A phone call starts a mild panic.....

We were going to set to work on another sheep this morning, then I was off to sing at a funeral in the afternoon.

Then a phone call arrived, and all of a sudden the day went topsy turvy,

with Lester getting into a bit of a mental fluff about wheels and trolleys,

and me getting in a state of mental stupor because in my head was a plan for the day,

and now the plan had gone all haywire.

 

Re: The Rayburn:

 

 

The very same Rayburn which has been sitting in the hallway for over a year now,

the plan being to have it running for hot water, cooking, and heating for this winter,

but it looking like it was going to be next winter now.

Not to worry, we are managing,

electricity for hot water,

Smeggy for cooking,

and no heating.

 

So, as I was saying,

another day of harvesting the sheep was planned,

and then the phone call arrived:

Monday. Rayburn Day!!!!

Crikey, but it is surprising how quickly one can go into panic mode.

1) How is the Rayburn to be shifted from here to there, it weighing a ton.

Easy: make a trolley. Already got the wheels, got the wood, might have the screws, not sure.....

And so how then would we get the Rayburn on and off the trolley.

Ah, no probs. Four strong men should do it.

And so where would those four men be found?

Ah, not sure. Will think more on that one.

 

2) The Rayburn is supposed to be going on a plinth.

Easy: had one done in mega strong concrete.

Sorted!

But then we changed our minds about where the Rayburn was going to go,

so the plinth was unmade,

and a new one never done.

Now time has run out, and I have vetoed Lester's thoughts about making a plinth out of wood,

seeing as how the Rayburn burns wood,

but best to have that wood burning in the proper furnace of the Rayburn rather than underneath it, this is what I thought.

 

So upon measuring my old calor gas cooker, the Rayburn was found not to be excessively low, although in comparison to Smegs it is ten centimetres shorter,

but then Smeg is quite a tall beast,

so I think that the Rayburn's height will be alright.

Anyway, I think I shall be using Smeggy and Rayburn differently,

so the heights should not be a problem,

they do not stand side by side anyway.

 

So it was all systems go to make the trolley,

but when lunch was mentioned by Himself I could find no plan in my head as to what to cook,

so off we went to a local eatery,

and then on to do some much needed shopping,

then back home to screw the wheels on the trolley,

by which time I had missed the start time of the funeral,

so I lit a candle and quietly joined in with the funeral remotely,

sending blessings of love and light to all concerned,

including the newly departed.

 

Then off out to do a short spell of bramble control,

romp the dogs round the field,

make a fuss of Lester who had jabbed his eye with something in the hay,

(not sure what),

observe the general mayhem in the kitchen (larder end and proper kitchen end)

and decide that all would wait until tomorrow,

then into the dining room in which is kept a huge pile of stuff,

all of which needs to be shifted into some sort of order,

because, hopefully, the Rayburn will be making its way,

on a trolley,

through the dining room

 and into the kitchen

 on Monday.

 

Wahaooooooo!!!!!

 

Meanwhile,

 

I have sorted out a sort of cooking area for myself around Smegs....

The green shelving to the side of Smeggy is an old bookcase,

destined for the tip before I caught Lester just about to put it into the trailer.

I have made an extra shelf in it by 'borrowing' a plank of wood,

and resting it on some jam jars.

The wire tray holding the saucepan lids is a 'borrowed' basket from our freezer.

 

 

We brought the dresser with us from the UK,

where it once stood perfect, polished, and full of ornamental plates, ornaments, and pot plants.

Now it is battle scarred from all its experiences since we arrived here,

and is now full of sensible kitchen requirement.

The ornamental plates, ornaments, and pot plants are all long gone,

but it has somehow survived.

 

I must now away to my bed to have a warm up,

my toes and knees are now feeling quite numb with cold,

not to mention a streak of ice along my back,

so leaving you with a view from the kitchen window,

I bid you a fond (temporary until the next blog) farewell!

 

Vx