What on earth have you bought now?

 

“What on earth have you bought now?”

I had just returned home after my Friday morning dance session and there was a rather large parcel waiting for me.

“I’ve bought a bear,” I replied.

I unwrapped the parcel to reveal a beautiful faux bear skin throw. 

“Don’t you think you’ve got enough of those things around the house?”

The truth is I can never have enough fur throws and sheepskin rugs in my home, I am addicted to them.  I almost bought a reindeer skin rug for the new wood floor but decided it would just moult too much.

I played my trump card.  “Sarah will need it when she comes home, she will feel the cold.”

Yes, my daughters are coming home for Christmas!!!  Sarah has booked a flight from Sydney to Manchester and, all being well, will be arriving home in December for a three week stay.  Kat has also managed to book leave and will be driving up from Brize Norton to spend the holidays with us.  Three years since we were all together; I’m hoping it will be a very merry Christmas.

Meanwhile the bear is looking very good in my bedroom…

 

 

 

Garden Stuff and a Dodgy Looking Fox

 

Infection rates in Lincolnshire are high at the moment but my everyday life is unaffected.  I still go dancing every Friday, dabble with my paintbrushes at art club on Mondays.

On Thursday Paul and I drove to our local nursery and bought some plants for the new bed – some ferns, grasses and I couldn’t resist grabbing a couple of cordylines.  Next week we are having a load of light coloured gravel delivered that will complete the transformation.

 

grasses and cordyline in the new bed

light coloured Cotswold chippings will finish the look

detail of the fox I painted on Monday (his ears were wonky so I cropped the image!)

October

 

October suddenly feels very cold after a warm September.  Porridge is back on the menu for breakfast.  We rode out for a cycle ride earlier in the week; I wore my leggings and long sleeved top but it still felt very cold and not a lot of fun.  So it looks like riding on the bike in the attic gym will be on the agenda now.  It’s a good substitute but I shall miss the crazy stuff you see outside sometimes in the real world. 

We were cycling through the village of Normanby; we had to pull out to go round a parked van ahead of us and could see the workman was carefully pouring a big tin of white paint into a tray in the back of the vehicle.  Walking towards the van on the pavement was a man and his large dog, the guy was holding a Costa coffee in one hand and didn’t seem to be in complete control of the animal.   As we cycled past we saw the dog suddenly leap up into the back of the van to say a friendly hello to the workman and from the yells and shouts I can only guess that he might have landed in the middle of the paint tray!

Paul has already moved on to his next project.  Ever since we moved here we have been umming and ahhing about the large evergreen hedge that bordered one end of the terrace.  Once upon a time it would have been just three tidy shrubs - two types of dwarf conifer and a Cotoneaster, but over the years they had been left to grow into a monster hedge.  Unfortunately you cannot hard prune the conifers, they just go black and die off.  Yesterday he decided to cut it all down and have a big bonfire. 

 

Rick was keeping a wary eye on proceedings

the fire was lit at dusk

interesting reflection through the glass

looking very bare this damp and dismal morning

Just the tough job of removing the roots now, although we will keep the Cotoneaster and see if it grows back.  It looks very bare now but I have a few ideas to transform it into an attractive area of the garden.  Maybe some ferns and grasses to start off with and then see what evolves.

 (Paul says the dog was small, not large.  I think it would be safe to say it was a medium sized dog.)

Thirty Seven Years

 

I found this old photo in the attic the other day when I was looking for something - I still have that ball gown wrapped up in my wardrobe.  Memories of when Paul and I were young and looking forward to our lives together.

 

Today we are celebrating our wedding anniversary.  Thirty seven years ago we quietly got married in a registry office in Salisbury, before flying off to Brussels for a weekend honeymoon.  I’m not sure why we picked Brussels, I think Bruges would have been more romantic.  I remember the weather was dull and damp and then I got food poisoning so it wasn’t the best of starts to our marriage.  Since then we have had a lot of fun and laughter in our lives, blessed with two beautiful daughters and many happy memories.

 

Our village pub, The Crown, is re-opening soon; we would have gone out for a meal today if it had been open.  We briefly considered going to Cleethorpes for fish and chips on the pier but quickly decided against that. So we are eating at home - mussels in cream and garlic with a glass of sparkly for lunch, rib of beef with truffle jus (courtesy of M&S) for dinner tonight.

 

I’m a lucky girl.

 

Paul prepared the table, including the rose petals and candle!

 

Changing Rooms

The work to the sitting room is just about complete (Paul is still working on the skirting board and boxing in ugly heating pipes).  Some of you will perhaps prefer the original version of the room but the old gas fire needed updating and the deep pile cream carpet was stained and really not at all dog friendly.

old version of the sitting room

 

The fire has been replaced with a sleek modern version that I can easily turn on with a remote control – a log fire at the touch of a button!  No more dusty coals or wind howling down the chimney.

 

 

Paul did a fabulous job laying the wood flooring and we resurrected the Persian rug that had been dumped in the attic since we arrived here three years ago.  I’m happy to see it again and I think it looks good against the timber floor.

 

Jeremiah has found a home on the top of my new shelf unit; I have also bought a salt lamp that gives out a cosy glow in the evenings.

 

There are still some finishing touches to make and I am also on the lookout for some new artwork to hang.  The room has taken on a very different aspect and I am very pleased with the result.