The verandah gets a roof

Dad has been making some great progress on the verandah. Here's some photos and his reports below:





"As you see I have at last done some carpentry work. I got all the common rafters nailed into place (22 all together). I had to measure them individually as the old house was out of plumb in the rear corner and that factored into some variation in the rafter lengths. The beam is perfectly straight and the rafters nailed, and I have fitted the roof battens and braces, and made a start on the sheeting.

I need to complete the screwing of the roof sheets next visit. I was altogether too tired to finish them further than one course of battens and nails on the lower two battens. I will be ordering the flashing on Monday so that can be placed.

Altogether, I am very pleased with the veranda so far. All the rafters are aligned beneath so when I have time to do lining, after the frame inspection and electrical wiring, it will be very easy to do this with minimal packing.

The temporary deck provided a base for the trestles and I was able to reach easily. I will take out the braces to the house now that the rafters are in place and have open workspace.

Your house is perfectly placed for a hot day. The sun was to the rear of the house and a lovely breeze blows when the sun is hot due to the shadow cast by the house. I am very very pleased with the aspect of the deck, and the size as it affords living outdoors very well"

Inspiration from Morocco

We recently spent a week in Morocco - splitting our time between Marrakech and a very relaxing chill-out hotel in Ourika Valley.

Overall, it was interesting - I can't say it was among my favourite places I've visited (and I feel a bit guilty about that as have some friends for whom it is their dream destination). But, it just wasn't really my style.

However, as always when travelling, I did get some ideas:

Decorating outdoor features with tiles



This is the remnants of an old fountain or well in the Palais Badii, next to one of the sunken terraces full of orange trees.

I'd seen outdoor tilework as decoration before, eg: by Gaudi in Barcelona. But what I liked about this was that it was less mosaic / crazy paving like. I think I also like the fact that this is so weathered that only remnants remain. If it was still covered in tiles as it would have been originally, I wouldn't like it as much.

Interestingly tiled paths



These are from one of the courtyard gardens inside the Palais de la Bahti. The bit I like is the square white paving stones interspersed with the strips of mosaic-ey style colour. I would want to keep it subdued though - eg: I don't like so much the photo on the right when it joins up with the bright mosaic and fountain thingy.

Cactii can be interesting



We spent a few hours visiting Jardin Majorelle, which is apparently one of the most famous Marrakech gardens, renowned for its plants and use of colour. The most striking feature was how vividly the pots and buildings were painted - really bright blue, interspersed with lemon yellow and shades of red. It was almost like the pots were as much a star of the place as the plants. There was no grass - just red gravel - and the plants were predominantly succulents, cacti, bamboo or palms. You can see all my photos of it here if you're curious.

Although the garden was interesting and very well suited to the climate, it isn't the kind of garden I would like to have. BUT I have learned that a couple of strategically coloured pots in a shady area can work brilliantly, especially if you make a feature of them on a plinth. And, if they're large enough and grouped together, cactii can be beautiful. Of course, we'll never be able to afford such giant specimens, but hey I can dream. :-)

Donkeys!!


But the most inspirational of all was the donkey we met when we went on a hike. We paid extra to have the donkey along - I love animals - and so far as I was concerned it was just like we were taking a dog with us. (I refused to let the donkey carry my bag - so he didn't have any load at all, it was a day of rest for him as well as us).

The donkey was very sweet, and once we got going they took off his harness and just let him wander alongside. He responded to verbal orders, and enjoyed nibbling at grass as he walked, looking around, basically really good company.

So Dave has agreed, I can have a donkey or two as pets at Amherst. They would be a lot easier to look after than a horse and they would be good company for the sheep. :-)