Unidentified flying curry and things that bite back*

Ikea was the day. Today. (Monday, I'm a day behind)
We got there (Thursday came too, hooray!) we ate stuff, we had free extra coffee, we did a complete circuit of the labyrinth, drank tea (which was really quite nice) and we got home with multitudinous Ikea items. It only took us er...6 hours?
Well that does include the journey to Bristol and back.
I have to say that Thursday is the most brilliant company and made most of a day trudging round the Ikea monster seem quite acceptable.

Well, Barney and I got his desk up and working**. Unfortunately for me, this meant moving the old bed out of his new 'stamp room' into what will be my sewing room. So I won't be able to get my desk up and running till that's gone (I don't know where it's going). Also, until the futon has been moved out of the music room and into the stamp room I won't be able to put my Poang chair together in there. And I'm really looking forward to the Poang sitting experience. what's more, Ikea was still out of stock of the desk I wanted to use for card making. so I can't have that up yet either.
Then there was the pate. Barney spent a good deal of time in the kitchen, over the weekend, not, regrettably, making dinners and stuff but making pate. It's very very nice. Unfortunately for me, when I had a quick slice while making dinner* it bit back and a small piece of bacon bone attacked one of my teeth. Quite violently I might add. Now you might think the pate was entitled to return the biting but I happen to think not. At my time of life I have to nurture those teeth that remain with me. This tooth make a kind of squelchy snapping noise. Nothing came out however, (except a mouthful of pate expelled at speed and with a squawk of outraged anguish) It all still seems to be in place though the gum and the root area is rather tender. Maybe, just maybe, it'll survive. I'm now trying to decide whether to take it at once to the dentist in case there's something he can do to help it hang on in there. Or whether to let it look after itself. Hmm. By the time I've decided it may have made its own decision. (Good tooth, nice tooth, clever tooth, tough tooth. Stick with me and I'll look after you for ever - promise). Well as long as it's hurting, even slightly, it must still be alive don't you think?***

Well the best things about the day were without doubt, having Thursday's company and coming back with the loot. (there was also a very beautiful, very early, frosty morning expedition but few of the photos amounted to much - I don't think I was really paying attention)

Yesterday though, I went to the woods and took a few pictures as the sun went down. Then, played with them cos the sun had gone quite a lot down and there wasn't a lot of light. Then I got a bit involved with the playing and found a horse that came from the far Northern Pennines. I transported him to the Berkshire woodlands and off he went into the sunset. I hope he'll be happy there.


*In the interests of getting the desk together, dinner was a hastily assembled group of things out of the freezer. One of which was not labelled. But turned out to be an unidentified curry (I lied about it flying).
**It looks very nice. I am evious. No you idiot computer, not devious, envious!
***It's ok, only a very minor hurting: We managed breakfast :)

Round the Ikea in less than 80 days

We went to Brother in Law's for the weekend. The main object of the visit was for Barney to chop down some of a tree. All his family turn to him when they need any heavy duty gardening or roof repair doing and we turn up with chainsaw and assorted implements of destruction.
Here are the brothers Bardsley, working harmoniously together.*
On this occasion we got magnificently fed...I don't think I will need to eat again for several days. What's more they have an Ikea on their doorstep. So me and sister in law made an excursion from which, thankfully, we emerged**. After watching the football, the brothers Bardsley chopped and hauled and managed to reduce the tree somewhat without totally destroying it. Later the boys went to the pub and Sister in Law and I drank a bottle of wine before we all ate the most enormous pork chops I have ever seen. Later still I thought, maybe I will have a hangover tomorrow! Oh well. This shot of suburbia was taken under the influence of huge food and much drink.
Then today there was an enormous chicken, marvellously stuffed. (but absolutely no wine for me thank you very much). And the niece and nephew were around over the weekend, both being pleasant and charming and entertaining as usual. They are a delightful pair and I prophesy broken hearts in both their wakes in the years to come. If not already!
Barney and I made a second excursion to Ikea to investigate desks. I've sold him on the room usage thing and he got quite excited about the prospect of going home with a new desk and a room just for stamps! Sadly, after an hour waiting for Ikea to open properly (funny Sunday opening hours they have) so the hordes would be allowed into the warehouse area, we found that the chosen desk was out of stock! Barney was sad. And eloquent upon the shortcomings of Ikea and all its awfulness. Couldn't really disagree but anyway I still have to go and get myself a sewing table and a card making desk. All will be well :)
Mind, I've no idea how all this is going to be paid for! Better examine all my bank statements carefully so I can do a bit of sleight of hand on them. After all Christmas is coming and I will need to spend money on it however much I might wish it would just disappear!
So back home and time to fetch the dog from kennels on a misty early morning :)


*A scene I often see in various forms - Barney up a tree wielding an implement of destruction and a member of the family standing helpfully at the bottom
**I really do wonder sometimes if there are people in Ikea who never managed to find the way out, haunting the bed department and wandering sadly and hungrily around the sterile kitchen bit. As all Ikeas are identical, I guess they might skip through to some other universe and find themselves in a different Ikea in some other time and place. This could account for huge numbers of missing persons...now displaced.