Step to the beat

We went out with Xian and Jade yesterday to see if we could summon Merlin round Alderley Edge (no luck but we did get some ice cream and chips) so today it's time to get those steps in. I dug down to the earth and at this point have got a couple of hefty 'character stones' on the left to hold the first step up.



Another big chunker on the right hand side to hold the step up. I laid some flat bits of crazy paving between the top of the front wall and the bottom of the new steps.



This was the sum total of this year's tomato harvest by the way, ALL THAT EFFORT TOO



Nick and Dad had been laying some giant lego brick type stones around the top of the steps at ground level.



The bottom steps and top surrounding step are done now, i'll do the middle step next weekend.

No Half Steppin

We got off to a bit of a slow start today, I spent ages fiddling around trying to get the back corner hooked up neatly and Nick had been so hopped up on Brewers Yeast all week he came down with a crash and had to go inside for a sleep.



After Nick had woken up we decided for a change of scene and decided that today might be a good day to shift the pile of rubble to level off the floor.



All the big bits of concrete that we had broken up from the original patio were on the top of the heap, we laid them down first then got down to all the fine dust to do the fill-in that came out of our Inglenook smashing earlier in the year.



Just checking the levels of the big bits.



All nicely filled in now, we decided that it would probably be a good idea to figure out the steps were going so we could fill in up to the edge.



This is the rough position they're going to sit in. Big problem though, I realised that I should have broken up that extra bit of concrete when I had the power breaker. It's just going to have to be by hand...



Half an hour of concerted leathering and we finally managed to break through - that was really hard work!

Zo on the Go

We got back from Czech on Saturday night and spent Sunday afternoon working on the wall, inbetween getting soakings about once an hour. I've been working all day today but Zoe had booked a day off and has done nearly an entire course. Dats ma girl!!

August's Walling Weekend

We went to Wales last weekend and we are away in Czech for the next 2 weekends so we need to get moving this weekend



Weather was pretty good this weekend, only rained a few times



The ol' tumblin toms weren't too happy when they moved to their new home outdoors. 2 tommys out of 5 plants - maybe there will be room for a greenhouse when we move all this stone.



My lupins got totally munched by aphids last year and didn't flower at all. This summer i've been doing weekly mass executions with soapy water and they seem to be doing alright.



Looking alright there



Nearly all the way round...



The bus marks the eventual height of the wall - 18 inches to go

Ground Zero

This silly spider keeps spinning its web across our back door, he decided to do it across the back steps today. Sorry fella.



Becky came down to lend a hand today. Good to see her and Nick using up some of the awkward shaped big stones that I had been putting off using.



Rapid progress today - a whole course on the front and nearly made it all the way round the side too.



I think we're up to ground level now, I keep telling myself that this is 'the half way mark'

Mums and Dads

This morning I had some exciting unexpected guests, Jim and Katy with brand new addition to the gang - little Johnny. Jade and Xian came too with little Seth who is due in 3 months - WOOOO!



Father and son sharing a moment. 15 seconds of Lambada with dad will settle him down no problem.



As Jim and Katy went to get some chips for Johnny and Zoe & Jade went shopping for towels it was left to me and Xian to do the walling for today.



We put some throughstones into the inner bank at this level which is going to keep the wall from being pushed outwards (hopefully). I think they maybe should have been a bit longer but you can only use what you've got.



Well we managed to get to the end and picked a couple of runners for the wall end on tomorrow's course. Now it's BBQ time at Stu & Sals. Hopefully I won't be too late in bed tonight.

Flora and Fauna

I thought that endless pictures of a wall that's taking a long time to come together might be a bit tedious so here's some exciting photos of plants around the garden.



PURTY



COLOURFUL



SPIKY



That's nearly 12"s done - only another 2 1/2 foot to go. It's been just over a month since we started. At this rate it will take until Xmas unless I start really putting the hours in. I have a party planned in my head for end of September - will this be possible?



We've been filling the back side in with gravel and soil and are only 4 or 5 inches from the eventual level of the inside floor. Crocs aren't really suitable safety shoes when you are dropping big bits of stone here and there but it was so hot and sweaty today that I couldn't face workboots.



This is technically known as freckle-muck



C'mon grow Tumblin' Toms!!



The second pair of dots above the string will be ground level - come on!!



MEOW



PURE EVIL



This is what the Turin Shroud would have looked like if our Lord had been allowed to keep on his denim shorts when he was getting crucified