Teapot.

Hi! We went to Spitalfields Market today and met up with Nell and Patrick for a cup of tea and neb.

On our way back we went into Labour and Wait where Hannah saw the model of teapot used in the tearoom she used to work in. 

A classic design, the Brown Betty 8-cup makes a good couple of mugs of tea: We opted for redbush for its first outing, but will try "proper" tea - and other varieties - soon. Check back anon for details of our continued tea investigations...

Sofa...no puns

Hannah found a cheap sofa on Gumtree. We bought it with housewarming monies kindly donated by Helen and Clive Black. All we had to do was hire a Zipvan (Thanks Auntie Beeb!) and recruit a burly man to help with the lifting (Patrick), and it was ours! We went to fashionable Columbia Road and picked up our battered yellow Laura Ashley drop-arm chaise longue/sofa. But here's how the day began...

I was out helping @SCREEN17cinema while Hannah moved stuff around the sitting room to make space.

This is the space she made!

This is the Zipvan. It lives round the corner from us and will come in handy again in future, I'm sure.

Patrick and I had to move the sofa through our narrow front door sideways! 

It was tricky, but with the help of Patrick's guns and expert wiggling we got it in.

Then we sat down for a bit and congratulated ourselves on a job well done.

So we went out to Ye Olde Rose & Crown for a pint and some crisps and nuts.

Hannah was allowed to come too. Then we went home and Hannah made the men Thomasina Miers's  Black Bean Sopa Azteca and corn tortillas, and we all drank lager beer, like men (except Hannah, who had hers in a glass!).

The next morning (this morning, in fact), Hannah drank tea on her new sofa and saw that it was good.

Now we're cooking

As you may remember our oven has not been working. But now we have a new one! Jon and Stephen did their special plug diy hole again, a la the washing machine.

isn't it pretty. Can't wait until I have some time for baking!

and we moved our recycling basket so it was next to the sink.

It's curtains for you (again)

Hannah has finally finished the bedroom curtains (see previous posts; Saturday Jobs and It's Curtains). This is how the day began!;

 We got a length of dowling (I fished it out of the canal).

 I pretended to be a real man, by drilling into the wall using a masonry bit (for those in the know.)

 The drapery needed a feminine touch though.

Finished!

  Hannah is very proud of her new curtains. 

I think she loves them more than she loves me or her first-born child.
Thanks to Mum Lloyd for the ace fabric. Hannah's been saving it up for something special.

p.s. We also now have double paper lamp-shade!

Hangings.

We realised we had a lot of mirrors on the floor leaning against walls. I'm sure this is very boho chic, but it makes hoovering awkward. Our plain white walls were also becoming a bit boring, so we hung some of those mirrors up.

Hanging.

Hammering.

In this photo you can see our dental cabinet and my Stetson. These mirrors are useful for checking your side-parting is just-so just before leaving the house.

This one shows of our mirrored hallway, Hammond and wax-print curtains.

Pretty! 

We did a couple of jobs around the house yesterday. It wasn't as hard as expected and made us feel better.