A Not So Quick Catch Up

I thought I'd better pop on because I've been absent for a while. 

We've been busy here since my last post with school holidays, new shed for the garden, sorting the living room out (still) and a few birthday celebrations. We went for a meal last week for Caleb's girlfriends birthday and to meet her family. Now to me it felt a bit odd because I will always think of him as my little boy who loved cuddles, not the 18 year old with a girlfriend. She is a very nice girl though.

We still aren't finished with the living room. The decorating side of it was completed ages ago but Anders seems to keep on adding work for himself. I'll show what has been done so far.

This old cabinet has gone

and has been replaced with these bookcases that Anders made.

The opposite corner is pretty much the same as before. The bookcase is one that Anders made a few years ago.

The fire surround is the old one that has had a coat of paint. Anders made a new hearth and replaced the back on the fire (this was something he added on as we went along). The mirror is from Exclusive Mirrors. 

This is what the fire place looked like before.

We ordered the table and chairs on line and when they arrived the table had been damaged. On one of the corners the wood had split so this had been sent from the manufacturers like this and not happened in transit. The company told us to dispose of the table and a replacement would be send. After waiting in for I don't know how many days I got back in touch with them only to be told they didn't have any more and they would arrange a refund. So I'm stuck with chairs and no table. Anders took the table top in work to see what could be done to it.

 After a lot of glue, being clamped and waxed, I had a table. It's a good job that we hadn't thrown it on the tip straight away.

These were the old lights which were originally from my in laws

and these are the new ones. The lights we bought were on sale, half price from Debenhams. The curtains and rug were also on sale from Dunhelm Mill.

The sofa looks a bit bigger than our last one but they are the same size. The old one had chunky arms and as this one hasn't it has more seating area instead. The sofa is the Fellini model from Sofology. The wall behind the sofa does look very bare but that is where Anders hangs his guitars. (as much as I hate them being in here, there is nowhere else to store them and he doesn't even have room for them all here so I don't know what his plan is)

The cabinet is from Ikea. Even though Anders wanted to make as much in this room as he could, to buy the glass doors worked out too expensive. It looks pretty empty from a distance but it is full of nik naks that we're bought on our travels.

This was the corner where the cabinet is now. We've bought some small speakers to replace those in the photo.

Still to go in this room is a coffee table (which is almost done), more bookcases in the other alcove next to the chimney breast and a new TV unit. Anders was going to make a sliding shelf to house the turn table but he says that the unit has faded too much in the sun and it is quicker for him to make a new unit from scratch instead of sanding and re staining the one we already have .. see, he makes more work.

Craft wise I got around to finishing an embroidery that I started a little over four years ago. I only found it while having a sort out.

The pattern was purchased from greenbeanbaby on Etsy.

I also made this crocheted cushion for Caleb's girlfriend.
Something else that may be happening in our house is that we might be getting a puppy. This subject has been talked about for years here with Anders adamant that it wasn't happening. I don't know what's up with him (maybe softening with age) but he changed his mind. The kids are delighted. First I looked on line at dog rescue centres where I live plus surrounding counties. After looking at the descriptions of many available dogs it was clear that I wasn't going to find one that fit our requirements as a family. We need a child friendly dog, one that doesn't shed a lot because of my allergies and my eldest boys asthma and is relatively easy to train. After looking at many different breeds and have settled on a Boston Terrier. I've been in touch with a breeder who has a litter but they won't be ready for some time yet as they are only 4 weeks old. I've done this instead of going to pick a pup that I can take there and then because I've heard so much about puppy farms. We have been in touch via email and they have answered any questions I've had so far. As we have no intention of breeding dogs ourselves we have chosen a dog rather than a bitch.

This is pup (the end one with a thinnest white blaze). We will be going to view him next week. Hopefully all goes well with the visit and his health checks are fine.