Preparing to decorate . . . and some great finds

In the garden the grape hyacinths (muscari) I rescued from DIL's garden a few weeks' ago have  finally flowered.

There was a lot of this yesterday (that's blue sky and sunshine!)  so we spent some time sitting out in the garden soaking up the much-appreciated warmth, and looking forward to many more to come

I had a really productive day yesterday.  I finished off all the sanding I had to do, although I spent almost as much time hoovering and washing down the woodwork afterwards as I did actual sanding.  I have always adhered to the belief that preparation is essential to ensure a good end result, so I take time to do each step to the best of my ability, even if the dust gets everywhere and the wood looks worse before it looks better!  I think it's worth the time and effort.  I am realising, however, just how much painting there is to do over the coming days  :-o.

I'm feeling really chuffed with my charity shop finds.  Two skirt lengths.  One is a metre length of a wool mix 150cm wide originally priced as a remnant at £3.59, the other is a 1.5m length of 90cm printed cotton, also a remnant priced at £4.49.  I bought both pieces for the princely sum of £2.50.  I am very happy :))  Both require washing and I think there may be a bit of damage to the cotton fabric where it has been stapled together, but I am confident I can salvage enough to make good use of it.

Our meal last night was just delicious, and looked so good I'd eaten half of it before I thought of taking a photo!  It was a Mediterranean vegetable fish stew with red onion and leek risotto rice, all made from scratch by my in-house chef, and we both agreed it was one of the best meals we've had for a very long time.  Definitely one to remember.