Stormy.

It was a wild, wet morning so no wonder Squeaky and Patch were pressed up against the rayburn. It didn't feel that cold but I guess the cats like their warmth. It would have been perfect  to just sit at the pc working on my latest abstract jigsaw puzzle with the wind whistling round the house but there was work to be done. Back in carpentry mode I tackled the broken step into Romas' old room. There is a step down into the room and I found the wood on the top broken after the carpets were laid. It is in the old part of the house so the ancient bit of wood was in a sorry state and I couldn't blame the carpet fitter for the fact that it broke when it was knelt on. I cut a piece of wood to support the ledge but then I had to take out a section because there were a handful of electrical wires coming through the wall at that point. A thin piece of hardboard covered up the hole which I attached with glue. But nothing is ever simple in this house and after my repair the door wouldn't shut. Should I take some wood off the bottom of the door or lower the wooden ledge? I opted for shaving at the ledge with a wood chisel until the door closed easily. Later on I made it all more secure with some small nails and will tidy it up tomorrow.

At school I was working with the Reception class. After the usual phonics I had been asked to make the Mother's Day cards. (As it's linked to Easter it is unusually early this year, the 6th of March instead of around the 21st.) The card involves a green hand print so I had 25 small children to get through. As I didn't want green handprints all the wall down the school corridor to the children's sinks I took in a bucket and a towel so they could clean up in the classroom. All was going well until one child decided to put both hands on the paint covered sponge and splodged both of them on his card. Needless to say he had another go with just one hand. The children also cut out a picture of a plant pot with a sweet little poem on it and at the end of the day I stuck their pots under their hand prints. Tomorrow they will make the flowers with their fingers. 

When I got home I found the dustmen had collected the rubbish and left my wheelie bin lying in a muddy puddle. It had muddy water inside so I had to drag it around the corner and leave it upside down to drain. The ground up there is so rutted by the tractors it's hard to find a flat spot for the bin to stand on.