Day Sixty-Five

May 3, 2013May 3, 2013 ~ Bungalow Blogger ~ Leave a comment

Friday again already, this is the weekend that we will sort the carpet out and the shower enclosure. Have to get them organised.

The tiles are in ready for the shower and the enclosure, had to go for the brick effect again despite trying really hard to go for a different look. They are big this time at least.

The painter has been busy upstairs again today, he’s started on the shutters, my essential extra in the back bedroom. The rhs one is not balanced yet but the man who can sort it out is coming tomorrow thankfully.

my lovely shutters, I am so looking forward to closing the shutters at bedtime — my lovely shutters, I am so looking forward to closing them at bedtime

I have always wanted shutters, I just love them. My paternal grandparents had them in their Leopold Place flat and I spent hours opening and shutting them in the living room that nobody went into, unless it was a special occasion, of course. The room also held my Grandpa’s piano. He used to play the Sugar Plum Fairy for my sister and me to dance to. This actually meant jumping from one big blob on the carpet to another. The carpet was red and the blobs were very elaborate and colourful. There’s probably a name for the particular type of carpet – I’m sure it will be retro-cool again soon though it’s not the look we’re going for on the stairs this time.

The last image for today is the Hornsea Tapestry items that I promised you from the flea market last Saturday. The cruet set is going to be a fixture on the dining table. I need to get the pepper pot some white ground pepper which I’m sure is what would suit it best. I am so pleased with these pots it’s daft, I’m not sure where they will end up so they are gracing the window sill in the ‘big room’ at the moment.

Hornsea from the flea market last weekend.

Oh my word as I sit and type there is sleet battering the big windows, isn’t it May??? Brrr looks miserable, it started just as C was going to take the dogs out for a walk, he’s now watching Question of Sport until it clears. It keeps coming in waves, dogs still up for their walk though!

Wishing you all a lovely weekend, without any more mad rain and sleet, x

(He’s still not taken the dogs out)

Day Sixty-Four

May 2, 2013 ~ Bungalow Blogger ~ 2 Comments

Things are moving again, thank goodness. The painter has got going on the woodwork upstairs, there is no way I could do the windows or doors and notice every drip or flaw for years to come. The tiles are going in for the ensuite shower tomorrow and the final push is starting on Saturday to get the long ‘to do’ list completed. We are tentatively hoping that the children can go up at the weekend, before the carpet comes, just for fun. If things go according to plan then we can start the emulsion in the back bedroom on Sunday.

I’m looking forward to showing you some finished room shots in the near future… I need to decide whether I can get H’s curtains to work in her new bedroom or whether to go for a blind to keep it simple. F will have a blind for sure. I’ve bought lovely narrow shelves for both the front bedrooms for prized possessions to be displayed on. I’m on the look out for some interesting furniture too, it’s hard to beat the blue and yellow Swedish superstore for value but I’d like to mix in some other pieces too. I drive my dear C mad by looking on gumbay and showing him potential purchases. I can tell by the look on his face what his opinion is and it is usually a ‘no’. I thought I was fussy. It seems odd to be buying other people’s unwanted furniture when we have sold and given away so much ourselves recently. One thing’s for sure – getting the house into some sort of order will be a long and laborious process.

1 May 2013

May 1, 2013 ~ Bungalow Blogger ~ 5 Comments

The beginning of May is a time when many feel uplifted that winter is finally behind us and we can truly look forward to lighter nights and warmer, sunnier days. If you live in Edinburgh you take the weather as it comes and delight in every bit of summer that comes your way – nothing is guaranteed here, but the illusion that it could be warm is there none the less.

For me the beginning of May is not joyous, it is the anniversary of my Mum’s death. She died 5 years ago today. Never a day goes by that I wish I could ask her opinion on something, tell her something about the minutiae of my life or just have a cup of tea with her and put the world to rights. She would have been so full of ideas for the regeneration, she really helped with our last house renovation. I miss her so much. My sister and I got together for lunch at a The Gallery of Modern Art, a place she loved going with us.

Nothing doing at the house today work wise, I wish things would get moving again so I can get F and H upstairs soon. We have chosen a carpet but there’s not point getting it fitted until the coast is clear up there. We still have lots of painting to do too.

The tiles are here for the shower room, even better is they were a bargain. White is the colour yet again but they’re big tiles this time for a change. There are strong colours planned for the rest of the room so it certainly won’t be boring.

Flowers

Here are a couple of flowers I spotted today in the garden, the tulips are below an acer and the magnolia is in a pot at the front of the house and left to its own devices, it was given to me as a birthday present quite a few years ago now. It is over a month later than usual flowering with our late spring.