FUN WITH MR JIGGLE BUG

Mr Jiggle Bug likes the thrill of living dangerously...

One day Mr Jiggle Bug will be my slave...

HALLOWEEN, BLACK CATS & PEPPER

It all happened so unexpectedly: The Friday night before Halloween, I was smoking in the courtyard around 10pm when a black cat suddenly appeared out of nowhere.  It was meowing up a storm and rubbing itself against my legs.  Luckily I'm not superstitious or I would have been alarmed when I opened the front door and it shot straight up the stairs.  Once I had fed the cat some ham and given it some water, it settled sleepily on the foot of my bed where it spent the night.  

Pumpkin, as we ended up calling her, was a very affectionate kitty and before I knew it I was returning home with cat food, litter tray and a few toys to play with.  The six days she was with us, she was no trouble at all.  We got used to her sleeping on our beds at night and licking our feet and faces in the morning.  She had an endearing way of headbutting your hands whenever she wanted to be petted, which was often.

'Pumpkin' - The start of it all...

But all the while we knew that she was probably somebody elses kitty and this hung heavy on our conscience.  We asked the neighbours if they recognised her and we kept alert for any 'Lost Cat' notices.   It was inevitable that one would appear eventually and that Pumpkin would be returned to her rightful owners.

We were sad and felt bereft after they collected her, as we had grown very fond of her.  The house felt empty and I missed having her around.  That's when we decided that even though the house refurb wasn't finished that we needed a bundle of furry affection in our lives...  As one of our neighbours had advised: A house feels more like a home when you have a cat in it.

Pepper - Home at last.

'Pepper' (as we named her) came from the Cats Protection Charity and she was one of many cats that had been abandoned. A seven month dark silver tabby, we knew she was the one, as soon as she started head butting us.  Pick me, she seemed to be saying. She has very striking eyes which are a mixture of blue and amber and a reddish brown nose.  She's settled in nicely and is beginning to respond when you call her name.  She loves to cuddle & snuggle up against you and is full of affection - especially liking to have her belly rubbed and under her chin scratched.  In short, she's adorable! 

Look into my eyes... and pet me.

A couple of days ago Pepper was vaccinated, microchipped and spayed.  The vet assured us she was in good health and remarked on how well behaved, good natured and docile she was.  Having never owned a cat before, I was suprised what perfect pets they are:  As well as being extremely clean and only peeing & pooping and in their litter trays, they like to sleep a lot.  Pepper seems to like being around us and won't stay in an a room unless somebody is in it.   I guess it is early days as to whether she'll become more mischievous and independant, but at the moment when she isn't head-butting your hands to be petted and played with, then she finds a comfortable spot close by and settles down to sleep.

8 out of 10 cats prefer sleeping.

Sweet dreams.

KEEPING IT REAL OR NOT

It is often said that it is the little details & touches that can add the
illusion of hotel style luxury & comfort to your home:

A gorgeous exotic looking orchid is a popular choice for bathrooms, as they
enjoy moist, humid conditions and indirect sunlight.  However, they do
require constant warm temperatures of between 20 to 35 °C.  Chilly
temperatures will cause the plant to stop budding and producing flowers –
which is really what you want it for, as the foliage is rather boring when
it isn’t in bloom.  Good results may be obtained by feeding the plant with a
high nitrogen fertilizer about once a month.  Care should be taken not to
over water it as this can often cause root rot and kill the plant.  When the
last flower drops, prune the flower spike halfway down the stem and continue
caring for it in the hope it will re-bloom; and that once again you'll
be able to admire the colourful magnificence of nature.  Some people have a
knack with plants and some people…, well, some people!

Alternatively, if you have a busy life and little time and no inclination to
spend the rest of your life worrying about the conditions in your bathroom
for successfully rearing beautiful orchids, then a solution is to turn
towards the artificial.  Fake blooms don’t have to be tacky or plasticky if
you source them correctly.  The trick is to look for plants that are
constructed from latex, often under the ‘real touch’ label, and which
actually feel like the real thing or very close to it.  A good artificial
orchid may cost you twice as much as the real thing but the advantages
of the artificial over the natural one is everlasting charm, blooms
for perpetuity and minimal care.

Artificial plants available from:-
http://www.neuhaus-artificial-plants.com/

Victorian orchid grower, collector and fanatic, John Day (1824–1888)
charted his obsession with these exquisite plants by producing some 4000
illustrations of orchid species in 53 scrapbooks over a period of 15 years.
It just goes to show that a fanatic should never be underestimated!

Orchidelirium was the name used to describe a period in the Victorian era
when collecting Orchids reached almost manic levels.   As bizarre as it
sounds, this wasn’t the only time that flowers became a sought after
commodity:  As early as 1637, at the height of Holland’s ‘Tulipmania’ single
bulbs sold for more than 10 times the average skilled worker’s salary.    Later
at the start of the 19th century, the hyacinths replaced the tulip as the
fashionable flower.  Such is the fickle world of flowers.

Anonymous 17th-century watercolor of the Semper Augustus,
famous for being the most expensive tulip sold during tulip mania.

GETTING A HANDLE ON IT

Welcome to the world of door handles:  Much like the world of tiles, there are literally thousands to choose from. I've narrowed it down to levers instead of knobs; brushed or satin chrome or stainless steel, but there are so many designs to choose from.  Here are a few:-

'Carrera' is one of my favourites for its sleek, streamlined design but sadly it is only available in polished chrome which isn't really practical when you think of smeary hands.  Brushed or satin chrome would be a better choice.

'Carbon Fibre' is a strong, bold choice.  At the other extreme, 'Aluminium' has a simple unadorned functionality that I like.

BATHROOM PROGRESS #8: THE FITTINGS

The bathroom is about 90% complete now.  Several things still need to be done: The pipework needs boxing and tiling; the grout and where the tiles meet the bath tub need to be sealed; and the bath panel needs to be installed and tiled.  Unfortunately we had a couple of leaks and our plumber had disappeared again!  But yesterday he was back and they've all been fixed now.

 

 

Finished ceiling with down lights

Bath accessories

SEPTEMBER SUN

Sadly the last days of summer have swung around and this little fellow was making the most of it; having a snooze in the sun as one does...

'You lookin at me?'

Zooming out...

to the Summerhouse.

This is the magnificent summerhouse & deck that my neighbours built at the back of their garden, this summer.  The original plot looked as below and the summerhouse was an excellent way to utilise and hide the old concrete foundations that were already there.  It's hard to tell from the photographs but it's around 20ft x 20ft deep.  The result is a fantastic playroom and an extra space to chill out.  Inside, it has been furnished in a Morroccan style.

DOORS LEAD TO OTHER DOORS

Given the events of the last couple of days, the mood in London is strangely quiet as most people are choosing to stay indoors.  The bus and tube this morning on my way to work were unusually emptier and everybody is in a state of nervous alertness.  Shame has fallen on our lovely city, brought on by the mindlessness of a minority of thugs intent on reckless destruction and looting.

For most Londoners, it's business as usual as we try and continue with our lives and struggle with the horror of what has happened.

The replacement living room door was fitted at the weekend.  The orange splodges are wood filler used to fill the sunken screw heads as well as any other imperfections.  The finished doors will be painted in white satinwood.  A useful tip that was given to me by one of the stage carpenters at work was that when hanging the door the top hinge should be 6 inches from the top, and the bottom hinge 9 inches from the bottom.  Suprisingly, when seen this gives the illusion of equal spacing and he was absolutely right!

This is the first of six doors that need to be replaced.  For some unknown reason the existing doors and frames were all of different heights - which is just the type of thing that can annoy me greatly.

 

 























Between installing doors, work has started on constructing the recessed TV unit wall on the chimney breast.

Original Living Room before stripping down - incidentally, the junk is mine!

Stripped down and with sub floor laid

With extendable TV Bracket and stud work

more stud work

Example photo of a recessed TV

Recessed TV in a Kelly Hoppen interior

LIVING ROOM SUB-FLOOR

  

Greatly relieved to be finally rid of all the nasty old carpets!  The living room sub-floor was laid last weekend, leaving only the office floor the be completed.  It's important to remember the finished floor will only be as good as the sub-floor that it is laid on. It will probably have another layer of fibre-board underlay before the bamboo is laid.    

WALLS: POSTER ART

I love this poster and I think it might be perfect for the top of my staircase.  I love the vibrancy of the colours and I love how it evokes the adventure and excitement of travel.  It works particularly well against a background of neutral colours.

This work is by Michael L. Kungl, an artist who specialises in creating original works in an Art Deco style.

http://www.mkungl.com

Posters are available from:-
http://www.allposters.co.uk/