In March 2019, when I moved in to the barracks three seasons ago, (I like saying seasons instead of years. It’s a 1950’s lazy sci-fi fantasy literary shorthand for "we live post apocalypse where everything is messed up, even the concept of time”), I arrived almost a week before I was supposed to move in. Technically, that date was to be the 1st April, but I had been told that I could arrive earlier if I wanted.
Of course, no-one said that they would be here any earlier with the keys. So I spent the first not-quite-a-week sleeping in the only unlocked room I could find - one of the garages.
This then became the first de facto dumping ground for “stuff”, and as a result, became quickly full of crap.
It’s also eventually became my wood-working shop.
The new projects, especially the en-suite, are going to need a lot of woodworking, so I decided to tidy up. As in properly. And that meant making a new finishing-table. Basically for painting on. It’s not quite finished, but this week, I mostly made a table.
For the coming week, the big decision will be the damn roosters. Short version: a friend keeps chickens. They have to many dude chickens, and they want to palm the two smallest and scrappiest off to me. If I take them, this week I have to make a chicken coop. This is not a small amount of work. If I don’t take them, they become broth.
I’ve done a stupid thing and given them names already. This is always a mistake. I thought writing about them would help make a decision coalesce clearly in my head, the “what should I do” would appear to me in a vision. It has not done.
If I get them, the entire week is given over to making things for otherwise soon-to-be-eaten Chooks.
If I do not, the job list looks a bit like this:
Blitz-clean the kitchen in the Old House
Put castors on cabinets.
Scrape paint off the walls and ceiling in the en-suite
And maybe the windows as well
Bring construction materials (wood mostly) into the en-suite ready
In pig news: they are looking super furry now, and they got a wonderful new benefactor who brought them apples. Happy pigs.
And finally:
We hit 100 subs! This is awesome.
Please tell folks about this if you like it. Either direct them to the sign up page at https://thebarracks.substack.com/welcome, or you can (with their permission, of course) send me their email address and I can add them to the list manually.
💚
"this week, I mostly made a table" --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXk2PsEaPJc <3