Pioneer Mad Woman

Alan (Emmas husband who farms the sheep) appeared this week with half a lamb for us to stock the freezer with. Whilst I have to admit my first thought looking at the collection of various cuts  is "Is it anyone I know" or "I'm sure this piece was in Hannibal last week";   its also reassuring to know exactly where this lamb has come from, what its eaten and that it had a great life running around the fields.

Cant wait to get Dan cooking (I think the chops done quickly and served with a sauce of pine nuts, balsamic vinegar, fresh lemon and herbs) and give it the full respect it deserves.

Meet Jim, possibly the most nonchalant couldn't give a rat's ass cat known to man. Its too hot for him today so he's popped in to try the flag flooring for coolness and seems suitably impressed. Its just a pity looking at the state of him he seems to have spent the rest of the day visiting the pigs at the other end of the farm and rolling in the mud with them!

Yes the floors finished and the kitchens been delivered. It still needs painting and handles etc but that's not priority at the moment. Its still scattered all over the kitchen area other than one base unit which we have slipped into position and it weighs an absolute ton. Work tops are extra wide staves of solid oak ( a theme's developing here - I expect a visit any day now from the "save the oak tree" foundation.) - I swear its all humanely farmed.


All in all it consists of the base unit above which has a couple of wall units and shelving to go above it, a Belfast sink unit and a plate rack with side cupboards wall unit. The wall units will have to wait until the walls are papered before installing but I suspect they too will be unpainted initially  and finished at a later date as time wise the pressures starting to mount.


The aim if you remember was to recreate the look and feel of the original flag floor and we are both very happy with the result.

Popped down to Emma (the shepherdess from the video) and Alans last night to try the new beer one of the local micro brewerys ( Pictish ) has produced. To quote the website it's "a crisp, straw coloured ale, brewed to celebrate the birth of Joan, the world’s largest lamb. Weighing in at a hefty 24lbs. Just like Joan this beer is no lightweight, with a big hop aroma and hints of grass and blackcurrant, gamboling to a robust bitter finish". 
They had sent a full keg to the house but the only person who seems to drink beer is Danny. The keg holds 40 pints and has to be consumed in a week...

 

The stone floors now going back down in the kitchen, dining room and hallway and its being pointed/grouted in a lime based mix. Its a big moment as it means we can get the kitchen delivered from the joiners (its been sat in the workshop for a couple of months yet) and installed. It's quite important that like the original layout there is no real sense of order or pattern to the way the flags are laid - but being random is actually more difficult than it sounds

A well earned break from the barn and a quick trip down to London for the next play in the Michael Grandage  season at the Noel Coward -  "The cripple of Inishmaan". All in all it was ok,  Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) was quite adequate in a role that didn't really demand a great deal other than to be insulted by the rest of the cast. The part does demand a lot of physical acting and he tackled this very well.

There was a good and touching story hidden somewhere in this play which Daniel did quite well with in the final act; but that part of the story really struggled to get out as the writer and director seemed fixated on burying it with  an over the top and slightly tiresome  mash up between an episode of Father Ted and Mrs Browns Boys.  All in all slightly disappointing especially compared to Judi Dench and Ben Whishaw (Q&M) last month in "Peter and Alice"

Still it was a lovely day in London. The weather was excellent, the trains prompt and on time and the meal at Browns (which is quite handy as its next door to the theatre) was nice (Lobster Tagliatelle)