Wednesday 9 March 2011

Tuesday 8th March 11

A good day as a lot got done.  Gill took our youngest into school in a taxi, and I got up as Hector was due to arrive at 10am to replace our sink and to put up a shelf.

I've met Hector through YorkLETS, I supplied a couple of bags of compost to Bronwen his wife, and saw that Hector did all sorts of jobs, including plumbing and joinery, for half Yorkys and half Sterling.  So we booked him to come and install the Freecycled stainless steel sink and drainer, and put up a shelf as we desperately need more storage space in the tiny kitchen.  We do such a lot of cooking and food preparation, this kitchen just isn't really suitable.  But there's not much we can do... and another shelf is a good move.

Once he'd got the old sink off, he could tell that the new sink fitted the hole -just - and that he needed some silicone sealant, some pipework to put the half-sink bowl (where a macerator could go) to attach it to the U bend, and brackets to hold the shelf up.  So I went to B+Q, and eventually got everything I was looking for.  I found a large plank in the garage, something I'd salvaged a long time ago, and Hector cut it down  to the right length, and it's now up over the top of the gap which connects the kitchen to the living room, the missing wall which is partly responsible for the lack of storage space.

Gill went to town with our eldest after lunch, to eventually pick up our youngest.  They went to Barnitts for something. I stayed in until Hector had finished, and then got my 30 sacks of compost up to the front, where I piled them all into a builders 'dumpy' sack, which holds a cubic metre.  The 30 sacks take up more than that volume.  They'll be collected on Saturday when I'm away, and used for Edible York's raised beds.  I emailed Chloe to ask if she wants the other 20 sacks brought to the front too.  They are destined for the Barbican beds, whereas the 30 sacks will go to Peasholme Green.

That took quite a while, but I also riddled a large pile of mature fine compost and got 11 carrier bags of sieved or 'graded' compost together.  This will mostly go down to Country Fresh.  I might offer some to Freshways too.

I really enjoyed washing up tonight.  The new sink is a bit of a novelty, and isn't fully plumbed in yet... Hector is back for an hour or two tomorrow.  But I like our nice shiny new-to-us sink.

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