Windows to the soul...

Finally here are the long awaited pictures of our new windows! They're even better than we imagined. When we ordered them you see lots of different window models and then pick out the various components that you want, what handles, decorative borders, colour etc but until they deliver them you are never really sure what they are going to look like. Luckily we were pleasantly surprised! The bars that you can see on the left side lower and upper windows are the mosquito nets, absolutely necessary here this time of year. They sit inside the frame but you can swap them around onto different windows, we have one per room to keep those little beasties out. On the picture on the left you can see the 'wood-finish' quite well and the water drips are because I had just washed them, it was also raining, yes I'm that nuts! I had to peel off the stickers and wash them straight away to make sure there weren't any sucker marks inside the glass. I tried to wait it out but it just rained for days so I looked like a complete lemon washing them in the rain. The bathroom window on the right was completed a week after the installation of the rest of the windows because the sand blasted glass wasn't ready. We chose to leave a clear edge of about 5cm around the glass and good job we did otherwise it would of been much too dark inside. I love our neighbours but it's nice to know they won't see me getting out of the shower in the morning :) Now what I don't have to hand are any pics of the right hand-side of the house. That's where the remaining wooden windows are that need the decorative strips added and painting and boy do they stick out like a sore thumb now! It probably won't be good painting weather until the spring now so we'll have to put up with them. What is really amazing now is how quiet it is in the house. It's not a noisy neighbourhood but there is still a marked difference, hopefully this means they're insulating really well. The next few weeks we have a long to-do list of finishing off jobs, the beams in the loft need re-treating, the hearth needs finishing, garden tidying etc, it also give us a bit of stime to save up for the electrics. I have been scoping out ebay and kapaza for some good deals on new sockets and light switches but the different types are overwhelming. Who would have thought it would be so complicated? Light ON/OFF right? Simple, not. Luckily a retired electrician will be supervising the installation and the whole system will be certified. Hopefully my next post will be about the finished hearth, fingers crossed! x

Air-co installed...

...well sort of. The reason for my tardiness in posting (and dropping, sorry entrecarders!) was the last push that we had to make before the new windows got delivered and installed. We had to grind all the channels out for where all the lights, sockets, telephone, internet connections etc would come which is not quite as simple as it sounds. Beginning from a blank canvas it took hours to decide where would we ever need sockets especially in the kitchen where you can never have enough. It sounds like it would be easy to scatter loads of them all over the house, but when you start planning where you have to grind channels out for the cables in an old house ,we where hardly being left with any wall! Only 8 lights/sockets are allowed on one circuit before you have to pull a new cable from the fuse box. All of these lovely gaps in the walls will have to filled at some point. Separate cables for the hob, oven, dishwasher, dryer etc Special planning for light switches in wet areas. Don't forget the loft, garage, doorbell etc my head aches just thinking about it! The next task that we weren't looking forward to was bricking up part of the kitchen window. The window was too low, much lower than the standard 120cm so if we didn't brick it up a bit it would be impossible to fit a kitchen worktop underneath. Getting the window out was easy, old single glass with light wooden frames, basically just held in by four blocks and four nails. Luckily the marble window ledge in-side and the Belgian blue stone ledge out-side came out in one piece. Now, the reason why we had been dreading this so much was 1: after the wailing wall episode we had become allergic to brick-laying and hated it very much. 2: we had to ensure that when we had finished the opening was exactly the right size for the new window, which they had already measured for. 3: the outside window ledge had to be put back in at an angle to allow rain run-off without altering the size of the hole for the window. The bricks we had been able to source locally from another family who where renovating, they look a bit lighter now but after a couple of years they should blend right in. We then fixed a large sheet of chip board onto 'legs' so it would stand up against the inside of the window opening with a large beam of wood wedging it tight against the chimney, then attached a piece of roofing over the now open cavity wall to stop it getting too wet if it rained. Bricking up the inside was really easy and DH even surprised himself by how well the outside came out. We had really been dreading it but considering it's only the third thing he's bricked, it came out great! By the time it's been grouted and had a year or so to settle in I think it will be really hard to tell the difference between the old and newer stones. Last weekend we worked late into the night, pulling the old electricity cables out and feeding string through to pull the new electric cables through. The whole house was unearthed, sometimes with old fabric type cables. Occaisionally we pulled out cables that didn't seem to be attached to anything but we still haven't found the cables to the outside light...weird. Sunday was the big day for removing all the old windows and having a giant clean out. There was so much dust it took me 6 hours to clean the house. Removing the rest of the original windows went fine, but the last and biggest window was from 1989 and was a double glazed wooden window from 2m long. It weighed a ton and was nearly impossible to smash! Monday 29th early in the morning we waited for the window company and the mist was literally rolling in and around the house, so very cold! Finally the day I had been waiting for since the beginning of this journey, our lovely cream PVC windows arrived, yippee! I have been trying since Monday to take some good pics but the weather has been too terrible, constant rain, so you'll just have to come back again to see them, CUsoon...

A little bit of culture

Over the last couple of weeks I have had comments and emails from people asking about building techniques in Belgium and saying that they think renovating a house in Belgium sounds more romantic than in the US LOL! So I decided every now and again that I would post a little bit about the culture/habits/traditions in Belgium and this is definitely one of them.

Spek. The staple of every good Belgian farmers diet! This is the real deal lying in it's package on my kitchen counter waiting to be devoured (macro came out pretty good huh?). It's salted, streaky bacon sliced to approx 1cm thick. One of the first times I came to Belgium and stayed with my now in-laws they served this up proudly for breakfast fried in a pan. Me, being used to Danish bacon with my greasy spoon UK breakfast, proceeded to cut out all of the fat which left me with about two mouth fulls of meat out of a huge pile 'spek'. Needless to say in-laws thought us English where a funny bunch! The only other time I had ever eten streaky bacon was when it was wrapped around a turkey. Now my DH likes it cooked slowly in a frying pan until it is crispy and hard, then you can just pick it up in your fingers and chew on it like a snack. When I fry it I don't add any oil or margarine and by the time it's finished cooking there is about 1/2 cup of oil to drain off. We probably only have it once every two months or so. My FIL still cooks it traditionally, in butter, and then dips his bread in the 'sauce' left in the pan, then it's time to ring 911 clutching your chest :) Very often it's eaten with applesauce, cooked red cabbage and boiled potatoes. There is even a saying 'de kat op het spek binden' which translates 'don't tie the bacon to the cat' literally don't get in the way of temptation.

There are so many delicacies here, mussels and fries, Ardeen's pate, waffles, chocolate, beer and more, i'm even lucky enough to live in the pie capital of Belgium! Did you know that the Belgians invented 'french fries'. They truly are the best I have ever tasted, eaten with mayo of course. This blog could easily turn into a food blog! Have I got your taste buds tingling?

And the award goes to...

Yikes two more awards! I'm running out of gowns to wear, must do something about that. This first BFF Cold Card award (maybe I can use that to sort out the gown issue?) came from Liza over at Moms...check nyo. Liza is a work at home filipina mum of two who has lots of hobbies and is always posting great tips. Did you know potatoe juice is great for fading dark circles under the eyes? Well I didn't until I read it on her blog! Now the rules for this award are a little different, lets see...

Rules:
1. Only 5 people are allowed to receive this award
2. Four (4) of them are followers of your blog.
3. One has to be new to your blog and live in another part of the world.
4. You must link back to who ever gave you the award.

My nominees are...
Laane on the World If there's anyone who needs an award it's this lady, she's a psychologist and a mother of four and she still has time to write an awesome blog.
My Library a great site packed full of tips on gardening, cleaning, beauty and more.
Happy Life Is new to my blog, as I am to hers but after dropping by her site after she bought an ad from me I will definetly be a frequent visitor, an excellent design and dreamy colour palet.
by Jennifer Robin I love this blog, it's a really ecclectic mix of beautiful photos, old world reminiscing and chipmunks of course!
Catlover Now this site doesn't belong (as yet!) to Entrecard but is run by the 13yr old daughter of my friend here in Belgium. Grace is also cat mad like me and i'm sure if we drop by her site we might be able to convince her to join Entrecard, what do you think?

My second award today came from Anajz at the The Sustainable Backyard. Anajz is a wife, mother, smalltown homesteader, gardener and lot's more as you will see from her blog. I also learnt on her blog what on earth a solar cooker is, thanks you very much for this award Anajz, I am dedicating it to Pet Rescue Central I'm a sucker for anyone who devotes time and money to rescueing animals and I think they deserve a big'ol pat on the back;

Phew I promise normal renovation blogging will resume shortly! Thanks again everyone!

Is it groundhog day?

It's not, but you would be forgiven for thinking so because today I have received two awards!! This second Brilliant Weblog award comes from Little House in the Suburbs which is a great homesteading blog with everything from chickens, forest mushrooms, money saving tips and more. I'm very greatful for this award!
Please stop by my 'awarders' and nominees sites, they really are the cream of the crop! The rules are pretty much the same here...

1) Add the logo of the award to your blog
2) Add a link to the person who awarded it to you
3) Nominate up to 7 other blogs
4) Add links to those blogs on your blog
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs

Now I get to tag some of my other fav sites! The nominees are...

1 Caroles Thoughtful Spot
2 The Cat Dog Log
3 Mommys Little Corner
4 Health to Home
5 The Homesteading Housewife
6 Simply Cats
7 The Sustainable Backyard

Thanks so much, I must go and clear a shelf for my award now!

Next the Oscars...

I've been given my first award! How exciting! Tahtimbo from Everyday Living over in Idaho US has just given me my first blog award!

I'm very grateful and promise to give it a good home! Now here are the rules for nominating...

1. The winner can put the logo on his/her blog
2. Link the person you received your award from
3. Nominate at least 7 other blogs
4. Put links of those blogs on yours, and
5. Leave a message on the blogs that you've nominated

Well here are my nominees...

1 Robin's Woods
2 Forced Green
3 East Coast Life
4 Work at Home Online
5 New York Renovator
6 Designing Hilary
7 Little House in the Suburbs

I hope you all accept! x