"GTD" and a great reunion

Our sailing friends are sending Facebook and blog updates from sunny tropical islands so we're feeling that kind of envy that many people expressed about our voyage stories. Never mind, though, we are keeping ourselves entertained.

Sarah on the American catamaran refers to her husband Mark as "GTD" - short for "Get Things Done", he's a real dynamo on the boat, always doing something. So we've adopted the GTD mantra here and create long lists of things to do, taking some real satisfaction in ticking them off. Graham's enjoying the job at Thatchers Cider (working four days a week) so Dianne is working through redecorating jobs and gardening jobs whilst he's at work so that we can do the big team-effort tasks at the weekends. We feel that we seriously underestimated how much there was to do but we're making good progress. A few photos follow to give you an idea!

The tenants had allowed water to sit on the sink worktop until it de-laminated (aargh!!) so a fun-filled weekend saw us remove the sink and cut a new worktop to replace it

Finished!

The trellis up at the summerhouse was in danger of toppling over due to the weight of the growth on it 

After much hacking back, the archway is restored and Di repaints the trellis

The 15 year old summerhouse was suffering from a bad case of wet rot at the front

Cutting away the rotten wood begins

Finished - a two-day job but the pressure-treated timber should give it a new lease of life

Our first BBQ of the summer 

A great place to sit and watch the sunset

Graham with a hired rotavator, digging over the area previously taken over by weeds and brambles

A couple of weeks later and the grass seed is working!

Graham demonstrating his builder's bum cleavage as he works on another job...

The new paved plinth behind the (freshly repainted) garage will be the base for a new storage hut to be delivered next week

As you will gather from the photos, it's pretty full-on but of course we have time to enjoy the garden when the sun shines.

The view from the veg patch

Anyone for lettuce? The veg patch is doing really well

And we did have a wonderful full weekend off from the GTD jobs when we had VIP visitors over from Germany. Regular readers of the blog will remember Peter and Heidi on Stormvogel, with whom we shared some amazing adventures across the Atlantic and Pacific. They returned to Hamburg, via the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean, last year so it was brilliant to see them and share some memories over a glass or two.

Heidi and Dianne on Kilve beach, just 3/4 mile from our house

Being pursued by a combine harvester

Heidi and Peter at the Kilve Cricket Club

Colour coordination in the gardens of Dunster Castle

Anyway, it's not the same as sailing but it's all entertaining. Now, must get back to those lists. GTD!