Sanding, sanding and more sanding

My arm and shoulder have just about given up now, only when it comes to sanding the woodwork do you realise just how much there is. It's starting to take shape now though, but time has ran out. The window company are arriving tomorrow to install all my lovely oak. I've got a door and a few windows totally sanded and preservative painted on, I'd hoped to have been able to paint a quick coat of varnish to the underside to help protect against any moisture which may get under the wood. My own fault, if I had a coat of arms my motto below the shield (probably written on a piece of sandpaper) would be something along the lines - I'll operor is cras. I've got some photograph's of the windows and the ready to install sills, but sticking with my crest - I'll post them tomorrow! *translation courtesy of http://www.translation-guide.com/free_online_translators.php?from=English&to=Latin

Out of the frying pan and into the fire.

Rushed about like a headless chicken yesterday evening to get to TopStak near Llandow to have a look at some multifuel stoves. As is the way with most things, you start off with a price in mind, find a model that fits your budget and specifications and then see a much better one for not that much more. Using this process i'd identified the Stovax Stockton range (the 3,4 or 5 models) as the stove for me, so armed with my wallet, my Mum and an empty boot I headed down there again today buy one. I'm every sales persons dream, after about half an hour of sales pitch I'm now looking at a Franco Belge stove. Which you guessed it, is a much better stove at only a little bit extra in price. So it's now a chioce between the belfort or montfort models, back to the calculations....

Energy Saving Bulbs - not a bright idea?

Flicked the light switch and 'pop', a small flash of light, then darkness, my energy saving bulb (ESB) had given up. The bulb had only been fitted for a couple of years, and definitely not the six years or 10,000 hours life stated, when taking into account the fact it was a bedroom light so wasn't heavily used this doesn't seem like good economy to me. Putting aside my personal preferences - I don't like the light from an ESB and the fact they take a while to warm up, if their in real day usage lifespan is far less than stated, then are they really that environmentally friendly? I'm yet to be convinced, now I've got to drive to the council tip to securely dispose of the mercury time bomb of an expired ESB.