Cool for cats

 I do like these new chairs, she has popped a towel on each seat, I don't know why, they leave the doors open all day and into the evening, plenty of time for me to take naps when they are not in here.

My scratching post is now in a different place, easy for me to get to it, I do love using it. Yes they do have a carpet in the back of the garage, it was in the house when they moved in.

I spend loads of time in the veg section of the garden, so many hiding places and cool to lie on, all in the shade, I can sleep whenever I want to. I still can't get on the veg beds, the net cover around the sides are too good.

She has been trying to take my photo, I'm not a poser, she was muttering because she had to delete so many photos of my bum.

I'm managing to stay cool in this hot weather, I hardly ever go in the house, just in early evening to eat, she often puts a licky (a wonderful cat treat) in my bowl, she mixes it with loads of water, I eat that outside. I still pop to say goodnight, not every night, just when I'm not busy, it's the same in the mornings. 

I don't go into the garden next door so much the big cat Felix is very scary and chases me, they use a water pistol on him if he is in our garden, I still walk along the nice neighbours back fence it's behind their huge summer house, the dogs can't see me. They still don't know where I go, he has insisted I don't wear a camera.

I have not seen the little people recently, I do love to play with them, she has promised they will be here at the weekend, anther BBQ, strange cooking hot food outside on a hot day.

My title, it's a track from Squeeze, she plays them often, I quite like the music as well.

Is it ever finished

The clock on our huge thermometer has been playing up for ages, hubby has tried to fix it a few times, finally we gave in and purchased a new clock. I love the size of it, I can see the time from anywhere in the garden, it fits in well on this wall by our back door.

No excuse, I love decals on the glass, hubby did encourage me to get these, just simple shapes.

Lilly has taken to sleeping on hubby's pouffe, its close to the doors, she lays here for ages when we are sat in there. Hubby promised to make wooden door-stops, he made two, they work perfectly, maybe not as pretty as the ones I saw, he's so clever.

I've made a few changes on my shelves, added my new painted plaque, I moved my nice trug, it did not look right, hubby found a space to store it, I've hung a few shiny things and a pink glass heart given to me by hubby's SIL, who died last year. We got a cheap edge of the counter chopping board, which hubby cut down to size to make a table top for my wicker basket.

Hubby has added a bit more to his side, including his hat and his number plate from his last motorbike. I love seeing his menu board up, he's used it for years, the little ones love to read what's on offer. Hubby decided he wanted nicer chairs, I managed to talk him out of an expensive pair, these will do. 

I have popped some sheer nets to shade the front, they work well, we can remove them once they are not needed, this is a real suntrap, when the temperatures are in mid 20's we are happy, any higher and we stay out. I have purchased a couple of rugs, the long runner by the doors I got off marketplace for £10, a real bargain, the rug I got half price from Dunelm. The throws and denim cushions I made years ago, it's  all come together nicely. 

We have often sat out here in the evenings, it's so quiet, we listen to the birds, we can't see the feeders, but we hear their rowdy feeding, we don't have much road noise here and most of our neighbours are quiet, it does feel a very peaceful place to sit.

For now we are watching tennis, it's just too hot outside agsin, it's a very exciting tournament this year, the second week is always brilliant. Arthur Ferys win puts him in quarter finals, he plays later today, against an opponent he has already beaten this year, 🤞🤞hope his never give up attitude wins out again. 

Lazy days

 I will always love our garden, these days there is not a view I am unhappy with.

I do wish we could open those patio doors once again, smell and flies are the issue from next door.

I have done nothing for days, after spending Saturday in bed, Sunday was the laziest of days, sat in the shade and then in our sunroom, I read all day, just what was needed. I surprised myself and slept all night as well.

I was due to go to IKEA with daughter on Monday, we postponed to later in the week, knowing I would have more energy to enjoy the day out. So hubby and I had a lazy day at home, I knew I was feeling better as I did a few bits around the garden. There does not seam to be many flowers at the moment, the heavy rain bashed so many including the huge poppies, but there are more buds on the roses, and other plants will follow. 

I am in trouble with daughter she found out we missed seeing a show whilst caring for George, I 'forgot' to say anything before she went away, knowing she would maybe have stayed at home. Both Will and Molly had a great time, George was not really aware of what he was missing and had a great time here, he does love both of us. Daughter did agree with me it was easier for her to just have two, she was able to focus on them, it was the first time they have flown, normally George has most of her attention, as usual daddy was present for all the good bits, other times she said he faded into the background. She managed to enjoy her time there knowing the children were having loads of fun and because it was their time with him, he paid all the bills, she only covered the cost of passports and the flights (in itself still expensive) This for now is the only way the children get to see their dad, he has no plans to return to the UK.

New outlooks

 The new doors are on, the contractor was a local independent guy, who came recommended and did an outstanding job. The floor has been laid, we used gym floor tiles, deciding on grey rather than black, and purchased a bigger outside plastic rug for on top, which will arrive soon, both doors open outwards to keep the usable space inside.

The view looking out is much nicer, the old up and over garage door caused a huge shadow, I can still see flowers growing. For once I feel this is a proper patio.

Hubby popped up two shelves each side, allowing us to have a few bits out of the way. I got a few more silly signs, hubby knows how I like things to look finished. I've not had any input on his side, he got a small bathroom cabinet, I prefer my hamper, which has blankets in and the huge jar with a wooden tray as the table top. 

I hung my sunhat here as well, more convenient, handy should I want to wear it. I have suggested hubby hangs one of his in here on his side. My lovely trug is hanging here, it is beautiful, sadly I don't use it much, I have another I use, so often it has been in the way, here I can see it. The signs are hung straight, the angle of my photo makes them look off, most of these I have had for years.

The view from our seating area has improved so much, this left hand side of the garden is now truly part of the garden, removing the metal door makes the building look less like a workshop and more for leisure use. For now we are using my tubs for door stops, I did see some lovely wooden ones at £100 each, hubby has some nice wood, he will try and make them for me.

So now we have our sunroom, it faces to the sun most of the day, so on cooler sunny days this will be a perfect spot, on hot sunny days we can sit further back in the shade, on windy days we are completely sheltered. The first night it was finished we shared a bottle of Hawkstone cider and sat out until 8pm, it's been a perfect project for us both, it does feel good to have another space we can sit in, these days I prefer to be at home, and no matter what the weather is like we can be 'outside'.

I have promised hubby there is now NOTHING big left to do (fingers crossed) I truly have nothing I want to change, our garden is a perfect space for both of us. He has said he will paint the board just under the roof felt, the new doors make it look grubby.

The children's garden toys are all handy, hanging all the bats and balls up in the front corner works well, I have shown George we do not store the toys in the same place, hopefully he understands and will stay out of the back section, Molly already understands. 

It's sorted

 Our work in the garage is finished, it took loads of sorting, four trips to the tip, the bigger back section is tidy, we both have our own sections, now everything has it's place again and we know where to find things and hubby still has loads of wood (just in case).

I am really pleased with my second IKEA storage unit, I got 6 of the shallow trays, giving me 4 shallow and 1 double in each carcass, plus 2 of the deeper ones stacked beside. Plenty of useful storage along with two bigger shelves. The top shelf which I can't reach is all hubby's bits, stuff we want out of the reach of the little ones, my feeds and other bits are on the shelf below, still out of reach. 

 The partition is useful for my hanging hand tools, and a few other bits, this space is so much better for me, I can get to everything much easier, at the top is an old rusty rake which belonged to my mum, I ready did not want to pass it on, so I cut the handle and pinned it up there. The four horse brasses belonged to my older brother something I like to see in here. The bin is now on my side, I don't need to access the bigger storage much, so it's sensible to have it there.

Hubby built the two partitions, just a frame with tongue and grove on the front, I had chose green stain for here, but decided I liked it bare, we decided to paint the brick, we already had white masonry paint. I have loads of daft signs on my side, hubby will add bits to his side. The children's garden toys are here as well. For now we will use our loungers, which can be folded if we need the space. 

It's a very sunny spot and perfect on windy days to sit inside, we had ideas to knock the garage down and remove my greenhouse and build across the back of the garden, the estimates were eye watering. The second bonus, I am beginning to struggle with the up and over door, the smaller door was taken out by previous owners. 

We are both happy with this reconfiguration of the space, its nice to look at, which was important, it catches the sun all day, whilst sheltering from the cold breezes, if we sit further back we can be in the shade. Once the new french doors arrive we needed to decide on flooring, we did think of coir or jute, which is expensive so we have ordered so gym flooring interlocking mats, easier to cut and we can use our rug on top. We both have electrical sockets, Alexa works in here as well, unexpectedly our wi-fi reaches outside. 

We have used this space over the hot weekend,  it's nice to have another space to relax in, I'm behind on my veg beds, it won't take long to catch up, I need to get used to working in this heat, plus I won't plant out anything until the temperature drop to their normal levels.

I have no idea what day it is, the little ones had an inset (no school) day on Friday, so far I think I'm on my third Saturday, not that it matters to us. They will all be here later this morning, lots of laughter in our space.