Project Gratitude #update 19

Well the worst bit of the roof is now sealed! No more rain pouring in, no more wind ripping off what ever tiles were remaining, no more lying in bed at night as a storm tramples over us hoping that the plastic sheet won't blow away! Ah...it's wonderful.

Without the help of the generous few who donated to Project Gratitude through GoFundMe it wouldn't have been possible...so our heartfelt thanks go out to all who made the roof repairs a reality - we're one third of the way there now roofwise and I can't say I'll be sad when the last tile is cleaned and replaced. But...that's a little bit further in the distance as we need to be able to put new insulation in as we go along the rest of the roof space. No point doing a job twice!

I've decided to reduce the amount of time spent online so I can concentrate on the important stuff...so I'm bringing the fundraising over to this blog. There'll be a 'donate' button on here soon.

NEWSFLASH!!!
Plus, if you're interested to see how we get on as we continue our journey then please do subscribe to the blog as I'm also going to follow hubby's lead and go cold turkey on FB very soon...eating up way too much time and without any benefit. It's time to concentrate on infusing light into the way we live. I seem to have many 'friends' on FB yet it all feels very superficial. I've found some great articles and gathered some useful knowledge via others posts, yet they simply end up distracting me and before I know it 2 hours have passed. It's not the same as it was years ago and I hate that they appear to be filtering what you see according to what they think you want...they even messed up Farmville 2 without asking, lol. So, after 9 years I'm going to close my account at the end of the month. If you're a FB freind and reading this, don't worry I'm going to send a message to everyone with my contact info very soon and hope that if you are a 'friend' you'll actually put pen to paper and send me a postcard or letter...yes a real letter!

Hoping to be adding some Mermie's Permie treats soon - recipes and things you can eat in the garden other than the usual fruit and veg.

Love & light for now!

Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude - Video Update!

A little bit about what we're doing permaculture style @ chez Gratitude :)

Thanks to Vladsilav at the Regenerative Institute for giving permission to share as this was made at their request after completing the 'Online Permaculture Design Course' ( https://www.openpermaculture.com/).

Enjoy!

Love & light
Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude #update 16 & 17 & 18

Some time in Early March...until now (ish)

Update 16

It's been a cold, hard winter and today the wind finally blew off the cover on the roof and then gleefully poured rain and hail in the gap onto the stairs and landing!

On a positive note I passed my online permaculture design course and received my certificate!

My 'Certificate' :)

Still waiting for the quotation for the roof repairs...this is the third man that's been so we hope this one will actually come back with a quote. We figured the other two realised we couldn't afford their prices so didn't bother giving the quotation :D

Jean Christophe has overworked himself repairing the boundary fence at the rear of the property. It was in a terrible state. We only had to buy new wooden posts, the rest was a patch and repair job and we're going to line the line with tyres (two up) in which we're going to plant trees and bushes to create a solid perimeter and reinforce the bank down into the communal fosse ( a big ditch that collects the rainwater run-off from the fields).

Seeding and planting preparations have begun in between drizzly, cold days. Salad has already sprouted and tomatoes look like they're going to pop up their heads tomorrow. Disappointed to find that almost all of the 1,000's of flower seeds I painstakingly collected last year are sterile! Unless I buy new 'organic' or 'heirloom' seeds I guess this is how they've got us now. At least the star flower has offered some fertile seeds as has a recently eaten red pepper :D

If you don't want to donate any cash we'd love some seeds (flowers, veg, herbs....). All is gratefully accepted!


Update 17

I've reduced our 'target' to a more reasonable 20K... for the interim future (aka the next 2 years) we really need to concentrate on the house itself before we can host others. So the roof, insulation and a fully plumbed bathroom are the top priority...of course along with the planting and growing and fencing and chickens to buy so that we can create surplus to sell! Oh it will be bliss to take a real shower! It will come I know it will!

JC has spent the last month single handedly repairing the boundary fence - we only had to buy the new wooden posts as all the rest is recycled materials including tyres and pallets... Thanks to another wonderful donor we were able to buy some conifers and a peach tree. A full update to come as soon as we get another sunny day so I can take the updated snaps.

Pallet Fencing...using tyres too

External view of the awesome pallet fence

New conifers planted in reclaimed tyres

Beginning to resemble a barrier at Brands Hatch...reclaimed tyre buffers with planted with conifers

Update 18

Rather long gaps between posts don't mean no work, lol. We finally got a 'do-able' quote for the roof so JC has been busy with that, with a short break for a family visit. The worst part of the roof has been dismantled (lots of firewood for next winter) and the new beams, tarp and boards are now in place. Next step is the tiles and fixing around the chimney.

JC in action

First new beam in place!

What a difference!

Yes, this was the passage to the loo for 2 weeks...rather tight squeeze or an acrobatic manoeuvre required

We were blessed to receive a gift of over 1400 used (but good condition) roof tiles on my birthday saving almost 2000 Euros!!! Truly a blessing from a neighbour we hadn't even met up until then.

Unfortunately the top beam which continues to the main roof is rotten so we've sheared it up for now and will address that next.

Slowly but surely, with faith and patience and the generosity of strangers, associates and family we're getting there.

Ps. Regarding my desperate need for a shower...well I got one! Not quite what I had in mind, but a shower nonetheless. While the main repairs were in motion, that is the roof was 'off' there was an unexpected deluge one evening and no way to get the cover over it in high winds and rain...the next day I had to don my wellies and rain jacket to go to the loo (which is just under the mezzanine of the bit being repaired). As I sat there...drip, splat, drip, splat, drip, splat! The rainwater had collected in the insulation and proceeded to trickle steadily through the ceiling above the loo. Couldn't stop laughing at the irony of having materialised my desire! :D The moral of this story is be very careful and very specific about what you wish for...lol...though I'm still visualising that 1 million Euros in the bank ;).

Love & light to all
Louise (aka Mermie) & JC

Project Gratitude - update 8#

4.11.14

Even when it's raining there's still lots to be done. Waiting for funds to come in this week so we can buy some wood treatment and paint...a few little creatures have nibbled the wooden beams in the main room over the years so we need to treat them and make them look pretty again.



The boys are bit tougher than me and are still persevering outside. Today they're extending the rain gutter from the back of the house to redirect the catchment close to the new pond area and away from the house walls and foundations.

My essentials - pen, paper and of course a mug of hot coffee!

I took time to start really designing the layout/plan today. First draft finished and ready to send off to my tutor to see how it looks permaculture principle wise.

The 'Plan' - oh wouldn't it be lovely!

Current area of concentration - it would be great if we could get an ariel view afterwards

  Now, even though I did the sketch, which did take quite a long time, I've still got some other element s to complete before I can submit my project. I've got the scribbles down for the zones and elements plans and lots of notes for the actual 'Project Plan' - what I need now is a little inspiration to get my bum firmly in the chair, a little difficult when it's sunny outside and there are lots of other things to do, like trying to raise some money through the fundraising or from pitching for work on Elance, not to mention the seed-saving, harvesting salad daily, baking gluten free daily on the stove-top (no oven), preparing dinner, general house work, laundry, decorating, planting and plant care (including daily chats!), daily replacement of the fat balls for the mirade of bluetits, robins and other lovely birds constantly in the garden, oh and making time to read either the Mother or Satprem daily, and some asanas. Hmmm...Not enough hours in the day, lol! I'm sooooo grateful!!!

Don't forget, you can really help by sharing and caring (aka DONATING :D)

http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Love & light
Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude - update 6#

28.10.14

The broken part of the roof is finally covered, though we had to make do with the cheaper quality cover as the really good stuff is over 100 Euros. Hmm...12 Euros or 100 Euros let me think ^^ Anyway once the cover was on we had a storm and incredibly high winds so it was put to the test...it's still there so fingers crossed it'll last till next summer when hopefully we'll have raised enough to fix it. Plus the landing and stairs won't get all slippy and wet now either so we can use the first floor a bit more easily and safely.

The cover, which unfortunately already has a small hole in ir!

Not looking forward to deep winter though as the 'open part' is unfortunately above the passage to the bathroom! Eeks...HELP!

So, as I mentioned in a previous update of the updates, there's a hole already appeared at the top of the apex due to all the rubbing from the high winds which batter this side of the house (damn HAARP!). Plus we get a lot of clunking from the bricks holding down the corners. You'd think they'd be heavy enough not to move...but no! We did manage to secure one end using a couple of tyres, though they too tried to wave around, incredible strength nature has.

As always, here's the important link to share, if they can raise $70,000+ for the family of the pilots of the space flight that crashed (even though I'm sure they'll get well compensated by Richard Branson) and if a chap who lost his dog in the Lake District for 3 days can raise $50,000+ - surely we can get enough to cover our roof and plumb in the toilet and shower!!! HELP!!!

http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Always smiling and always grateful,
Love & light,
Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude - update 3#

Sometimes I just need to be creative, this was one of those days :D

26.10.14

A day indoors today for me...and a bit of creativity. I made the house sign out of a piece of old wood. Feeling very grateful!

Starting with the bare basics...old wood, paint, pencil, sandpaper and the design sketch

Starting to take shape...had fun with my fingers for the background colour

A new sign is born...taking front and centre stage are the latest pumpkins from the garden

 The 'hand-writing' of 'gratitude' was inspired by the handwriting of the Mother, mine's nowhere near that neat. Mental note to practice writing better, lol.

Until the next update don't forget to share and donate if you haven't already done so...just 1 Euro = 1 brick!

http://www.gofundme.com/chezgratitude

Love & light
Louise (aka Mermie)

Project Gratitude - Update 1#

Just 3 months after the project page pic and you can already see the difference a bit of hardwork, some recycled materials and some sand and cement can do...the roof panels on the barn were purchased new. Still need to get real windows for the veranda to replace the plastic sheets.

The gravel areas in front of the house are actually 2ft deep berns to help restock the water table with rainwater runoff after the water collectors are full.

The circular 'green' area is my 'herb' circle, presently planted with black radish, salad, rosemary and some flowers.

Love Louise (aka Mermie) & Jean-Christophe