Knackered knees

Well, my shoulder survived a workaout at M&S, but now my knee's knackered!  D'you think I'm getting too old for all this?!  Bob and I were talking the other day about what we thought we'd need first, a hip replacement or a knee replacement.  I think at the time I said hip, but I've changed my mind this week!  I did spend two and a half days on my hands and knees last week and I think I may have twisted my knee without knowing it, disguised by the aches and pains of crawling around for so long!  I went to work on Saturday, spent 8 hours on my feet and then could hardly walk back to my car! 

Extreme cake decorating!

We have tiled the floor in the end bedroom hence the two and a half days on my hands and knees.  Laying these little tiny slate tiles is not a quick job even though they come in foot square sheets so it took a whole day with me laying them and Bob mixing the adhesive and cutting pieces for edges and round door frames, etc.  Then the next day we did the grouting and that takes yonks plus ages!  We tried all sorts to try to make it easier and speed it up.  I even dug out some old icing equipment and cobbled together a piping bag.  This worked quite well to start with and was much neater and less wasteful than just smearing it all over.  Trouble is, the grout mix stiffens up quite quickly and hands and arms can't cope with it for long, so back to smearing it all over!  That is all now cleaned up and just needs a coat of floor seal to bring out the colour of the slate.  The skirting board is all cut and painted and ready to fix once it's properly dry and the curtain poles are up.  So, you know what that means . . . . yep, time to make curtains.  We bought the material last week and I'm really pleased with it - it's maybe not what Bob would choose as it is a bit girly with hearts on it, but it's not that girly!  It is red and beige check with raised embroidery between the checks and little hearts in some of the squares.  Oh, hold on . . . . .  don't go anywhere, I'll be back in a moment. . . . .

. . . . there, a photo, that's easier than explaining!  I like making curtains out of squared material - it makes cutting out and lining up soooo much easier.  Once the floor's sealed and the skirting boards are fitted, we can move the bed, etc out of the oak room and into here and then get on with the floor in there - more little slate tiles, oh joy!  They are perhaps not what we would have ideally chosen for bedrooms, but to be honest you won't see much of them by the time the beds are in and rugs are down and they were so cheap they were a bargain not to be missed!

Here's what Bob saw out of the kitchen window the other
day - can you pick out the two buzzards?  How cool is that?!