Dinner Time

Dogs are not unlike humans in that they become creatures of habit and routine and know what they like. This is never more evident than when it comes to dinner time. Despite a few phobias Buster is a very laid back dog, he isn't bothered if he gets fed at breakfast time, dinner time or whenever. Rufus however is very specific about when he wants his dinner. 

The routine usually starts around 5.15 pm, he seeks me out (even if I'm in the garden) and stands nearby looking at me, if I make eye contact with him and hold it for a few seconds he lowers his front legs and does the mouth opening and closing with a funny not quite a bark thing. If that doesn't work he moves in a bit closer. If I'm busy I tell him "Not now, go and lay down" He goes away for a few minutes and then he's back to repeat the process. I usually start making tea around that time so I prepare their dinner as well.

I start by getting their gravy (yes they have gravy!) from the fridge, Rufus wants to make sure that I know where it is in the fridge so he accompanies me. There it is, that's the handle of the Pyrex jug.

While the gravy is heating in the microwave I go to the cupboard for their meal, again he wants to make sure that I know which cupboard it's in so he accompanies me.

And finally he watches every move as I mix the meal with the gravy and add the tinned food!

He knows what he likes and how to get it! :-)

None of this was staged, it's Rufus, he is a real character. 
He also lets me know if their water bowl is empty by standing in the doorway 
with an eager look on his face.
If one of his toys has rolled under the sofa or cupboard he
does the same and then takes me to wherever it is!

And every morning he knows when I get up and how long it takes me to get dressed and appear at the top of the stairs, he is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. He then sticks to me like glue as I'm putting on my coat and boots.
He also knows when we're not going out (bad weather or I don't have time), 
I put on my dressing gown and go straight downstairs. 
He knows I haven't been moving around upstairs so he is still in his bed, or on a sofa!

I wonder if he would go for assistance if I had a heart attack whilst out walking!!
Hopefully that will never happen, and I always have my phone with me :-)

~Be well ~

Polly x

A Good Read

The Cleaner of Chartres by Salley Vickers

Absence is at the heart of Agnes Morel’s life. Absence of a mother and father, absence of love, guidance and protection, and the most heartbreaking of all the absence of her illegitimate baby boy, taken from her soon after birth. Her story is beautifully written in fragments of the lives of the people she comes into contact with.

  
Beautiful and elusive Agnes was a foundling, discovered by a farmer, she was wrapped in a white tablecloth and placed in a straw shopping basket. 

In the present Agnes cleans in the Cathedral. Whilst happy in her own company others are drawn to her, wanting to talk to her, she touches the lives of pilgrims, tourists, artists, shopkeepers, priests and nuns. She is offered cleaning jobs outside the cathedral and finds it difficult to refuse new work or to demand proper payment.
Her vulnerability is the target for other people's unpleasantness and before long an accidental encounter dredges up tragic incidents from her past and nasty gossips are all too eager to spread their idle rumours. The most objectionable of these is one of her employers, the bitter, spiteful Madame Beck, an obsessive collector of china dolls. Equally vitriolic is Mother Veronique who displays the worst aspects of religious zeal - cruelty and sanctimonious hypocrisy. Screaming at the then helpless 14 year old Agnes who had been horribly raped and was now pregnant “You cunning little whore”. 
Eventually Agnès is forced to confront her history, and the mystery of her origins finally unfolds.

This is a gentle, compelling story of darkness and light; of traumatic loss, love and hope. A beautiful read.

~Happy Reading ~

Polly x

This Time Last Year

This time last year we were clearing out cupboards in readiness for the old kitchen to be demolished. 

Oh My Word what a lot of stuff had accumulated. Some of it was good stuff still in use, but a lot was "What is this/Why have we still got this/This doesn't even work anymore", and the worst one - "How long has this manky chip pan been at the back of the cupboard?"!!

Eventually the cupboards were emptied, good stuff packed in boxes, stuff taken to the charity shop, rubbish stuff in the skip, and demolition was under way.

Floor down and I started painting around where the new cupboards would be going.

The new units were delivered and stored in the kitchen

Poor Buster was in a state of turmoil, he doesn't cope well with disruption

This was the narrow space through to the kitchen and outside

Dear Buster, he needed gentle reassurance and guidance through the maze!

I too hate mess and disruption and thought it would never end

but of course it did

and before long we had a beautiful new kitchen

Those cupboards store recycling, outdoor stuff, kitchen gadgets, drinks, glasses, all sorts

A year on and we've only just got a blind for the window,
and we still need to replace the old stools that creak when sat on!! 
Does anyone else do that, finish the major project but still have minor things to do?

〜Be well〜

Polly x

A Good Read

The Tax Inspector by Peter Carey
Set in Franklin, New South Wales, Australia. Catchprice Motors is a dismal, run-down used car business run by Granny (Frieda) Catchprice with senility, cunning and a handbag full of gelignite. She runs her family the same way. Responsibility for the day to day running of the business lies with Frieda’s daughter Cathy, a sad aspiring Country and Western singer and her sleazy husband Howie, who sports ‘a secret rash which stops in a clean line at his collar and the cuffs of his shirt’. 
Cathy has two brothers, the odious and useless Mort who also works in the business, and Jack, who although left Franklin and the business, can never, by his own admission escape being a Catchprice – unhinged and damaged. 
Then we have Frieda’s grandchildren, Vish, who joined the Krishnas as a way of escaping his family, and Benny, who at sixteen is seriously psychopathic. He believes he can transform the failing family business into an empire, and himself into an angel. 

Into this melting pot of misery, anger and failure enters the beautiful and very pregnant agent of the Australian Taxation Office, Maria Tarkis. 

Although I didn’t like part of the conclusion, I really enjoyed this book. It's a good story with memorable, believable characters, black humour, compassion, and at times it was extremely painful. 

~Happy Reading ~

Polly x

The Dolls House Bathroom

It's always a pleasure and a relief when I finish a room, not just for the satisfaction of seeing my ideas and work come together, but also because it means I can start the next room! I seem to have been working on the bathroom forever. One of the reasons for it taking so long is because I couldn't decide on the flooring, first it was wood, then I ordered some marble tiles online, but my maths skills are appalling so I didn't order enough and.... I didn't like them! So finally I decided on a sample piece of wallpaper from a DIY store. 

The curtain was a nightmare, I put a flimsy gold spotted chiffon type material over some lovely white silk material, which meant it kept slipping all over the place. I pinned and tacked then sewed and gathered the heading for the pole to go through and made the tieback with tiny gold beads. My first attempt was too short because the material frayed like mad, so I made the second one much longer and trimmed off the excess. The brackets to hold the pole in place were difficult to fix because of the angle.

I had the same problem fixing the taps, they weren't level, trying to drill a drilled hole a bit bigger on the bottom edge is impossible so I had to gouge out bits of the wall with a craft knife then plug up the excess with kitchen paper and super glue, insert the tap and hold it until it set!

The basin is a shell. I tried a couple of basins but they were just a bit too big.

The shower curtain was quite plain so I put a nice piece of chiffon on the top of it.

One thing I was really pleased with was the make over of this chest of drawers. 

It started as bare wood and I covered it with this lovely white and gold wallpaper. 

It was fiddly and tricky, I could have used thinner decoupage paper but I really liked this paper.

I bought a plain toilet and painted gold lines around it

  

I found this gorgeous cabinet on Ebay, I think the starting price was £15, each time I put a bid in I was outbid so I thought "I can make one". I could buy a bare wood cabinet, I already had some white spray paint and I could buy some gold leaf paper. However I couldn't find a cabinet as nice as this one, and it came with all the soaps, bath products and pretty ornaments so I put in my top bid of £25 and I'm very pleased with it.

After making lots of towels for Miss Teen's en-suite I decided to do the same with the bathroom, plenty of spare towels are stored in the chest of drawers :-)

I made the bath mat by sticking some tiny pom poms onto a material backing.

Window sills made from wooden spatulas
Time to get cracking with the bedroom.

Meanwhile....

The house is a mess because we have had some new doors fitted, three more to go so it's not worth trying to clear all the dust, I've done upstairs.

I'm taking advantage of the beautiful sunny warm weather to tidy the garden.

Going to a 70th birthday party tonight. I will be celebrating my own in a few weeks time!!....

~Be well and enjoy the rest of your weekend ~

Polly x