Little bits about a lot of things............

Hello, my friends - it is October, and I only just noticed......

I have been laminating paper to keep track of yarn colours and names. Do not ask. It makes me look efficient for today. Tomorrow is another story. I cannot claim the idea for myself either - I found it on the net - at  Look at what I made.  Dedri is a delight - pause a bit and wander round her blog. She is from the Western Cape too. South Africa. Organise Your Yarn Stash is her brilliant idea. I just hope my efforts continue, because I can see it all getting lost in a couple of weeks, but I have excellent intentions.

I have just finished my V stitch blanket. I started it ages ago, but we are going slow around here. This is a present for my sister. (She told me the colours matched her summer colours, so I  will be delighted to give it to her. Soon.) 

We are about to embark on more medical marvels. I am supposed to have a cataract removed on Wednesday and Diana is having her big leg op next week. We do like to keep medical people on their toes around here. I have been so tempted to cancel the cataract for a while, but who knows when I would ever get another appointment. Winter is approaching at last - for the first time this Autumn, it is cold today.

This robin followed me around the allotment a couple of weeks ago, as I gather gem squash. A bumper harvest this year!

The heating is on as I speak. This is such a new feeling! As Diana said a moment ago, "It is cold outside and warm inside - this is strange. Very strange. " 

It is indeed. The new tall radiator is being a little undo-operative. The plumber is due to make yet another return visit soon. Later. Today, I hope. I am sure he will just tweak something and get it to work. Right now we have two out of 20 tall cylinders heating up. I am not thrilled. 18 inactive ones do not suit.

So there has been a little organising of things going on. Trying to get the house ready for things like more crutches, the push along scooter, etc. And trying to rationalise furniture, and space and stuff, and in this house, that is an impossible equation. Add attitude and ideals and traditions and taste to the mix and the maths is out of control.

However, we have now got a seating arrangement in the kitchen/family room, to suit the entire family. And it is warm in there which is a plus. The yarn is out of boxes and in a neat storage unit. Ikea is a godsend. The Ikea designers are, rather. Genius. The new sofa converts to a very comfortable sofa-bed as well, which is also very useful.

 We are still waiting for a friend to come and finish doing all the electrical stuff, and put up the new lights and I must order the new oven, but I have things like hospitals and graduations and planes to consider instead. Nothing is urgent. Lights, maybe, but we can see. 

 My ladies are back at the library on Friday afternoons - they are so much fun, you know. There is no way you can be sitting at that table without grinning. We do laugh. There is not much teaching, I confess, but who cares. We have a good time. The iPad will be conquered. Right now, we are ignoring updates, because dear Lord, I may need a miracle or two to get them sorted. iGoogle is on the agenda for this week. Or Siri. I will tell them to announce that they love him. That should keep us busy for hours.

 So tell me - what have you been up to? For the first time in the last decade or more, I have not changed the house to Autumn. I ran out of energy. We will skip straight to Winter in December. I have to say I do miss it, though. The younger members of the family do not. Sigh.

 I made a spur of the moment trip down to London to see my son last week. Just because Ifelt like a drive. The roads were clear and I kept going. It was lovely to spend a couple of hours with him, catching up. I do want to go down for a few days and see the poppies at the tower. Here is the link to the website. It is just amazing.

I will have to go soon.

Another wonderful event was when I surprised a blogging friend, Britt-Arnhild on her visit to Turvey Abbey, not far from here. I knew she was going to be there, and we sort of made vague arrangements, but I hadn't heard anything, so decided to find her. And I walked in on her lunch. We had never met before, though we had spoken once on a visit she made to London. So it was a delight to get to know her in real life. We took a slow walk in the garden of the Abbey, and then visited Emmaus for tea. And cake.  I now have a delightful friend in Norway, and after nearly a decade of blogging, the real life meetings just keep amazing me. I have been so very lucky to have met such lovely people over the years.

I know that this post has been all over the place. My head is also all over the place. Slowly, though, we are getting sorted, although I could absolutely do without all the medical stuff. However, my home is warm. And I could not be happier about that at least. My bathroom is also the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen. My yarn is getting listed. See? Good stuff all round. 

I will be back......

The sun still shines and we chat about blessings.......

Good morning all!

Do you need to know that I am allergic to the washing machine? Maybe not. The spin cycle has become mega unpleasant. It is the small stuff, people, the small stuff. 

On to other stuff now. I did not edit the above photo. 

The skies are that blue today, and the sun is out, although not tropical. This September has been very warm. The leaves, though, are starting to turn, and as it is now officially Autumn, this should not surprise one. It is all a plot, you see. I have this super efficient heating system now and it is too warm for it to burst into life. The plus side is the fiscal reward, though! 

There is a great deal to sort in the garden. So much to cut down or back and yet so much is still in flower, albeit a little ragged. Do I pull out the colour? Hmmm. The dahlias, though, are in full bloom, and we have no shortage of flowers around here. I look at them and think, right, which colours are missing? I must make a list for the sales next year, and then I forget where the list is and the next year we have the same conversation with ourselves. 

We really do not need any more plants in the beds. They are officially full, and I have another 6 small lavender plants which will need replanting one day as well. I love having plants with a beautiful scent around me. 

The attempt to maximise the use of space in the house continues. The problem is the size of the rooms. They are so small ( a very common British problem), that just put in a bed and a chest of drawers and the room is full. I was reading a thread on sewing machines on Facebook last night, and the talk turned to the size of the sewing room. Well, the original post was about a new custom built sewing table 6ft by 8ft. And I grinned, because there is a small bedroom in this house that size and all three of my children have used it at one stage or another, as they have grown up. And loved it too. And then someone commented that she was envious because she had to squash her stuff into a sewing room measuring 12ft by 14ft. 

There is not a bedroom in this house that size. 

In fact, that would class as a humongous room here by most people. 

It is all relative, isn't it - this may be small, but it has been our home for over 24 years. HOME. People come here. The welcome is always warm. Small is not bad. 

 AND the new carpets and bathroom are the first in all those years too. We make the best of whatever there is, it is ours, and so help me, my gratitude is truly unending. 

It really is. Small is just fine. 

(Caveat: I do dream of more storage space though! There is nothing wrong with dreams.)

And now onto another thought regarding gratitude. Thankfulness. 

There is a trend at the moment for people to say "I am so blessed". "We are very blessed." "We are thankful for our many blessings." Maybe not a trend, but it somehow seems to be so much more present right now in a secular sense. I am delighted that many blessings have poured out onto everyone. However, there is a correlation, and that is that, should those things NOT be happening in your life in a secular sense, then you must not be as good as / not be as favoured / have done something wrong. Or that is how it can be, and is perceived at times. 

I am very blessed. 

"I am very blessed" sounds as though Someone has blessed me, and I happily receive those blessings, of course, and my life is indeed filled with multiple blessings, of a different kind. But would it not be better to say "I am very thankful" when referring to secular things? 

"We have been blessed with a beautiful home."

"I have been blessed with a wonderful husband."

"We have been blessed with amazing jobs."

Hmmm. 

I go one step further. 

"I am blessed with good health." 

Right. So what does that do to people with health challenges? 

Me?

""We have been blessed with 3 children"

Think about it. 

We are, or should be very thankful for these things. 

Very, very thankful. 

There are so many other examples, believe me. Thinking through them is just so important. We are thankful. We are filled with thanks for... We are so grateful. 

I do not take the innumerable blessings in my life for granted. The good, the bad - one day they will all be understood as blessings, I am sure. It is just that my heart aches when words aren't thought through clearly. My life is full of blessings. I have indeed been very blessed. Not with or by dishwashers, although I am very fond of mine. But by so much more, which happens to include my home, the people in it, community I live in, family, friends, church, love....the list is endless. 

Anyway. Just a little something to think about. 

Aquazumba, here I come. I am so thankful for aquazum...........

The Kingdom is still United......

Well, the Kingdom is still united. And the world is still on its axis. But 45% of the people of Scotland voted to sever ties. Just 400 000 difference between the votes. That is nothing.

However, the greatest success of the referendum was the way the electorate was engaged. More than ever before in British Electoral history, the people were active, had an opinion, and got up and voted. In some areas, the turnout was over 90% and the Universal Suffrage records of 1918 have been broken.

This marks a weather change in British politics. Or rather, I hope it does. Apathy is deadly. One cannot expect change if the electorate is apathetic, and the Scots were anything but. The Westminster crowd were horribly shaken, as well they should have been.  Martin Lewis, a well known financial commentator, remarked this morning that the federation cannot be far away. And he suggested that  The United States of the Kingdom could be coming. Instead of The United Kingdom.

Hilarious. 

I just hope the tremors which ran through the country continue and that DevoMax happens soon, that The Vow is honoured and that they apply all of these fancy things to the rest of the country too. As in Us.

Otherwise I will have to migrate North.

I happened to be awake at 3AM (please note) when the results started rolling in, and I was lying there in bed quite happily until 5am watching it all, when the peace was shattered by our fire alarm going off in emergency mode outside my bedroom door. I hurtled out of bed to look for the fire, because we all know that fire alarms and evacuation plans start with "run around the house looking for flames". Epic fail on all the fire drill practices. David never emerged from his room (he said he could hear that we were alive) while Diana searched the downstairs for flames too, after leaving the deck at tremendous speed.

We couldn't find any flames, so went back to bed.

And not 10 minutes ago, Diana suggested we check what the 3 long beeps repeating meant, so I googled it and it said Real Alarm.

Right.

Fortunately, not 2 doors down the road, we have a fireman in residence. This is very useful. I popped out and asked him what the problem could be, as the fire brigade had fitted the alarms here last year, and he brought a replacement round and fitted it for us. He did sort of roll the eyes when I mentioned that no-one had attempted to vacate the building. Oh well. He lives close enough for me to screech for out the window.

So, apart from momentous political shenanigans and screeching alarms, what else do I have to report from Middle England......... Diana has finished painting the kitchen. This has been a herculean task, as the roof is high and there are rafters etc. She has done a wonderful job and once all the furniture is repositioned and the contents of the house are reassessed and rearranged (please note all the "re"s), we should be entering a slightly quieter time. That would be for about a week or so before she has her op next month and crutches become the mode of transport here again. There is also the oven I need to sort. I will. Soon. And the tiles. The step. The......

I love my carpets. 

I cannot tell you how warm and big and lovely the room looks now.

For the first time in my life, we are removing shoes at the door. I cannot believe I said that. It is not a South African thing at all. In fact, it would be regarded as very bad manners to remove shoes. And very bad hosting to expect it. But I have joined the ranks. It may just be for a short while, but still.....

Carpets are just things. I know. But I can see the beautiful and enjoy it too. 

Happy weekend to you all!

The question over Scotland................

Today's post is political because momentous things happen when a country gets to vote whether or not to leave the Kingdom. I will not be at all offended if you skip on to the next blog! Linds

Today is the day that the future of the United Kingdom hangs in balance. It is really quite surreal, because the TV has been full of the referendum talk for weeks and today, there is silence, because legally, they cannot be seen to influence in either direction. This noble idea may have been around forever, but it is the first time I have noticed it. 

So, the news is about everything except what is happening north of the border. Until 9 pm tonight, and then, throughout the night and into tomorrow and possibly forever, the talk will be about how Scotland voted. And the consequences for both Scotland and for the whole of the UK. Not so much United, should they vote to leave. 

Someone suggested that we would have to become rUK - Rest of UK. 

Right now, I think it could go either way. And, should Scotland vote to leave, everything changes. Should they vote to stay, the government will have to make good on all those carrots waved to induce co-operation. 

You see, it is not as straightforward as it may seem. Our politicians tend to think the UK consists of everything within the M25, aka London, and that the rest of the country is populated by village people who are not very bright. Simple. Lazy. Workshy. 

I am quite unashamedly stating what I see as fact today. 

Not one politician even considered for a second that the Yes vote may just win. Supreme complacency. The No vote didn't even have a real face or agenda until recent weeks. However, things changed last week when the polls suddenly had the Yes vote in the lead and in an instant, all panic stations were fully manned. But, by the very politicians who caused the "distance from London = forgotten badlands" idea in the first place, so I suspect that didn't go down too well. 

Should the No vote win, the political future of the top politicians will be on very shaky ground. Only there is no-one looming in the shadows ready to take over, apart from Boris, of course. Boris is the Mayor of London. No politician would want to dissolution of the Kingdom to be on his watch. Nor would I want to  be Mr Cameron at the next audience with the Queen, should that happen. 

And if the Yes vote wins, I just wonder how the government is going to keep the rest of the UK intact. Wales. Northern Ireland. Cornwall. Even Yorkshire, could be next. 

A win by the No vote means making good on all those hasty promises. That is going to be difficult. 

Interesting times. 

The other epic challenge will be how to reconcile the Scottish people after today, because no matter which side wins, and passions are very very high today, when the country is split 50/50, it will not be simple to restore balance. 

And could it ever be the same? 

Tomorrow will bring the answers. 

Much hammering.....

Today is the day. The new carpets are begin fitted as I speak. Well, the nail stuff is being done. But we are nearly there! And it is so exciting, I can't begin to tell you.

And it is raining. For the first time in weeks, it decides to rain today. Just when I have two sofas' worth of covers to wash and dry and new carpets which may just GET WET. AND I have to switch on the heating so that the carpets can be soft or whatever that means. So I upped the numbers on the thermostat with great authority. Anyone would think I knew what I was doing. Hah. Well, the radiators are warming up. I may be cooking soon, so I must have done something right.

The new radiator was replaced last Thursday. And this morning, I realised that I hadn't painted the skirting board in the window area. Groan, so I gave that one coat of very quick drying paint.

Diana has been in London for a few days and she got back yesterday, so she and David did most of the moving of stuff. Did I mention that the piano had to be dismantled? That happened yesterday too. I did most of the unscrewing of it - it was like a jigsaw puzzle. The hardest part was undoing the first screw. I really struggled to do that, because that piano is full of memories.

  My great-grandparents gave it to my grandparents nearly 100 years ago as a wedding gift. My mother played on it all her growing up years. I played on it. Diana and David played on it. And Ann has been the only one playing it in recent years, even though it has been out of tune. She still made it sound beautiful, because she is a really accomplished pianist. My neighbours used to ask me to make sure all doors and windows were open when she played so that they could sit back and enjoy the music too.

A rosewood piano. But I can't justify the expense of keeping it, because it needed repairs and we need the space. I tried to give it away. And no-one wanted it. It is not easy to dispose of either. That would be because of the iron body. It weighs a ton, even stripped of anything that can be removed. Once I had unscrewed the first screw, the rest was not a problem. And I have a few videos and photos too.

Anyway, it is now sitting outside behind the bins, waiting for either the rag and bone man or the skip I may have to hire. Soon. 

I am being distracted by the transformation of my house. 

This carpet laying is a very interesting procedure. 

I didn't know there were rules about stapling down underlay to stairs and Health and Safety Rules for laying carpets. Fascinating. It is very different to the way the last ones were laid. And the best bit is that the colour is just PERFECT. Just as well. 

Diana has just made bacon rolls for us all. I need to go and look at my new carpet. There will be photos later. And please remind me that I want to chat about blessing, forgiveness, autumn, gratitude, freezers, Ikea and politics. 

Among other things, of course.

Soon.

IRL fun, bovine antics, bathrooms and....what was it..... Oh yes, the potential dissolution of the United Kingdom. Imminent.

Good grief. Time flies.

The suit saga was solved, and David duly attended the wedding clad in the beautiful new garb and a great time was had by all.  Diana returned home from her travels and then trundled off immediately to Falmouth to deliver a young friend back to uni. She and David both got home at about the same time last Sunday. The plumber has departed for Turkey to attend a wedding, and Jean departs soon for the very same reason. Her son is getting married!

I tell you, life is fast paced around here.

And I started hacking back the jungle garden. 

I have a sneaking suspicion that the collection of the garden waste is soon going to stop. I get caught out every year. Believe me, the garden is most certainly a jungle.

The bathroom is 99% finished - we are awaiting the new side bath panel and the windowsill, but I just love it. It is AMAZING. And, ironically, it seems twice the size, even though the bath is wider, longer, deeper etc, etc.

I have not done the finishing touches or the "putting out of the stuff", or the "using the cupboard" thing yet. I will wait until the plumber has finished. But I love it. That bath is worth the wait. Definitely. 

Diana is proud of the giant Mongolian sun flower she has grown. And the others. The plant IS STILL GROWING. 

You really need to see how pretty the English countryside is around here. Cows grazing..... Mind you, we have had some evil cows around these parts recently. Not the ones in the photo. Forget the gently grazing in the field thing. They have charged and trampled some people in the next village. Hospitalisation was required. And the cows needed moving. We have public rights of way here, so the public has a right to walk across fields demarcated as Public Rights of Way. Dogs need to be on leads, but one does not expect close encounters of the bovine kind. 

Years ago, Diana and the little son of a friend were walking across a field when the cows started massing their numbers and approaching at speed. She managed to hurl herself and her charge over the hedge to safety, but was totally traumatised. 

Swiss cows are well behaved. I don't recall being wary of Swiss cows. Mind you, at least they wear bells, so if they gathered speed, they could well deafen themselves. 

But at least we would be warned. 

Hmmmm

I digress.

I have really pretty dahlias this year. 

And giant ones. 

It rained a while back so this one keeled over and face-planted itself into the adjacent jungle, so I had to pick it. 

And then, in the midst of this crazy upside down house time, my blogging friend from way back when, Mary, arrived in the UK with her friend, Alison, and Alison's son and partner, for a Northern Hemisphere Adventure, which included visiting ME. 

Of course. 

So, yesterday, I waved a duster around the place for roughly 10 seconds, vacuumed up the very present dust, unrolled a rug from the standing selection of rugs leaning against a bench in my porch, patted a cushion or two and zapped off to meet the train. 

It really seemed as if I had known them both for decades, you know. Within seconds. 

The beautify of the blogging world is the way you actually get to interact with special people, and forge unique friendships across oceans, deserts, jungles and mountains. And the sense of humour, the valiant spirit, the attitude to life which linked all those dots years ago, proved spot on. As it has with all my really special IRL encounters. Barry and Becky from the top left of the USA will attest to that very special bond. They enrich my life, as have others too over the years. 

And now we have an Australian link as well. 

The day flew by as we did the In Depth Tour of Linds's Life. This tour included Tesco, took us past old schools, friends' homes, into the village sweet shop, the beauty salon, hairdresser, chemist........

You have no idea. It also included lunch at my favourite place, the local church, driving into the village all three ways and a visit to the allotment, all accompanied by Peppa Pig (Granny has to do the Peppa Tours the World thing for the small granddaughter, after all. It is only natural.)

Please note Peppa on Mary's lap. 

This was taken moments after Diana checked the time of the train and when we had to depart for the station etc. We needed photos. 

I just wish they could have stayed longer. We may well have managed to include the local beauty spots, like the Grand Union Canal, a stately home or two and assorted other worthy places. At least they saw the tower which is over 1000 years old.

So yesterday was a wonderful day. And I dozed off very quickly in my chair in the evening. 

On a totally different note, I am at home today, awaiting the delivery of the new tall radiator. The Heating Plumber called to tell me it was being delivered today. And that he would be here this week to install it. On that basis, I have called the carpet company and they will be here on Monday morning at dawn, to lay the carpets. Eureka. Hallelujah. 

It would, of course, have been perfect had the carpets been on the floor and not in a distant warehouse when my guests arrived, but I think they got the minimalist look. As in nothing in the room bar the couches, a stool or two and the tv and kist. 

The pictures were on the wall, though. There was that. 

The country is now gripped by the potential dissolution of the Union. This is a MAJOR issue, people. Did you realise that next week, the people of Scotland are voting a yes/no vote for or against independence? That would mean the United Kingdom would cease to exist. The Union Jack would have to be stripped of the Saltire. And we would no longer be one nation. The ramifications are huge on every front. And right now, the Yes vote is winning. Oy. We will know next week. 

It is unthinkable. 

Suits and shoes and Saturday chatter.............

When you get carried away painting doors with oil based paint, it is always wise to check that there is nothing BEHIND those doors, hanging neatly out of the way. Things like your son's navy pin striped suit jacket, for example. 

It can prove very costly if you don't. 

I, of course, have no little experience of this. 

Groan. 

The thing is, you see, David's friends are getting married. Well, he is 25, so this is to be expected, and I am quite sure the trickle of invitations may well turn into a flood, and he needs the suit for weddings. In fact, he could do with a couple. Thank heavens he doesn't wear a suit every day. Smart clothes do just fine under lab coats. 

I remember my Dad and his suits. He always ordered two pairs of trousers to every jacket, because he never wore the jacket, unless he had to go out to a meeting, and then it came off once in any office. He did of course, also need it for high days and holidays. 

Like weddings. 

So, after collecting an additional box of floor tiles, because genius plumber man is here as I speak, working on a SATURDAY, David and I ventured forth to find a suit. I am the grovelling mother here. I did try to fix the other one, but, as he told the extremely helpful man in the wonderful Big Man Shop, it looks as if a bird pooped on his shoulder. 

Yes. Well. 

This shop specialises in clothing for men who are rugby player size. You need to be tall to enter. David is 6ft 4" and so it was like Christmas. Everything was wonderful. Instead of hunting for the larger sizes and longer lengths, the manager, sized him on the spot and then produced the suits to choose from. And so he has a new one, which fits beautifully. Tailored suits, well fitted to the individual, make SUCH a difference. 

He looks great. 

Geoff wore uniform all his working life. Well, his life at sea. And when I met him, he was in the RFA, (Royal Fleet Auxiliary) and he was wearing evening dress - you know the one - white monkey jacket, pleated shirt, cummerbund, bow tie etc. He looked fantastic. No wonder I was immediately smitten. 

There is something about evening dress on a man. I do not know of any man who does not look fabulous in evening gear. Black tie. Dress suits. Men seem to walk taller, gain confidence, even a look of authority, and women just love it. Mind you, put a woman in evening gear, and the men also step up a notch, because evening dress is special. Glam is good on occasion. 

And then it is back to the paint and the tiles and the dusty lounge and ordinary life. 

It is grey right now and not tropical. I have my coffee and an Ouma's rusk. (I popped in to the South African Shop on the way to Ikea on Thursday.) Time to go and do a few rows on the blanket.

But before then, take a look at my bargain wellys. Not boots, but shoes. I will have something waterproof to wear when winter comes. Down on the allotment, at least!

Flowers are always good. 

Summer will soon be over......

Good morning, people.

Can you believe that summer will soon be over? My tomatoes are just starting to ripen. They are very late this year. 

 I have no idea where this week has gone - all I do know is that there was a great deal of painting and deadlines and more painting. But the bathroom is getting there. Yesterday, the basin unit arrived. And I think it will all look lovely when it is done. One day. 

Jean and I went to aquazumba at dawn and then to Ikea in search of a bathroom mirror. I ended up with a flat wall one, because, really, that is all we need. It will look great. 

And then Costco. And then I needed a darkened room and a long nap. 

As far as the rest of the house goes, I have yet to hear when the replacement radiator will be here. So I can't schedule the carpets. I do not know where I am putting the furniture. I do not know what I am doing with all the other STUFF. And I want to organise the insulation for the loft. 

So, instead I hauled out my V blanket and did a few more rows. It is such an easy and soothing pattern to do - it works up very fast. 

I am loving the simplicity of it all. I can just manage simple right now. Complicated can wait. The colours? They happened to be within reach at the time. I have no idea where it will go or to whom I may give it. And that photo is sideways, by the way. I forgot to change it. 

So. What else can I tell you......

My head is stuffed with the boring bits like insulation and where and how and what to do with things and light fittings and warm rooms, vacuum cleaners - there is an EU directive coming into force next week - no vacuum cleaners over 1600 watts. We are all about eco awareness here in Europe. Where was I - the head. Yes. And toilet roll holders and storage options and can you believe, I had to go out and buy some needles to fix David's blanket Granny made him. It is so well used it was coming apart. And my mountain of needles is safely tucked in my sewing room, behind the entire contents of the lounge. Awaiting carpets. After the painting. 

It has been a while since I had ventured to the nearby town and it was strange - I popped into one shop, and then remembered the school holidays still on and nearly lost the will to live and so I came home. But I was clutching the needles, so all was not lost. 

Last weekend was a Bank Holiday weekend, so Monday was a public holiday. I spent The Saturday and Sunday doing 4 coats of paint in the bathroom, and picking apples with Jean after church, and by Sunday afternoon, I had stopped moving. I popped up to my friends for tea and a bath, and the stairs proved to be a mega challenge. Actually movement was a mega challenge. Any movement. I cannot tell you how blissful it was to roll into that bath like a beached whale and soak. Magic. 

On the Monday, reinforcements arrived. Derek and David cut the old carpet into metre wide strips. Jean rolled the strips into bales and David popped them in her car. Peter arrived to do the final bathroom coat of paint. Jean took the carpet to the allotment and then the underlay to the tip. And I baked an apple cake. 

That did not require any movement. And then, I sat on the floor and painted the skirting boards. So the painting is almost done. And another friend arrived to fix the lights and suss out what else needed doing. He had intended doing the rail in the garden as well, but that one is done. So, I am really fortunate to have great friends around me. 

Drilling has started above my head, so I may pop out to get away from it all. Farm stall. Vegetables. Yes.......

House renovations never go smoothly.........

Now, if life would just work in a simple fashion.......

The interesting house renovation developments around here now revolve around disasters. Yesterday was an ordinary day, until the plumber announced that the new bathroom basin unit had arrived broken and that it would be late next week before it arrived. 

Then he discovered that one of my new tall radiators had a small rust hole and needed to be replaced immediately, so I had to track down the other plumber (a long story) and he finally called back to tell me that it would take a week or 10 days for that to arrive, and not to worry, it could be installed when it suited me. 

Well, no, because I do not want radiators full of water to be removed on top of my new carpets. Which will now have to be delayed. 

And then a lovely friend arrived to put up a couple of new lights. Well, one was new. The other was begin moved. And suddenly all the lights in the lounge and nook ceased functioning. That required a call to his brother-in-law, who arrived at 7pm and the two of them worked on it all until after 10 last night.

And as they were leaving, victorious, I tried to switch on the outside or entry light so they could see where they were going and neither worked. Cue corporate nervous breakdown. They are returning to continue work in the near future. 

And my lounge looks like this. I have 4/5ths of a bathroom in it. 

In daylight, the front door looks rather pretty, with the hanging basket in full bloom. The rest of the garden is definitely showing many signs of autumn. Apart from the dahlias, of course. I am tempted to start emptying baskets. Diana's sunflowers are still climbing towards the sky - they will be stunning when out. There will be photos, of course. Photos are good. 

Here you can see the Great Electrical Team Pondering the Mysteries of the Lights. These things have to be documented, don't they - the story of my life.......

I was keeping well out of the way, believe me. David was manning the power switch. "Power Off" "Power On" repeated by all to ensure no-one was accidentally fried. 

And now for a little light relief. Those balloons I got up at dawn to chase across the valley. Here are a few photos. I am so glad I did go out when I did, because that was the last time over the festival weekend, that they were actually able to fly. They look so beautiful floating in the sky. I remember my flight 10 years ago perfectly, and the silence was what astonished me. I absolutely loved begin up there above the world. How many of you have flown in a balloon? Just fabulous!

This red and black one landed in the field just beyond that hedge on the left. 

Right time and right place. 

So, I am sitting here, waiting for the bathroom plumber to arrive. The bathroom is empty of the old suite, (see above- that is the old bathroom in the skip) and has been plastered. The plaster is almost dry and then I will need to paint it a zillion times so that it is all sorted before the bath etc goes in. 

He has done the marine ply on the floor, for the tiles, and the radiator is in place. And this is a bank holiday weekend. Things are going too slowly for me. I need it all to be done. The carpets are waiting. The lounge carpets need to be taken up too. Cut up. A weekend job, perhaps. 

Well, Mr Bathroom Plumber Man has arrived and is hard at work in the bathroom above my head again. I am on kettle duty. Tea. Coffee. 

I will be back.

It sounds as if the sky is falling in..........

Morning all - we need sound effects here. As I speak, the plumber is ripping out my bathroom directly over my head. There is much thunderous crashing. And tiles are hitting the floor with remarkable ease.

In short, it seems as if the entire bathroom was a pack of cards. Take one thing out, and the rest will all gently fall off. Or so says the plumber. There is a small skip at the front door, and I will endeavour to fill it up as well, once the bathroom is all out. I am taking photos. We need to document Stuff, after all, don't we.....

The past couple of weeks have been marked by paint. A great deal of paint, and marking and also of reading. I have a friend who has written a book, and I am getting to read it first. I am not skimming. I am delighting in it all. Sigh. And the paint is embedded in my pores. The nails are past help, and the skin of the hands is now a deathly white. Did I mention that I was painting the whole place white? White. Easy to clean and redo. And it will look nice and fresh when it is all done, but right now we are halfway to nowhere. A friend came and did three coats on the ceiling last week which was amazing. I hate doing ceilings. And the furniture is mostly out of the lounge and into everywhere else in the house, to make painting easier, and also in preparation for the new carpets. They are bought and paid for and are loitering in a warehouse until the bathroom is done.

Soon.

When the painting is finished.

The carpet will be gone - cut up and down to the allotment this week, and the rugs have been cleaned. A friend from church mentioned on Facebook on Saturday, that she had done her house with the hired carpet cleaner available everywhere - and I commented that it was on my list. Don't worry, she said, I have time and plenty of shampoo, and she arrived at my house and proceeded to do 4 large rugs for me. How wonderful is that? I am SO thankful!

Drying them is taking some time, but they will be ready soon.

So, with painting, physio, being back in the pool for classes a bit, painting, sorting stuff, reading, painting, the days have flown by too rapidly. Oh, and the freezing of beans, harvesting of squash, courgettes, baking of courgettes, and visitors - many visitors, watering, and general stuff like laundry. Ironing. Need I say more.....well, I have not been lying back on a chaise being fanned by slaves and fed grapes. Even though I should apparently be doing the lying back, begin mindful and doing precisely nothing more. Apparently. Maybe if they threw in the slave fanning and grapes it may become easier.

But that is not going to happen.

Right. Let me go and find some photos. I will be back.