Author Archives: trish

Sweet Pead

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Back in April I decided to plant some sweet peas.  For a bit of variety, I ordered 4 packs of seeds and they sent me a bonus pack.  I got a window propagator and planted 6 of each type – so 30 seeds.  The expiry dates on the seeds were for 2017 so I planned to keep the rest for future years.

Unfortunately I left the seed packets out on top of the coal bunker where I’d been working and they were rained on – so I thought I’d better plant them up.  Another propagator and just about all the plant pots I could get my hands on later I’d planted up all the seeds (about 120) and all but about 10 germinated.  Once they got a bit bigger I had to re-pot them all and eventually I dug 3 trenches in the back garden set up a load of canes and planted them all out – it was quite some chore but I think it was all done by about early to mid-May.

I watered them and they grew but only frustratingly slowly, I saw sweet peas appearing in buttonholes and country fêtes but none in my garden.  Everyone else told me their sweet peas were just about done flowering.  Finally on the 23rd of July I got my first bloom, I started giving posies away but the situation quickly escalated to a washing up bowl and a hastily made sign.

freesweetpeas

 

Planning permission

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My planning application has been permitted 🙂

We finally got it submitted at the start of June – they send you this yellow notice which you have to stick up for 21 days – here is mine attached to the gate.

planning permission

It was permitted on the 8th July but then there a 21 day period where people may still appeal – it ends on Tuesday though 🙂

The next stage is building regs but my designer was on holiday for two weeks just after the planning was approved, he’s asked for quotes from some structural surveyors but not heard back yet. Grrr.

In the meantime it does mean I can get started on the driveway as that doesn’t need building regs plans – I got two quotes and was fairly shocked by both of them, so I’ve gone for the less shocking of the two (which actually was the guy who I expected to be higher). I’m not good at this quotes business, I felt like a bit of a whore for having two stonemasons on the go at once – but I guess that’s the way it works.

Also while chatting, one of the stonemasons said “well, you’ll be a year with this project yet” – which freaked me out a bit, so I decided to get started on as much as the inside stuff as possible as well – instead of the “do it all at once” attitude I’ve had thus far. In the past week I’ve had an electrician, a double glazing guy and a chimney sweep around. They are all doing me quotes – the electrician to do some of the rewiring which won’t be affected by the building work (most of the bedrooms), the double glazing guy to replace the panes of glass where the seals have gone (and also to replace the french doors – although he recommend just adjusting them and leaving them as they are), and the chimney sweep to install a woodburner in the lounge – not exactly a priority but if the room is getting replastered, it seems silly to leave the old fireplace there. We’ll see when I get the quotes back anyway.

Kai Kristiansen Elbow Chairs

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I got these chairs from a second hand shop a few weeks ago – I didn’t blog about it before as it was just after I’d written about the chairs I’d scavenged and I thought two chair posts in a row would be even more dull reading than my usual prattle.

kai kristiansen chairs

I discovered them under a stack of second hand clothes. On enquiry I was told they were £15 each – I thought it was a little much. You can’t see in this photo but there is a crack in the arm of one chair. They are sturdy though and I did really like their shape – so I bit the bullet and bought them.

When I was carrying them out of my car – I saw on the bottom they were marked “KS” and “Made in Denmark”. Given that the Danes were famous for their mid-century furniture, I had a bit of a google and discovered that KS stood for Korup Stolefabrik Mobelfabrik, these particular chairs were designed by Kai Kristiansen and are sometimes known as Elbow Chairs – they are available for sale for $775 CAD each (~£420)! Madness! I have to admit, that made me feel a little better about paying £15 🙂

On a general note – I’ve still not submitted my application for planning permission. The Conservation department and the Highways department are in negotiation over the height of the wall which forms the entrance for the driveway and I can’t submit until I know what height they have agreed upon, so the wait goes on.