Even more gite progress.

I know, I know: what about the bloody smallholding?  Well, it's been howling wind and cold rain for weeks now, so instead of being cold and wet and miserable like the chooks I've been:

 Making the door and frame to the small bedroom with nothing but hand tools.  

I ripped the door to size with my Disston No.7 (I think) that I got for £7, cutting the edge 1cm narrower at the bottom than the top and got it spot on (!) for a 5mm clearance all around, and got a workout at the same time.

Detail shot.

Nice hand forged iron -not steel- mongery from a shop in Suffolk where things are made by people and not robots, for £20.  Due to my hand-planing the rough sawn timber, it's got a lovely patina on the wood with no scorch marks from a wobbly planing machine like the oak lintels we put in.  Admittedly this would look crap in a modern setting but it's perfect for the wobbly ol' cowshed we've got.

 View into the bedroom.  Loads of junk just behind the door, which is why I took the photo like this!

 Main bedroom done with some boxed-in shelves along the back to hide conduit.  Me, I would have put it under the floor, but never mind...

Concrete under stairs gone!  Dark and oak-effect woodstain dry-brushed on, looks like the real thing!  I'm going to oil them as well to give them an also fake glazed effect.  I have found my hidden talent: bodging.

"I know what I did this summer."

Sounds like a "straight to video" B-movie.

 Went to Sweden.

 Ate some fish and drank schnapps.

 Watched and didn't join in the "hop around the leafy cock" dance.

 Came back (eventually) and converted an old rusty bike into a sharp shiny bike (work in progress) with lots of wire wool. WD-40 and old imperial spanners.  Car now stays put!  I hate cars!  They will kill us all!

 Tidied the tip of a hanger and re-stacked the log pile - all nice and dry for winter.  Barbell not needed, but will go for it anyway.

 Dug up one 10m row of early spuds and got 47 kilos.  Not bad.

 Watched f-king caterpillars strip the gooseberries - again.  Finer net next year.

 Ate tomatilloes and wept with pleasure.

 Waited eagerly for the Amish paste toms to ripen.  They're in the Lord's hands...

 Ate chillies - in May!  Good variety this one.  Hungarian.

Ate too much perfect juicy beetroot and now want a break.  Good grated with horseradish, ginger and soy sauce, with toasted pumpkin seeds thrown in - but not every day, dammit!

 This tree did absolutely nowt last year.  It's stake rotted out in one year (it was sweet chestnut as well!) so I re-staked it at the angle it was leaning at and now it's growing!  Must have been trying to tell me something.

 5ft high broads on the left, tons of runners for beans not pods on the right, with netted brussels sprouts behind.

 Made six compost bins and filled five immediately!  NEVER have enough compost bins!

 The sunflower seeds for sprouting have sprouted and turn out to be a sturdy dwarf variety - spot on for this windy site!  Hope the seeds turn out well...

 Taking no chances this year with anything: all my broccoli is under (scaffold) net, and looking much better for it.  Gardener's best friend is scaffold net: shade, windbreak, pest barrier, mulch, and cheap as chips.

 Onions looking ok.  Time will judge.

Too much bloody granny's pastel shaded wee bonny flowers here!  I want paper bark birches with dogwood underplanting, stones,  moss and ferns!