Bank holiday abandonment

I've been abandoned by my family for the weekend - by mutual agreement and understanding.  My husband and children left on Friday night to go to Weymouth to go camping with friends... leaving me here with the dog, mouse, hens and a greenhouse project just beckoning to me with a wicked gleam in its eye.

best photo I could find of our tent in use - 2011 in the garden, with Roly joining in in the middle which separates the two 'rooms'

I don't camp.  I have camped in my younger years, and now my character is (de)formed.  I've nothing against camping per-se.  It's just the other campers, the birdsong in the early morning, the tent flapping in the wind, and all the things that conspire to rob me of my sleep and give me a sense of humour failure of humongous proportions.  And I think I've already blogged about that one.

So it's been slow, but steady, progress on the greenhouse project.  I completed the preparation of the garden 'playhouse' yesterday - the guttering had been re-aligned, the discoloured plastic windows replaced, and the exterior painted with a multi-use exterior white paint from Lidl.  I admit, some of the decorating has been a little slap-dash - in a time is of the essence sense.  I've over-painted white wood without sanding, and I don't think it'll win any competition for technique, but it's ten-times better than before, and that's good enough for now.

As the weather was good, and as the garden is in full spring growth mode, I held off the greenhouse construction and set to with the strimmer and lawnmower.  I'm very pleased with my strimmer which was a birthday gift from my father last year, (thanks Dad!) but I wonder if I'm using it correctly.  It goes like a bomb, and then the sound differs and the strimming line has run out, but on inspection it's actually jammed.  I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but it was a stop-start affair and I'm sure it took much longer than it should have done.

So today, the greenhouse project commenced.

The greenhouse frame, being my second-hand bargain from e-bay, needed a good clean before I could set it out.  1 pair of gloves, about 3 hours and 2 scourer pads later I'd scrubbed all the dirt, grime, limescale, spider nests away, and had to have a sit down to recover!

Coming together - the base in situ, with the newly painted playhouse behind, note spirit level...

not bad, if I say so myself....

Constructing a greenhouse is, needless to say, but I'll say it anyway, like doing a giant 3-D jigsaw.  Constructing a greenhouse which you've purchased second-hand is like doing the jigsaw without a picture.  Ah-ha, bet you're wondering whether I'm really that stupid aren't you?...

Thank goodness for Google and 'tinternet.  I'd viewed a couple of 'build your greenhouse' clips on YouTube, and printed off some instructions to give me a headstart.  And the very nice e-Bayer I bought the greenhouse from had helpfully written identifying letters on the joint-ing pieces as he took it down.  Simples innit?

Roly, being as helpful as ever.....  

Well.  It took me from mid afternoon bright sunshine, to early evening shadows forming to get this far......

It'll be all hands to help hold it up whilst I join it together tomorrow, and I've sussed the few remaining pieces as well, so should be fairly straightforward....  just need the wonderful weather to hold out.

On that note I'll off to bed, and get some shut-eye.

Night y'all!

Kat