We have a completion certificate for the house, work still continues on the Sunday School and that will last into next year. It (the Sunday School, or "venue" as we've begun calling it) does have a stage, a bar room, a kitchen/serving room and toilet block, all functioning. More on that as it happens (and it does feature in the montage), but this post is mostly about Mount Pleasant, the dream home we planned (twice) and finally realised.
Can't put in words how lovely the place is to live in. We're so glad we took the risk, even though it swallowed us for four years.
Here's the "Final" montage. Beware, it's quite long, best part of 32 minutes. I've used timelapse footage from lots of cameras (I remember posting about cameras back in the day), plus photos and videos taken by Lyn and myself over the four year project. I apologise for my video editing skills, but it pretty much describes the build from beginning to (sort of) end.
Well we (actually Lyn and builder Paul) discussed the subject of paths for many hours, finally settling on using road planings, which are created when roads are resurfaced. They are just smashed up roads really. It's a cheap and easy solution and so far looks very good. As I type, they are all whizzing back and forth in the rain with barrows full of the stuff, occasionally stopping to use a wacker plate to smooth and compact it.
Before:
During:
Later:
There will be an "After" pic, but it's now late in the day, and I'm keen to post something, anything, as it's been so long.
We all know the news we're waiting for, and obviously there will be a joyous post on the day we get it.
40 tons of good topsoil will arrive soon to fill the two corner areas. Lyn is looking forward to planting those up and putting in some artfully placed stones, and of course in a nod to the trees that populated this area for 30 years, these lovely silver birches..
Can't tell from this pic, but they are 4m tall.
The rest of the patio area will be porcelain tiles like the one in the first pic.
Work has now started on the patio and decking which will surround the house, so that won't take too long.
I need to do a final montage of the time lapse stuff, which involves loads of photos and images from the last 3 years. I'll get on that right away.
Here's Lyn's latest photo, taken today on the way home from Benchmark Building Supplies in Romiley, to show our delight at finding the right tiles for the patio. A sample is in the background, but I think the photo just illustrates how well the colour goes with her eyes, and hair. Must be feeling romantic :)
Montage will appear here soon, don't miss it it'll be ace.
I'm an engineer, so expect the expected. I like owls. I hate cold water. Repeating tensions such as clocks and dripping taps, which drive some people crazy, don't seem to affect me. I survived cancer in 2019. I once drank seven mugs of tea in 15 minutes. I have trouble understanding why people keep dogs as pets. All of my names contain 7 letters. My lowest three vertebrae are held in place by titanium rods. Deep water represents the unknown, which terrifies me. I read slowly. I eat quickly. I was briefly insane in the autumn of 1990. My happiest moments were spent throwing arrows around a field when I was 12. My favourite colour is blue. I rarely catch colds. I believe that not taking part in any physical activity after the age of 30 is the equivalent of not ducking when being punched. I accept and respect the existence of an opposite point of view. I wish I had a good plot idea so I could write a book. I have never bought a tabloid newspaper. I sink in water. Of the five people I spent my teenage years with, three are dead. I think that in a family context, love should be unconditional. I believe to the core of my being that man's most divisive and destructive creation is God. I neglected my father and regret it now he's gone. I can hear and memorise numbers instantly and retain them almost indefinitely, but forget what my wife tells me in seconds. I dislike fruit in desserts. Masks scare me. Only my family should shorten my first name. I intend to live to the age of 121. There is no retina in my right eye. I've been to five continents but I hate sight-seeing.