MAINTENANCE ..........

One of the downfalls of an old house is that they need lots of money spending on them, maintaining all of the boring things ..... we are having the pointing redone under the bay windows and the concrete plinths were crumbling so they are being done as well. We had the house painted about 7 years ago when we had a new roof but the windowsills need doing again.....

Some of the original air bricks were broken so I researched where I could get some new ones. I wanted to keep the original pattern and found some reproduction ones from the Cast Iron Air Brick Company .....

Here they are ..... same pattern as the originals ..... they had many patterns to choose from but I wanted the original and, guess what ? All of the other patterns were £25.00 each but, my pattern are £50.oo each !!! I bought them though ..... I want to put back what Walter Waller { who I told you about who built our house } had put in. 

Right next to one of the bay windows was a St Swithuns rose. We put it in about thirty years ago and it has been lovely but, over the past few years hasn't been so good ..... it gets black spot, other diseases, the blooms seize up when it rains and its high maintenance  so we decided to take it out. As it has been in the ground for such a long time, I thought that the roots were probably on their way to Australia and needed a young, strong man /woman to dig it out for me. BUT, always wanting things done yesterday, I toddled out at 8.00 a.m on Sunday morning, just to have a little dig and see what was what !!! I managed to dig a fair way down to assess the root situation { even with a broken right elbow } . Mr Home , brandishing heavy duty loppers, cut through the massive roots and, we managed to get it out !!!! Some roots are left in the ground but I think that was inevitable. I have potted it up to see if it will survive and, if it does, I shall plant it somewhere else. See the information label ? ..... that was buried underground and has been there for over thirty years !

BUT ..... I managed to inflict a big, weeping blister on the palm of my left hand and cut my left little finger ! The bandage was just to protect it as I painted some of the original air bricks this morning .....

It's amazing what you can do with a broken right elbow, numb fingers, a thumb and index finger joint that won't work, a blister and a cut little finger ..... I don't think it's my year on the domestic accidents front !

XXXX

A WET WEEKEND ............

It was a very wet weekend here in Hertfordshire .....

I've also had a face like a wet weekend ..... this broken elbow lark is getting pretty frustrating. Half of the things that I want to do I can't and the other half take a zillion times longer ! The most excitement that I get is going to either the fracture clinic or to see the physiotherapist !  I am quite a patient person and also a glass half full , flowing over kind of a gal but the healing of a broken elbow is a long process !!! I still have numbness in my hand but , it is all improving so I can't complain and as I always say, there are always so many others far worse off than me. It could have been far worse. 

Not being able to drive is a bit annoying as well !!! The doctor said the elbow doesn't usually straighten completely but, I can live with that. I told him how grateful I was to him for his skill in putting me back together considering I did a silly thing .... he told me he was pleased he could help me and that it was just his job. He was quite impressed with my knowledge of anatomy !!!  .... do you know that the nerve heals 1mm per day so that's why it takes so long for the numbness to go, and, considering I injured the median nerve at the elbow, it's got a long way to go !  I'm just so annoyed with myself for ruining a perfectly good arm but, that's why we have the word accident isn't it ? !!! 

OK ..... thats enough self pity for one day ..... has anyone out there broken their elbow ? I'm sorry to only talk about broken bones but that's about all thats going on in my life at the moment ! ..... oh, and the conservatory is leaking but, that's another story. 

UPDATE : Just read a story about a man, age 57,  who was celebrating his  wedding anniversary, who went to the toilet, fell down the stairs and is now paralysed from the waist down .... puts a broken elbow into perspective ..... I've given myself a good talking to and a slap round the face !!! 

XXXX