House Improvements #30. Taking shape.

As ever, I've fallen behind in my blogging. Now, however, as I look out of a 19th floor window over the beautiful Colombian city of Medellin high up in the Andes, I have a couple of hours to kill before bed so what better to do!

Things moved on quickly and by the end of the second week the roof construction was in place and the extension was really taking shape.

 

It was real thrill to come home from work each day and see the house dramatically changed from the day before.



 

In what will be the new office, we decided to have the room open all the way up to the roof joists. The original house does not have particularly high ceilings so we decided this was worth the extra effort and cost to add a feeling of "roominess". The office is well used, with all the bills to pay, e-mails to send and Mari working from home up to one day a week.

 

We were both surprised by the depth of the beam required to hold the weight of the roof (even though it is dimensioned for snow). Even after we've put in an air gap and 30cm of insulation this is going to be a great feature.

During the second week, the windows and balcony doors also arrived. We've organised all the materials ourselves and surprisingly enough had to ask to have these delayed and stored in the factory so we didn't have to store them for weeks ourselves.

 

We'd have to wait another 2 weeks before we saw these installed, but it was good to know they were here and would not delay the job.

.

House Improvements #29. Main Construction Week 1

With the delays in the foundations, it was decided to start construction immediately in the new year instead of a week or 2 before the holiday. With the start of construction imminent I put in the order for the first load of materials. Primarily the 1 1/2" x 6" that would be used for the frame and some 2"x4" and 2"x6". 2 days later this was outside.

 

As agreed, construction on the frame of the extension started last week on Monday the 12th of January. We had a meeting with the builders on Monday morning early and as we set off to work, they set of to fetch all there equipment.

Arriving home on Monday and Tuesday was a slight disappointment with apparently very little visible progress (although they had fetched a lot of equipment on Monday and put down the bottom support on Tuesday and measured all the relative heights, so they had been working hard).

Coming home on Wednesday was a different story. Suddenly most of the wall frames for the ground floor were in place. I travelled to Germany on Thursday morning and when I came home on Saturday this is the site I saw.

 

 

Here's a view of the new "library" with it's large windows and high ceiling.

 

and here's the new entrance/porch.

Only issue this week was the telephone cable which did not survive a meeting with the chainsaw the used for removing the old cladding. This did not take long for me to fix and we had phone/internet again on Saturday evening.

With the frames of the first floor complete, week 2 was due to start with flooring for the 1st floor.

Summer Holiday Rota System (SHRS), a suggestion.

We discussed this briefly during the summer holiday in Cumbria and would like to go further on this idea, please discuss in the comments.

 

Why have a SHRS?

It will make it easier to reach a common decision each year, and it is good to be able to plan ahead. The Nicholls family is growing and communication about holiday plans can take a lot of time and effort.

What are the obligations?

It is great if as many as possible are able to join in on the common holiday, but it is entirely voluntary for an individual or a family. There should be a good reason for diverting from the rota one year, for example, somebody arranging a wedding with a desire for a common holiday in connection with this.

Specific responsibilities:

Those that live in a host country take the first initiative for arrangements that year. Those that do not live in neither Ireland, Finland or Norway are responsible for the “Other country” year (see below).

Here is the system:

It is based on the pattern since 2011 and we shall call it BISON.

B= Break year (2011)

I= Ireland (2012)

S= Finland (Soumi, since it makes a nice word!) (2013)

O= Other country (2014)

N= Norway

 

This means that it is Norway in 2015, and ahead the years will be like this:

2016 =B

2017= I

2018= S

2019= O

2020 = N

 

What now?

Comments and discussion please. Agree, Disagree, Don't know....

Christmans Message 2014

So, another year has gone and this one has been no less hectic than all the others.

The year started with both boys still very happy in their last 6 months together in kindergarten. For the first time as a family we treated ourselves to a traditional "winter holiday" and rented a chalet for a week in Vierli up on Hardangervidda. We had a great time. We finally built the Lego Campervan that we had bought Easter 2013 during our visit to Legoland. We dug out a snow cave and made a snow castle and did lots of cross country skiing. Unes' skiing abilities came on with leaps and bounds and during the week he managed a trip of 9km which took him over the 50km total for the season he needed to be awarded "gull barneskimerke" (gold distance).

 

Not long after, Mari, who had a temporary 80% position at the National public health institute in Oslo landed a full time and permanent job as an advisor in epidemiology for the public Health group in Vestfold fylkeskommunen (Vestfold county council). This job is based in the nearby town of Tønsberg, a welcome end of four hours a day spent commuting. She is enjoying having the possibility to work on long term issues with the knowledge that she will be able to follow them all the way to the end.

During the summer, after a long drive through Europe, we enjoyed a fantastic 2 weeks in Cockermouth. Together with the rest of my now very extend family and Peggy, who enjoy returning home, we rented Woodhall.

This is a lovely country house and gardens which had space for all of us. During our time there we discovered all the fun things to do in Cumbria that we hadn't done during the years we lived there. Both children and parents had a fantastic time and one of the highlights was hanging off the side of Conister on the "via ferrata", while the rest of the Family visited the slate mine!

I continue my running and cycling and our trip to Cumbria coincided with the Lakeland Marathon in Coniston. Mari and I, together with 3 other members of the "family" ran the half distance and enjoyed a tough but spectacular outing in the fells.

Later in the year, I joined my younger brother Stephen and a couple of mates and ran the Bacchus marathon in Dorking in September. My time was an unimpressive 4:39, but in my defence I had my week old broken nose straighten 2 days before the race. Also, Bacchus is off road and not flat with a winning time over 3 hours.

 

Une, now 6, started school in September, and whilst the change from Kindergarten has been a challenge, he is loving learning and his reading is really starting to develop. Liam, 3, has not missed his big brother in kindergarten too much and really enjoys being one of the bigger boys. Une started swimming this autumn and continues to play football. Liam, has been doing Gymnastics, which he really loves.

As ever, the list of projects started this year is longer than the list of projects completed. one job that did get finshed was building Maris new bike, a foldable full size 26" mountain with a "Changebike" frame purchased from Taiwan. Mari folds it up and puts it in the boot of the car so that she can park outside the toll ring and cycle the last bit into work.

Another project, which has taken up a lot of time during the spring and the Autumn was changing the roof on the lowest part of the barn. It was a job that had to be done, but turned out to be even bigger than anticipated and the extent of the job and the scope was perhaps not fully understood and agreed, still the roof is now on and it's no longer leaking or liable to disappear in a gust of Wind.

 

Otherwise, as you can see in some other posts, we started work with an architect earlier in the year and are now underway with an extension and substantial internal changes on the house. It's going to be a process that takes a number of years, but we are looking forward to adding our own touch to the house.

We still have 3 of our Bengals, Asia, Anitra and Amazing. They are getting older but still healthy and highly active. Peggy is showing signs of her 13+ years and has had a few scares. Just now she is doing OK, but is quite deaf (although this is partially selectable).

Wishing you all a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2015!

House Improvements #28. Foundations, heating cables, windows and doors.

Around the beginning of October, a few men and a digger turned up and proceeded to remove part of the front of the house. Before they arrived, it looked like this.

 

And after a day, there was a small bit of the house and a large chunk of the garden missing!

I must say that, even though I prefer to do things myself, it is quite fun to come home each day and see that other people have been there and that the job has progressed. The new foundation walls went up quite quickly, but due to the contractor using his head instead of the drawings and our late decision to have heating cables in the external steps and entrance finishing the job took a bit longer than planned.

But here it is, foundations complete. The delays meant that the next part of the construction will not start until the week after new year. That's no real problem, we're not in that much of a rush and the window supplier has agreed to hold the windows until the are needed early in February. Good news, the barns already full without having to find space for 8 windows and 2 balcony doors!

Kris-Kindle 2014.

As requested, and as ever not before time. Here's the 2014, ever more extended family Kris Kindle. It has been decided that, since BLS (or is that LBS!) and London Son are both co-habiting and having partners that are considered a part of the afore mentioned extended family, we will go back to couples. Same rules as ever, but this time it's €100 per couple.

Whilst a couple based KK may make the shopping easier, will it make the choosing of that one wants harder? I want titanium bike parts, but doubt that that's what we'll end up asking for...........

Get advertising and, in the spirit of KK, let's have plenty of laughs and if there are to be any competitions let's, not in the spirit of KK, have something other than music!!!!

Home improvements #27

After, a few years of 2 posts/year we've started a project that we feel is really worth recording for the future, and whilst Facebook is great for sharing photos and such, it's limited and not all have access. So, let's see if I can't manage keep updated on progress on "the blog"

I'll start with #27, because we've actually done loads in the house already, removed clay insulation in the basement roof and re-insulated, remove saw dust from the loft and re-insulated, a complete new electrical installation and fuse box (and all the walls still open after that process), the games room split into 2 bedrooms a new stove in the dining room and much, much more.

And so, onto more serious business, as the boys grow up, we have more and more missed a proper porch and a decent access to the garden to the south where the sun and the sand(pit) are (as well as the trampoline and kitchen garden).

To help us find a solution we found ourselves an architect, from the capital as it happens, not local!! Needless to say, what could have been a porch and a new door has turned into a 50 square meter extension and a set of drawings which leaves about 3 rooms in the house untouched. Here's a little taster.

Those of you who know our house, will see the change, this is just the outside, the inside changes are just as significant. As of today, foundations walls are complete, within a week or two, the front steps and internal floors will be concreted and construction will start. More later (perhaps!)....

Christmas Message 2013

This years Christmas Message is early for once! December's going to be a busy month, starting with a trip to Saudi for me and then a couple of Days in Brussels for Mari, so our Christmas cards are written and we are trying to be a little ahead of the game.

The most significant happening of the year must be Maris' completion of her PhD, which she successfully defended in May. So I can now refer to her as Dr. Wife. Mari has now left the Veterinary University and is now working at the "Folkehelse Institut" (Institute of Public Health) in the department for Infectious disease epidemiology. This is a 6 month contract but there is a good chance that it will be extended. She has a 70% position and some possibility for home office so the commute to Oslo is manageable as well as fetching from Kindergarten most days.

No major changes for my work, still doing an acceptable amount of traveling, this year mainly Germany, Turkey and Poland. Next year I will most likely have a few trips to Saudi and a trip to Kazakhstan fairly early in the year, which will be, erm cold!

My efforts to keep myself fit now include cross country skiing races, something that I would never have dreamed of doing a couple of years back! My biggest achievement was completing Birkebeinerennet, a famous 54km race with well over 1000m accent over a mountain between Rena and Lillehammer. It was tough and I was very pleased to see the finish line after 5 Hours and 48 minutes. I have also started to run a lot more and as part of the Birken Triple I ran the Birkebeinerløpet half marathon (off road). I completed this with a badly twisted ankle, which meant that I could not run for about 4 month. Next year we are planning to run the Coniston Fell half marathon in July and the Bacchus Marathon in September. I am sure that my brother Stephen is really looking forward to joining me for these challenges!

The boys, Une, now 5, and Liam 2, are both growing and full of life. Liam is a real joker, something Mari claims comes from me..... Une can be a little more serious at times, but also great fun. He loves building Lego and can disappear to his room and work on a set for a long period. During last winter we attended skiing sessions which gave him a lot more confidence on skis. He has also been doing Jazz ballet, which has given him a real sense of rhythm, and started playing football, which, for the time being, is mostly an opportunity to be social and have a laugh with his friends! Liam is full of words and a real 2 year old, especially when he decides he can do something on his own!

Peggy is showing her age, she had a couple of age related episodes this year, but for now is still going fairly strong. Sadly, Vegas our oldest male Bengal, had to be put down before the summer. A combination of problems gave us a real issue to get any nutrition into him and he was wasting away.

We have done a fair bit on the house and the garden, including drainage around the basement which should help to dry it out. The majority of the electrics in the house are now changed, including a new fuse box, and we have come a long way with the insulation. In terms of aesthetics it may seem that we are going backwards, but we will get there in the end! So, lots of projects on the go for those of you who like working holidays!

Here's wishing you all a very merry Christmas and all the best for 2014!

Love,
Andy, Mari, Une and Liam

Kris-Kindle 2013

Here's the first of the blogs now traditional two yearly posts. The second, may or may not come before Christmas day, but it will come!

So, Kris-Kindle time. Same rules as ever, individuals buying for individuals, €50 maximum limit, anonymous givers, good hints required.

In addition Dr(formerly known as Mrs) VL, would like, ASAP, ideas for presents for the 8 or so Nieces and Nephews that we have presents to buy for.

Get posting, remember, cryptic and witty posts are appreciated (just as long as the answer becomes clear in good time). Next year, I'm going to start this blog post in July. I knew what I wanted then, but now I have forgotten!!!

Christmas Message 2012

2012 started with us sharing parental leave until the summer. After the summer holiday Liam started full time in Kindergarden. We were very lucky to get a place in the same kindergarden which Une is in. Liam settled in very well and it's been great for both of the boys to have each other. It's a real pleasure when you fetch them and they are sitting in the sand pit together or climbing on the big cushions in the gym room. For us, having both boys and full time careers proves to be a challenge and sometimes it feels that life is one constant struggle to get places on time whilst getting enough sleep to meet the next, equally hectic day. All in all though, life is good and we are really enjoying family life and watching our boys growing up.

Liam is a real live wire and unlike his big brother is not afraid to try and fail. He spent the summer trying and almost managing to walk and was toddling around by 11 months. Since then he's mastered climbing on whatever is available and really is high and low and all over the place. There's no resting when he's about but he's great fun and a real character. He seems more interested in mastering the physical challanges that life presents than mastering language but he is very clear with his nods and shakes of the heads and generally manages to indicate what he wants by pointing.

Une, on the other hand, really has mastered both languages and is now working on the (both) alphabets and simple maths. He's been going to "jazz ballet" and had a performance together with older children a few weeks back. He really enjoys this and will continue next year. He's also cycling on 2 wheels and completed  a couple of races, a challenge which he has really enjoyed.

Mari is nearing the end of her PhD. Her thesis is pretty much complete and she plans to hand this in during the first 2 weeks of the new year.  After that there is an approval process which takes about 6 weeks and then the final public hearing. Knowing Mari, I expect this will go fine. Then, there's the question of getting a job! Nothing in the pipe line just now but fingers crossed.

I'm still working at Flowtite and with our 45 production facilities around the world I am kept more than busy enough. There lots going on including a large upgrade project in Saudi and plenty of development work in many lands. I've been overseas a fair but mostly managable amount including time in Turkey, Qatar, Saudi, Germany and Poland. There will be more trips to Turkey and Saudi next year and plenty of possibilities to travel to other exciting places if it fits with everyday life. I'm still keeping as fit as I find time to and have competed in a number of events including my first ever cross country Ski race, 41km in just over 4 hours and the worlds largest mountain bike race the 94km Birkebeinrittet with 18,000 starters which I completed in 4h15mins. This year is even more ambitious including the 54km cross country Birken ski race and a (terrain) half marathon.

We've only had a few trips overseas as a family this year, but managed to have a great Easter Holiday in Finland with the Finnish gang and summer in Ireland for my Dad's 70th celebrations. A rare occassion when all of my parents 5 children and 10 grandchildren where in the same place at the same time.

Peggy is showing her age and is quite stiff in her back leg. For many years it seemed that she would be forever young, but time is now catching up with her. She's given us and the boys a lot of happiness and many great memories and she will be sadly missed the day that she is no longer with us.

The other half of the room we split in two is still half finished and the only real progress in there has been tidying enough so that we have space to hang clothes to dry! The fuse box still needs moving, only half the loft is fully insulated and as for the basement and the barn!!!!! We did manage to find time to fetch the other half of my 3rd tractor from Bergen and the David Brown restoration has made some progress in that it is now half painted! Too much to do, but that's the way I like it. Mari, on the other hand, has simply given up!!

Life is hectic but we still like to find time for visitors. So, if any of you want to come over then give us a shout!

Wishing you all a very merry christmas and all the best for 2013

Love Andy, Mari, Une and Liam.

Kris Kindle 2012

It's that time of year again and time for the blogs annual spate of activity. Other social media (you'll find me on Facebook) and a lack of time have taken over for the time being but the Kris Kinlde tradition continues.

So, we haven't had our letters yet, but that doesn't stop us from posting. Kid sister requested this blog post and said that she is hoping for one of her cycling freak brothers to buy for her..... Hmm, what does she want then.

In other news, can parents please post what their kids want quite soon. Request from Mrs VL which I am sure is appreciated by all.

Now, remember that we like witty and cryptic posts....

Get posting.

Chirstmas Message 2011

Firstly, apologies for the minimal amount of hand writing on the vast majority of Christmas cards we sent. Right now, things are either done efficiently or not done at all!

Another year has almost past. It's been a good year for us all in all. We have a larger family, an ever increasing and over-ambitious project list and ever decreasing time.

The major news this year was the birth of Liam Philip on the 6th of August, 6 days early but weighing a good 3.72Kg.



As I write this Liam is somewhat "chunky" and full of life. Une is a really proud and loving big brother. Mari is somewhat jealous because all of Une's cuddles now go to Liam.

Une, now 3 1/2 is still enjoying barnehage (kindergarden) and developing in all the ways young boys do. We both really enjoy spending time with him. Daddy and Une even sit down for a game of chess now and again when they are not building Brio railway or Duplo.

We've had lots of visitors this year and are looking forward more in during Christmas and New year. Here's a picture taken during Une's godparents John and Jean's yearly visit.



The major project this year has been a new bedroom for Une. We decided that the largest bedroom in the house (formally know as the games room) was way too big to house a three year old so we have split it in 2. This, needless to say was not simply a case of building a new internal wall. We had to move the fuse box, close up one window, open up 2 others, install new ceiling joists and much more. The final result is fantastic and even though the other half of the room, the hall way and the loft are not finished we can already see how it will change the house for the better.

Mari, who is trying desperately to work on her PhD despite being on parental leave, finished her Masters in Veterinary Epidemiology and Public health early in the year recieving a distinction. She enjoyed the University of London's graduation ceremony in March and was one of a handful of overseas students to recieved an audience with Princess Anne.

I am still enjoying working at Flowtite. I have not had any long overseas trips this year, but have had quite a few short trips to Germany, Spain, Austria, Poland and Turkey. I have also been doing more mounting biking and cycled 3 races this year. Uncle Stephen (my younger brother) even flew over to join me for one of them, the 54km Sandefjordrittet, having the cheek to beat my 2hrs 36mins by 1 1/2 minutes. I find this a really enjoyable way to stay fit and in 2012 I plan to do the 93km long "Birkebeinerittet". This is Norways most famous mountain bike race with around 20,000 cylist taking part.



Mari will go back to work in February when we will begin 50/50 parental leave. We will continue this until the end of the summer when Liam should be guaranteed a Kindergarden place, hopefully in the same kindergarden as Une.

Peggy is getting older as are our 4 bengals but they are all well. They keep us on our toes and provide plenty of entertainment for both the boys.

We wish a very Merry Christmas to all our friends and family and a Happy, Peaceful and Prosperous 2012!

Love
Andy, Mari, Une and Liam.

Kris kindle 2011

I have demands for this on all sorts of social media and even on the good old dog and bone so here it is.

Back to singles this year and our letters have been recieved. So everyone knows who they are buying for but no one knows who is buying for themas per tradition. Hence the requirement for this blog post.

Get advertising everyone. As ever hilarity and cripticness is always appreciated.

One room becomes two #1

Since there is another on the way......... and that first born son is getting a little big for his 2mx2m box room it was finally time to get on with preparing his new room.

The plan is that the room formally known as "The Games Room" which in reality has been a store for all the toys I never get to play with will be spilt into 2 rooms. Being on the large side, it has also functioned as a domitory during family visits. It has also been deemed too big to be a single childs room. Splitting it in two will make 2 good size rooms, one for FBS and one as a guest room until it is required by no.2 in a few years time.

The first consideration when making a new room is that it will need a new door. Naturally where we are going to put the door something was in the way... Nothing other than the fuse box and all the cables going up and down the centre of the house. Here veiwed from the back after removal of panelling and planks.

After a Sunday without electricity and a very rare take out pizza for dinner it was moved to a temprorary location.

In the end there will be a new cable run from loft to basement on the left hand side of the new door and a new fuse box in the basement. Just as well, as it's now been decided that there will be another door, exactly where ther fuse box is in it's new temporary position.

Christmas Message 2010

Another year has gone by and it feels as if my feet have hardly touched the ground....

So, at the end of 2010, what's happened this year? Not that much of note really. The most significant is that Mari finished her Masters in Veterinary Epidemiolgy and Public Health. This is dependant on the results of the final 2 exams that she took in the Autumn, but given her track record there is no reason to think that she hasn't passed them.

So, that just leaves her to Focus on her PhD which is intensifying, with an expectation of her first publication early in the new year.

My work is much the same, still enjoyable and challenging and not too much travel this year, the most notable being a couple of weeks in Meddelin, Columbia in January.

Une is growing and developing at a rate of knots. Talking and asking questions all the time. He is fully fluent in Norwegian and understands everything I say in English. His English vocabulary is also very good, but there is naturally still a tendancy for him to mix in Norwegian when he speaks in English. We are still very happy with his kindergarden, which he attends full time. He also loves it and is part of a good gang of 2 year olds. We have been very lucky to end up in this Kindergarden.

We had a great summer holiday with a visit to the Goodwood Festival of Speed (something that Une still talks about frequently), a week with family in a holiday home in Dingle and a week with Grandma, Grand dad, Aunty, Uncle and cousins in Cork.

My free time during the summe mostly dissapearred 5 metres up under the barn roof. A heavy winter left us with 3 broken roof trusses so major sugery was required. Due to this pretty much every other planned project went out the window!!

Mari hasn't had the chance to proof read this before publishing so I've probably forgotten something...... I at least will not forget to

Wish you all a merry Christmas, and all the best for 2011.

Regards to all
Andy , Mari and Une.

The Barn Roof #2

After consultation with the real farmer, it was decided that, due to the half arsed manner the roof was built the only right thing to was to supplement the roof with 11 new trusses in between the existing ones.

At the start this seem a daunting task and frankly, bulding the first one

didn't help to make the job seem any smaller.

Each truss consists of approximately 20metres of 8" x 2" including the jointed 9m "tie beam"

about 6m of 4" x 2", 14 assorted pieces of plywood

and over 760 nails....

When my work moved from what had been a production facilty to our new offices I was fortunate enough to be able to pick up this tatty looking, but perfectly functional sissor lift. Without which this job would have been impossible.

With a 400Kg lifting capacity, it's been perfect for pressing the new rafters up under the roof and lifting the "tie beam" into place as shown below. I really couldn't have managed without it.

In addition to the lift, the neighbours nail gun, which I have been able to borrow when required, has also been invaluable,

As you can see from the pictures, although it's taken all summer, autumn and some of the winter, progress was made, and I can now very satisfactorily report that all 11 new trusses are now complete, not that the job ends there.........

Kris Kindle 2010

It's that time of year again and whilst none of us know who we are buying for it's never to early to get advertising.

For those of you who don't now, the principle is that everybody buys a christmas present for one given person. This is to be done, more or less in secret as no one is to reveal who they are buying for until after the presents are opened. Since we only get one present, it pays to advertise and hopefully get something you really want (not just socks and pencils, which no one really wants (or do they......))!

As we have not had our letters yet this year, we do not know how the global financial crises has affected Kris kindle, but one expects that the value of the present will be around the €50 which it has been previous years.

Word has it that it's back to singles this year, and I believe that the rules do state that you do not end up buying for your partner.

The Kris kindle post last year generated 74 comments (some hilarious, some total nonsense and some hilariously nonsensical), let's keep up the tradition.

The barn roof #1

As mentioned in the previous post, the Barn roof has taken up pretty much all my spare time this summer. After heavy winds (not prevailing) blowing across the roof and piling a lot of snow on one side, the barn not only twisted even more than it already was, 3 roof trusses also broke. All in all, it was a miracle that it did not collapse.

So, quite rightly, all other projects were down prioritised on the grounds that the house will still be standing if we don't finish painting, the kitchen garden can wait and so on but the barn will not stand another winter.

The real farmer next door happens to also be a fully qualified carpenter/joiner/builder, very competant and, especially since he also has equipment up there, very helpful. He has been my consultent for this project, supplied materials (which will be paid for!) and lent a helping hand (along with his 2 sons) with any jobs I couldn't manage alone.

So, the barn was emptied, 1 "pack" of 8"x2" and 1 of "4"x"2" where delivered (local wood cut on next doors saw)

and early in June, phase 1 was to straighten up the gable end and install new diagonal strengheners. As you can see, the old ones were doing next to nothing.

With the help of a long strap, a laser and a tractor the barn didn't really need that much persuading to straighten up, somthing that it hasn't been for a long time.

The opening, which was modified (raised) after the barn had already moved was the only bit of the barn that was verticle, so this excercise has left me with a straight barn and a crooked door, another job on the list, albeit cosmetic.

Proper diagonals were installed

on both sides of the door,

and not surprisingy, when the tractor and strap were removed, everything stayed put.

That was the easy bit, now attention was turned to the roof.......

Getting Ready for winter.....

It's been too long.... I can blame how much I've had to do, motivation, a barn roof, a tractor, a studying wife, all the fun things there are to do with a 2 year old, a knackered computer, building a new computer and so on....

Anyway, nightime temperatures below zero are annoucing the oncoming winter, which we are not ready for.

Here's a photo of the only one who is ready....


This photo was taken towards the end of last winter when Ski's were on offer, he only had a couple of outings on them, but I expect that this winter he'll be much more enthusiastic. The boots should fit him now as well!

Here's another photo from the end of last winter, and the cause of the reason why we're not ready for this winter.


Here's the damage, which as the real farmer next door rightly pointed out, we had to do something with otherwise we wouldn't have a barn next year.


Drastic action has been taken and is nearly complete, more on that (maybe) later....

Christmas Message 2009

2009 started with our final 2 months on shared parental. We took this opportunity to get Mari's overseas period out the way while we could do this as a family. I was left in charge of Une in a rented house in Hatfield, while Mari did a 6 weeks at the Royal Veterinary College in London.

Une began full time in Kindergaden in Late Feb, with both of us back at work full time. We didn't get a place in the nearest kindergarten, but were so pleased with the place he is in that we decided not to move when the chance came in September. He really loves it and we're really have no complaints at all.

Combining two full time jobs and a toddler is a challenge. Especially when we both travel at times and Mari has to leave at 6a.m. the days she is in the office, although she does try to have home office a couple of days each week.

Une is growing and developing rapidly. Towards the end of this year he is learning new words every day, some in Norwegian and some in English. It's now easier to play with hin (he is becoming more constructive and less destructive!). Amazingly he is remarkably tidy and likes to keep all his toys in there respective places.

Mari is now nearly half way through her PhD, she is finding it pretty tough but enjoyable. She also took and passed 2 more courses towards her RVC Masters, leaving 2 final course which we are hoping to get out the way in 2010.

I am still enjoying my work and have a fairly acceptable amount of travel. I had another trip to India in May and had a few trips to Spain during the Summer. I'll be off to Columbia early in 2010 for a couple of weeks, after then there's no more travel plans on the horizon.

Project priorities at home and on the farm have shifted somewhat but there has been some progress. It's been difficult to find time to do anything other than essential work on Vehicles, so the Spitfire, Landrover and Tractors have been a little negleted. Various toddler related modifications have been made, including a sand pit for the summer days that barely happened. Thanks to help from my parents, half of the outside of the house is now painted, we hope to finish that in 2010. We're also working in one half of the basement, which is now fully insulated. Next step is to dig out the floor and replace it with a new one including damp proofing and insulation.

All in all, life is tiring but mostly enjoyable and we are starting to not only adapt but also feel that we can cope and succeed with our new family life.

Here's wishing you all a (slightly belated) Happy Christmas and the very best for 2010.