By the sound of it this house has had its share of chimney fires. Whether you’re burning solid fuel or wood, there is likely to be abuild up of tar and soot in the flue, so now is a good time of year to get your chimneys swept before fires are in frequent...
After an interesting conversation with Michael Rooney this morning, I started to investigate using Griffith’s valuation, and sure enough, there’s the cottage, in plot 38, back in 1863, looking remarkably similar in shape to the way it does today. Even the...
Well that was a busy old day. We made our appearance in the County Down Outlook on Wednesday, asking for more information about the house, and specifically, the range cooker. Gary, nephew of the previous owner came to visit us yesterday, and we learned a lot about the...
Hooray! Having been egg bound since her arrival, and with a sore leg to boot, poor old Hoppi was looking very sorry for herself. Hence she has been holed up in a box in the kitchen, to escape bullying by the other hens and to give her a chance to unblock. Whether it...
Today was a real milestone, as we went off to collect the freshly milled Douglas Fir floor from Ballytrim Sawmills. All our timber has come from Clarke Cunningham, and we were happily surprised to find that he’d done half as much again as we’d asked for,...
After only a short time I am starting to appreciate the work that is needed to not only manage but to learn the ways to get the most out of a wood fired range. The Doric wasn’t strictly designed to burn wood – rather it is a solid fuel stove, but we have...
After 3 months pretty much solid work, we are finally about to spend our first night in the cottage. It already looks like we’ve been here forever though..The range, bless it, worked a treat, and we’ve had our first meal cooked on it too. About...
Today (in the middle of moving into the house) we headed off to Nut House Hen Rescue to collect four new hens, who were liberated from a caged environment only yesterday. Currently they haven’t ventured out from under the coop, and are being regarded...
It’s been a busy old day. This morning I could have sworn I heard bagpipes, and sure enough it turned out to be the local band heading up the road from the local Orange hall. The horses really don’t know what to make of them at all, but they are very...
Funny how things come along in groups. First we had the local paper over to look at our stove, in the quest for some stories from older readers who might remember living with a range that had to be tended around the clock. Then we got a call from a press agency who...
The work on the house is barely complete and already our thoughts are turning to other (and equally important) things. Because we have a waterless loo, any waste water from the house is relatively clean greywater, which can be put through a reed bed system, before it...
Although it doesn’t have quite the same feeling of outdoor freedom that the composting loo at the farm had, our new compost throne is very fine, and ready to answer the call of nature. I read somewhere that the difference between a compost loo and a composting...
