I Knew That Some Day, My Plinths Would Come!

As far as we can tell, Cornerstones [built 1972] started with a basic kitchen. In the 80's the owners replaced the units with better ones, with wooden doors. In around 2007, an extension was built, so the kitchen was slightly larger. Some of the old units went into the Futility Room,[without plinths. I can fix that, said Bob] and fairly cheap ones were put into the new kitchen. We bought the property in 2009. In 2018, we repainted the FR units, and added some wall cupboards [surplus to requirements when we moved from Kirby to Ferndown] It took us months, because we weren't living here then. But I was really pleased with the final results.

Eagle eyed readers will spot that there are no plinths visible under the sink!  Bob said "I will make a set sometime" My post of 8 years ago was entitled "Some Day My Plinths Will Come".
We retired here 5 years ago. The fridge freezer moved into the corner, and my French picture came down.  And we began to realise the main kitchen was falling to bits. So 2025 was The Year Of The Kitchen. A lot of hard work, plus help from friends and family [and a few good tradespeople] we ended up with a £30K+ kitchen for around £10K. 
Bob is not a man to let things go to waste. Some of the removed cupboards were repurposed in the garage, and he replaced the upper futility cupboards [small and shallow] with bigger ones. "I shall put new doors to match on the drawers and sink unit" he said. [June 2025] Sixteen years on, and now the FR has new upper cupboards - but no doors on sink, and still NO plinths! I decided to say nothing.

Last Friday he had an amazing burst of energy - having sorted out my table, he then set to with power tools modifying the old doors to make new drawer fronts.
And then he made plinths! Seventeen years after he suggested it. To show my joy at this great improvement I have tided the drawers and cupboards and moved all the random bits of paper from the fridge door. Just four things have been allowed to remain.

This is a really usable room now and easy to maintain [no more things rolling under the sink!] Thank you Bob

I've Got Some Nice Legs!

Said Bob. It was during the great pre-retirement downsize, I realised that one thing I did need at Cornerstones was a small table in the back bedroom. I had hoped it would be a worktable for my craft activities, and a place for visitors to put their stuff. That was why Bob mentioned his nice legs [!] and that he had a piece of wood, a short length of kitchen worktop retrieved from our neighbour's skip in Dorset when they had a refit. The legs were red metal [IKEA bargain basement, £5, years ago] and had remained in his stash, stuck together with parcel tape. He promptly screwed the legs to the wood and there was my table. It has been in use ever since. But he never actually finished it properly. I put a tablecloth on it when we had overnight guests.

Here it is, this time last year, stacked with food and jars during the kitchen refit. The top is grubby, it had sharp edges and corners, and the base of every leg [hidden in this shot] is a mess of half removed brown parcel tape. More recently my worklamp has been clamped to the edge, and the table has been covered with sewing projects.

On Thursday, I had been tidying the bedroom, the tabletop was clear. Bob leapt into action, and took the table outside. He removed the legs, and while I set to work with solvent to clean off the sticky tape and goo, he rounded the edges of the top. He sanded everything and finished it off with a coat of Osmo. It looks so much better now

Clean, shiny and no sharp corners! This will count as a restoration project, another of my #word365 activities. Thank you Bob. I shall refix  my lamp and I'm 'good to go' again

The Silent Stars Go By

Often I will make a special tree decoration to mark the year - the year of lockdown, the year of the Raised Bed, etc. This has been The Year Of The Kitchen. I had a whole stack of IKEA instruction booklets - every item comes with its own A4 manual, about 8 pages long with pictures of how to assemble the flatpack furniture. I had a crazy idea about some sort of paper sculpture decoration.

Using my die cut machine, I produced lots of 3" circles, and carefully folded and glued a 'honeycomb' ball. But although it was suitably round, the honeycomb turned out very uneven and I was unhappy with it. I found a pattern for folding a 5 pointed star. This proved much better.

I found an excellent online TUTORIAL , offering both words, diagrams and a video - so you could choose which instructions suited you best. You begin with some very clever folding of a square of paper, and then make one cut, which gives you a perfect pentagon. This is then folded into a pretty star. 

Whilst watching University Challenge, I folded my stars. I've given them a thin coat of PVA solution to protect and stiffen them, and help them stay folded. I have chosen the best one to hang on the tree. On some you can read the different languages, on this one you can see screwdrivers and hammers!

I may add this line to my 'reworked carol lyrics' collection

"Westward leading, still proceeding
Folding the Kitchen Star"

My Kitchen Is NOT a Crime Scene!

I am being super- diligent about keeping my lovely new kitchen clean and tidy. But the other day I was using my blender [in a hurry], and splattered red juice on the cupboards. It was like an episode of CSI.  I am not quite tall enough to pour things tidily into the little hole on the top. I had a lot of washing and wiping to do. So I decided to be more careful in future.

I bought quite a lot of fruit recently because despite my love of puddings, I know we need a healthy balance - and the girls love fruit too. Watermelons are fabulous in hot weather. A slim slice on a stick is as good as a lollipop, cool chunks in as bowl with a drizzle of yogurt is an ersatz ice-cream-sundae. But I had half a melon left, And a mango too - and Ro and Jess were in Holland.

I decided to blend the remaining fruit and make a bottle of drink for the fridge. I cut off the peel [into the compost] and chopped the flesh into chunks.  Inspiration struck - my jam funnel fits neatly into the hole in the blender lid - so I rechopped the fruit a little smaller. It was quick and easy to spoon the melon bits into the funnel and blitz it.

I juiced the half melon, then decided the mango which was very ripe needed dealing with. I peeled it, and scraped all the flesh from the peel and from the stone, and blitzed that - adding an equal amount of orange juice from a carton and half a cup of water. 

The watermelon drink went into the large bottle, the mango&orange into the small one - and the remaining juices were mixed up into a third bottle. Once made they need to be drunk within a couple of days. That is better than fruit going to waste. And my funnel technique has kept the 'blood spatter' off the cupboard doors. Don't they look pretty?

A Short, Short Break

We had hoped for a short break after the Kitchen Project was completed. Bob wanted to return to the Canterbury area where he grew up. Things kept getting in the way. Last Wednesday we decided if we didn't book it soon, it would be the school holidays...So we investigated possible accommodation. Airbnbs seemed quite expensive for what was offered. But Keynes College, part of Kent Uni, offer a really good b&b deal. 

Double room, with ensuite. Use of kitchen and lounge, full breakfast menu, free parking. So we booked Friday - Wednesday. And planned our schedule. Whitstable, walk by the sea. Canterbury and see the sites, and be nostalgic. Return to Littlebourne where Bob grew up, and the Churchyard where his dad is buried. Deal Beach Parlours [once owned by Bob's Italian godmother] for an ice cream. Stroll through picturesque Rye. Eat a sandwich in Sandwich...It didn't happen as planned 

Friday drove down, over Dartford Bridge, stopped at Bluewater for lunch in Leon. Got to uni at 3. Checked in [2nd floor room] Bob had back pain, so I walked to nearby Campus Co-op, got a couple of microwave ready meals for tea. He felt better after food, so at 7pm we drove to Whitstable for dessert.

Saturday into city centre for 9.45. The Medieval Pageant was due to start at 11. We pootled along, visited his Mum's church [not been there since his sister's wedding nearly 44 years ago] looked at people in costume setting up stalls, and displays in the Library, had a coffee. 10.55 we were in the Methodist Church, and Bob said he needed to sit for a bit. I went outside for 10 minutes to watch the procession pass by. Returned to find him feeling really unwell, The kind church ladies looked after him whilst I fetched the car and was able to drive it round to side entrance. Back to Uni. Arranged to change to a ground floor room. It was Really Hot. Bob slept. I took the car to big supermarket for more food. 

Sunday after a disturbed night, Bob said he still wanted to go to Littlebourne. The sun was shining brightly. We had coffee in the local pub, visited the lovely old church [no service this week] and stood quietly at Dad's grave under the trees. Onto Sandwich, for a sandwich

The Folk and Ale Festival was in full swing, great music and Morris Dancers everywhere. Excellent sandwiches. Onto to Dover, to the Ancient Maison Dieu. Then the heavens opened, we were soaked to the skin. Bob felt ill again, acute pain, nausea and more. Back at Uni he phoned 111, we ended up in Ashford Hospital Urgent Treatment Centre. Kidney infection, antibiotics. Monday He slept all day.

Tuesday we came home a day early, it was a long drive - and I managed it ok [but 8 miles from home, we stopped for petrol, and he kindly took over for the last bit]. 

I did manage to get a few good pictures, and will post them later. Right now I'm concentrating on nursing duties. Happy to say that Bob is getting better, slowly

It's Almost Five Weeks...

 ...since we declared The Kitchen Project "finished". Thoughts thus far

• we still need one more coat of white paint on the door surround. Oops!
• despite using the room A Lot, it remains amazingly tidy and clutterfree
• however late it is, I will not go to bed if there is anything on the worktop which should be elsewhere
• the undercounter lighting is superb
• the majority of 'new protocols' have worked
• keeping the Futility Room as a 'scullery' for dishes and cutlery [both clean and dirty] is proving a very efficient system
• the 'Breakfast Area' works really well, apart from one minor change ***
• regular use of my new, more accessible, breadmaker means I am buying less bread, and eating in more mindfully
• the bins under the sink [recycling, compost and general waste] are an efficient system
• listening to other people's comments is amusing
• I like the alphabetical pull out spice drawer, I want one!
• Where did you get the Atora sign? [Liz picked it up from a freebies heap on the school run]
• How do you know where everything is? [I have it all listed in my little file here]
• The labels on the electric plugs are brilliant...especially the one that says μwave, because μ means micro [this from my GCSE student]
• The tiles look really brilliant
• having the cooker hood venting to the outside has made a difference- especially in this hot weather. The kitchen is by the front door, so the exhaust comes out over the doorbell. The Evri delivery guy actually said to Bob "Is that your wife cooking the tea? It smells delicious - she's a keeper" I'm still grinning about that unexpected compliment.

Fitting that hood was one of the worst parts of the whole project- crawling in the tiny space under the eaves, directing Bob below in the kitchen as he tried to drill through.

You know that bit where Tom Cruise is suspended, and mustn't put his foot down or everything will go wrong. I felt just like that as I balanced over the joists, in the dark, struggling to breathe behind my face mask [mustn't inhale insulation dust!]

**the minor change is the relocation of the toaster. According to Emma Perkin, in the Guardian this week, one "clever storage hack in your kitchen" is to get a tall cupboard, and fit an electric socket inside it, so you can store your airfryer and toaster in there - and use them there too. I cannot believe she got away with this dreadful advice! It is essential to have space around these appliances. They get so hot. The ROSPA and the Fire Service are already alarmed by the rapid increase in domestic fires since air fryers became so popular.

My air fryer and toaster now stand to the left of the hob, there is no wall cupboard above them, and when in use they are moved into a position where there is ventilation all round.

***yes that is a shiny new Dualit. Our Very Old [17+ years] toaster went on the blink in May, the plastic knobs had broken and kept falling off, and worse, it kept grilling, and didn't stop-and-pop-up. And  Not safe at all. So we looked around, and decided on this one. Buy well, buy once -  if any part goes wrong, they will replace that part. Ours was assembled by Michael [it says so on the label underneath!] and it has a very clever bagel setting, as well as the option to toast 1,2,3 or 4 slices of toast. We are thrilled with it, the engineering and design is excellent.

...and the cupboard doors close, the drawers do not collapse, the contents of corner cupboards are accessible, and I feel the kitchen is really fit for purpose. Which is useful as we have dinner guests coming round twice in the next week!

🧀🧀🧀 Thank you for all the wonderful cheese comments yesterday. It is good to see so many of you supporting the cheeses local to your area. 🧀🧀🧀

Where Are The Chagos Islands Anyway? **

I first learned the term CHAOS from Martha Cilley, aka the FlyLady, about 25 years ago. She is a 'home organiser' with a million ideas and plans to help you avoid living in CHAOS, which stands for Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome [because your house is an embarrassing mess]
Well this week, I realised there is an extra complication - some of us maybe living in CHAGOS, which stands for Can't Have Any GARDENERS Over Syndrome

There have been odd goings on in the Cornerstones patch. I take full responsibility, I was too preoccupied with the kitchen work, and the sewing machine, and the Half Term Family Time.

There are Egyptian Walking Onions everywhere - in the small green trough where Rosie and I first planted them two years ago. But also in the adjacent flower bed. And the small onion which I replanted in the second, smaller raised bed last year, has spread a lot - and almost planted a shoot in the grass under the apple tree...I probably should have been more diligent - but those little onions are useful to cook in place of shallots, or to chop finely for a garnish atop a salad or soup - and the green shoots are very chive-y.

Last Thursday we were at the Parish Church Coffee, Cake and Chat group. A lady suddenly said "There are plants growing on the outside of the church. I think they are snapdragons. Is that a flower? have I said the right word?" We assured her that indeed snapdragons were a flower. On our way out, Bob and I checked - and yes there were indeed snapdragons [aka antirrhinums, or toadflax] which had taken root in the soft mortar above the church door.  The next day I noticed that there were butter-yellow snapdragons in my garden - in the main raised bed, nestling between the lettuce and beans, and in the smaller RB, close to the bamboo-cane-pyramid.

Where could they have come from? [the Parish Church? Is this a novel form of 'church planting'?] 
They are pretty flowers so I am allowing them to stay...

But the worst thing? My pyramid has hardly any sign of runner beans growing around and upwards. There are a few small plants with the right sort of leaves. [I dug out that dandelion in the middle] However, row 10 of the big raised bed is full of these scrambling shoots with beautiful scarlet flowers. 

These are definitely runner beans. But did I plant them all in the wrong place- this was supposed to be Dwarf French Beans. Have I have muddled up two seed packets? My friend Cathy who also volunteers at the Hospital [I am a Visitor, she is a Gardener] came round for a cuppa. 

She was very kind, and said such mistakes are easily made. I have stuck lots of spare canes in Row 10 to give these beans some vertical support. Cathy advised me on dealing with blackfly on the broad beans and was fascinated by the EWOs. I broke off a shoot and gave it to her- with a dire warning about their spreading potential.

So what with walking Egyptians, invading snapdragons, and not-where-they-should-have-beans, my garden is a little bit confused this summer. Definitely CHAGOS. If Monty Don, Alan Titchmarsh or Sue Kent turn up, I shall skilfully guide them away from the chaos of the garden, and distract them with a tour of the new kitchen [still impeccably tidy!] 

**Nearly 6000 miles away, in the Indian Ocean, between Sri Lanka and Mauritius [see here]

Aftermath

Half Term Holiday week was fabulous - thirteen different family visitors - the girls and their families, Julian, my bro and SIL, and Bob's sister and BIL. They liked the kitchen  "Calm and tranquil" said Gaz. "Surprisingly tidy" said Steph. Steph, Liz and Julian quickly learned the new locations for stuff, and helped out with meal prep. The children were bright and cheerful - crafts and science with Grandma, stories and steam engines with Grandad...

Jess was eager to make floating flowers again. She explained it all to Bob. But 17 seconds is an awful long time for a three year old to wait...

Last September, when we were putting away the patio parasol, I noticed it was very ripped and holey round its top section. I made a new piece "So I will not have to repair it when we get it our again."

But when we got it out two weeks ago, the top was OK - but the rest was completely perished along its fold-lines where it had been packed away! 

See the holes marked in green. Steph brought us a new cover from Manchester IKEA and all was well again. We were grateful for the shade on the very sunny days.

Now all bedding and towels have been laundered, in the bathroom the little step stool has been folded and tucked away, and the pirate ship and ducks moved to the end of the bath [so they won't impede laundry on the drying rack]And we are eating p meals made of random leftovers.

The June calendar is surprisingly full - but for a few days I shall really miss them all. Their presence makes such an impact

Still Tracing Rainbows!

Thank you all for your kind comments about the kitchen - and for your encouragements as we worked through this mammoth project ! 

How was your Bank Holiday? I went out early to put up signs for a Yard Sale at the Vicarage [my good friend Rachael is leaving in three weeks for a Parish in Northumberland] The weather was fine.

The family all arrived around 11am for coffee. The four cousins were delighted to be together. Jess spotted the sun coming through the front door glass, making rainbow spots on the runner in the hall, and called the others to see. They had a lot of fun looking at the pretty spots, and tracing the rainbows with their little starfish fingers - then they all went off to the coast for a picnic and a paddle.

Bob suggested we had a little run out in the car, so we went to the pop-up craft shops at Dalegate Market. He bought a hat! [I have yet to take pictures] The Café was closed, so we picked up sandwiches  in the "garage shop" - which is a bit posher than average. Very upmarket yogurt, I must say!

"Nomadic" yogurt comes in an intriguing split pot. The top contains granola and a wooden spoon, the bottom, foil-covered section contains runny yogurt. You open and combine. Packaging is 100% recyclable. There's a splendid new mural at the Market! We came home, and I went round the village taking down the Sale signs.

 

I called on the vicar, who was very pleased with her sale takings!
All in all, a lovely day.
I hope your Monday was just as much fun.

It's All Done!

First Bob's video [I had expected him to put the Dalek away, and put the fruit bowl out...but never mind!] The door is missing [it was outside, having been freshly painted] but is now back in place. There is discreet , dimmable, undercounter lighting, and track lighting on the ceiling.

And a few photos with details...We have put a 'drinks station' next to the hob [easy for people to find what they need to make a cuppa]

On the opposite wall, above the toaster and breadbin, all the necessary for breakfast [cereals, spreads, the sauces for 'full English']

On the top shelf, least accessible, are Christmas Cookie Cutters, and cake decoration equipment, which gets used much less frequently.

Spike the Plant is keeping a watchful eye from the windowsill! Look how brilliantly Sean has done that Metro Tiling. Our French picture, and the Atora sign look good on the walls. IKEA have clever ideas for fitting things in, like corner carousels and pull out drawers. The appliances go away tidily.

I have put a box in the tray cupboard, to stop them all falling out. The top shelf contains a tiny box for pen, notebook etc, and behind is my folding cookbook rack, and 'kitchen file' Everyone is happy

Technical details

IKEA Metod Units with grey Lerhyttan doors.** Oak laminate worktops

Walls - English Sage [Wilko] 

Floor by LMH flooring

Ceiling by JD Plastering

Plumbing by GMC Plumbing

Tiling by Restyle Pro

Huge thanks to family and friends - Adrian, Julian, Alan and Ash for help with electrics, painting, worktops, and heavy lifting!
My thanks most of all to Bob for his hard work in project management and just keeping going. Teamwork makes the dream work!

We have a fabulous kitchen [better than the £30K+ design we were quoted in December] for just about £10K. And it is guaranteed by IKEA for 25 years. I think this project has had a significant impact - and I hope we are able to use this greatly improved space to prepare wonderful meals for the family, and use our home as a place of love and hospitality to bless others too. If you are passing, do call in, won't you?

**We wanted a little bit of grey paint for the cooker plinth, and the edge of the box round the pipework next to the microwave, and spare just in case of chips. The best match we found was a tester pot in Farrow&Ball "Pavilion Grey". So I can truthfully say that, like the National Trust, we have chosen Farrow and Ball paint in our new kitchen!

Would You Believe It?

Isn't it a small world? A blogfriend of mine went on holiday [abroad] and on the last night of her holiday found herself sharing a meal table with another Englishwoman. They had quite a few things in common. Then the other lady mentioned she lived in Norfolk. My friend said she knew a retired minister and his wife who lived in Norfolk - but for the moment, she just couldn't remember our village. "It's Bob...erm..." "Not Bob and Angela Almond?"  We first met the second lady in London in 1987, and since retiring here we've reconnected because she lives in a nearby town and belongs to the Baptist church there. So two of my good friends have now met each other, hundreds of miles from home.
Somebody recently said that if my readership is that wide, perhaps I ought to Monetise my blog*. I am not sure I want to do that, but anyway here are some waterlilies for you to enjoy...

*that might help pay for the kitchen!

Ordem y Progresso

The national motto of Brazil, emblazoned across their flag is "Ordem y Progresso" which means "Order and Progress" which is my motto for this week, I think.

Definitely progress. Sean the tiler arrived at 7.45 and got straight to work on Monday morning. He is efficient, and careful. Everything was covered in plastic sheets and taped down, to prevent damage to the new cabinets. A dust sheet went onto the floor to catch the mess from his tile cutter. And he was meticulous about measuring and accuracy. Only one glitch - Julian had helped carrying the heavy boxes of tiles in from the garage before he left on Saturday. Only after lunch on Monday did Sean discover one box had different tiles in it! Fortunately B&Q said if Bob took it into the Norwich store, they would swap it for the correct ones. Fortunately he was able to do that. 

As well as the burgeoning fig tree, there are other good signs in the garden. 3 rose bushes currently without blooms, but the Absolutely Fabulous is living up to its name. That has been there 10 years
In one corner of my little raised bed, the strawberry plant has survived the winter and has flowers - there may be fruit later 🍓🍓🍓
And my alliums, bought in RHS Bridgwater  in Manchester in 2023 have bloomed - but they are only half the size of the previous year's flowerheads. Things are coming up in the main raised bed, the tomato plants in the mini greenhouse are thriving, and the potatoes are producing foliage. 

So all that is definitely progress. As for order - well. we are getting there slowly. Since Bob and Julian took our DIY waste to the tip, the remaining wood on the patio has been reorganised in the workshop. The tidier boxes in the back bedroom make sorting things out a little easier - and by Friday I should be loading my  wall cupboards in an orderly fashion.
I have been able to get out my sewing machine and have a day working on a birthday present, for a special little girl, and that has been lovely. And my knee is no longer painful, nor is it the size of a football - I can wear my jeans again! I have had my Shingles Jab too. Much to be grateful for.

Fish, Chicken, Lion, Snake

 We have had a lovely time with Julian - he arrived early Wednesday with his big Vax. While Bob was at The Shed, J&I cleaned the lounge rug and the carpet in the back bedroom [having first lifted out all the kitchen boxes temporarily. It takes as long to clean the machine after use as it does to scrub the carpets! But the difference is really noticeable.
Bob was back early, and we went off to Hunstanton - leaving in bright warm sunshine - arriving to a grey and cool resort [not to "Sunny Hunny" as the locals call it] But a fish and chip lunch was well received, and we had a stroll around town.
Thursday was spent taking the DIY Kitchen stuff to the local tip - it only cost £4 to dispose of the timber, dead cooker hood and two bags of rubble. Less than we'd feared! Homemade soup for lunch, then AirFryer Harissa Chicken in the evening.
Friday we went to Yarmouth, for another visit to the Time and Tide Museum [we went with J and Ro last year] They have a special summer touring exhibit of the Cabaret Mechanical Museum of automata. The CMM used to be in Covent Garden, and we all loved it, so it was good to see it again. Here is a man eating spaghetti in his bath, and another model called "Lion Tamer"

We went on from Yarmouth to Lowestoft [out of Norfolk, into Suffolk] We walked up the main street [pedestrianised] There were lots of shops selling mobility aids and rising armchairs. And we have never seen so many different types of mobility scooters in one street in the space of 45 minutes. I am not sure what this says about the demographic of Lowestoft. We'd had enough of walking, and found a pleasant teashop [tea and cakes for 3 of us were £8, which seemed very good value to me]

I was grateful for plenty of opportunities to sit down where needed, the swelling in my knee has greatly subsided, and I can get into my trousers again! And Julian is a great help, and an easy houseguest. 
The Harissa Chicken recipe was from my recent library book

Plus points - recipes well set out and illustrated. Negative - there are ONE hundred recipes, then a small 'tweak' with each one to make 200 [like "replace garlic with rosemary", or "use ham instead of smoked salmon"]

The chicken cooked well and we enjoyed it. I served it with couscous. This book has a good range of recipes, but I think it is a borrow-not-buy cookbook - I cannot see myself doing many of the recipes in it, but found the initial notes on airfrying very informative. It is beautifully compact! I'd rate this one 3* [maybe if I cook something else before it goes back to the library I might up that to 4*]

Julian will be back at the end of the month, once the kitchen is all done. Meanwhile, a picture of Grandson George on a School trip. I am not sure how happy he is to meet the snake.

Resting My Legs...

Some books are definitely ones for reading in the summer - ideally in the garden, with a floppy straw hat and a long cool drink. Two of my favourites are One Summer's Grace- the story of a  family summer holiday spent sailing round the coast of Britain [by broadcaster Libby Purves] published in 1989 - and Three Men in a Boat, a fictional account of a holiday boating down the Thames [by Jerome K Jerome] which was published exactly a century earlier.

I read Libby's book the year it came out - my girls were at primary school, and much of it really resonated [not the sailing bit, I can feel queasy on a 4 foot deep boating lake] The JKJ one just makes me fall about laughing. The opening of the tin of pineapple in chapter 12 brings tears to my eyes. I was reminded of the older book this week, because the narrator tells how he once read a medical book, and was convinced he had every malady listed - except Housemaid's Knee.

This week I have had dreadful HK. I know exactly why - I spent Friday afternoon on my knees, scrubbing the tiles of the Futility Room. They are hard and cold. But they were filthy, having seen a lot of traffic [and food prep] during the ongoing Kitchen Project. I've had it before, and know all the correct actions to ameliorate the symptoms. It will pass. 

I have been doing quite a bit of housework. The spare bed is completely clear now [OK there is a cupboard in this picture but that is temporary] All the kitchen stuff is stacked in boxes in the corners. It is not all going back!

But there is at least somewhere for Julian to sleep when he arrives later today. It will be so good to have him with us for a few days.

I will go on resting my knee, using ice packs and taking ibuprofen. It is a good excuse to sit and read!

By the way, the K in JKJ stands for Klapka. He was named for General K, hero of the 1849 Hungarian War of Independence. His father was called Jerome Clapp Jerome, and was allegedly a very funny vicar. They called him Parson Clapp. What a crazy family!

Speaking of crazy families. I have recently realised how many J's there are in our family. On our Sapphire Anniversary photo, we have Julian, plus Jessica, Jacob and Jon [and Rosie's second name is Jean] Almost as bad as the K-Kardashians!

I need to sit down with my knee on an icepack for a bit...