New skills!

[Mrs Ava]

Cor, work today was different.  We are making a pond, a whopper, and it is has a large stream passing through a series of pools.  The liners are being topped with lovely BIG hunks and slabs of slate and it is looking rather fab.  However, being a girlie, I have never mixed cement in a cement mixer - so today I was shown the secret skills of the builder.  Hmmm.  Firstly, I am only just 5 foot 3 inches tall, so trying to lift a shovel of sand into the mixer was tricky, to look into the mixer I had to stand on tip toes.  Then I made the mix toooooooooo wet  :-[ so boss man had to help me out which caused lots of mirth and name callings (all in good fun of course - he is a good boss man) - then came the time to upend the mixer, whilst it was turning, to allow a barrow full to plop out.  As I lifted the handles, the weight of it lifted me off the ground!  When I regained my composure, I couldn't see around the side to see how full the barrow was because I am to bloody short. Nearly ended up with it all over the floor, and the bosses boots!  :o  Blimey!  Plants I can deal with, but this mixing cement lark  is a job and a half!  ;D ;D ;D ;D

[Mrs Ava]

[wahaj]

aww bless ya lol. yea tell me about it. i hate the hard "building" part of it all. and cement and me don't get along either.

[Artisan]

*cough* Essex Girl *cough*

;D

[wahaj]

*cough* Essex Girl *cough*

;D

are you suggesting she was riding the cement mixer in an indecent fashion?

[froglets]

Stick with it EJ - it's very satisfying when you can mix a good batch of cement by eye, and a very useful skill. 

I did forget to switch the fuel on one time and created plenty of entertainment pulling the start cord for all I was worth until I had to give up and ask for help ( and I'm a stubborn sod so that was a while).  You can imagine how much acting went into the simple job of flicking the fuel on by 'im in the know.

I love having both the hard and soft landscaping skills now & the thought of dropping in another path is no big deal now.  Just hate the paver cutting bit.

Just work on the swagger (very necessary) and figure out the best way for you to handle the gear not just how the others do it - I get lots done by using my brain and a knowledge of physics instead of relying on brute strength.

And don't forget the plasticiser.

[Merry Tiller]

And don't forget the plasticiser

AKA washing up liquid

[Heldi]

I recommend platform wellies and good use of the bird.

[lorna]

Emma and I just wish Mark had been nearby with a camera working overtime ;D Knowing you it won't be long before you are a first class mixer!!
Lorna

[LILACSPLASH]

I'm 5'1 + 1/2... you must have taller stands for the smixer up there ???

[ACE]

Good on yer for having a go, I bet you had a bright pink hi-vis jacket and steel capped stilletos. now enrol in an evening class for recreational bricklaying. We have just done one, loads of ladies on the course, some of them putting the men to shame. I thought I could lay bricks before I went, but I was doing everything the tutor said you shouldn't do.

One thing we learnt  MT, was the chemicals used in washing up liquid have an adverse effect on the mortar and can cause it to crumble quicker over the years.

[Mrs Ava]

Aha Artisan, altho I live in Essex, I am actually a tourist merely passing through - I am half Devonshire half sawf London  ;D.

We did use the plasticiser, and you know the next time I knock up a mix it will be much easier - that is if the boss lets me anywhere near the mixer!  :D :D

I don't have stiletto wellies, but I do have a fantastic baby pink tub trug which Ava brought for me today!  It's great being a girl!

[Artisan]

Aha Artisan, altho I live in Essex, I am actually a tourist merely passing through - I am half Devonshire half sawf London  ;D.

You can take the girl out of essex, but you can't take essex out of the girl???  Just because a cat is born in a biscuit tin doesn't make it a Tuc cracker  ;)

[Robert_Brenchley]

On the other hand, the fact that a man is born in a stable does not make him a horse, as the First Duke of Wellington said when accused of being Irish.

[cambourne7]

 :-[ whats wrong with being irish?

[Robert_Brenchley]

Nothing, the man was a right snob who was ashamed of being Anglo-Irish. It's a pity Wolfe Tone didn't do for the lot of them.