More house stuff

It looks like we’re stuck with a non-matching front window: the trade evidently standardised its brown window frames on fake rosewood about three years ago.  This is a pain, since the previous owners of the house had gone for fake mahogany.  At least the phoney glazing bars now more or less line up.  (Had we had the original job done, it would have been honest white plastic inside and out, with no phoney leaded lights, but what the hell: it doesn’t look too bad.)  Yesterday, Martyn finally pinned down the removers we need to bring down the desk and the sofa bed, and having winced at the estimate, he has got a rather less eye-watering quote - for cash.  So that’s lined up for some time next Friday.  Even if there’s a few days’ slippage, my ex-study should be ready to receive the new bed when it comes at the end of the month.

Sparky Colin has been here today to fit a new outside lamp.  Since the forecast was for heavy showers, he rang first thing to suggest putting the job off.  In a rare moment of alertness I said ‘well, there is another job we need done indoors: we’d like an LED strip light in the kitchen to replace the buzzy fluorescent one, so we can keep your time earning whichever way the weather turns’.  In fact he has done both, so we’re ahead of the game.  He’s a good worker, really fussy about his work and good to have around the place, chattering away to himself as he decides how to tackle the job.  He did all the electrics when we had the kitchen rebuilt, and has since been our go-to man for any electrics we need done.  We keep a mental list, and call him in when it gets long enough.

We’d a pleasant evening here yesterday with an ex-colleague of mine and her husband.  We have now both retired from the hobby, and are not missing what it has become, with hearings conducted by video link and telephone.  We’re entertaining again tonight: Martyn has got the pudding ready, and I just have to make the béchamel and build a couple of lasagnes (for which the meat bzw. veggie components are done).  

We’ve had to cut down the remaining tattie shaws, more of which were breaking off each windy day.  The tomatoes are similarly battered, and we’re hoping enough of them will ripen before the plants are completely shredded.  Both of the bean wigwams have now collapsed, so I don’t think we’ll be doing a lot of blanching and freezing this year.  There are a few others, rather more securely fastened to the side fence, and they are holding up OK.  Stouter poles next year.