Spring cleaning with flowers

 

Yesterday I carried on with some spring cleaning. My small collection of bud vases were the first to be cleaned. With the sun streaming through the side kitchen window this afternoon I couldn't resist adding some cut flowers from the garden for a quick photo shoot. This small act of frivolity precedes the more serious spring cleaning on a much grander scale.

I need to get on and choose some paint for the kitchen, that should help to step up the enthusiasm ready for the decorating. After sugar soaping the walls and pitched ceiling, then it's preparation time in covering the beams and low hanging lights. Apart from the seal around the worktop it should be quite a straight forward job of painting, I hope. The floor tiles that need replacing desperately will need to carry on waiting for now. 

Starting with the kitchen, lounge and dining room that is open to the stairs & landing, we're hoping to get the heating sorted at the same time and put a double fronted fireplace in the lounge & dining room. This should go a long way to providing more heat to the main part of the house. It will be strange though as I'm guessing QT will just wander into the lounge whenever he pleases. At the moment when the lounge door is shut, he can't get in. Not that he usually scratches the furniture now but you never know with cats. That is if we ever get a builder...

In the meantime I'll keep cleaning and enjoying these lovely flowers from the garden.

At the moment the gorgeous QT is hiding upstairs out the way fast asleep on teen 2 bed. With the sun warming his layers of fur, the poor lad can hardly keep his eyes open. This morning he got so hot lying on the bed in the sun poor love, it definitely seems to be a hard life being a cat. 

An update on the triffid amaryllis bulb that's growing taller by the day. I'm not sure how tall they grow or whether they need supporting at all. I really ought to find out some instructions on the correct care for this poor plant. Plants aren't really my thing really, everything fluctuates from over/under watering. I love the flowers but the day to day care of them, not so good.

The vases are now back in their usual place up on the plate shelf in the dining room. I must remember to take down the flowers and water in a few days time. There is another plate shelf opposite running the length of the dinning room, I suppose it appears to lower the extremely high ceilings but I don't really have any other collections to put on them so they just sit empty. It will probably have to come down when we decorate. It comes in handy for attaching bunting to as the ceiling itself is so high up, especially if I make some in crochet, I want to be able to see it.

This book I'd ordered by Nicki Trench arrived yesterday, there are some lovely flowers that will provide lots of opportunity to practice some more crocheting. There's some very pretty bunting in here and the flower layered granny square looks very appealing. 

I thought I'd drape this half finished blanket over the sofa, having reached this point now it's made me determined to get it finished. I've had so much interest in the story about this blanket if I was paid each time I explained all about it to people I'd be able to buy lots more wool. I do wish however that I'd sewn in the ends as I went along. Oh well, whatever you're making craft wise, a good tip is to sew in your ends as you go.

Jobs to do this week:- crochet more Moorland blanket and finish the book club read.