SUNDAY AND ANOTHER BANK HOLIDAY!

For which we say thank you kindly! So a nice long weekend. So what's been happening? Well we actually had another one last weekend as our daughter Lindsey treated us all to a Friday to Monday break in a thatched cottage 5 mins from the beach in Norfolk!

A lovely flint thatched cottage that was lovely and secluded.

A very pretty enclosed dog friendly garden.

The view of the back of the cottage.

Parts of the cottage were very old, I loved the kitchen window and old beams that were evident downstairs.

There were four bedrooms, although only three of us went along with the two dogs.We were lucky with the weather which was dry although a little cool on the Saturday. The table was set for tea when we arrived late Friday afternoon, with a lovely homemade Victoria sponge cake, which we slowly worked our way through over the weekend.

I don't know if you are the same, but whenever I stay in another place on holiday I  get inspired to make changes or resolve something once I'm back home , with my own house.

In this cottage there was a utility room just off the kitchen where the fridge/freezer was, along with washing machine etc but also the toaster. This helped settle in my mind, that I would move my toaster over to the 'breakfast' side of my kitchen to free up work surface by the stove. I said to Paul about doing this but had not got my act together but now my toasters been moved along with the coffee machine.

I also loved the flint wall across their back garden, here with Zak peeking through the gate, although in this case it's not something that can appear overnight once home but I'd love to be able to one somewhere in my garden one day.

It was the dogs first holiday and they just loved playing on the sand and also walking through the woods.But having the dogs long made it much harder to take my thinking through my doll photos, So I landed up taking photos as and where I could and working my story line round what I had which was why the photos are not as complete as they could have been.

I have been some what spoilt this week as I had not only Monday off but also Tuesday as I'm working next Saturday and due to staffing levels, I was given my toil day this week instead of in the coming week.Then I also didn't have to work this Friday just gone, so was able to go to visit my grand daughter Clara and spend the day.

While at my daughters I was telling her about how I intended to sort through all the old family photos and reduce them down to only keeping the best and throwing out the rest, after the girls have checked if they want any, and how I'd sorted out quite a few cookery and gardening books and given them away to charity, in order to get my new books on the book shelves and clear the space to move the Toaster etc.
She told me about a lady called Marie Kondo , on Netfick, who goes into peoples houses and shows them how to deal with their clutter and how she was now folding all their clothes , so she could find things easier. After Clara had finished her afternoon nap I looked at the now organised drawers and was very impressed.

These are a Marie Kondo photo of her folding method.

So I watched a couple of her programmes early yesterday morning and I'm planning to use her methods, apart from the thanking my clothes.. don't ask.. to help me de-clutter the house.
I have been slowly working my way through but her method may help me move on even more than I was.

So due to having a lovely weekend away we've not achieved anything on the kitchen this week although Paul is outside painting the first coat of blue on the top cupboard doors and since we don't have to work tomorrow, I'm hoping that they'll get fitted and a second coat added then!
We had planned to remove the lower cupboards and the sink and replace with the new ones but of course when I ordered them on Monday the delivery date was this coming Wednesday, too late for the bank holiday but we've plenty to be getting on with, so not really an issue.

Because I'm in the clearing out frame of mind, I'll be listing dolls on Ebay and my sales page later, not sure if any will be Sasha's but there needs to be a cull !

Despite the dogs efforts to destroy my circular Iris bed last year I'm pleased to say that it's survived and some of the Irises have been flowering this week.

I need to reset the brick border they've knocked about but at least the Irises are looking nice and healthy.

While away I wanted to get a photo of the dogs sitting nicely by front door of the cottage but needed Paul to get them to sit and stay, some of you will have seen this photo on my feed on FB, with the dogs totally giving the game away as to where Paul is 'hiding' !

 I did manage one with them looking ahead but had to move closer to get it! Which alas meant you cannot see the house.

So I have lots to do, so will wish you all a lovely healthy happy week ahead and go and start sorting!

Dee