wagwaan?

Weekend news

Sunday night comes round, and I'm feeling nice and relaxed. We had a lovely evening yesterday with my brother and his wife, who had come over to the UK again on business. I really love the fact that my brother and my partner get on so well. It's great to get together and chat, and that's the one big thing that I miss, living so far away from the rest of the family like I do. I get to hang out with my sister-in-law tomorrow also, because we're hitting the shopping centre while my brother does some work :) 

Anyway, the other day the boyf said I could use his old bluetooth headset with my iPhone, which is especially useful as my headphones with the mic had stopped working. They are good and it's much nicer to have the phone in your bag or pocket with no wires trailing, or giving you away to a would-be mugger... Talking of bluetooth headsets, take a look at this - the headset you can wear as a ring!  How on earth did someone think of that? It's pretty though, don't you think?

Well, that's it from me tonight. Short and sweet. There's more interesting stuff coming up, but you'll have to bear with me for a while.... Nite nite!

Just a quickie...

.. to add this picture of Lyle I took this afternoon. After he'd spent a while cuddled up with Claire in bed, they both came back downstairs - Claire is in the background playing on, wait for it, her IPHONE which I gave her for her birthday (I'm not going mad, I got a good deal off the boyf who upgraded his to the latest 3GS, plus he owed me some money so it felt like it only cost me half what it did!). Isn't Lyle a handsome boy, ha ha. With his tongue sticking out he looks really dim. Bless him!

She's hoooooome!

This picture is too funny - I was so excited to see her, and I was holding up a "welcome home" sign as per her instructions (lol), so I quickly snapped this with the iPhone, one handed, hence the blurriness!

She is so tired from the trip, bless her, and has gone quite deaf thanks to the cabin pressure, but it's so good to have her home again. Look at that healthy glow! Although she worked really hard, taking 200 pictures a day of the kids at camp, and she slathered herself in sunscreen, she still managed to get a bit of a tan. What you can't see are the millions of nasty bites she sustained on the lower legs. Ouch!

So, we've been driven home in style, had a natter and a cuddle, and she's now tucked up in bed with her beloved pusscat. She'll no doubt emerge later so we can celebrate her birthday :)  Oh, and I'll tell you all about her present...

Pop went the bubble...

Trust Jane (Brods) to burst my bubble!! (see her comment on the previous entry). Cheeky!

Changing the subject totally, I haven't watched a film for ages and today I saw Will Smith on Oprah talking about his latest film, Seven Pounds. Although I'd seen several reviews that were less than kind, Will and Oprah were so mysterious about it that I thought I'd give it a go, and watched it this afternoon. Oh my gosh!  It was wonderful. Beautifully shot, it's a film you can't really talk about without completely giving the plot away. I thought I wouldn't cry, but at the end the tears were streaming down my cheeks. If you haven't seen it, do give it a go!

I'm off to bed shortly as I have to be up early to get to the airport in time to meet Claire off her flight. I've very extravagantly booked a car back to the house so we don't have to carry all her luggage. I am very friendly with the people who did all the driving for my ex-boss, and I get a good rate with them, so we'll be riding in style in a Merc. Ah, I could definitely get used to that!  The owner of the company always enquires after Claire, because his son Sacha is a photographer and he's offered to help Claire in the past. So far she hasn't taken him up on the offer, but she can contact him if she changes her mind.

Nite all! 

Teaching an old cat new tricks!

I just made myself some lunch and the cat was looking interested.   I remember once seeing a dog trainer train a dog to sit by holding the treat above the dog's nose but quite far back so that when the dog lifted its head to sniff, it kind of automatically had to sit down. Well, it worked with my mum's dog Whisky, and I've recently been doing it to Lyle too. In the cupboard I knew there was a pack of cat chews - long sticks of fish-flavoured yumminess - and I thought I'd see if he would sit when I waved it above his nose. I was astounded when, before getting it anywhere his nose, I said "sit"... and he did!  He's such a good boy :)   I'm putting it down to good training rather than luck.  Don't burst my bubble!!

::Monday!::

Counting the days till Claire comes home... Anyway, today I thought I'd hang the pictures in the hall. Quite a feat without a spirit level - I can't think where ours is. Probably in the basement but I daren't go down there nowadays, as it's got very damp and the mould spores set off my asthma. Really must get that seen to, but that's for later. So, here is the set of blue layouts in their 12x12 frames. Don't bother commenting on the fact that they are millimeters out, because I spent ages trying to get them just so, but had to give up after a while. I think they'll do. 

I haven't scrapped for ages, but this has made me a bit nostalgic for the days when I'd whip up a layout in a flash. Must get back to that now I have access to a good camera again, and can get some nice photos taken.

I've earmarked a teal runner for the floor, and I know which bowl I'm going to get, so once I've painted the floorboards it'll be finished. And time to get on to the bathroom!

I don't think I've linked to them before, but there are two blogs that I particularly like reading because they both have decors that resonate with me. The first time I saw Jane/Posy's blog I was so excited because it was exactly the way I envisaged my house would look. Well, the white painted look was what I had in mind; Jane's house is more vintagey and flowery than I'm thinking of but still, it suits her down to the ground.  

And more recently, I've discovered Sarah's blog, A Beach Cottage. Sarah is English but has emigrated to Australia with her family and her beach house is a pure delight. 

So there you have it, maybe next time I'll share some more links of white decors... there's plenty out there in blogland if you look for them!

Just had a quick call from my sister-in-law, who called with the exciting news that they are coming over again this weekend. I do love having visitors, so that's another thing to look forward to this week.  Nite all :) 

PS: in response to Claire's comment on the previous post, yes I did "nick" the mirror back out of your room, but it's ok as I'm bidding on a vintage one on ebay that I intend to win, so you'll be able to have it back!!

Day of rest

Sunday, the day of rest. Apart from putting all the shoes back in the cabinet I really didn't do much today. I read my book and sat in the garden, making the most of this time off to recharge my batteries. As I still don't have any sun loungers and didn't want to sit on the hard wooden chairs at the table, I moved my thrifted rattan chair out there, complete with comfy cushions. Talking of cushions, I took this photo at BHS the other day - Union Jacks are very "in" at the moment and can be found in all sorts of colours and combinations. I really like it.

Not sure where it'd fit in my planned decor though...

Claire emailed me from NYC to say that she'd been on a bus tour of the city and seen "nearly everything", including the building where John Lennon lived and died (that'll please her dad). The other day they also went to see the Ground Zero memorial, which she found moving. I wonder how many photos she has taken?  Tomorrow she is meeting up with a friend who is starting College in NYC, and then Tuesday night she gets her flight home. I can't wait for Wednesday morning!

I can't believe next weekend is late Summer Bank Holiday weekend. I feel cheated because I haven't had a summer holiday as such - but hopefully Claire and I will be off to France very shortly. I just hope the weather stays nice for our little trip to see my mum at the beach. I seriously CAN NOT WAIT to be there. I miss her so much, and I love going to Normandy. I don't even mind if it rains, actually, but I want a "summer holiday" feel so fingers crossed for continued sunshine. 

You know what? It's Sunday night and I don't have the Sunday Night Blues.... Oops, sorry to rub it in!  Nite all :) 

I love white

I crave white everywhere in my house!  Although we have large sash windows, downstairs is actually quite dark, and ever since we moved in I've been wanting to paint it all white. Now I remember why I procrastinated for so long... I ache all over after yesterday's feat lol!  I'm loving the look though.  I popped out today to run some errands and completely forgot about looking for floor paint, silly me.  I had some paperwork to do, popped to the bank to put some money on Claire's account (thanks Auntie J for the birthday spending money!), then I decided to have a light lunch out and finished up with coffee in Starbucks as I still had some money on my Starbucks card. I mosied around the pound shops, getting essentials and then popped into Wilkinsons to see if they had a teal bowl for the hall. They didn't but they did have some fake blooms, which I would never have looked twice at before, but which have come a long way in recent years. I just picked up one flower for a few pence, because I wanted something simple, and although I have a thing for cherry blossoms, I got this pompom instead. Isn't it gorgeous?

Or from this angle... See the sunflowers in the background? My nephew got me those as a thank you. Isn't he a well brought up young man?

At the moment I have a white bowl on the cupboard but I actually want a teal coloured one, because I have three or four 12x12 layouts in frames that are all blue and I want to put them on the opposite wall, which means that the accent colour in this hall is going to be teal/blue/turquoise.  I could put pot pourri in the bowl, but that just seems so passe to me, so instead I use the bowl as a dumping ground for our keys and my gym pass - things you need to remember as you go out the door.

I love my turtle keyring, and next to it you can see Claire's Eiffel Tower one.

More white - these flowers that I got for nothing from my (now ex-) work. This one's in the bathroom

The boyf's just got home from work early. Off I go. Have a great weekend!

Nearly finished...

Gosh, three posts in one day? Wonders will never cease.  I am proud of my achievements today - I got nearly all the hall finished. All it's missing is some floor paint, a lamp shade and some little embellishments. This is what it looked like when I had finished the wall on the left hand side, and while I was cutting in round the right hand side (I can't work out how to resize pics in iPhoto so they'll all be huge; I hope it doesn't crash Typepad!!). I gave the door a good clean, and I can't believe how decent the paintwork still looks!

I was dealing with two different types of embossed paper, which was slightly tedious:

I kept painting, till it looked like this:

Then I moved the shoe cupboard to the wall opposite where it was before - so much better; being opposite the radiator reduced the width of our already narrow corridor. This way, it's less obtrusive, although the boyf thinks it blocks the bottom of the stairs (it doesn't....). I also had a brainwave and remembered that I had an old French lace panel that used to be up at the window in our tiny Parisian flat, just after Claire's dad and I split up. It's not actually "old", and it's not particularly to my taste, but it's the perfect width for the window so I taped it up and I'll cut it to the right length when I've bought the proper rod or wire. 

View from the stairs. Shame about the jumble of meters that are up on the wall. You'll see why I have to get Claire to read the electricity meter - even standing on a chair I can't quite see the numbers!  The gas meter is in the basement, which is another story...

I'm liking it more and more! View from a bit higher up. I decided to paint up the stairs too, or it would have looked silly.

Actually, I hadn't finished the right hand side at this point. Luckily for me, because I was not about to paint all the way up to the ceiling or the landing, the people who papered the wall did a kind of dado effect up the right hand side. See here. And note the absolutely fabulous cutting in I did freehand. I'm impressed with it, if I must say so myself.

(on top is the old colour; below is the fresh white paint).

Phew!  Half way through, I got a planned call from Claire. Her last day at camp and a chance to wish her Happy Birthday and chat about what her plans are for the next few days. How grown up she sounds. "We're all going out for dinner in New York later" she says. Turns out, it's not just her and Karin, but also a few other people stopping off in New York. Oh, and I forgot: her new Dutch friend (Karin) shares a birthday with her, so they were both excited at turning 19. Last night they had a leaving ceremony which entailed everyone walking down to the lake, floating candles on the water and crying a lot, if I remember correctly. As they were still up at 00.00 hours, people sang Happy Birthday, and For She's a Jolly Good Fellow and another one I forget....  Sounds fun! (Claire will no doubt correct me if I'm wrong, hehe).

After painting, I collapsed into a hot bath, then I had dinner in front of Miami Ink, and now I'm off to the land of nod. Sweet dreams everyone.....

Progress

Now that I've got over the shock of having a 19 yr old daughter, it's time to show what I've been doing with my time. Yesterday it was an absolutely beautiful day. One of the hottest of the year, i think. In the afternoon I sat in the garden with a book, a couple of home-made scones and a cup of cha. Look at the sky!!

Then, when it got a bit cooler I started pulling up the hall carpet. We have a very traditional, narrow, Victorian hallway:

That was the easy bit. The hardest part was getting down on my hands and knees to pull up the carpet gripper round the edges. I don't do kneeling very well!

Look: All gone!

So far today, I've done the "cutting in" and I've done the bit above the door and the left wall. Next it's on to the right hand side, then up the stairs.  Tomorrow I'm going to see if I can find some floor paint, then all that's left are the finishing touches. Wish me luck!