FALL CLEANSINGS 24

I was still not content with the arrangement on the hallway windowsill, so once more changed things around. This time, the duck and tee-lite holder were swapped. I find this a far better 'look'. While no longer shining outwards into the garden, it is safer to have the candle on the side away from telephone wires, I think.

The next indoor task was to paint the undercoat of the trim going up the stairway in Tibetan Gold paint. This meant heaving (or in my case, dragging) the huge telephone 'closet' towards the front door and away from the wall and allowing my friends the spiders time to readjust and 'move on'. A few hours after shifting the heavy closet, filled with yet more junk that I need to be rid of via sales/donations, I could begin.

I began by vaccuming the dust and paint flecks from behind the closet and wiping down the area to be painted, then waiting a while for it to dry before painting.

I made my way as far up the stairs as I could find Chux to accompany me. Once I ran short of Chux, I stopped. It was therefore only a half-hour job. However, this half hour of painting was sufficient for me to leave the front door open for an hour or two. This allowed a slimy pal of mine to enter and investigate. Here he is sliming inside and observing from the wall by the front door.

A day later, I top coated the area I had previously painted. I now need to decide whether to progress by painting a line of brown paint as high as I can reach and then rolling the ceiling and above-line - or to finish the tin I started of Cookie Dough on the walls, and then do that chore...

FALL CLEANSINGS 23

The candleholder was somewhat too 'Christmassy' and also had belonged to my parents, not myself. I therefore soon chose to dump it in the pile of stuff to sell/donate, and replace it with my little OM candle holder.

However, that did not fit right with the decor being a sort of greeny-gray color, rather than browny-ochre-gold. I therefore decided to keep the OM holder for my bedroom use and bring down the glass holder for the entryway - I think it looks much nicer.

My shot of the phone area/entryway is somewhat blurred - I apologize. I just wanted to give an idea of what the entire area looked like. The chair and bag of painting rags will of course eventually be banished. My other idea is to ditch that great big wooden closet - which is alas filled to the brim with stuff to sell/donate - and replace it with a lighter brown/white/ochre table. If I did not want the tv table for the back room, I could use that...

Here is the result with a white teelite candle on a chilly fall morning -

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The far corner was begining to look a little whiter. The wall was coming up quite nicely in that area, too - finally. I kept going... scrub, scrub, scrub on the walls and floor. It finally began to look almost decent.

I then had to tackle the ceiling and polyfill the cracks. Firstly, I filled in any cracks on the white pieces. I left the pink for later, when I re-do the larger holes in the white bits. I did not have much polyfilla left...

That corner is begining to look good; alas, it is only one corner. I swept the ceiling free of webs again - leaving just three small patches where spiders still dwelt. I then wet-broomed the ceiling on the eastern half of the room.

October reached its midst, and I began to notice the chilly airs arriving, signifying English colder weather and the season for hot chocolate drinks, extra socks, curries, soups, and tidying up outdoors before the frosts of winter. The wet weather held me back a little, so I focused on 'warming up' the hallway. I started off with a duck that I no longer wanted to inhabit my bedroom for the sole purpose that I wish to live in a clutter free environment. I liked the duck, so popped him next the red glowing candle to make a pleasant warming morning entrance to the 'palace - to - be'.

FALL CLEANSINGS 21

Returning indoors, my favorite chore started a spree of activity. I turned out the pantry - yet again. It seems to be the best way to get me to go beyond the regular everyday cleaning and start to think about doing something to progress turning my parent's dump into my personal palace.

However, the dreaded cleaning of the former 'pink n white' room lay ahead - still. Each time I began, something halted my progress it seemed. I fell ill, had too many coffee-dates and shopping excursions, and then the weather was so beautiful I spent a lot of time outdoors. Eventually it became time to tackle the room though - or at least make a start.

 

Here you can see a grotty corner and a table that needed to be removed to the front/spare room. You can also see that I removed the clean white stools that double as seating and coffee table when needed. With the table gone, I could get to work cleaning the walls and floor...

One clean later, it was not looking that much better, however. This time, I did not let this stop me from stepping a little closer towards my goal of fixing up the room. I recleaned the walls and floor in the eastern half of the room a day or two later. I was still faced with a pile of stuff on top a radiogram and chest of drawers in the insert - and the horrid feeling that they both might contain more 'stuff'...

GARDEN GLIMPSES 8

This shot is of my 6 Orla potatoes - all doing well. As you can see I tipped some dry soil on top of them. This came from the poly tunnel, when emptying pots. My patio is far from being clear - but I do now have a little green stool to sit on after I work in the yard along with a table for putting a cuppa or bottle of beer on, dependent upon what time of year it is.

Whilst sitting on said stool sipping the pictured beer, I looked up to see how close to the house the tree branches are getting. I realize they will need trimming back at some point in the next year or so - but the friend who gives me tip trip lifts has offered to bring her ladder around for this purpose. 

 

 

Our own ladder goes up six foot, but even standing on top with long handled pruners, I cannot hack off the bits that are too close to the house. Whilst they are only tiny thin pieces that do not touch the house yet, were they to be left for long, in the gales we inevitably get each year they might soon start to do more than brush the tiling of the roof.

Sitting on the patio stool sipping my beer after working in the poly tunnel - along came a friend - Mr Bob the robin. He had also been poking his beak inside the poly tunnel at one point. From today's final picture, you can see that there are growth from the bird seeds spurting up all over the patio - another job for me some other day...

GARDEN GLIMPSES 7

As you can see from the first photos I am sharing with you today, I have a new wildlife area set up. I found an old crate when pottering round the poly tunnel which I set up alongside the broken bird house in a quiet out of the way corner. Hopefully, a hedgehog or squirrel will enjoy the area - but if not, I am sure the slaters will.

 

I have now tidied the dropped pegs and leaves pile by the back door - and replaced the falling to bits work caddy with a tin bits box. Additionally, at the end of September, I tidied out the poly tunnel. There is now another pile of junk alongside the house ready to go to the tip. Yes, I know the poly tunnel is not yet empty - but at least you can get inside it, and the only junk left is plant pots and large items - such as rusty tools, water butts, lawnmowers, and benches.

That is not the end of the clearance though - I will still be asking my friend to drive me to the tip with junk after the junk is cleared from the poly tunnel - because - at the back of the yard is an area where Dad dumped the stuff he called junk - alongside his wheelbarrow.

GARDEN GLIMPSES 6

This is the corner between the laurel tree and compost bin up the side of the garden. I spent ten minutes tidying it up - by removing a roll of chicken wire. My dad must have made some sort of makeshift wire fence - for some unknown reason. Attached to it were green wire tying it to three poles and a piece of short plastic fencing. This is all piled up ready for the next tip trip. 

The pond is doing well. Although there still appears to be a lot of algae on the surface, it is a lot better than it was previously. You can see the water through the algae now. I re-piled rocks around the edge at the far end, as the lining was coming away a bit. You can also see where i yanked out some pond irises and replanted just a few - the clump was massive previously and quite took over the corner.

Moving along to my veg plot - as you can see, along with the weeds, 6 potatoes are doing well and a few mooli. The leeks and marigolds did not surface. My next job is just as disheartening as the pink n white room is indoors. I want to tidy and clear the patio so that I can take a stool outside and sit out there with a coffee sometimes. Chairs for sale - 4 green plastic garden chairs anyone?

FALL CLEANSINGS 20

Fall has now descended upon us, yet the fairly-mild weather has allowed much to happen in the yard and house. Or at least it would have done had I not fallen into a spot of being unwell with infections and flu.

My friend gave me a lift to the tip, clearing the junk from the side of the house in mid-September and I have felt full of energy for several days. Having lived so many years in Australia, it feels like spring cleaning season to me - so that is why my energy became actions indoors. The tip-trip also removed a few items from the pink n white room, allowing me to 'begin' to clear and clean. From the following rather poor lighted video, I think you will see that I have quite a job on my hands, though. 

 

I began by sweeping all uninhabited cobwebs from the ceiling. Alas, many still had spiders dwelling in them and had to be left for now. Next, I wiped over the socket, tubing, heater, and part of the door. This made a slight difference in appearance and a great difference in smell to the room. Then, I shook out the two linoleum mats - alas this had little effect, as they had stains and dried mud stuck on them. Finally, I swept the floor...

It doesn't look that much better. The next day, I carried part-pots and unused pots of paint to the shed, shook out the rug, and re-swept - but it still does not look much better.

One area I have tidied up for fall is the entryway near the front door. This has been painted and cleaned before and now I have added a tee-light burner to the sill. It is really a Christmas decoration, so will be replaced eventually - possibly by an aromatheraphy oil burner.

 

I was hoping to buy a pasta-dish to add to my collection of kitchenware. Today, at the store, I spotted one. Right shape, color, size... but alas, 'made in China' adorned the base - so it went back onto the shelf.