Billy Young's Blog - Posts Tagged "diy"
1st May 2009
Got told that my job will be finishing on Wednesday coming; I can’t complain to much as I did know it would be for a short time only. It also means that I get to work more on Bublos, as I’ll have the time as I look around for another job.
Got the posts up for the fence on Sunday as planned; tomorrow my mate Mickey is coming around to help me, again, to finish it. Hopefully the weather will play ball as it did last weekend that way we might even get the hut up too. I got paint for the fence and hut which I can only use if it’s dry, so I’ve got my fingers cross though the forecast is for showers. It should be fine, I think, to paint them if that’s the case. That reminds me that I need to charge up the drill for it will be needed.
Shopping last Saturday was more expensive than I had hoped, isn’t it always the case though but I got everything that I was after, as you can probably tell from above. It was a good day out, not the usual shopping trip the family makes, more one that those of us that like DIY or gardening would enjoy. As I ambled around the huge stores full of things that you could use to improve your home or garden does make you wish you had more cash to spend. Mind you could take it too far and that is when reason would have to prevail so you don’t, lucky then I don’t have more cash then.
Got the posts up for the fence on Sunday as planned; tomorrow my mate Mickey is coming around to help me, again, to finish it. Hopefully the weather will play ball as it did last weekend that way we might even get the hut up too. I got paint for the fence and hut which I can only use if it’s dry, so I’ve got my fingers cross though the forecast is for showers. It should be fine, I think, to paint them if that’s the case. That reminds me that I need to charge up the drill for it will be needed.
Shopping last Saturday was more expensive than I had hoped, isn’t it always the case though but I got everything that I was after, as you can probably tell from above. It was a good day out, not the usual shopping trip the family makes, more one that those of us that like DIY or gardening would enjoy. As I ambled around the huge stores full of things that you could use to improve your home or garden does make you wish you had more cash to spend. Mind you could take it too far and that is when reason would have to prevail so you don’t, lucky then I don’t have more cash then.
21st August 2009
Signed on, on Monday but it could be two or three weeks for my claim to be sorted. This means no income till it is, lean times ahead unless someone at the jobcentre decides to do some actual work. If they do then it will be sooner rather than later.
I’ve been stripping wallpaper the past couple of days. My mate Mickey came round to give me a hand. I was glad he did, the more hands the lighter the work, not that it was hard. Being a council house though stripping the wallpaper means one thing, as the wallpaper comes off the walls so does the plaster. Whole lumps fell from the walls which we now need to wait for the council to come and fix it. Of course first we have to wait for the Inspector to see what need repairing. Usually the Inspector is quite quick in coming out but from him coming out to the workers turning up to fix a problem is a month or two, some times longer. So now we have the joy of living in an echo box, every time one of us speaks the echo off of the bare walls amplifies the sound so it sounds like we’re shouting. Now I’m finding myself whispering almost.
I’ve been having a break from writing this week, instead I’ve been playing games. First it was Civ 4, now it’s Dungeon Siege 2. DS 2 is a good game but there have been a few oversights like when you load the game, you aren’t where you saved it but away at the beginning. As I said a few oversights, which you have to look past; other than that it is a good game with plenty to keep you busy and tuned into it. I can see myself playing for another week or so.
I’ve been stripping wallpaper the past couple of days. My mate Mickey came round to give me a hand. I was glad he did, the more hands the lighter the work, not that it was hard. Being a council house though stripping the wallpaper means one thing, as the wallpaper comes off the walls so does the plaster. Whole lumps fell from the walls which we now need to wait for the council to come and fix it. Of course first we have to wait for the Inspector to see what need repairing. Usually the Inspector is quite quick in coming out but from him coming out to the workers turning up to fix a problem is a month or two, some times longer. So now we have the joy of living in an echo box, every time one of us speaks the echo off of the bare walls amplifies the sound so it sounds like we’re shouting. Now I’m finding myself whispering almost.
I’ve been having a break from writing this week, instead I’ve been playing games. First it was Civ 4, now it’s Dungeon Siege 2. DS 2 is a good game but there have been a few oversights like when you load the game, you aren’t where you saved it but away at the beginning. As I said a few oversights, which you have to look past; other than that it is a good game with plenty to keep you busy and tuned into it. I can see myself playing for another week or so.
2nd October 2009
Feeling tired tonight, haven’t slept well most of the week. I’ll catch up on some of it this weekend by having a long lie in tomorrow. It’s not that I stay up late when working, I’m in bed by eleven. Just one of those times when you get so tired that sleep doesn’t want to come.
The decorating is almost done, only a few small things to do before reassembling the living room. Shelves to paint and then put back up, the clock need a new screw hole drilled and the fire surround has to be given another coat of paint. It will be good to get the job done so the main room can get back to normal.
I have also to start the final, I hope, look at Bublos. I’m hoping to go ahead and publish it through Lulu in the next few weeks. Before that I thought, taking in what comments I got through Authonomy, I’d check it through again. It can only make it better or at least that is the plan. I only got a limited number of helpful comments though I did try to get more. What was there didn’t go into much detail so I’ll need to work hard to find where the work is needed.
I did get some good news work wise, I will be working for another couple of weeks. Just the kind of thing you want at this time of year. All the orders are small so unless something larger comes in it won’t last beyond the end of this month. Still I can’t complain as I was supposed to finish this Wednesday coming.
The decorating is almost done, only a few small things to do before reassembling the living room. Shelves to paint and then put back up, the clock need a new screw hole drilled and the fire surround has to be given another coat of paint. It will be good to get the job done so the main room can get back to normal.
I have also to start the final, I hope, look at Bublos. I’m hoping to go ahead and publish it through Lulu in the next few weeks. Before that I thought, taking in what comments I got through Authonomy, I’d check it through again. It can only make it better or at least that is the plan. I only got a limited number of helpful comments though I did try to get more. What was there didn’t go into much detail so I’ll need to work hard to find where the work is needed.
I did get some good news work wise, I will be working for another couple of weeks. Just the kind of thing you want at this time of year. All the orders are small so unless something larger comes in it won’t last beyond the end of this month. Still I can’t complain as I was supposed to finish this Wednesday coming.
16th December 2011
Calum helped me get the garden hut window fixed. It wasn’t as dry as I hoped it would be nut it wasn’t too bad. It went quite smoothly for me. I cut the Perspex in doors to save us from the rain and by the time that was done the rain had lightened so we got the window in without the usual drama that DIY causes.
It’s funny how when it comes to DIY that there is normally unexpected problems that arise. This so often then throws a spanner in the works. It doesn’t matter if we’ve planned out carefully everything that need done to do the job. It just takes one unforeseen detail to create mayhem. For that one minor thing things seem to take a dark journey into frustration. Eventually somehow we finally find our way to the light of completion when at last we can claim success.
The worst times are of course when the wife has already told you what you need to do next which will complete the project. She will then immediately declare that you should have been listening to her all along and you would have finished it an hour ago. Of course she had been standing out in the garden talking to the neighbours at that time, which was luck as that was when everything went south, hehehe.
Well as I said there was none of that this time and the window is holding up well as we had another bad bit of weather during the week. Of course it wasn’t as bad as BawBag but it did test the repair, which just leaves me to paint the hut in the spring.
This weekend I have overtime at work. That’s what comes with the season though. Of course next Friday I can look forward to having four days off. So when I think of that tomorrow doesn’t seem so depressing. Yes I know I didn’t have to take the overtime but with the price of heating these days it’s leaving a small shortage in other areas of the house hold budget and Christmas stretches everything. Magz is managing but some extra earnings from the overtime will help after Santa has been.
It’s funny how when it comes to DIY that there is normally unexpected problems that arise. This so often then throws a spanner in the works. It doesn’t matter if we’ve planned out carefully everything that need done to do the job. It just takes one unforeseen detail to create mayhem. For that one minor thing things seem to take a dark journey into frustration. Eventually somehow we finally find our way to the light of completion when at last we can claim success.
The worst times are of course when the wife has already told you what you need to do next which will complete the project. She will then immediately declare that you should have been listening to her all along and you would have finished it an hour ago. Of course she had been standing out in the garden talking to the neighbours at that time, which was luck as that was when everything went south, hehehe.
Well as I said there was none of that this time and the window is holding up well as we had another bad bit of weather during the week. Of course it wasn’t as bad as BawBag but it did test the repair, which just leaves me to paint the hut in the spring.
This weekend I have overtime at work. That’s what comes with the season though. Of course next Friday I can look forward to having four days off. So when I think of that tomorrow doesn’t seem so depressing. Yes I know I didn’t have to take the overtime but with the price of heating these days it’s leaving a small shortage in other areas of the house hold budget and Christmas stretches everything. Magz is managing but some extra earnings from the overtime will help after Santa has been.
6th January 2012
I hope you all had a good New Year. We had more stormy weather that has caused more damage to my fence. Now I have to got to B and Q to get something to brace one of the fence posts which snapped close to the ground. I’m hoping to find dome metal plates to bolt it back together. While I’m at it I have to fix both my gates as the second one was torn down. The gates themselves need some TLC before I can re-hang them. Going to B and Q will give me a chance to think about what I’ll be planting this year. One thing that I will be growing again is peas. They did really well last year even though it wasn’t that great a summer. It was on the news this week that it was one of the wettest on record which I can believe. Let’s hope this year will be better.
I posted the poem that I wrote for the competition on Absolute Write on GoodReads.com, I’ll also post it at the end of this post. I unfortunately didn’t win any prizes but that was to be expected given the high standards of the other entries. It was fun though so that is the important thing and was why I did enter after all. Though the poem “Unseen” is of a more serious nature as you will see.
I also plan on playing The Witcher this weekend. I finally got the bug to play earlier this week and now can’t wait to get back into it. That is the way with games though isn’t it?
Anyways here is Unseen.
She wanders like a ghost
invisible to all around
only a strong human scent
driving the sightless crowd aside.
Hugging tightly to her possessions
the few things of happiness
from a broken childhood,
the baby never born-
beaten from her,
the lover that threw her aside.
Like a phantom
she slipped among the cracks
falling into the darkness,
the fog of mental collapse;
no-one to offer aide.
So she came to be
a spectre upon the street,
scavenging the discarded
from alleyway bins,
fighting maggots for a morsel
to ease her hunger.
Sleeping in doorways
till the long arm moves her on
to begin again
the never ending march
till final rest
under unmarked turf
in a corner of nowhere.
I posted the poem that I wrote for the competition on Absolute Write on GoodReads.com, I’ll also post it at the end of this post. I unfortunately didn’t win any prizes but that was to be expected given the high standards of the other entries. It was fun though so that is the important thing and was why I did enter after all. Though the poem “Unseen” is of a more serious nature as you will see.
I also plan on playing The Witcher this weekend. I finally got the bug to play earlier this week and now can’t wait to get back into it. That is the way with games though isn’t it?
Anyways here is Unseen.
She wanders like a ghost
invisible to all around
only a strong human scent
driving the sightless crowd aside.
Hugging tightly to her possessions
the few things of happiness
from a broken childhood,
the baby never born-
beaten from her,
the lover that threw her aside.
Like a phantom
she slipped among the cracks
falling into the darkness,
the fog of mental collapse;
no-one to offer aide.
So she came to be
a spectre upon the street,
scavenging the discarded
from alleyway bins,
fighting maggots for a morsel
to ease her hunger.
Sleeping in doorways
till the long arm moves her on
to begin again
the never ending march
till final rest
under unmarked turf
in a corner of nowhere.
13th April 2012
The garden is slowly coming to life again after what seems like a long winter. My seedlings are germinating nicely and the plants I bought this week are doing well. I got some tomatoes as well as bell peppers, both of which are showing buds already. I also got some thyme today. Yes I tried growing it last year but it came to nought so I’m attempting to grow it again. While for the first time I am growing some pumpkins plus runner beans. Magz still wants me to get the cauliflower going again though I’m delaying planting that till later in the month to see if I have enough tubs left for it. She suggested that I get some more grow bags for it. The thing being is space though in the garden. As you know I don’t have a large back garden so I have to plan things carefully so I don’t end up taking over part of the drying green. Magz wouldn’t be too pleased to lose any of her grass, mind I don’t think it would look to good either.
As I said last week I stripped the bathroom. As expected much of the plaster from the walls came away with the paper meaning we will need the council to give it a fresh skim. The great thing was the inspector came out mid week which was a surprise it being so quick. I had expected to wait at least a few weeks for him to visit to assess what needed done. I was glad to be wrong on that front. Let us hope the work is done as fast. Magz has already started looking at new tiles for it and I am already wondering where I’ll get the funds from for it. The ones she likes aren’t cheap costing in the twenty pound a pack. I haven’t even worked out how many packs might we’ll need. I’m sure it’s more than my slender budget will feel comfortable with. Mind there is no rush as we are supposed to be getting a new bathroom suite this year though I don’t know when that will be, just that it will be this year until it is put of by the council till next year. Well it will give me time to get the finances to give Magz the tiles she wants.
As I said last week I stripped the bathroom. As expected much of the plaster from the walls came away with the paper meaning we will need the council to give it a fresh skim. The great thing was the inspector came out mid week which was a surprise it being so quick. I had expected to wait at least a few weeks for him to visit to assess what needed done. I was glad to be wrong on that front. Let us hope the work is done as fast. Magz has already started looking at new tiles for it and I am already wondering where I’ll get the funds from for it. The ones she likes aren’t cheap costing in the twenty pound a pack. I haven’t even worked out how many packs might we’ll need. I’m sure it’s more than my slender budget will feel comfortable with. Mind there is no rush as we are supposed to be getting a new bathroom suite this year though I don’t know when that will be, just that it will be this year until it is put of by the council till next year. Well it will give me time to get the finances to give Magz the tiles she wants.
20th July 2012
Calum has me helping him build a table in his bedroom for his computer. We’re using some old kitchen worktops for the project. The table he has is no longer able to carry the weight of the mountain of stuff he keeps on it. I won’t even try to list the stuff he has. Actually I don’t even think I can identify most of it. A bit like the rest of his room. Being almost eighteen you can imagine what I mean. Anyways we were off to B&Q today to get some brackets for the project which I had to pay for.
I got my revenge though as I forced him to walk all the way there and back. On the way home though he was struggling making me feel a little guilty but he needs the exercise. He always says he hasn’t the money to go to the fitness centre. I keep telling him he could just go for a walk. That never cuts it with him though. Hopefully though the walk did him some good. I doubt that he’ll take up walking to get to places. No the bus is still to convenient.
Tomorrow we will begin the real work of drilling the wall to fit the back supports for his fitted desk. I want to paint the whole thing with metallic paint but Calum isn’t for it. He’s happy to leave it as is. I think that it will look cheap, like a bit of a bodge. Mind it is Calum that will be using it so it is really up to him how he wants it, isn’t it?
I got my revenge though as I forced him to walk all the way there and back. On the way home though he was struggling making me feel a little guilty but he needs the exercise. He always says he hasn’t the money to go to the fitness centre. I keep telling him he could just go for a walk. That never cuts it with him though. Hopefully though the walk did him some good. I doubt that he’ll take up walking to get to places. No the bus is still to convenient.
Tomorrow we will begin the real work of drilling the wall to fit the back supports for his fitted desk. I want to paint the whole thing with metallic paint but Calum isn’t for it. He’s happy to leave it as is. I think that it will look cheap, like a bit of a bodge. Mind it is Calum that will be using it so it is really up to him how he wants it, isn’t it?
27th July 2012
It was back to work this week and I had to get the bus so I was up earlier each morning. Twice I almost slept in but managed to get to the factory on time. I was only off work for a week so I was surprised at myself for sleeping through my alarm. I suppose it was getting up that extra twenty minutes earlier that did it. At least Norman is back on Monday so it should be easier next week.
Tomorrow I’ll be helping Calum on his project. We have all the wood measured though Calum needs to move his bed as it gets in the way of where we’re working. He’s your typical teenage boy when it comes to his room. You can imagine I’m sure why I left him to sort the mess out and move his room around to create the space needed. With me being at work all week I’m not sure he has so I might get roped in by him yet to help. Still he might just surprise me.
Tammy has been doing a cracking job picking the strawberries this week. I’m glad she did as I just haven’t had the energy when I got home to check the garden as I usually do. I’ll check everything tomorrow morning as I know Calum won’t be up till at least after eleven and that is me being kind, hehehe. I can’t really say anything as I was the same at his age. Nights were when I seemed to come alive, not now though. I did read some where that it was a common teenage condition caused by their body clock being set differently. I’m not sure it is that simple.
Tomorrow I’ll be helping Calum on his project. We have all the wood measured though Calum needs to move his bed as it gets in the way of where we’re working. He’s your typical teenage boy when it comes to his room. You can imagine I’m sure why I left him to sort the mess out and move his room around to create the space needed. With me being at work all week I’m not sure he has so I might get roped in by him yet to help. Still he might just surprise me.
Tammy has been doing a cracking job picking the strawberries this week. I’m glad she did as I just haven’t had the energy when I got home to check the garden as I usually do. I’ll check everything tomorrow morning as I know Calum won’t be up till at least after eleven and that is me being kind, hehehe. I can’t really say anything as I was the same at his age. Nights were when I seemed to come alive, not now though. I did read some where that it was a common teenage condition caused by their body clock being set differently. I’m not sure it is that simple.
3rd August 2012
It has been a week of trouble concerning our boiler. It started last Sunday when Magz smelt gas in our bedroom. The gas board were quick to respond and turned up within an hour to confirm that it was our boiler. The council came out the next day which would have been good if they had fixed the problem but they didn’t. Instead they said it wasn’t the boiler, it was somewhere else. At that they left to send the plumbers that fitted our kitchen. The plan being to remove the kitchen to find the leak that we smelt in our bedroom where the boiler is. Luckily these men proved to have some brains. They quickly found the leak exactly where the gas man had said it was. They also fixed the problem even though it wasn’t in their remit to do so. My hats off to them and a big thanks to the Big Man upstairs for them being in this world.
Calum’s project still hasn’t been done. He had plans last weekend that meant that he never got round to doing his room. Yes he had all week but as teenage boys are prone to he had his excuses. I still don’t think he has gotten around to it yet even though have been doing the nagging dad routine all week.
It did give me time to potter about in the garden a little. Magz has been making the most of the strawberries this year. She was cooking up some more jam and is planning scones for tomorrow. My mouth is already watering at the thought of them covered in jam.Yum.
Calum’s project still hasn’t been done. He had plans last weekend that meant that he never got round to doing his room. Yes he had all week but as teenage boys are prone to he had his excuses. I still don’t think he has gotten around to it yet even though have been doing the nagging dad routine all week.
It did give me time to potter about in the garden a little. Magz has been making the most of the strawberries this year. She was cooking up some more jam and is planning scones for tomorrow. My mouth is already watering at the thought of them covered in jam.Yum.
11 January 2014
Today has been one of those sore thumb days. Well DIY does tend to be filled with them. What led to this sad event is that my sons computer chair broke. Magz decided she wished it repaired even though Calum decided to buy a new one. repairing a seat sounds easy enough right. Sadly not when the bolts holding the chair together have snapped. Trying to get the broken ends out of the holes has proven painful. The first one, as always, came out with relative ease. Unfortunately the other one has refused to as simply. In the end I gave up for tonight and will try again tomorrow. That will give mine and my daughter's fingers time to stop throbbing. I think it would have been easier to get rid of the seat as Calum said. Though now I have started trying to repair it, well you know. Why is it when we start doing something like this we can't stop? Well at least until all chance of success is gone. Is it just a male thing? Something to do with our wish to impress even though there is no need? An ancient instinct still hot wired into our brains or something to do with culture? It does make me wonder sometimes.
I still have the decorations to put away in the attic. Yes it is always something that we drag out in our house. Though Magz took the tree down last week it is still sitting in the hallway waiting to be consigned to storage till next needed. Which we are all glad to say isn't for some time. The festive season can be taxing after all, though the gifts are good, hehehe.
I still have the decorations to put away in the attic. Yes it is always something that we drag out in our house. Though Magz took the tree down last week it is still sitting in the hallway waiting to be consigned to storage till next needed. Which we are all glad to say isn't for some time. The festive season can be taxing after all, though the gifts are good, hehehe.
