We finally sorted out a curio cabinet. We’ve been putting things in our bookcase over the years, but it’s gotten too cramped in there, and keeping the small things dust free has been a royal pain. So yay, freecycle.
Tag: house
Wallpaper that turns your house into a museum
SO. MUCH. WANT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ever had the urge to turn your home into a life-sized curiosity cabinet? Would you love to surround yourself with full-scale lions, oversized insects, and realistic depictions of human skeletons? Do you often construct your own personal Night At The Museum-style fantasies? If you’ve got a taste for the strange but are a bit short on space, this new Panoramiques wallpaper collection might be just the 2D accent to liven up your home decor.
The series is a collaboration between French design brand NeoDKo and Paris-based boutique Deyrolle, which has been a definitive outpost for taxidermy, entomology, fossils, shells, pedagogical boards, and all-around fascinating array of natural history ephemera since its eponymous founder Jean-Baptiste opened its doors in 1831. Though a fire nearly decimated its iconic Wunderkammer in 2008, the historical hotspot has bounced back into a better-than-ever bizarro wonderland of flora and fauna.
There are quite a few wallpaper options to choose from; for more info and to place an order, click on through here.
The dirty part is over now
Our house was originally built with electric storage heating. Along the way, one of the owners had it converted to gas central heating. The cowboy builder that did the work was more than useless. None of the pipes were lagged or clamped, and the floors were put down willy nilly so the whole of the upstairs was one giant, creaking jigsaw puzzle that would clang and bang like hell every time the heating came on. We finally decided to get that sorted.
This meant that all of the floors needed to come up, which was a pig of a job and had to be done in two steps. We had to break down all the furniture in Bean’s room and the guest bedroom, then get those rooms rebuild and re-carpeted. Then, after rebuilding all the furniture, we had to do the same thing to our bedroom and get that done, and then re-carpet the halls, stairs and landing as well.
While we were getting that done, Katy, Bean and Poley had to go to Leicester because we’d have builders coming and going all the time. It’s been hell on Katy, with all the driving and child/dog wrangling (all the while being ill). The good news is that it’s all done now, and the house is plush and quiet.
Pussy posse
We’re having the floors redone upstairs and the cats are a bit leery of all the noise. The couch is a bit crowded :-)
No more!!!
I bought 4 new smoke detectors, with guaranteed 10-year lithium batteries, yaaay!
Productive day
Today, we:
– did a tip run to get rid of the last shed rubbish
– built Bean’s new play table
– finished the Xmas display shelf
– painted the table, shelf and the filing cabinet (in the hope of moving it upstairs)
Go us!
News from the last few days
Katy’s operation on Monday went well and so far, so good. It got rid of a deep-tissue infection that’s been plaguing her since after Bean was born, so yeah, good riddance!
She was discharged on the day and has been feeling fairly well since, with only the occasional bouts of discomfort. Hopefully that’ll be the end of that! She needs to get the suture clips taken out next week.
The oldies were a big help with Bean. They went on a massive cleaning spree on Monday and installed new shelves in Bean’s room, then Mel and I spent the whole of Tuesday replacing the kitchen sink. Of course, this being our house, it fought us all the way. I swear the man who did most of the work a couple of owners ago was an idiot, or a cowboy bodger, or a mix of both. In the end, we ended up ripping out a large section of the drain pipe and redoing the work ourselves instead of trying to make everything fit with the loony-tunes installation that was there before. Wednesday was a chill day, with a side trip to Scottsdales. With the sunny weather we’ve been having all week, we had BBQs and chimenea fires all week.
Bean’s in nursery today and tomorrow, so the oldies have gone back home for a well-earned bit of peace and quiet.
Great googly moogly!
ING have issued a mortgage offer!
Gadzooks!
Long but productive weekend
The in-laws came over for the weekend. It was Pam’s birthday. We managed to get through an impressive project list this weekend.
Mel and I laid down a new floor in the back shed so that when we buy a freezer, it won’t fall through the soft spots that had been forming in the old floor. Mel got a new motion-activated flood-lamp working to illuminate the sheds at night so that Katy won’t kill herself when she has to clean out the bunnies in winter.
We got a ton and a half of frames up on the walls – stuff that’s been piling up for years and now finally has a new home. They look really nice, but we’re running out of wall space!
There was a downside to the weekend though. Bean’s been feeling delicate for the past few days. He’s been running a fever and hasn’t been sleeping well – waking every few hours or so for a drink. This means that both parents are also dead tired.
Some pictures: http://www.flubu.com/various_pics/various_oct_2011
Good news, bad news
Good news: the electrician fixed all of the remedial work that needed doing.
Bad news: the RCD still keeps tripping.
Good news: the electrician has some suggestions we can try to help isolate the cause of the very intermittent problem.
Bad news: the suggestions doesn’t help the fact that the RCD tripped over the weekend, when we were in Leicester, and half our freezer defrosted.
Good news: we’re going to get the windows and doors replaced.
Bad news: it’s going to cost £4000.
Good news: it’s not as much as I feared, and we’re getting nice stuff.
Bad news: Natwest are being bastards about extending our existing loan.
Good news: My credit score is still classed as good, and we’ve found alternate means of financing, so screw you Natwest.
Good news: the cats are doing well and don’t seem too bothered about the heat.
Bad news: they feel well enough that they caught and ate a bird, inside the house, while we were away.
Good news: Katy’s going to reduce her hours so that she doesn’t feel as crappy and tired all the time
Bad news: Katy’s still feeling tired and crappy all the time.