Double glazing - pah

This morning every one of our new double glazed window was covered in condensation, on the outside! All the old single glazed windows were perfectly clear. Thank you EU, we didn't want double glazing and now look - oh no we can't, we can''t see out...

Wet, wet, wet

and then some more wet.
The rain has fallen for what seems most of the night and a large chunk of the day. The garden is rapidly turning into a mudbath, the dogs are soggy and the house is damp (two loads of washing don't help!). So we've given in and lit Pig who's now chuntering away nicely.

Dining Room update

I collected the curtains at the weekend, they look very fine hanging at the windows. Then we went on a table hunt and found the perfect table at Beevers. Unfortunately it has to be ordered and shipped in (they need to fill a container) so we can't have it until next year. Next small delay, the lady who makes loose covers and is going to recover the easy chair for us has broken her arm! But if we can't have the table until next year then I don't think the chair is urgent, and to be honest it doesn't look too horrendous now that the rest of the room has changed.
No aga or heating tomorrow (servicing) so we've kicked Pig into action and he's quietly sizzling away.

Explosive events

Hebe has discovered the conkers strewn around the house, they're just too tempting, last night I took one off her and put it down with a load of other stuff which was subsequently thrown on the open fire.
We went out to feed pigs and sort out plants in the greenhouse; when we came back there was a very funny slightly burnt smell and shards of cooked conker skin in the hall! Fortunately no-one was around, no-one got injured and nothing got burnt (slightly singed maybe...), phew.

What is THAT??

A small heap of brown objects, it's autumn so it must be conkers? Correct. And aren't these very artistically positioned?

Yes, very neatly arranged, on the side of the bath. Yes, that's right the BATH

Well, where do you store conkers? In this house, this autumn, on the bath, on the window sills, in small bowls dotted around in unexpected places. But why? I hear you ask, as you well might. Well, have you heard about the spider invasion? Lots and lots of them had a wonderful summer and are now heading indoors for a pleasant autumn and are really quite looking forward to Christmas...
The resident arachnophobe read that conkers are an excellent spider deterrent - thus conkers all over the house!

PS I'm not really at work but my home account won't work!

Dining room update

It's all going swimmingly. Quite literally for the fishes. So last weekend (Sat 19 & Sun 20) we had to clear everything out prior to the arrival of the decorator. Books, ornaments etc are really quite simple, box them up and carry out, dining chairs also easy, just pick them up. But a 16stone fish tank complete with fish? No, not really something to even consider picking up. Managed to borrow a 3 foot tank (thanks to Helen and Helen's dad), wonderful we can just transfer water and fish from one tank to another, however, nothing is ever that simple is it? Especially not in this house...
Friday we started by setting out water to stand and for the water treatment chemicals to evaporate. Saturday morning dogs and I set off for Pickering to collect medicine for Maia and to buy some additional gravel. Upon our return we set to with a will by starting with cleaning out the borrowed tank and to make sure it was water tight, then cleaned all the new gravel, desludged the large filter to ensure the water was as clean as possible and also removed some bits of tank decoration to be cleaned. Then everything needs to dry before we go any further so that leaves the rest of the afternoon for moving more stuff and a small bit of destruction - my favourite job and I'm quite good with a lump hammer! But seriously I wanted to remove the additional molding from the picture rail which was really quite an easy task for the strip above the bay window and it certainly made it all look so much better, showing off the cleaner lines and so much more in keeping with the house. Everything done and cleaned up in time to watch tigers first home match of the season which they duly won but didn't manage a try - never mind, 11 players out injured and we still won. The new Cat stand looks amazing, there's always next week.
Sunday rolls round and it's time for the fish to move house, water decanted by the crate full and dragged across the hall before being poured in the temporary tank in the sitting room. About halfway down and it's time to move the fish before they get sucked up the siphon. The small fish were very good, easy to catch and carry across in water filled bowls. But then came the big ones and the algae eater (Edgar) and the YoYo loaches were not so accommodating - I was soaked, man are they strong?, and really, really big. You don't realise when they're in the tank but Edgar and Mrs Bossy were both bigger than the bowl. Anyway all in the new tank, clean decorations added and new water. Time for lunch. Then the grotty business of emptying the old tank and cleaning it, a very smelly job but not that difficult. finally the fish are sorted. Next on the list, photocopiers. Well they came in this way, they must go through the doorway. A spot of applied geometry and rather a lot of brute force later and the one we're keeping is out in the hall. The other one can wait for the logistics team to collect. And at last I can get at the second piece of molding, this one was not so compliant as the first one and decided to part company with the picture rail and the affixing nails but off it came, in several pieces and the nails came out too, one by one.
And that's it, we're done, just one final job - block the office door so Hebe can't help with the decorating.

Monday and Lon arrives to start, we discuss the paint and I set off to buy many, many gallons of varying shades of yellow. Upon our return there's a message on the answerphone, the logistics team will collect the old printer today - hooray!

Lon finishes on Thursday a day ahead of schedule, for TM that's a miracle! And it all looks fantastic - I'll post up pictures when it's done.
So this weekend we've been polishing and cleaning furniture. The bookcases have come up a treat and if you didn't know you can't tell that the top of the new fish tank table has been varnished. Carpet will be laid on Thursday to give the gloss time to set.
And finally - for now, the first lamp arrived today and we assembled it this evening, the tall uplighter and it fits the scheme very well.

So that's it, you're just about up to date. When the next phase goes according to plan (I can hope can't I?) I'll tell you all about that too!

plums and fences

Since Juno's escapade with the plums (internal blockage leading to a very poorly dog and very large vets bill) we've made sure the dogs can't gorge on plums. Which makes autumn a little awkward. The plums are now ripe and beginning to drop, not that Hebe or Cara wait for that, picking their own straight from the tree. So every reachable plum has been picked and suitable ones bagged up and dropped in the deep freeze for use later on. But there is still the odd one or two which escaped or dropped before the harvest and is hidden in the undergrowth. Needless to say this is great hunting for the girls who rummage about collecting and eating every little scrap they can find but the odd little piece is not going to cause problems so we've let them be. Today the small black monster (a.k.a Hebe) wasn't content with the plums in our garden and smashed her way through the fence to rootle around on the other side of the hedge. There is now a large Labrador shaped hole in the bottom of the fence by the tree. Until it's fixed labs are on escorted visits to the back garden...

Dining room colour scheme

Malton this morning to pick up the wallpaper. It's every bit as lovely as I remember. Took one roll up to Stitches to look at fabric, they have even more books of fabric samples than the wallpaper shop has of paper! I thought Indian red would look good against the yellow of the paper and found a lovely red silk with golden embroidery but then I saw a golden woven tapestry like fabric with red motif so brought them both home. The silk is completely wrong and although I love the golden one I have red fixed in my head. So like a nutter off to Beavers to look at carpet and more fabric. Carpet was quite easy, lovely green with flecks of yellow, gold and shades of green. Also found a lovely red damask so brought than home too but that's not quite right (and Mum hates it!).
So yellow paper, golden curtains and green carpet, now selecting the paint, a toning colour for the woodwork and bright but warm yellow for the painted wall above Pig. Not a bad day all in all.
Dogs are exhausted having run all the way to Malton and back this morning and then into Whitby and back.

Weekend cow & garden

We've been across to Glaisdale today and came home with several large chunks of cow! The girls can't wait until tea tomorrow when they may just get some of the trimmings from the beef. The roads were mad and several visitors in cars, on bikes and on foot tried to write themselves (and their dog on one occcasion)
Spent the rest of the day in the garden, have finally transplanted the hosta to under the new witch hazel - which is supposed to have red flowers in the spring but has small yellow ribbons already! A check with Crocus is in order I think. Then weeding and tidying, a very productive day. But now it's trying to rain.

Both vet patients seem to be improving. Juno's neck is looking much better and Cara's not huffing quite so much. Got some new alternaitve medicines for them this morning. However, Maia's feeling left out and has developed a gluey ear, a few drops of calendula and Merc Cor pills should sort it out.

Vet's sign off (we hope).

Juno had her stitches out yesterday and has healed well. However, she's got an infection in the skin on her neck, probably where the collar caught on the exposed patch where the blood was taken for pre-anaesthesia checks. So now she's back on the anti0biotics (different ones this time, pink ones which of course means Hebe wants them!) and fuciderm on the oozing patch. It's looking a little better this morning.
Cara is much improved still huffing a little but nowhere near as much and is back to her usual houndish self, didn't realise how off colour (a bit difficult with a grey dog) and quiet she was.

Definite nip of autumn in the air this morning, though it was a bit yesterday but today needed my fleece to go down the yard and out to do jobs this morning. The robins are whistling their territories, a sure sign of the days on the turn.

Vets

Well, I really think we should take out shares! Juno got a good progress report on Saturday, her wounds are healing well and she's showing no side effects. We've changed Cara appointment to Tuesday afternoon so that she can go straight in for her x-rays and won't have to kept in a holding cage whilst they deal with other cases (very reasonable but a real trauma for Cara).
Hebe, the little monster, has learnt to take the lid of the rubbish bin and is helping herself to kitchen scraps and spreading rubbish across the verandah. She is also standing on the back of the sofa by the window so that she can see out and watch the world go by and give teh rest of the of the pack progress updates in a loud voice.
Although our swifts left about two weeks ago on the way out this morning I heard a single scream and looking up there was one solitary swift circling above the swallows and martins.

Bank holiday weekend

and we've been out nearly all weekend, but back indoors now so a good time to update the blog.
We've planted, weeded and played in the garden all weekend. And we've been painting some windows a lovely blue / green colour. Maia liked it so much she picked up a bit on her side and has a lovely bluey streak, I think I'd like some blue-lights too - but don't tell my Bean, I think she'd be cross!
It's not all been playtime, I did some practicing with the proper "bring back" stuff, it was very hard but Bean was very happy so that's all right then.
And then I tried to help with the croquet game, those balls are very hard but apparently I'm not supposed to bring those back and had to watch the sidelines - that was not good.

Beans been away

It's that time of year, the beans have been away fro a day. it's very stressful, we have to keep watch all day for their return and to double sniff all visitors. Our Amy-Amy let us out and took care of us and gave us our tea (a most important job) but then shut us up again and went away and it was years before our beans returned. Cara had a mad spell of throwing dog bag beds around but Boss Bean wouldn't let me join in.

Welcome back

I know, a veeeerrrrryyyy long time since I last posted anything. But well I've been busy growing up, destroying things - you know the general small labrador sort of thing but I'm nearly two now and have lots more to say, as you can see I have lots more words but still the same interests.