Just in Case

What you should know:

1. Sometimes it does come in handy.
2. I haven't decided how I feel about that. 

One of the great things about living on a farm is that there's always the right machinery, equipment or tool, whatever the job.  

Today, I sort of helped Ivie clear some ivy, which pleases the nerdy bit of my brain that likes words. The job itself didn't please me. "Ivie Ivy is endless," I protested, which was greeted by a raised eyebrow. We piled it into the loadall and Ivie took it away to pile behind the steading. 

The ivy was from around a couple of trees that were taken down earlier in the week. This means that a. we have much more light in the bedroom and an even better view of the Cree and b. there is firewood to last us a pretty long time. 

Ivie chopped up some of the smaller logs and I carried them round to the shed at the back of the house to dry out for a couple of days. In an ideal world, I'd have walked in, stacked them in a little pile and then had a cup of tea. 

Except, as with lots of sheds, stuff gets chucked in to be sorted out at a later date. Turns out that later date was today. 

We've already established that Ivie has a pathological inability to chuck out any clothes (see this blog). He also keeps pretty much everything else 'just in case'. I tend to be at the other end of the spectrum, having regular clear-outs and trying not to accumulate too much stuff. 

The thing is, sometimes the things that Ivie holds on to come in useful. The leftover kitchen tiles from his kitchen refit 10+ years ago became a hearth for my shed; Rudi's feed and water bowls once belonged to Millie, who passed away three years ago; and our drinks cupboard is full of glasses that came from the Riverside (which closed circa 2005).

I was quite restrained with the shed, though, and only threw out a sponge for washing the car that had disintegrated into hundreds of tiny pieces and a tin of magnolia paint that had turned into a magnolia brick. I left behind the floorboards from the old bathroom, the extra shelf for the bookcase we no longer have and the mouse trap with the broken spring. You never know, they might come in handy one day...