Showing posts with label garden fence. Show all posts
Showing posts with label garden fence. Show all posts
Monday, 11 May 2009
What Comes Down Must Go Up - Eventually
After Robbie's reluctance to sorting the fence out, it was inevitable that matters would eventually come to a head. The whole fence episode had been going on for over a year and my tolerance levels were at rock bottom. After a frank exchange of views Robbie finally saw things my way and agreed to spend Sunday in the garden. It took all morning to chase him out there, but eventually he ran out of excuses and headed out with a resigned look on his face. I left him to it and went out and he rang me later to say that the final fence panel is now up! It isn't perfect and I am not sure how long it will stay in place, but it is a huge improvement on the gap that was there before! Anyway while I had him in garden mode I decided to make the most of it. A couple of weeks ago I got him to spray the weeds to keep them under control, I am not sure if used weed killer or miracle grow, but they have grown like triffids ever since. I asked him to spray them again and to make sure that none of them got away this time. For a couple of hours he wandered around the garden spraying everything in sight. At about 7pm he retired injured - repetitive strain injury to his trigger finger!
Tuesday, 16 September 2008
Still Waiting!
Well, it is a good thing that I didn't hold my breath because we still don't have a fence! Robbie has perfected the art of procrastination and he found an assortment of reasons to put off doing the fence until I finally chased him outside at about half past five on Sunday afternoon. He and Sam remained outside for well over an hour, there was a fair bit of huffing and puffing and scratching of heads, not to mention some rather unorthodox language. Robbie had to retire injured after he stuck his hand into a bunch of stinging nettles, I wasn't over sympathetic, which made him even more frustrated. The two fence panels have still not been replaced and now Robbie has found that he can't use the existing middle post so he has to dig out the concrete it was set in. He promised to do it next Saturday, I only have one comment – watch out for a whole heard of flying pigs!
Thursday, 11 September 2008
Rain Dance
When will it stop raining? I am so fed up with all this miserable weather, if it continues like this we will soon need an ark instead of a house. On Saturday it rained so heavily that the front and back gardens were covered in water. Robbie was off on his rail tour, but when I told him about it he didn't seem that bothered, he just told me about all the problems with flooding that had affected the railways. The standing water soaked away after a few hours but the constant rain means the ground is waterlogged. Robbie still hasn't finished putting the fence up because it is too wet, and Meg the dog (who has feet like a cart horse) trails muddy footprints through the house every time she goes out for a walk. Robbie says he gets blamed for most things that go wrong in the house and I am beginning to wonder if he has been doing a 'rain dance' to avoid doing the fence. He had used up every other excuse for delay and it had become a very sore subject, so bad weather was about the only way left to avoid finishing the job. I wonder if he will get it done this weekend? I will not be holding my breath!
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Back to Reality
On Monday morning I had that disconcerting experience of waking up and having no idea where I was. Then with a sinking feeling I realised that I wasn't on holiday any more, I was back at home in my own bed, in the real world and our holiday is just a fading memory. I really don't want the summer to end, it has been nice to have more time with Sam, Laura and Emily and now there is only one week left before school starts again. Before we know it the clocks will be changing and the dark days of winter will stretch ahead of us.
The more immediate reality of work and daily routine can not be avoided, but I am determined not to let it completely overshadow family time. Coming home after a holiday makes you look at things with a fresh eye and I am determined to de-clutter the house. there is also too much stuff and too little space. I am also going to redecorate the kitchen, I have been promising that I would do it for ages, but I have to stop thinking and get on with it. We have had temporary fencing up on one side of the garden for months, it only required three panels but Robbie turned a supposedly simple task into a bureaucratic exercise of endless planning and indecision – he's been spending too much time with Network Rail! In the end I gave him an ultimatum, if he couldn't get it up I would find someone who could! So yesterday he and Sam ventured out into the garden and after three hours of effort they had managed to erect one panel! Oh well, only two more to go. Maybe Robbie should stick to train planning!
The more immediate reality of work and daily routine can not be avoided, but I am determined not to let it completely overshadow family time. Coming home after a holiday makes you look at things with a fresh eye and I am determined to de-clutter the house. there is also too much stuff and too little space. I am also going to redecorate the kitchen, I have been promising that I would do it for ages, but I have to stop thinking and get on with it. We have had temporary fencing up on one side of the garden for months, it only required three panels but Robbie turned a supposedly simple task into a bureaucratic exercise of endless planning and indecision – he's been spending too much time with Network Rail! In the end I gave him an ultimatum, if he couldn't get it up I would find someone who could! So yesterday he and Sam ventured out into the garden and after three hours of effort they had managed to erect one panel! Oh well, only two more to go. Maybe Robbie should stick to train planning!
Tuesday, 8 January 2008
Close Encounters of the Scary Kind 20.01.07
Robbie finally arrived home exhausted but triumphant at about 11.40pm. You may wonder what he found to be triumphant about after such a frustrating day - it was the outstanding performance of the Voyager toilets during the 12 hours it took to make the journey from Glasgow to Birmingham. I know we have to count our blessings, but that is just weird!
Our plans for the weekend have changed due to the problems caused by the gales yesterday, so Robbie will be out in the garden bright and early to make an attempt on his record. With a bit of luck (and careful supervision) he may even be able to get the fence to stay up for a whole week! Practice makes perfect, or so they say.
Robbie woke up late this morning feeling somewhat bleary eyed after his adventure yesterday. He made it to the bathroom without incident, but as he made a quick dash back to the bedroom wearing little more than a smile, he encountered a man on the landing. There was a scream of surprise followed by a string of expletives before he returned to the bedroom looking as if the devil was after him. The man in question was superman, life size and incredibly life like as he leaned against the door to the airing cupboard looking across at Sam's bedroom. Sam had decided to put him outside his bedroom, and of course being Sam there is always an interesting reason for his actions. He didn't like having the life sized cut-out in his bedroom because he didn't like to think he was being looked at while he was asleep. He had therefore decided to put him outside his room, to guard the door and deter unwelcome visitors. It certainly made an impression on Robbie! Sam has Asperger Syndrome and although it is incredibly difficult for him to cope with the ordinary matters of daily life, this was one of those occasions when the result of his behaviour was extremely funny.
Our plans for the weekend have changed due to the problems caused by the gales yesterday, so Robbie will be out in the garden bright and early to make an attempt on his record. With a bit of luck (and careful supervision) he may even be able to get the fence to stay up for a whole week! Practice makes perfect, or so they say.
Robbie woke up late this morning feeling somewhat bleary eyed after his adventure yesterday. He made it to the bathroom without incident, but as he made a quick dash back to the bedroom wearing little more than a smile, he encountered a man on the landing. There was a scream of surprise followed by a string of expletives before he returned to the bedroom looking as if the devil was after him. The man in question was superman, life size and incredibly life like as he leaned against the door to the airing cupboard looking across at Sam's bedroom. Sam had decided to put him outside his bedroom, and of course being Sam there is always an interesting reason for his actions. He didn't like having the life sized cut-out in his bedroom because he didn't like to think he was being looked at while he was asleep. He had therefore decided to put him outside his room, to guard the door and deter unwelcome visitors. It certainly made an impression on Robbie! Sam has Asperger Syndrome and although it is incredibly difficult for him to cope with the ordinary matters of daily life, this was one of those occasions when the result of his behaviour was extremely funny.
Bob the Builder and the Blustery Day 18.01.07
What a day! The gale force winds came as predicted and our newly repaired fence went from the vertical to the horizontal. That's what happens when you rely on 'Bob the Builder' to fix the fence! We also lost a few tiles from the roof - and my bank account lost hope. Even if we can claim something on the insurance policy, replacing the fence and repairing the roof will cost a fortune. There was lots of damage in the area near our home too, we have a lovely park not far away and a number of trees have fallen down including a lovely mature tree that has been completely uprooted.
Robbie had to go back to Leeds today so he was up at the crack of dawn to be at the station just after 6am. I wasn't too happy about it because it was already very windy and there were already speed restrictions in place so it didn't seem sensible to go all the way to Leeds and end up stranded. He agreed to leave early in order to get home at a reasonable hour as the speed restrictions would make his journey much slower.
Robbie caught his train to return from Leeds at 2.10pm. It finally arrived in Birmingham 344 minutes late, it had been stopped by obstructions and accidents three times so it had to be taken back to York and eventually managed to get to Birmingham via Doncaster. I am writing this at 10.40pm and he is still on his way home, he is now on a train to Northampton and he hopes to reach the station by 11.30pm. I have been worried about him, but I also feel cross because the entire episode was avoidable. The gales had been predicted for a couple of days, there were already speed restrictions in place and chaos was the inevitable result. Yet he still chose to travel and the train operating companies were still happily selling day return tickets when the odds of arriving at their destination were not good and the chance of getting home again was minimal. Surely we should expect more in the way of joined up thinking from the train operating companies.
Robbie had to go back to Leeds today so he was up at the crack of dawn to be at the station just after 6am. I wasn't too happy about it because it was already very windy and there were already speed restrictions in place so it didn't seem sensible to go all the way to Leeds and end up stranded. He agreed to leave early in order to get home at a reasonable hour as the speed restrictions would make his journey much slower.
Robbie caught his train to return from Leeds at 2.10pm. It finally arrived in Birmingham 344 minutes late, it had been stopped by obstructions and accidents three times so it had to be taken back to York and eventually managed to get to Birmingham via Doncaster. I am writing this at 10.40pm and he is still on his way home, he is now on a train to Northampton and he hopes to reach the station by 11.30pm. I have been worried about him, but I also feel cross because the entire episode was avoidable. The gales had been predicted for a couple of days, there were already speed restrictions in place and chaos was the inevitable result. Yet he still chose to travel and the train operating companies were still happily selling day return tickets when the odds of arriving at their destination were not good and the chance of getting home again was minimal. Surely we should expect more in the way of joined up thinking from the train operating companies.
Decisions, Decisions. 14.01.07
I suppose after my first entry on the blog, you didn't ever think you'd see another entry from me....!!!
Well, what a weird weekend it has been. As Chris explained yesterday the garden fence had blown down and was laying on the lawn trying to look like decking. Meg (our neurotic border collie) does not like to be looked at especially by the scraggy mutt from next door but one and she was afraid to go out in the garden while the fence was down because everyone could see her. She likes walks, but the garden is her domain, she likes to have a wander and sniff around the garden, she checks on the rabbit and trades occasional insults with Archie the little dog next door. Meg may be a bit mad, but she is a lovely dog and we couldn't risk losing her, so while the fence was down she couldn't use the garden. She was disgusted!
The fence wasn't just a 'quick fix' job, it needed some DRASTIC first aid! I was faced with quite a dilemma, to go 'Plastic Pig' bashing for the last time or to have some 'QUALITY TIME' with Chris and do my duty and fix the fence. Decisions, decisions.....In the end I made as Chris described it 'my FIRST adult decision', to have a lie-in with my dear wife and then to fix the fence. I don't mind so much getting up to go 'cranking' or 'bashing' but on a weekend especially in the winter, you need to charge your batteries and think of yourself rather than trying to replicate the Monday to Friday getting up time of 05.45.....! In the end I made the RIGHT choice! The fence is now restored to an upright position, it will need more work, but at least Meg's routine has returned to normal. Tomorrow I have to re roof the shed!
Well, what a weird weekend it has been. As Chris explained yesterday the garden fence had blown down and was laying on the lawn trying to look like decking. Meg (our neurotic border collie) does not like to be looked at especially by the scraggy mutt from next door but one and she was afraid to go out in the garden while the fence was down because everyone could see her. She likes walks, but the garden is her domain, she likes to have a wander and sniff around the garden, she checks on the rabbit and trades occasional insults with Archie the little dog next door. Meg may be a bit mad, but she is a lovely dog and we couldn't risk losing her, so while the fence was down she couldn't use the garden. She was disgusted!
The fence wasn't just a 'quick fix' job, it needed some DRASTIC first aid! I was faced with quite a dilemma, to go 'Plastic Pig' bashing for the last time or to have some 'QUALITY TIME' with Chris and do my duty and fix the fence. Decisions, decisions.....In the end I made as Chris described it 'my FIRST adult decision', to have a lie-in with my dear wife and then to fix the fence. I don't mind so much getting up to go 'cranking' or 'bashing' but on a weekend especially in the winter, you need to charge your batteries and think of yourself rather than trying to replicate the Monday to Friday getting up time of 05.45.....! In the end I made the RIGHT choice! The fence is now restored to an upright position, it will need more work, but at least Meg's routine has returned to normal. Tomorrow I have to re roof the shed!
Flying Pigs 12.01.07
Robbie has been forgiven! I was annoyed yesterday, but he was forgiven by bedtime, life is too short to waste it arguing. He eventually went to sleep last night talking about plastic pigs, he woke up this morning still talking about plastic pigs and every conversation with him today has included a reference to his burning desire to have one last ride on a plastic pig on Saturday.
Our garden fence has blown down and needs patching until we can have it replaced, I have the usual weekend pile of washing and ironing, the light fitting in the lounge needs changing and all the usual housework has to be done. The jobs will still be there on Sunday so how can I possibly stop him going if he wants to.
Robbie is not the only man in my life to cause aggravation recently, Sam has been working overtime on the annoying behaviour too. For some reason he has developed an obsessive interest in tea bags despite never drinking tea himself. Someone must have told him that proper tea is made in a pot with tea leaves, and from that snippet he has developed the belief that it is cruel to confine tea in tea bags. He has become a one man tea liberation front and he has been cutting open tea bags and releasing the tea. I keep finding tea leaves in the weirdest places. I don't know where he gets his ideas from!
I hope you like the picture, I was just messing around. Plastic pigs are class 442 EMU's and they are being withdrawn. Tomorrow is their final day of service.
Our garden fence has blown down and needs patching until we can have it replaced, I have the usual weekend pile of washing and ironing, the light fitting in the lounge needs changing and all the usual housework has to be done. The jobs will still be there on Sunday so how can I possibly stop him going if he wants to.
Robbie is not the only man in my life to cause aggravation recently, Sam has been working overtime on the annoying behaviour too. For some reason he has developed an obsessive interest in tea bags despite never drinking tea himself. Someone must have told him that proper tea is made in a pot with tea leaves, and from that snippet he has developed the belief that it is cruel to confine tea in tea bags. He has become a one man tea liberation front and he has been cutting open tea bags and releasing the tea. I keep finding tea leaves in the weirdest places. I don't know where he gets his ideas from!
I hope you like the picture, I was just messing around. Plastic pigs are class 442 EMU's and they are being withdrawn. Tomorrow is their final day of service.
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