Joy in the Everyday Ordinary - August, 12-21

Hi there everyone 😀

I don't really remember the Summer of '76 that everyone seems to keep referring to as being the last time we had a Summer like the one we experienced back in June and July. I think I'm more likely to remember this one though, assuming that it's not the shape of things to come.

We are now mid-way through August and, whilst it has cooled down considerably, it has been pretty much glorious since the beginning of June, with just a few showers, which have been very welcome. The cooler nights of August have been an absolute blessing.

Martin has only had to work for a few days during August so there has been plenty of time for cracking on with stuff, when it's not been too hot, and trying to finish off some projects that we've had kicking around for a good while.

We will even have finally managed to have new carpet fitted downstairs, which has certainly been a long time coming.

The scorching sunshine and dry days have certainly taken their toll on the garden, though there is still plenty to be thankful for and to take pleasure from.

So, here we go with our August so far ...

Day 12 - Having pretty much filled our vegetable beds with plants and flowers this year we have really missed being able to pick our own salad. We planted these cut and come again mixed leaves at the beginning of August, thinking it might be too late to expect anything from them this year, but look ... We have leaves!!

Day 13 - Today was a crafty day. I have been working on these memory cushions for a friend for a fair old while now and I finally managed to finish all of the cross stitch motifs I needed to be able to finish them off.

Day 14 - After completing the cross stitch motifs yesterday I managed to finally finish all of my friends cushions today. They have turned out really well and she loves them so they have definitely been worth the effort 💜

Day 15 - This week we are finally having new carpet fitted in the lounge. Today's absolute joy and relief came from our exploratory mission to see what lie beneath. For years we have experienced dubious creaking and cracking when walking on certain areas of the lounge floor. We were so pleased to find that there were just a couple of floorboards that needed screwing down to solve the problem. As our neighbours have had to replace their joists we were expecting things to be a lot worse.

Day 16 - A lot of heavy lifting later and we could go to bed ready for the carpet fitter to come first thing in the morning. I know it sounds dull but we were both really pleased with ourselves for getting everything shifted and excited to see how the finished room would look.

Day 17 - Plenty more heavy lifting and lots of dusting and cleaning and everything is back in and we absolutely love it. We were very dithery about picking a colour and this is just perfect, exactly what we were looking for. A bit more modern and neutral, but still warm and cosy. I know you can't really see the colour in this photo, but it is called 'strand'. I know that doesn't really help, but it is a bit of a cross between oatmeal, mink and grey. We even wire wooled the TV cabinet down and gave it a fresh coat of wax and were amazed at how well it came up, for not a lot of effort. We will definitely be doing the same with the corner unit which stands in the opposite corner of the room. So, the red has well and truly gone and we aren't too sad at all. 😁

Day 18 - After a bit of a hectic week we were trying to have a bit of a lazy day before we had another busy day out with the craft stall. We started off with breakfast and a good mooch around a couple of local garden centres. We've seen these pretty daisies growing in abundance a few times this year when we've been out and about on our garden visits and we managed to find some. They are supposed to self seed easily so I am hoping to have drifts of them all round the garden in years to come. I just need to decide where to put them in to get them started off.

Day 19 - Sunday, and we were up and out bright and early with the craft stall. We were back at The Red Barn, where we had a fairly slow and steady day, with plenty of time chilling and chatting ... and we managed to sell a few bits and pieces too. Craft fair days are always a bit hectic at the start and the finish, setting up and packing away, but that bit in between is a lovely way to spend a day or an afternoon.

Day 20 - Monday and, with a busy week ahead, we only had a couple of things on the agenda for today. Martin managed to take the bottom off the lounge door following the fitting of the new carpet and I was on 'get the craft stall stuff sorted and away'. We managed to get all of that done in record time and were at a bit of a loose end so dug out the piece of fabric that I bought from one of the craft stalls yesterday and gave our red footstool a bit of a makeover.

Day 21 - Martin spent the best part of the day taking up the stair carpet, ready for refitting on Thursday and I managed to make another batch of little birdies for the craft stall. These have been surprisingly popular ... not exactly flying off the stall but we've sold a fair few over the summer months. After re-familiarising myself with the fairly tricky instructions I managing to get in my groove and managed to get nine made up. I was able to use leftover scraps of fabric too, which is always a bonus 😀

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