Back...

Well my summer is almost over - working today, then off for one more day, and then back for the long haul to Christmas...

Had a great break - almost totally forgot what I do at work,which is always a good sign.

Got in lots of great family time,played the guitar lots, painted lots of toy soldiers, made some new scemery for them to fight over and even found a new use for old g-strings...

Um, maybe I should explain that last one - I found that bits of old guitar strings can be used to make new spears for toy soldiers if the old ones have broken off.  The G string is the best one for this job.

Work on the kitchen has slowed down - the new units are in place, the tiles are up, but we still have a pitted concrete floor and bare plaster walls and ceiling.

The hole from the kitchen into the toilet has been fixed, but here is a pic as proof that it really happened...

Well, it is good to be back - I will be playing catchup as soon as possible - can't wait to see what you have all been up to for the last month!

Update

Well after the initial excitement, things have really settled down - walls have been plastered, new units are in - just waiting for the floor to be done, someone to do something with the wires that are poking out of the wall, etc.  No longer posible to snack while in the toilet, thank God!

The weather has been a bit rubbish recently, but today we have a blue sky and a warm sun.  Maybe we are about to have part 2 of summer?  That would be nice!  Might see about doing a barbecue today...

Hope you are haviung fun!

Ah fun we have....

Moving the washing machine and the water pipe broke - whoooooosh......

We also now have a hole in the wall between the kitchen and the down-stairs toilet...

Why?????

Clearing the kitchen so work can start tomorrow.

Where did all this stuff come from?

Why do we still have it?  Like we just found a toddler drinking cup!  My youngest is 11!

Will we ever get the room clear?

Ah well, better get backto it!

2 weeks!

About to head off for 2 more weeks.

No camping this time, just the joy of a new kitchen....

I am sure it will be great when it is done, but I can't see it being a very enjoyable process.

I am hoping to get one day out, though.  Planning a trip to Barnet, sight of a major battle during the Wars of the Roses.  I am going there next year for my second "play toy soldiers on the battlefield" day with my Canadian wargamer friend, and want to visit now to get a feel for the place and make plans for the big day.  If he is coming all that way I want to make sure the day is real fun.

I will post some pics as soon after as I can, or maybe do a vblog like I did on my Hastings trip.

Anyway, hope you enjoy the rest of the summer, if you still have some left - we seem to be in Autumn already over here in England  :-(

Bye for now - I SHALL RETURN!

Summer loving, had me a blast...

Having a great summer so far - camping was great and my birthday was totally fab. Troubles that were worrying me before my break are working their way through, and I am increasingly taking the attitude that they are "somebody else's problem". I have been in the front line too long, someone else can take point!

Anyway, here are a few pics from our camping trip:

A well trodden path through the crops...

Strolling in the woods...
(My daughter, Mrs RC, my younger son (very tall for 11, as you can see!), with Custard closest. Number One Son is out of shot, holding Custard's lead).

Now that place would do us nicely...

We all thought that this log had a face...

This tree looked like it wanted to get us...

Meet Scruffy the Buzz the goat - his friend is called Woody...

Meet our alarm clock...

This year, Custard had his own camping bed!

Mrs RC (looking at black clouds to the North): Do you think that rain will hit us?

Me: (looking at clear sky to the West): No, I think it will go around us.

Mrs RC (knowing how good I am at this sort of thing): I'll start getting everything into the tent, then.

We had around half an inch of rain in a couple of hours, but it came after our walk and cleared in time for me to cook dinner, so who could really complain?

We all love camping...

wReggie asked if Custard enjoyed the trip.

Custard loves camping. When we start to sort out he tents and stuff he knows what comes next and gets all excited. He spends the journey panting with excitement, eagerly looking out of the window. Good job it is a fairly short trip! One of his favourite things about camping (apart from the new sniffs to be found at every tree) is the food. What dog would not enjoy a bacon roll for breakfast, a lunch of a sausage roll from the butchers and a dinner of sausages and whatever else cooked on the barbecue? The only thing he is less keen on is when the chickens wander through the camp site, but he seems to get less scared each year.