Love the irony

The other week when our computer died I had a few days when life seemed a little more insular. Cut off from work emails, friends, and most importantly blogging (!), I took to doing some odd jobs around the place. It's amazing how much time is freed up when the computer's not on.



In our long kitchen table is a drawer stuffed to bursting with tea towels and napkins. One of those drawers that you open quickly, plunge your hand in and grab anything that comes to hand. Well in I went, eyes wide open, took out the whole caboodle and sorted. How many tea towels does a family need? Some are years old, some more recent and, now's the bad bit, some were just too pretty to use. Can you believe, yes I know you can, that I buy tea towels because they're pretty but then can't bear to use them. Now the kitchen seems to be harbouring an alternative fabric stash of its own. All were washed and I made a pledge to use them all (ha we'll see).



The floral ones (of which there are unsurprisingly many) looked so pretty on the airer in the garden that if the weather doesn't come up trumps this year and the snails refuse to surrender I might just have to install them permanently as a flower border. Much easier to care for than the herbaceous kind and they will have at last served a purpose.



Now if I was my mother, the tea towels would have come in freshly aired and promptly ironed. These were not. I loathe ironing (actually tea towel ironing wouldn't be too bad) nearly as much as I hate badly creased clothes. My mother on the other hand, seemed to relish it, I can't remember a day when the ironing board wasn't out and a pile of clothes was waiting to be put away (which was always my job). That's the thing, it's not just the ironing it's the putting away, in the same way as it's not just the supermarket shopping but as your standing at the checkout feeling mildy relieved, you know all of it needs to be put away when it gets home.



The irony of living in what was once a former laundry has not been lost on me. When I saw this delightful frame over at Cowboys and Custard, I knew I had to have it.



Michele makes the most beautiful frames and I know that many of you are familiar with her work - gorgeous. So now, when the Radio 4 play and the scent of my lavender linen water do little to alleviate the tedium of ironing, I have this little beauty to look upon and make me smile.



Mummy, you were a very good teacher but I wasn't a good pupil! If it's any consolation, I love washing. The smell of clean clothes that have spent the day on a washing line, mmmm ...



I got two bunches of flowers this week. M bought me some tulips to cheer me up. There is big tulip love going on around blogland at the moment and I'm adding to it. Love, love, love tulips and so do the squirrels, especially Sir Squigs who has dug most of mine up but will post some photos next week of the ones he left behind.



The lovely Louise presented me with this bunch the other day - thank you. As I mentioned to you Louise, they brought a big smile to my very pale face! Thanks too to everybody for your well wishes, I am starting to feel better and looking forward to being able to enjoy some food very soon.



Have a great weekend and can anyone tell me what happened to April, where did it go?