Curtains

 

The fabric for Kat's new bedroom curtains has arrived.  Now all I have to do is make the bloomin’ things. They will be full length and I just have to decide whether they should float, kiss or puddle.  Could take me a while.  Watch this space.

 

More Projects

 

I always enjoy a house or garden project so now that the utility room is finished we are on to the next items on the list.  The first item is a garden project.  When I sit on my nice Lutyens style bench this is what I look at..

 

looks like a builder's yard

Paul is a very keen compost maker and quite often has three separate compost pens on the go.  Combined with wheelbarrows and garden refuse bins it’s not a pretty sight; the dark Leylandii looming in the background is also quite dreary.  Rick likes to ferret around the back of the lilac tree so this is temporarily blocked off with pallets.  Our solution is to screen the whole area off using some willow or hazel hurdles with a gateway and metal arch to add depth and give the illusion of a garden beyond.  We could then grow some honeysuckle and roses over the archway and maybe add some bamboo and ornamental grasses in front of the hurdles.  That should keep Paul busy for a while.

Daughter Kat is currently on a three month posting to Cyprus.  While she is away we are taking the opportunity to re-decorate her bedroom.  The wallpaper needs to be stripped away and I want the walls painted a shade of white so that I have a blank canvas.  Today I ordered some fabric to make curtains (I flinched at the cost of made to measure and a six week wait).  I may regret this decision when I start fighting to pattern-match the fabric.

 

 

Before and After

 

before

after

A utility room is quite a novelty for me  so you will have to excuse my enthusiasm.  We did have a buanderie (laundry room) in our French house; it was in the ancient pigeonnier tower and you had to duck to get through the low doorway and then step over mouse traps and the like to get to the washing machine.  I forgot to duck on at least one occasion and almost knocked myself out on the solid stone lintel.

The utility room in our bungalow is small but accommodates the freezer, microwave and washing machine and also serves as a boot room - a handy area to dump coats, muddy boots and dog leads.

Last week the kitchen fitter removed the original 1980’s units and installed new cabinets to match the kitchen.  Yesterday the tiles were put up and the electrician connected the new wiring and sockets.  I am pretty chuffed with the overall finish.  It looks extraordinarily shiny and tidy at the moment, give it a week and the room will be full of muddy boots and dog paraphernalia.

 

Kangeroo and Dog

My bungalow has been invaded by workmen again!  The kitchen fitter is here this week to install new units and sink in my utility room.  There is a lot of hammering and banging so I hid myself away in the garden room to escape the chaos and do some more work on Steve the Kangaroo (aka Mouse on Skis).

Steve has now had his paint job and is flaunting a nice bronzed patina.  He’s quite cute but looks a bit crude on close inspection.  Fun art rather than fine art.

 

It’s dull and very windy here today.  Rick always gets a bit lively in high winds and today was no exception.  We headed down the driveway to turn left down the avenue when I saw a horse and rider approaching.  So I turned around in the opposite direction only to see two more horses waiting at the junction.  Rick really goes berserk when he sees horses so I dragged him back up the driveway until the first horse went by.  He still barked and spun me round in circles a few times.  When the road was clear we set off along the avenue towards the church.  Rick was trotting alongside me nicely until a cyclist whizzed by from behind; I almost lost control of Rick who was keen to race after the bike.  I wish cyclists would give me a wider berth and some warning; I always ring my bell or sing when I cycle up behind pedestrians.  

 

The rest of the walk was uneventful until we reached the home stretch and a farm tractor came trundling along the road.  Was Rick going to ignore the tractor?  No, of course not.  Another battle to restrain him.  Horses, bicycles, tractors – Rick’s favourite antagonists.  I was exhausted by the time I got home. 

 

 

 

Back To The Future

 

Yesterday Paul and I went for our Covid jabs.  We had booked matching appointments at the Lincoln Showground, a fifteen minute car drive away.  The process was very efficient with marshals directing cars and people.  The only thing that struck me as strange was the number of times we were asked the same questions, i.e. name, date of birth, any symptoms of Covid etc.  Four times I counted.

 

After checking in we were directed to a desk with a doctor and student nurse.  The elderly medic resembled the doc (Emmett Brown) from Back to the Future with wild hair and psychedelic scrubs.  I suspect he was a retired volunteer as he struggled to master the registration process on the computer.  After confirming our details and answering another set of identical questions we proceeded to the nurses’ station where we finally received our Astra Zeneca jabs.  A fifteen minute wait to ensure we didn’t collapse with anaphylactic shock and then we were on our way home. 

 

Today we are both just feeling a bit tired and achy so a lazy day is on the cards.  I am just grateful that we have had the opportunity to be vaccinated against this ghastly virus.

 

 

Steve

 

Steve

 

I’ve been playing with mud again.  I had some clay left over from Dennis the Hare so I decided it would be an easy task to make a kangaroo.  Unfortunately my sculpting didn’t go quite to plan.  The armature wire wasn’t quite strong enough to support his body so the legs collapsed and he has ended up looking more like a cartoon mouse on skis.  I know that kangeroos have big feet but perhaps not this big; he could get a job as a clown.

 

Anyhow I shall let him dry for a couple of days and then give him a bronze paint job.  His name is Steve by the way.

 

What a kangeroo really looks like!  (That is Sarah in the foreground and I'm in the background surrounded by kangeroos.)

 

February Monday

It’s a murky day, only about 7 degrees outside, but it feels positively balmy after the recent freezing temperatures we’ve had. The snow has all melted but there is still a glacier in Middlefield Lane; there is a constant stream of water running down this lane, no one seems to know where the water is coming from. 

 

Paul fetched me some apples out of the garage that we have been storing over winter. They are slightly yellow but still a good flavour. We still have two more loaded drawers but I don’t think we will manage to use them. 

 

Meanwhile the apple and plum wines have finished gurgling and are sitting quietly in the dark. The longer they are left to mature the better the taste. The price of wine in the UK is rising so I’m hoping we have some success with our own wine.