Then there was the problem of the water leak. I was sure I could hear water running under the house, even when we were not using the water. Eventually I prevailed upon Mr Shoestring to come and listen to the sound and there were immediate investigations, resulting in the discovery that yes indeed there was a leak. This necessitated a lot of crawling around under the house and trips to the hardware shop for fittings, turning on and off the water at the front gate and so forth. Things got so bad that Mr Shoestring became irate and had to listen to sports radio to calm himself. (This is a very bad sign and I have warned him in the past not to listen to sports radio. I have a theory that it causes erectile dysfunction and thinning of the hair, because I have noticed that the sports radio station is constantly advertising products and services to deal with these two problems, therefore it seems likely that the sports radio is causing the problems! Brilliant deduction, yes?) The leak was never fixed and we eventually had to shut off the water and leave the cottage for another week without water.
I had been fired up with enthusiasm for my latest project, sanding down an old chest of drawers and painting it. All went well until the paint went on (outdoors and with spray paint it was able to dry). Alas! The “cream” shade we selected turned out to be a buttery yellow! There was nothing to be done but continue with the painting and then put another layer over the top. Hopefully the next colour will be more pleasing.
All was not lost though. On the gardening front I found two lovely camellias, a clematis which promises to be scented, a rhododendron and a phaseolus (snail vine) at the flea market. Needless to say they were all at bargain basement prices and they have all found places in the garden. And in the process of doing this I found the tag off one of the roses which is growing over the entranceway at the front of the cottage. It turns out to be Paul Transom, a rose I have never grown before. The caterpillars are still feasting on the brassicas but I don’t think there were as many this week – I only say this because I could find none, but there was plenty of evidence they had been there. Nasty things. But the broad beans are romping ahead, also plenty of parsley, chives, silver beet, spinach and lettuce.
And here are some lovely pieces of china kindly donated to me by Elle Upstairs who is always divesting herself of possessions – what a paragon of virtue is she, I wish I could do the same but it does not seem to be in my nature.
The big news of the week is that there is going to be a mini art deco weekend in Napier in July so we are dusting off our furs and getting ready for that. I have somehow brainwashed number two and number three daughters into the art deco obsession and they going to attend, in fact Tessa has found her first two furs to wear. A coat and a stole, all in the same op shop outing. How clever is she! She also found me my third piece of depression glass, so now I officially have a collection. And for the princely sum of $2. And on the same expedition she found this lovely brass vessel which will shortly become the home for a plant. I just have to get my strength up and polish it. Actually Tessa has such an eagle eye that she may begin to pose competition on op shop outings – I can foresee some nasty altercations if she carries on in this way. Luckily so far we haven’t been searching out the same things.
P.S. Even worse -Mr Shoestring wasn't very helpful in loading the pictures for the blog last night ,and Mrs Shoestring threatened to wipe out the blog this morning, so I've posted on her
Watch out for a later edit though!
Watch out for a later edit though!
