Burnage

Last night we watched the end of Sherlock Holmes. It was very good (though it was the second time Huffle and I had seen it).

Smallest came in at 6:50am to tell us that we had run out of Orange Juice. REALLY? AND WHAT CAN WE POSSIBLY DO BEFORE 7am ON A SUNDAY MORNING??? He came back ten minutes later to ask what we were having for breakfast so he could set the table. Kind as it was that he wanted to set the table for us, Huffle was in no mood to decide what he wanted and so sent him out 'with a flea in his ear'. Smallest then went off crying and hid himself in his wardrobe. I, being the more sympathetic of us two at ridiculous times of the night and morning, went to find him. I looked in his room, downstairs and finally in his wardrobe. Poor little thing, crying his eyes out. I got into his bed and cuddled him and I tried to explain that it was too early to worry about Orange Juice and who was having what! Huffle came in and apologised to him and also tried to explain that he was grumpy because he was tired and it was too early. Bless!

I slept in Smallest's bed (Smallest went and watched TV with Small) for half an hour because I couldn't be bothered to move. Huffle got up. Huffle and Grandma played Scrabble. Grandad slept on obliviously. Grandma skyped Madamme Courvoissier briefly (she is sunning herself in Espana right now).

Grandad finally got up (after being wrestled by the boys) and we had breakfast. It was a beautifully sunny day. So strange after yesterday's snow! We decided we would have a barbecue and a fire pit and get the table and chairs out of the barn. Grandad said as he would be doing the fire pit (with much cutting of wood) he wouldn't be painting today. So imagine our surprise as he got out his paintbrush and paint and finished his job. NAUGHTY GRANDAD!

Huffle and I played football with the kids. Grandma refereed and briefly helped in goal. The boys got their bikes out and biked up and down the garden. Grandad helped Smallest.

We emptied the barn of pots, the barbecue, the outside table and chairs and various sun beds and chairs and arranged, washed, positioned, emptied until we officially declared our garden a Spring zone. Hurrah! Grandad spent hours and hours building an almighty fire pit. Definition of a fire pit: small fire which is totally confined within a non-combustible structure or container that has the draft and smoke vents thereof covered with a heavy gauge metal screen having a mesh size no larger than 13 millimetres and which is ventilated in such a manner as to preclude the escape of combustible materials including ash. WHOOPS GRANDAD! Our Fire Pit: very large fire almost within a circle of stones except the parts that were very much jutting out a foot all round completely on fire on bare ground with no cover, very much exceeding a height of Grandma, with many green bits, lots of paper, cardboard, bits of wood and chopped down Juniper Bush. WHOOPS GRANDAD!

We had a BBQ dinner on our newly cleaned patio table, a lovely pair of Strudels and Custard, a quick game of football and then we made our way down to the fire pit.

 

All the boys loved this. Small and Smallest were dying to throw stuff on the fire but they sat firmly watching, mesmerised by its magnificence. Eventually they got to put logs and wood on. They were very happy. Grandad and Huffle got the generator out and the chain saw and proceeded to cut up lots of wood. We sat at the fire pit from 2:30pm till 6pm and it was still burning well.

TOP LEFT: grandmas hand poking out of the top of the fire - she is not bending down!

I managed to shift three wheelbarrow loads of soil from the bottom of the garden to the veg beds. Huffle and Grandad burnt most of the Juniper Bush and the boys managed to retrieve lots of dead wood from around the garden.

Grandma hid some Easter Eggs around the garden and the boys went snuffling around looking for them. We sat and had a cup of tea and an egg around the fire. Grandma went in. The boys played basketball. Then while we were clearing away around the garden, Grandma had got both boys showered and their tea on their table plus the dishwasher emptied and filled and put back on. Well done Grandma.

The boys went to bed after a couple of games of cards. Huffle cut his hair and we all had showers or baths. We stunk of fire!!! The big boys watched Stoke win against QPR while Grandma and I had cheese and biscuits and I blogged.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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