Tag Archives: devon cottage blog

BLOG 60 🏠May June July 2021 4 Years living in Devon

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  • VIEWS ARE WONDERFUL TODAY FROM THE GARDEN
  • LOVELY TEA ROOM CALLED ‘DIAMONDS’ WITH GREAT VIEWS TO WATCH & RELAX –
    AXMINSTER OVER THE HILL TO THE RIGHT
  • LYME REGIS 5th JUNE……GETTING BUSY AS COVID LOCKDOWN OPENS UP
  • VEGETABLE PLOT GROWING BETTER THIS YEAR – runner beans, peas, tomatoes, cucumber, courgettes, pumpkins, carrots, strawberries
  • PUMPKIN PLANTS GROWING SOOO WELL
  • FIRST STRAWBERRY CROP
  • PEA PODS PICKED
  • & READY TO EAT

A project was started after finding a painted chair with flower pot in an Antique Shop in Crewkerne, it was painted a lovely duck egg blue, really liked it & thought that’s something we could make, so couple of wooden chairs were bought from local Auction for £10, already had a pot of outdoor paint in cream colour & bought the flower pots locally for £1.50 each.

  • PAINTED THE CHAIRS CREAM
  • LIKING THE END RESULT
  • COUPLE OF NIGHTS ‘GLAMPING’ IN BUDLEIGH SALTERTON
  • ‘DREAMFIELDS’ GLAMPING BELL TENTS

Booked couple of nights away & experienced ‘Glamping’ for the first time at Budleigh Salterton. They have ‘pop up’ tents for July & August, believe they are known better as ‘Creamfields’ normally at festivals. It was a fun time except for our first nights’ sleep……the wind & rain were unbelievable that night, didn’t sleep until 3am, thought the car was going to be my bed that night ! Tent in one piece next morning I’m happy to report !

  • TREE CUTTING TODAY, needs cutting back as tall enough to hit the house if fell over in a storm, our House Insurance would not cover that happening !
    FROM THIS…………
  • TO THIS……..!

BLOG 18 🏡 April – Easter Break 2wks 2017🏠

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🏡  Decided to decorate lounge before moving furniture back in, it’s holiday time so have extra days to start a job & finish it ! They say it’s all in the preparation so here goes !

Dust & sand still around from the beams being sand-blasted & trying not to get paint on beam edges was fun !! Worth it in the end as that was a job worth attacking as it now looks much fresher. 

The ‘wobbly floor’ bedroom is being looked at & hopefully work will start on that & be able to use the room again. It has had water damage through the old thatch and dripped through to old airing cupboard and onto wooden floor making them lift away, also as you can see on photo the supports holding the floor are a bit short to wall, support needed for them.  Plasterboard floor will be put down and eventually will carpet the room.  That decision was made rather than wooden floor again as it will be more cozy for the bedrooms & warmer !

Thatch coming along nicely….working on front ridge now, these are ready to be added…

Then onto front porch thatch, seen better days !

Door and frame needs a rub down & will make it same colour, dark brown, as fascias, also paint inside porch with the ‘vanilla’ colour used in lounge.  Maybe add a straw Owl on top ? 

Big job lined up before scaffold comes down is to paint as much as can reach with outside paint, picked the colour ‘ parchment ‘ a creamy colour taking away the white of the house, what a job that will be !  If we get the far end wall next to the road done as it’s the highest end of the house painted, the other walls can be reached with ladder hopefully & scaffold can come down !  This is a job on sunny days & get that suntan going🌞!      Jobs, jobs, jobs…but all improvements ! I love writing ‘to do lists’ but haven’t started one yet, wonder why !! 👎

Until next time…🏡

BLOG 20 🏡Month of May 2017🏠

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🏡 Starting this blog with a ‘countryside’ photo from our bedroom window….🐮🐄

Taken out old heating tank cupboard in ‘wobbly floor’ bedroom as not needed….

Beam uncovered & original wall exposed,  new flooring has been started, stripping out the wooden floorboards and repairing couple of supports underneath, treating them and finishing off with flooring, decided on carpet in the bedrooms.

Put up temporary ceiling in kitchen, if you remember part fell down after a bath tap leaking through from upstairs when water was switched on for first time after a year & half being an empty house, soaked through kitchen ceiling and there you go, ceiling on floor !!

This last week of May we thought we should be painting the rest of that outside wall of the house…

but we are only visiting for a day so this is what we decided instead….to get on with the patio area so we moved the Summer House or Beach Hut as I like to think of it ! What a job that was, all in a day ! From one corner to this area was a challenge, emptied it out first ( it’s acting as a shed at the moment ) and moved each panel and put back together in right area…..actually it’s where the outside toilet used to be !

Base down, after removing broken toilet !

All complete !

And the view….🏡

Until next time….enjoy 🏡 Oh forgot one other thing, decided we wanted the pheasants tails up instead of down, they now look happier !!

BLOG 21🏡Month of June 2017 – Our MOVING IN Month

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🏡  This is the Month we have waited for & by the end of it we’ll have moved in ! 🌞 🏖  🏝

In the garden we moved the ‘Beach Hut/Summer House to the area of the ‘outside toilet’ (Imagine when that was last used ?!)  Made the patio area all clear of weeds & levelled the soil.  

Andy removed concrete slabs, broke them up & put them & the other rubble into a path edge around the hut, to then fill with concrete/sand and finally shingle.  The edges to hold all this in will be sleepers, needing a couple of steps made as hut is higher than patio. Good way to bury the rubble.

Wobbly floor in bedroom is now sorted, can now walk ‘straight’ in the room!🐭 Couple mice nests found when lifted floor 🐭…& very dusty boards ! What a job that was to clear the floorboards to the rubbish tip ! Still have another trip to make but most has gone.

(completed floor photo coming soon !)

Here’s to moving in next, but where’s all our stuff gonna go ?!  Oh well, sort it all one day, maybe when it rains because we’re gonna be at the beach otherwise !! 🏖  🏝 🍦 🍨 🌊 🐾 

BLOG 24🏡 September 2017 🌻

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 🏡 What a wet August that was ! Eventually we were able to finish painting outside house wall and also painted front wall, looking so much better, fresh & clean.

Previously was a white/grey colour I suppose to go with original black window frames so now having oak frames we liked the cream colour (parchment) for the walls. Just leaves two more walls to finish, hopefully before Winter !!  

The garden patio area looking good, sleepers in to support the upper area, then shingled and more shingle on lower area, should be enough shingle !! That was fun (!) moving all that in buckets !   

We have lots of pots we are filling for patio area so buying a plant each time we’re out ! 🌻🌹🌱

Chickens are much bigger now, hopefully first eggs soon 🐔🤔🐔?

                   🐔🏡🐔🏡🐔🏡🐔🏡🐔

BLOG 25 🏡October 2017🌼

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🏡 Well the weather hasn’t improved for the Month of October…oh well suppose Winter is coming ! The only excitement having weather like this is visiting Lyme Regis when storms are approaching, quite spectacular !  The dogs love it and we all come back with sandy feet !  

Looking at the ‘wobbly floor’ bedroom, (must change that name as the floor is fine now!) have taken down the bin liners which were stuck over the holes catching the rain from the thin thatch, now sealed up so no draughts, also fixed this in landing ceiling, that had same problem but all sealed and no leaks !  We can paint over the plasterboard when we decorate. Looks very neat work by Andy ! I stood and helped if he needed it !  So this room looking much better, needing decorating, carpet, wardrobe….now thats going to be fun chosing a wardrobe as walls are not straight and beams in the way ! So think only one part of the bedroom suitable to get decent size wardrobe in, so on the look out at the Antiques shops. 

The doorway to this bedroom is very low, ok for me being bit shorter but you have to duck to avoid hitting your head if taller, so the plan is to cut out above the door frame and put in a bigger door.  Andy cut away the plaster and discovered a very dry messy mixture of dirt, a dry cob mix used to build this wall. 

It covered everything, it was so dusty, looking around for a new size door, thought of a downstairs door between kitchen and boiler cupboard which is never used and yes it fits width ways and door frame cut to size height ways, may need a new door frame to hang door onto as original frame, part of beam used before makes the door hang funny angle and will not be moving the beam !

Thinking of sending the chickens back….they still have not laid any eggs !! Only joking but what is going on….they are about 25 weeks old now and things should have happened ! Fingers crossed for VERY soon !  We wonder if they were younger than the 12 weeks when we first saw them at the Farm.  More wood added to their run today to eventually add a waterproof cover over the top to protect them in the winter, should be better for them.  They were trying to shade from ‘Storm Brian’ so putting a cover on will keep them dry.

Enjoying breakfast 🐔🐓🐔🐓

Hoping next blog will include eggs !!                        🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔🐔

UPDATE….🍳First egg laid on 5 Nov 2017 …..at last !! 🐓👍🐓🍳

BLOG 26 🏡November 2017 – 2 yrs ago Completion on house🌻

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🐔YES, an egg has arrived ! The chickens are around 26 weeks old, overdue for laying, we were advised to stop the treats & see what happens & Yes 2 days later an egg has appeared, actually on 5th Nov Bonfire Day, did they get the frights last night from fireworks & that helped to get things going ??! As I write today no. 2 has been laid too ! Well done chicks ! Big Question: which one/two are laying ? No problems with it as happy it’s happening ! 🐔🐔🐓🐓 Poor things getting wet in their run today so sorting the roof for water to drain away & laid down woodchippings to soak up the water !!

🍳Know what’s for tea tonight !🍳

🐔Lots & lots of eggs now by end Nov, stopped counting now !🐔

🐓🐔Look at this tiny tiny egg ! Can only think it may be Gwen who laid that one, she’s the tiniest chick of them all 🐔🐓

This month of course included Bonfire Night, we sat on the beach for our first display……Abbie, katherine & Alex joined us for the weekend.🎉🆒

🐔🎉🐔🎉🐔🎉🐔🎉🐔🎉

BLOG 27🏡December 2017💐

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🏡 Walks along beautiful Lyme Regis Beach, brilliant sunshine & the views !🌞

🎄Axminster Lantern Parade & Christmas Lights Switch On & lots of market stalls to browse🎄

🎄Lyme Regis switched on their Christmas Lights after a Lantern Parade & Display, what a beautiful glowing Christmas tree🎄

Work carries on in the house, finishing adjusting the height of the bedroom door, if you were not as short as me you had to watch your head entering the room ! A good project, almost finished…

Finished….

Not a straight forward door frame !

🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄🎄

BLOG 28 🏡January 2018🌸

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🏡A New Year starts….🏡 Seaton Beach looking good🐾🐕 Chickens are still laying, all the books say they take a break during Winter, but reckon as they were late starters –November– then maybe that’s the reason they haven’t stopped ? Grateful to the chickens still for all these eggs🐔🐓🐔 🐓Look at this tiny, tiny egg 🆒🐔 What do you reckon on the weird egg ? Didn’t use it ! 🐓Porridge for breakfast🐔 🐊 🐏🐑Can I say hello 🐏🐑Lovely Lyme Regis on a calm day..🏖 ☔BUT the difference on a very WET day !!🐾🐕🐶☔ oh dear ! 🏡🌊🐾🐕🏖🏡🐾🌊