A Patch On My Work Trousers

 Make do and mend. Something I try and live by, there's plenty of appliances and household items here that I've fixed, alerted and maintained.

I was really pleased the other day when our eldest said she was bored and wanted some crafting to do. I suggested she mend my work trousers and she jumped at the chance. Later I walked in and saw her sat stitching it by hand, listening to an audio book. 

The trousers were near new, but I caught them on a fence, be such a shame if they were to be wasted over that instead of repaired. 

She handed them back to me, she was worried it wouldn't last, but I was so happy she gave it a go, and so far so good. 

She's been going to a sewing club at school and looks forward to it all week, coming back really fired up about it. 

I often say that crafts and producing something (anything) is one of the keys to being happy, and she embodies that, always making (all three are to be honest). 

Waxed Hat

It was my birthday a couple of weeks ago and as usual I was spoilt rotten. My wife was struggling with what to get me, so I asked for a waterproof hat.

I always end up working in the rain, either at work, on the smallholding, or in the garden and when your hair gets wet it makes you feel much colder that you actually are.

 So she brought me this waxed hat - I decided that my girls model it much better than I do!

I'm hoping it will last a life time, it got put through it's paces on the first day I had it when we were roofing in a downpour, I did take a bit of flack from some of the lads but my head was dry and theirs wasn't!

A waxed jacket might be in order next winter. I don't mind spending out on expensive items if they last a long time, work how they're suposed to and wear in well.

Anyone else got any items of clothing that they expect to last them out?

Viable Repairs

A few weeks ago I had to repair a garden bench for a customer.

Three of the slats had rotted and needed replacing, the other two were fine so they were left. I replaced them with oak, so I know that they'll last a long time.

That night when I got home and told my wife what I'd been doing that morning, she asked if I thought it was viable to do the repair. With my time doing the repair, sourcing the the oak, cutting and planing it to size and picking it up from the mill I should imagine that there will be little change out of a ton (I was there to do other jobs as well).

Now I know you can go down to B&Q or a garden centre and pick up a bench for much less than a hundred pounds but in my experience they don't last more and a couple of years before they fall to pieces.

Instead this customer had invested that money into their old bench to make it last much longer than that. Maybe in a few years I'll have to go and replace the other two slats but I'm sure that, in much the same way as triggers broom, this bench will last for a very long time and cost a lot less than buying imported benches and replacing them every few years.

We could do with some garden benches here on our little homestead but I'm reluctant to buy the ones mentioned above, so I think I'll start looking out for second hand ones in antique shops and in the paper so that I can buy one that can be easily repaired and made to last forever!