Friday 9 October 2009

Nearly there.
















The builder has finished! Yesterday was spent clearing up and washing down to get rid of the dust. Now it is all spick and span again - well , nearly. We are still waiting for the plumber, so we have a lovely wet room with fancy fittings but no shower until he comes and plumbs it in. And the new low-level loo sits waiting to be fitted. But other than that we are home and dry.
Friday again. Reminds me of my father who almost always said on Thursdays, with a sigh, "Ah well, tomorrow will be Friday and we've caught no fish today!" Might sound boring to you that he said it with unfailing regularity - but it has stuck in my mind as one of his little idiosyncracies and most Thursday evenings I remember it. Funny what passes down through the generations isn't it?
Auction Mart day. So, as we do every Friday, we are off into town - the farmer to look what the prices are like at the Mart and me to meet friends for coffee in The Golden Lion. Yes - I am afraid we are creatures of habit here. But this orderly life suits me.
Incidentally - the mention of catching no fish today refers to the fact that here in UK fishermen used never to set sail on a Friday as it was thought unlucky. I don't know whether that rule still applies - does anybody know?
And harking back to my father's sayings - have you got any sayings that have come down through your family and which you still use? If you have then I am sure we would all like to hear them. Perhaps we could compile a list?
##Photographs - before and after in the Utility Room - this is where we keep the farmer's wet boots, outdoor clothes etc. and it has been transformed, as you can see.
The multi-fuel stove is going well and the room is now very cosy.

24 comments:

gleaner said...

I love sayings and have thought it would make a good post to see what saying others have - hmm, there were the familiar sayings such as, "good things come in small packages", and "don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today " , I'll have to think about this one. Another one was "saving (something) by keeping up your sleeve".

I'll have to think a little more and see what others write.

Titus said...

Oh Weaver, you must be delighted and relieved. It all looks lovely, comfy and "fit for purpose".

My Aunty Doll (a maiden Great Aunt, who in her youth used to deliver milk in Romford from a horse and cart - people bought their own jugs to collect it from the large urns on the back) and who played a very big role in helping my mother about the house and collected me from school, always said the following whenever I whistled:

"A whistling woman and a crowing hen are no fit use to cock, God or men."

I can still hear her whenever I am tempted to purse my lips for a tune.

Anonymous said...

Whenever my grandfather had to use the bathroom, he's say "Have to go see a man about a horse".

HelenMWalters said...

My father always used to say, 'Lot of weather we're having at the moment, doesn't it?' I still have no idea what he meant!

Dave King said...

Look delightful, the finished bits. I am sure the rest will, too. I suppose stupid to say, Sit back and enjoy!!

Cat said...

The floor really did turn out beautiful! A family saying for my mother's family in place of cursing was always "Well, shoot fire and save the molasses!". I have no idea what it means and I say it too which embarresses the kids to no end like me saying a bad word wouldn't! Have a great weekend..

Heather said...

Your sitting room looks very inviting - so light yet cosy too, and I love the colour on the utility room walls. You must be delighted with all of it.
I remember my father saying, on the last day of April: 'Wake me early Mother dear, for I'm to be Queen of the May'. Quite why I never knew, for he had no aspirations in that direction! My grandmother would say she looked like 'the wild woman of Borneo' after a long hard spell of gardening. Having caught sight of myself in the mirror on coming indoors I know what she meant even if I don't know the saying's origin. She would also describe a very dark and threatening sky as being 'as black as Newgate's knocker'. Newgate was a prison many years ago in London, where she grew up.(Not actually in the prison you understand!).

Unknown said...

Hello Weaver,

Glad to see it's all coming together now. Just in time for a cosy winter.

Titus' and Cathy's saying are priceless! On old, and I'm sure well known, saying in our house was "Well, I'll go to the foot of our stairs" as a replacement for "would you believe it". Father would also say, in response to my enquiry about where he was going, "There and back to see how far it is" or "To see a man about a dog". The old ones are the best!

Unknown said...

And Heather has just reminded me of another saying for the weather: "It's looking black over Bill's mother's"!

Golden West said...

When I was growing up, my folks would always say, "Just do the best you can".

How nicely the construction is wrapping up, Weaver! You will enjoy many an evening 'round the stove this winter!

Jenn Jilks said...

Glad to see things are moving on. Renovations... oiy!

We visited Chesterville, hubby's family in the cemetary, and they always said, "Holy Liftin' Snappers" in response to one thing or another!

My mother would quote my Nanny, "Never a door closes, but a window opens." I hold fast to that one.

Reader Wil said...

It looks very great Weaver! You'll now have a wonderful winter in your newly decorated home.

Jinksy said...

Doesn't it look great - especially those tiles you sent the builders to get!

Jane Moxey said...

The Wet Room (or as they call it over here, the "mud" room") looks smashing! How cosy it all looks with the new stove fireplace, too!

These lovely old sayings caused me to start humming "On Ilckly Moor Ba'ht 'at" -- that was because my late mother was a Yorkshire-woman and she loved singing that song! The only saying that we keep using, and I'm not sure where it came from is "It takes one to know one." A useful phrase indeed.

Leilani Schuck Weatherington said...

Dad would say "Busier than a one-armed paper hanger" when he had a lot to do.... and "colder than well-digger's foot" when it was cold outside.

CHummelKornell said...

Weaver,

I love your Father's saying. Yes, it is odd what fixes in our minds, especially about loved ones. Your home is beautiful. Really love your colors. Thanks for showing us the finished product.

Enjoy your weekend. It's turned cold and snowy as we are traveling to the Pacific Northwest. Never dull.

Hildred said...

The saying I associate most with my father, because it's one he lived by, was 'if a thing's worth doing it's worth doing well".

My grandmother used to call up the stairs to waken my Uncle Sid, 'it's ten to seven Sid!" - this seems like such a silly saying to have survived almost a hundred years, but there you go. If a thing's worth surviving it's worth surviving for a looong time......

Hildred said...

P.S. - I love the colours in your rooms. It looks very comfy and cosy.

Cloudia said...

My grandmother said to be nice to people- they could be God....


no fish today!
Aloha, Friend

Comfort Spiral

The Solitary Walker said...

A Chilean girl we once knew said that every baby born comes with a loaf of bread. A saying that has stuck with me.

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thank you for the interesting - indeed fascinating - sayings - I am busy compiling them all and will publish them tomorrow.

Jeannette StG said...

Wow, what a change - you must be very happy with your new utility room. My hubby came from a farmer's background ( a farmer turned into a carpenter), so I know the importance of a utility room where wet boots, etc. go!

Midlife Roadtripper said...

It looks most cozy. The loo - I always have found that a most fun word. Much more interesting than bathroom.

Teresa said...

Your home is beautiful! My Mum has always been fond of "sayings" and I find myself now quoting those same sayings to others! Those family traits do pass down the generations, don't they?