The weather forecast was for heavy showers possibly with thunder but although it began to rain a couple of times in the morning the afternoon was sunny and hot. Expecting rain I'd gone straight out at 8.30 after my housework, to continue working on the hedge. I'm now half-way through cutting down the 3rd tree.
During the almost raining moments I completed putting the range back together and did lots of tidying in the old pump room. Above is the 'before' photo while below is the painted and assembled range.
It's Victorian, circa 1900 and while I was painting I thought about the housemaids whose job it would have been to clean and blacklead it daily. For its time it was an amazing improvement on a pot over a fire with 2 ovens and space for 3 saucepans.
This refurbished working model will set you back a little under £3,000 not counting fitting!
Clearing out the pump room resulted in a car full of stuff for the dump so I drove to the dump at Ilfracombe and called in at the Tesco's there afterwards. I was impressed to see this tray of fruit with a sign inviting parents to take a free piece of fruit for their child to eat while they were shopping. I've not seen that before.
On the way back I stopped to take a photos of the view across our valley and the ewes with their lambs in a field.
While I spent my day working outside a friend's husband who is a builder worked on boxing in all the wires at the tops of the stairs and hall walls. It looks so much neater now and once I've painted it all white will look even better.
I was just shutting the bedroom window when I looked out and saw a moorhen (a wading bird) sitting at the top of the tall (at least 20ft) leylandii. It was looking rather worriedly at Patch walking in the yard. I wonder if it went up so high because Jack and his friends were playing around the lake all afternoon?
2 comments:
I suspect the Moorhen was disturbed by the boys and your cat. The range is lovely, Ruta you did a remarkable job. I, too, wondered about house maid chore ... my times have changed. Some for the better-some not. My grocery store I shop at, has fruit for children along side a wooden box with a slot in the top....cost is 5 cents. I've never seen a child purchase and/or eat one of the fruit. I do see children sitting in the basket eating junk. Mostly candy and chips. When my son was little he had a cookie card from a grocery store that is gone. He was permitted one free cookie per grocery trip. And, yes, he often was good and got his cookie.
The scene looking over the valley is breathtaking.
Great job on the range - I love it!!
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