So many vases, mugs by the hundred, enough toys for several dozen children plus Things, Junk and Tat!
But it fills an hour or so on a Sunday morning and one day there might be treasure.
Last Sunday there were no children's Christmas books or books by Shirley Hughes or pretty jugs so I came home with 1 book for the grandchildren - 50p, A shoe box with lots of farm and zoo animals for £3 and 3 paper punches which I may or may not use for card making at 50p each.
So what have I been up to since Sunday
Monday - Dentist....... 'nuf said!
Tuesday -
A bit of baking before the weather got hot and more beetroot cooked. Washing dry on the line in an hour.
Cheques donated in memory of Colin arrived from the Funeral Directors. Thank you to everyone who donated to Lyphoma Action and SomershamWard Support Group. A Grand total of £476 was divided between the two and I've sent them off to both charities and sorted out an acknowledgement note for the newspaper.
Someone has backed into the house name sign and broken it. It was a clay plaque and made by the sister of the lady who was here before us. Colin had mounted it on a wooden board and fixed it up on the other side of the lane opposite the house.
We did wonder how long it would last as any big van backing out of next doors driveway could bump into it and that's probably what happened. I've taken the broken bits off the board and will stencil the house name in black paint and then when/if we get rain to soften the soil I'll bang it back in the ground by the front hedge where nothing can hit it.
Wednesday-
I did what I said about the house sign, actually found the black paint without turning the whole workshop upside down. The sign looks OK. Propped it up out the front until the ground is soft enough to bang it in the ground.
How the heck I'm going to sort out the workshop I don't know. I couldn't stop Col keeping all the things that "might come in handy" and I couldn't stop him bringing a ton of tools from the smallholding. Over winter I shall have to make a start. Most of the stuff will have to go off to the auction yard I reckon.
Off to the pool for swimming (the over 50's session continues through the school holidays). Quiet roads but busy pool......... Too many old men! and they tend to stand around at the end of the pool nattering - getting in the way.
Poor Polly cat had a worrying hour as the combine was on the field over the track. Front windows were wide open so it was LOUD. She looked extremely worried each time it came close. Plenty of dust flying about but it was too hot to shut the windows. There have been numerous field fires in Suffolk and Norfolk started just by the combine hitting a flint or dust getting into the engine they think. Kept my fingers crossed as there is no water in the wide ditch and no pressure in the water taps so a fire in the field would soon jump over to the track with nothing to stop it. Here comes the combine......................
And heading back down the field with the straw chopper thingies on the back making all the dust
Back Tomorrow
Sue
I love the sight of the combine at work. I used to work for an agricultural magazine, so had to go to ploughing shows & the like. Good thing I find these things interesting, or they would have been very long days indeed!
ReplyDeleteDesperately needing rain now. Everywhere is so bone dry. Sad about the house sign, but good for you for getting it fixed.
stay cool x
The house sign was soon sorted and even I'm hot today!
DeleteI think it's neat you keep going to the car boot sales.. like you say.. someday you might find a Renoir painting for a dollar. :-) Funny about the old men in the pool chatting and taking up space.. we have several of those.. I have a little group of old guys in my pool and I have nicknames for them. Nice Dave, Big Mike and Scooter Bill. LOL! ((hugs)), Teresa :-)
ReplyDeleteI always hope someone will moan at the men for getting in the way!
Deleteeverytime i look at the sheds full of Mr BHs rusty crusty vehicular crap i want to cry the fact that he can do so little these days is maddening , I know its not going to get any better , but he wont accept that fact and get rid of anything , he has thousands and thousands of pounds worth of tools just sat there , when we could manage with a plastic tool box for the house ...but hey ho thats men for you
ReplyDeleteI want to get the things I actually might need ( and know what they are!) into the garage then the workshop stuff can be boxed up and go to auction. Luckily there are loads of bread crates I can load up but it's going to take ages
DeleteSnap Kate, I dread anything happening to my husband. Our double garage is full of tools, lathes, milling machines etc. I haven't a clue what half of them are or how much they're worth.
DeleteOooh, that dust would do me no favours whatsoever - I'd have to shut all the windows regardless I think! Sorry that your lovely house name plaque got broken. At least you quickly found the paint to make another. Col's shed sound's like my OH's. Golly gosh, if he goes first all I could do would be to box it up and send it off to auction as well! You should see his "useful bits of wood" shed!!!
ReplyDeleteKeep going to the car boot sales - gets you out of the house and sometimes there ARE things worth buying. Think how frustrating it is for us as dealers when all we come across is stuff better put on a bonfire or taken to the tip!!
Colin told the lady who was here before us to leave whatever she didn't want to keep or sell, so she did and I'll have to sort that too!
DeleteWhen you want to stop buying at the car boot sales you will know. The moment will come and nobody else can tell you, not that anybody is necessarily trying. Clearing out things is best done when young and fit and able which is why we finished at the farm before my brothers reached their 80s. It was a difficult task even in late 60s early 70s but at least they were still all on their feet. We cleared an accumulation of 80 years worth of things kept, farm workshops and inside farmhouse. No wonder I am now a minimalist. Never again. Many fires here, as you say, one spark and the whole field is gone in minutes.
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see the combines finish and go - a fire would have been serious.
DeleteI'll carry on looking for treasure at the boot sales
Combines are busy here too. They were going well into the night. I must admit the dry fields are a worry.
ReplyDeleteThe local news seem to have photos of field fires every night
DeleteWhat a shame about the house name plaque ☹
ReplyDeleteRegular car boot sales do seem to dry up a bit as you get to the middle of the season don't they, but all it needs is for a few folk having a serious clear out and suddenly there is good stuff to buy again. Keep going ... you never know.
I would have the same problem as you if anythjng happened to Alan his workshop and sheds are full of 'useful stuff' and large woodturnìng/sawing/doing other stuff with machinery. Where would I even begin? At a car boot with anything I could fit in the car I suspect ☺🙃
I thought about taking stuff to car boots but there are already stalls selling ( or not selling) loads of tools already and I don't know what half the stuff is used for anyway!
DeleteNeither would I have a clue what most of it was, but I would sell it cheap and make a lot of men very happy ... and a lot of wives (just like us) very annoyed at the amount of clutter was going to be added to their hubby's shed ;-)
DeletePerhaps your son will help you clearing out all the tools next winter. What is meant by the auction yard?
ReplyDeleteI like your pictures, nice colour combinations, but how sad Polly was so afraid. Hopefully she feels better now the work is done.
There are Auction companies that have weekly sales of things that people take in. They take commission
DeleteWe have a Men in Sheds group in our town which a national thing I believe. They might be a place to donate tools if you wanted to.
ReplyDeleteArilx
I'll check that out
DeleteI had a vivid picture Sue of you swimming with the older men all hogging the deep end of the pool. I can’t turn without pushing off the wall and I sometimes resort to yelling “move” as I come to turn. The sad thing is, they think they are exercising! The old adage about eating an elephant one bite at a time will probably be the best way to tackle all Col’s handy bits, but as someone who has fabric, yarn and craft stuff enough to last forever, I can’t agree that it’s a man thing only.
ReplyDeleteIt's an unusual pool in that each end is shallow and the deep is in the middle so the men and some ladies stand at both ends chatting sometimes. I can stop before the wall turn round and head back again but as it's only a 20m pool it cuts down the amount of swimming.
DeleteI can certainly understand Polly's fear...a little bit daunting to see and hear that big machinery so close. And I will commiserate with you about men keeping tools (and duplicates bought when the original one couldn't be found--at first), car mags, every and any bolt, nut, washer, old tape, string, wire...etc. etc. etc.
ReplyDeleteAs for weather, well in the past five days we have received over 300mm of rain, 178mm of it on Saturday, so no drought here, but still warm 31C. So very, very tropical. More to come next week. Crazy weather patterns.
Pollys eyes opened wider and wider each time the combine came close!
DeleteNo car magazines but plenty of other stuff!
What a shame about the lovely plaque- will it mend?
ReplyDeleteI can see the attraction of the Car Boot visits it is probably equal to me passing the magazine aisle but then being dissappointed when I don't see anything interesting. But then I don't really need to buy one anyway - just reread what I have!
The tools is a big issue we were left with all my dads but managed in the end to find good homes - but not a simple task.
I've painted the name in black on the white board so it shows up better than the clay sign
DeleteOne day I'll find something exciting at a car boot - maybe
I no longer go to garage/boot sales because I would come back with lovely things for which I had no room or need. I purged many things yesterday and it felt good. When I do that, I do it quick so that I don’t let sentiment get in the way. Now if I could only get my Retired Man to do the same, especially when it comes to his tools.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoyed your swim, despite the old men.
I hope I don't buy things I don't need and I'm often taking things to charity shops too
DeleteIs there a Tools for Self Reliance group locally. They restore tools and send them to countries where they are needed to help people earn a living. Our local group sells some locally to help raise funds. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteI'll find out about that too
DeleteI understand about Col’s workshop. I’m going through my mother’s house and a big part is my dad’s workbench and the whole garage. He’s been gone 20 years and my mom never touched it during that period.
ReplyDeleteIt's a big building full of stuff!
DeleteWhen I moved here I had a very good sort out beforehand and now I absolutely refuse to buy anything unless it is essential. I am determined to leave nothing behind me to be cleaned up. (Famour last words I suppose)
ReplyDeleteI still have too much stuff here and now added a collection of Grandchildren toys!
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ReplyDeleteI like your photographs of the harvester. They haven't done our field yet, no doubt the rats will run into Owl Wood, as normal! Once the machines have gone the cats will go out and have fun hunting them down - which is fine, as long as they don't bring them in with them, through the chain metal curtain!
DeleteI have just wrapped some of the books, still waiting for an address...I wonder whether gmail is swallowing messages, for some reason. Could you try another email address: same names as in the gmail one, but @btinternet.com instead.
oh bother. I sent it and it didn't say it hadn't got sent or bounced back. I'll try again.
DeleteThank you again
A car boot sale is good for the soul, you never know what you might have found if you don't go.
ReplyDeleteWhen I lived in wisconsin I'd watch the combines go through my grandparents fields. I also loved to watch the corn pickers go through the rows...and then the whole corn going into the silos for cattle feed. Certain smells bring back those memories.
ReplyDeleteHot and humid here near the beach in Southern CA. 26 and 75% humidity. Yesterday the local beaches were all fogged in. I had to drive to the radiologists and the temp kept getting cooler as I drove the 4 miles to the office.