Yawn Yawn Wakey Wakey 2025

@Allotment Boy Ours are still fine and comfy but the covers are now the wrong colour and there's wear and tear from wine spills (OH), cat scratching, one broken zip on a cushion cover and a bit of chewng at the base from Bonzo doggy when he first joined the family. The best bit is the high backs - very hard to find now.

 

I had my father's old Parker Knoll chair recovered over 2o years ago and it cost in the hundreds, gulp. The material alone was £50 per metre which was very expensive then, goodness knows what it would be now. It has curved oak arms and base. The restorers had to undo all my father's repairs - Meccano anyone (!) strengthen the sides and install new springs. The children are fighting over who gets it when I've gone. When we moved here, the colour scheme for the living room was designed around the chair.

I did once recover an old secondhand 3 seater sofa @Obelix-Vendée but not sure I'd want to do it again. We couldn't afford a new sofa when I first got married in the 60's so needs must. It was a fairly simple design thank goodness, so I pinned plain paper to it to do the paper patterns and allowed for extra seam allowances so it could be tweaked if need be.

I've either got a stye on my eyelid or a blocked tear gland, thanks for asking. I've been treating it with a cotton wool bud dipped in hot water and I think it's easing. I suffer from blepharitis so it's probably the latter.

Hope you really enjoy your restored furniture @Allotment Boy, they don't make them like that any more. I think Goldenlily had her sofa recovered recently as well and she was very pleased with it.

 

I've recovered cane sofas before @lizzie27 but that was just 3 seating cushions and one long back pad. This pair have 3 seat cushions, 2 shaped back cushions and then the whole body needs covering and that's with wings and curved arm rests and piping........ Daunting, even if I try and keep it simple.

The météo radar says the rain clouds have passed. However, it is still raining very steadily and we have strong gusts of wind too. I braved it briefly to replenish the fat ball feeders and ground seed cos there are lots of fledgelings about. Not pleasant.

Hope your eye clears up soon @lizzie27

 

Gosh, that sofa does sound like a nightmare to recover, don't blame you for not wanting to undertake it. Throws are a good idea instead. I use them on our pale coffee coloured sofa where OH usually sits as the ink from the Telegraph paper gets transferred from his hands - impossible to clean off well. Shan't make that mistake again!

It's brightening up and stopped raining here so I'll walk down to the papershop (rather late) to fetch said paper. That'll be my exercise for the day.

 

Afternoon all.

Our forecast was for a lot of rain, but so far we've only had one brief shower and it's currently sunny, so all being well I'll manage a bit more weeding and tidying ready for our holiday.

I've re-covered one of our inherited Parker Knoll chairs, and intend to tackle another this winter. A tougher challenge is the little chair which belonged to my great grandmother, who was a similar size to me (ie small). It's my favourite place to sit, especially cosy in winter, but it's permanently covered by a throw at present because it's been irresistible to cats... now we haven't a cat any more, I probably need to bite the bullet and take the chair to pieces. My mother did a lot of upholstery, and went on courses to do it properly. I have a lot of her tools, equipment and books of instruction, so I don't really have any excuse not to take the challenge - but not in gardening season!

Yesterday was Fibre Men day, postponed from a fortnight ago. We were told we'd be having 2 engineers and "the external insulation specialist team" between 8am and 1pm. At 1.15, a single engineer arrived, tried to feed the cable through the ducting and determined that it was blocked under the road... they will send out the "excavation crew" to dig up the road (which won't please anybody!) in around 4 weeks. At least we didn't decide to give notice to our current internet provider at the start of this process.

Condolences to @Ladybird4 , and to anyone else who's lost someone dear to them recently.

 

That is so frustrating for you @Liriodendron. Let's hope they get themselves better coordinated next time.

The rain has continued all afternoon so I donned wellies and a hooded jacket to go and see the chooks and check my outside pots and seedlings in the veg plot. The daft chooks are looking very bedraggled as they have not been sheltering in their shed. I filled up their feeder and refreshed their water and they still wouldn't stay indoors, preferring to have a second helping of their special rice on the concrete slab where I have 2 tables of pots, above ground to keep off chooks, slugs and snails. Still find the odd snail tho.

Back to sewing now while I warm up again. Not going to yoga as my sore throat and cough have come back this pm.

 

We have done a resupply mission to the van, turned on the leccy, filled fridge, done a stocktake on ambient food and purged the water through the taps.
Good to go tomorrow.
Unsurprisingly, all the plants, except for a tub of mint, are dead.
It will be good to get away.

 

Evening folks.

Been in work and the garden has been watered again by Mother Nature. Hoping for some dry days/hours as off for a few days now.


Have a restful night all.

 

Good evening everyone and thank you, you lovely lot, for your kind words. I hope you realise how precious and comforting those messages are to me.
Well I've had my hair done and enjoyed catching up with my Bestie and all her news. Intermittently sunny and rainy all day here but when I got home I was busy cake making so no gardening for me today.
I am filled with admiration for all you furniture upholsterers. I wouldn't know where to start. I have watched the expert on Repair Shop and her work is amazing.

 

@Goldenlily26 I really hope that you get the medication sorted out as those symptoms sound dire and must be most difficult to function with. @lizzie27 your poor eye sounds very sore indeed. I wonder what caused it. Have a super time at the van @Penny_Forthem. Now are you are you absolutely sure you have enough victuals for your stay?

 

I am going to sign out for today. See you all in the morning.

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Handyman came today and put up the gazebo in the lower patio. It looks good, simple design in grey painted aluminium with a polycarbonate roof. I'll be able to put the garden sofa and armchairs there when I've washed the remaining squashing mulberries off it.

I've been tired today. Didn't feel like gardening. Did a bit of HW.

 

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Good morning everyone on this anniversary day. Another wet start. Being the first Friday of the month, the old Quizzers team and I are going out for lunch so I hope the rain doesn't make it too unpleasant travelling.
Goodness @Busy-Lizzie, you must be feeling poorly if you are doing HW rather than just sitting in your new gazebo and enjoying a moment of peace! @Liriodendron, you must be getting very frustrated now as your prediction about that work being incomplete before your trip seems more and more likely. @Obelix-Vendée sorry to read that the cold is still 'hanging on'. My cough is refusing to go but I've had it so long I've learned to live with it.
I managed to get two cakes baked and decorated yesterday for my great niece's birthday party tomorrow and I am going to bake a couple more for tea/coffee morning at Church on Sunday before going for lunch. I am having the luxury of being picked up today to go to the Quizzers lunch so I don't have to think about parking. I am far happier knowing there is decent parking where I am going so for someone else having to sort that out, I'm a happy bunny!

 

Pleased to report I have received an email from Ford, inviting me to make an appointment to have the fault on my car remedied. I will ring later.

 

Good morning all.

Hello @Ladybird4. I was feeling rather low yesterday and I expect you were too because of Jack. I was thinking of my friend whose OH died. He was elderly and had had cancer but I've known them for years. Most of my friends are elderly now and I was gloomily thinking we will be going through the same thing. My OH is 10 years older than me.

Well, that's enough of that. I will be cheerful today. There is a meeting of the garden club rose group this afternoon and there will be tea with cake. I will pick a bowl of roses to take.

On Sunday there is a celebration in our C of E Chaplaincy in France. It is the 200th anniversary and the new chaplain will be inaugurated by the Bishop of Europe. I will be making nibbles for the drinks before lunch. We will be taking our friend who lost her husband and another couple of friends.