Upgrade: Painting in the Rain!!!

Morning all.  We had another Tip Run yesterday with the 2nd ancient Prestcold fridge which had belonged to my mum and until recently, worked and was used at Christmas as an overflow fridge.  In fact, it worked so well it would freeze milk and you don't want to know what it did to cucumbers . . .  It had been one traded into the family shop in Romsey, back in the early 1960s.  Gas-run, the people wanted one of the modern electric ones instead, so dad converted it to electricity and it came home and lived in the larder - which was the cupboard under the stairs.  It was a great improvement on the holey zinc meat safe mum had used previously.  Cheese faired slightly better too - I would NEVER eat the Cheddar that lived in the larder, greasily wrapped in a square of greaseproof paper, and with a cracked and dried-out layer to the outside.  YUK.  In fact, mum just shopped daily and we had no storecupboard at all, so if I was hungry all there ever was to eat was bread, cornflakes or a handful of dried mixed fruit . . . and  I was always hungry.

From the tip, we went on into town as I needed more Masonry paint for the outbuildings and yes, yet more Polyanthus for Front of House.  It was dry all morning.  It was still dry when we got back from town, but clouds were heaving up from the west so I just grabbed a chunk of cheese before heading outside, paintbrush in hand.  I had scrubbed the green algae off the bottom of the Back Place walls before we headed out in the morning, and the walls were ready to paint.  I got the yard-side wall, and 3/4 of the front wall done before it began to spot with rain.  Then it came on more heavily and I painted frantically - fortunately the rain was coming from the west so the actual wall was sheltered.  I did all but the bit over the door, which required standing on a stepladder, but the actual colours blended about there, so it's not too obvious it got left.  Then it rained torrentially half the afternoon so I only just got finished in time.

I was still keeping an eye on the 2nd day of the Auction and we bought a couple more things, but missed the chair we had marked down (my dear husband mislaid the piece of paper until too late). Now we have to go and collect them, so that will be a nice day out.

Then a few dabs of yellow (when we FINALLY found the right tin) about the kitchen, and as our son was coming to stay the night, I sat and peeled and chopped apples for an apple sponge whilst watching Antiques Road Trip.  This used to be one of my favourite antiques programmes, but they have made it so ridiculous now that the pleasure has gone from it.  I'm sorry, but no dealer worth his or her salt is going to tell a punter they can have a print priced at £50 or £55 for just £8!  That's what happened last week when Paul Laidlaw, a VERY canny Scotsman indeed picked up a print and said, "I'd want this for £8 or £9."  Well, wouldn't we all, but it doesn't happen that way!  He got to the lass in charge of the shop and she said, "Oh you can have that for £8."  Set up or what?  It happened throughout the week and I nearly turned off in disgust.  TBH, Paul Laidlaw has SUCH a good eye he almost doesn't need the give-away purchase prices.  Ah well, it's all in aid of charity, so perhaps I shouldn't moan, it's just on a professional level it blardy annoys me!

So, another exciting day in a quiet Welsh valley.