credit terms. Instead, we've split the job over five months and we'll pay for what we can afford in three separate fittings. The work will be done by the end of May. We will pay for the work as it happens, instead of having it all done at once and then paying for it over the year. I prefer it that way.
We've also broken down the cost of having a wood stove installed. In the summer, we'll have the chimney lined and the roof line chimney repaired and the chimney pot will have a cowl fitted. In the autumn half term break, we'll have a new stove fitted in time for the winter. It's going to be an expensive year and we'll have no spare money for any other repairs or alterations. Decorating, flooring, the garden overhaul will all have to wait until the following year. This is not a sprint but a slow and steady walk to the finish. I personally feel it's better to get the work done now, whilst we're both able to take on extra work and we're healthy enough to amuse ourselves with long walks and turning the garden over to veg for a year.
It was lovely to sit at my sewing machine today and to do just the slightest things to make our house more homely.
I hope your shortest day went well and your winter will turn to spring as quickly as it does here in Cornwall. It's amazing to think that snowdrops will be in flower in a month and within weeks of that, daffodils will start to push through the soil and a week later will be in bloom. Winter's are mercifully short here in Cornwall!
Until tomorrow,
Love Froogs xxxxxxxxxx