Wet.

Grey and cold with frequent drizzle turning to rain today.

The alarm went off at 7.00 this morning but as I'd slept like a log the whole night through it wasn't difficult to wake up straight away. The builders were here shortly after 8.00 to finish off the paving. They had left very deep gaps between the slabs which are laid on a solid bed of concrete, not just the usual five dabs, so once the cement sets it would be very hard to dislodge. I was intrigued to see that instead of throwing in the mortar with a trowel they used a heavy duty type of plunger gun, like a bigger version of sealant guns, into which they put cartridges filled with the mortar and then squirted the mortar into the gaps. Then followed lots of finishing off to tidy up the joints, far more than I would ever have done. However the heavy rain overnight on Wednesday and today's generally wet conditions made it impossible to clean the slabs completely so the builder will return tomorrow for a final clean. 

As well as the pointing they laid stone over the steps down to the garden. We hadn't made our minds up at the time as we don't have any plans to change the paving at the bottom of the steps but we have to agree that they look much better. Also by adjusting the amount of cement under each step the builder was able to even up the height of the steps so that they are all the same. The builder is going to bring a sample of the galvanised pipe for the handrail for me to look at as he wasn't able to find any suitable hardwood such as oak which would have been nice.

Having an early start meant I got my jobs done early and once I'd done decent piano and guitar practices I was able to get on with the tea-cosy. I'd taken measurements of Vytas' tea-pot when we were up there at Christmas but I got Sally to send me some photos to show the position of the handle. And this was how I occupied myself today - making a cardboard replica tea-pot. Not exactly the same but the measurements match and it proved very useful when working out how to construct the tea-cosy. My style of working is to do a bit, see if it fits and if it does do a bit more. That way I was able to complete the main shape with all the scales on. I shall block it overnight as that really makes a difference to the shape of the scales before joining it to fit the tea-pot. The cosy will have a slit across the top so that it can slide down over the handle and one or possibly two buttons to close it and keep the heat in.