"Self-sufficiency does not mean 'going back' to the acceptance of a lower standard of living. On the contrary, it is the striving for a higher standard of living, for food that is organically grown and good, for the good life in pleasant surroundings... and for the satisfaction that comes from doing difficult and intricate jobs well and successfully." John Seymour ~ Self Sufficiency 2003

Friday, 18 May 2012

Keeping busy


Hmmm - I mean keeping busy once we are on the farm :)

Until then I still have lots of packing to do LOL

But - once we are there, I need to have loads to fill my days - apart from building phase 2 of our home, unpacking the loads of boxes, and re-arranging the furniture and planting trees or tending to the veggie patch.

Obviously I am not going to be mixing lime and cement and laying bricks, nor will I be applying a high lime render.  And I will not be clambering up a half-finished building to assist with the installation of the roof beans or recycled resin roof tiles.  But, I will be helping RMan to paint the walls both inside and out with an eco-friendlier low VOC paint :)

So - I can foresee quite a bit of hurry up and wait time.  And I can't start planting seeds until August, with the majority going into the seed trays / ground in September.

Providing the sun shines, to fill my time I have my solar oven.  If it doesn't, I have my pewter work.  And, thanks to a lesson from DD, I now have a new hobby...

... mosaic-ing.  Perfect!

I came across some numbers which would be perfect for such a beginners project.  And they will provide easy future identification and location of our property.  To try out this new past time, I purchased the tile cutter, relevant numbers and some special mosaic tiles.

The parts required
After deciding on my pattern, I got to work.
Progress shot
A bit of grout, and - VoilĂ !  We have our property number all ready to be installed on the soon to be purchased farm gate.
Complete, and all ready to place on our
soon-to-be new farm gate
But - that gave me an idea.  We were given a trolley - many, many years ago - as a wedding present.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with the trolley, apart from a broken tray.
Surely this is salvageable
Why could I not join the broken pieces with some mosaics - as long as I don't load that tray too heavily, or remove it from the trolley, it should work perfectly...?
A bit of glue should do the trick...
So - that is what I am going to do.  Why discard a perfectly serviceable item when we can probably still get a good few years use out of it?  And it will function perfectly as a side table on our patio.
The broken tray can go on the lower section :)
Want not, waste not.  After 18-odd years of living in the same home, and completing loads of renovation projects, we have plenty of leftover "spare tiles".  They will be perfect as mosaic tiles.  I'm even considering how to use the glass from RMan's beer bottles...

I have plenty of ideas - and all of them are eco-friendly and involve recycling :)  Bloody marvellous mate :)

As I progress I'll share my finished items with you all - if you'd like to see?

Now - to convince RMan that left over tiles are valuable (to me) and should be schlepped along with us on the move.

"Clutter, clutter, clutter", I can hear him mutter...

11 comments:

  1. The mosaics are beautiful! It's an art form that truly amazes me. Love how you're putting it to a repurposing use.

    I imagine you're excited about the work on the house. I know I would be!

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    1. Leigh - Thank you. Yup, can't wait for the work to begin...

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  2. Those number are beautiful! You may have found your new calling. Oh the things you can make. Time to start checking the scrap piles for broken ceramic and tile.

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    1. Jane - Thank you :) Yeah - I just may have... ;)

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  3. Oh my, what an inspiration. I love those numbers. I've never done mosaic type work but I'm always intrigued by it. It looks so easy. That might just have to be a Summer project at the farm. And I can so hear it already if I start hoarding, er, "collecting" broken ceramics. I can put them in a special place for now, ha.

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    Replies
    1. 1st Man - Very satisfying it is too!

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  4. Oh good! A new hobby! Coz you really don't do enough to fill your time already!!! LOL

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    Replies
    1. Linda - LOL - guess we are a pair, aren't we :)

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  5. Dani - i love the numbers, too! and you have just inspired me to give this a try!

    your friend,
    kymber

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  6. Dani - i thought that i was following you and had you listed in our blogroll?!?!?!? i just checked and saw that neither is true. it has been corrected now. so sorry for my oversight! at least now, i'll be able to keep up with all that you have going on!

    your friend,
    kymber

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    Replies
    1. kymber - Welcome :) Love yours and Jam's blog, and am honoured that you are following mine. Thank you.

      Mosaic's - look forward to what you do :)

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Thank you for taking the time to comment - it makes my day and removes the "loneliness' of sitting at my screen blogging supposedly to myself ;) I try and reply as quickly as possible so please forgive me if sometimes my response is delayed.