Jenny Wren Crafts
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27th February 2021

2/27/2021

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Well, 'it's been a funny old day' as Arkwright used to say. When the conservatory base was done I asked them to save the slabs to make a path round to the shed so yesterday I thought I would try to find someone to do the work. I found three possibles on Checkatrade and sent messages. One came back, Gilberto, who said he would come round this morning at 10.30. At 11.30 I had a phone call saying he was having difficulties finding me. He said he was in my road and I looked out of the window in time to see a small white van go out of the cul de sac to my right and down the road. He then told me the name of a street further down so I said he had gone too far and I was on the corner of the cul de sac and there was a big black truck (next doors) parked outside. Moments later the small white van went past in the other direction. I again reiterated that I was on the corner with a BIG BLACK TRUCK outside!! Well, he eventually found me and then I had to tell him to go round the back which is three streets away! I thought I would probably never see him again but he managed it this time and gave me a quote for £400 to lay the 20 slabs. I said I would think about it and let him know. (not a chance). 

I have also been meaning to order some skirting board for the conservatory from B&Q as I have a voucher code they sent me for £5 off a £50 shop. I found the skirting board (white primed MDF) and put 4 lengths in the basket. That was £43 so I added a tin of magnolia from the clearance section to take it over £50. I put in the code ... and ...nothing happened. I tried adding my B&Q card number...nothing. OK when desperate read the small print which said it couldn't be used with any other offers. Fine! I'll just get it anyway, click and collect from Halesowen, my local store. Err no. 'One of the items is not available'. That turned out to be the paint but I could get it delivered for free. Yay. OK. Rest of order ready by 3.40. At 3.30 email saying the skirting board was not available after all and re-funding me £38, keeping £5 for 'delivery'. Aaarrr, so now I have to ring Customer Service which as usual is 'experiencing a high volume of calls'. 25 minutes later I discover the £5 delivery is for the paint as the order is now less than £50 (the magic amount to get free delivery). Luckily the Scottish lady on the other end sympathises but is unable to give me refund as it has to come from the store! So, she rings the store and then rings me back. The store can't refund until after the delivery but if I ring up then they will refund the £5. I said I wasn't ringing again so she said she would put a note on the file to action the refund. OK I said now what about my skirting board, could she check who did have it in stock. She did and the reply was Redditch. Great, my favourite place where I always get lost round the round abouts. Fine I said so she ordered it and managed to get £5 off. So I'm all square and I only took about three wrong turnings when picking it up. 

While I was between calls with the B&Q lady I had an email from PayPal to say I had received some money! Always exciting especially as the only two things I have for sale at the moment are patchwork throws. I quickly looked to see what had sold and discovered it was a purple mohair scarf that I no longer have as I gave it away for Christmas. I panicked and checked on Folksy and Ebay to make sure it was not still for sale, which it wasn't, so I have no idea where she has got it from. I had to send her an apology and refund the £15 she had paid. Only when I came to do that PayPal had reduced it to £14.27. All in all not my day for bargains!

One good thing though, I did have an idea about the slabs and contacted Debbie's brother Gary to see if he could help find someone. The answer was yes so that is now all sorted. 

Yesterday I gave the existing patio doors and window a good clean as they are now inside the conservatory. They look much better and I will clean the glass at some stage as well but not till I have finished decorating.
I have just finished reading The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman which my sister very kindly sent to me. It was very good, I enjoyed it. 
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23rd February 2021

2/23/2021

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Have been working on my crochet. Have done about 1/3, not counting the border. I am pleased with the way it is working out, it reminds me of waves on a pebble beach an driftwood.

Finished watching Life on Mars which I enjoyed. Very un-pc but good fun. I tried Ashes to Ashes but not so keen. The new Sunday night drama on BBC looks good though, Bloodlines. Pity it's not on iPlayer, I have to wait till next week. Set in Belfast I recognised some of the scenery, particularly the Harland and Wolfe cranes, Samson and Goliath. 

As the conservatory is nearly dried out now I thought I would make use of it to varnish some little drawers I bought from The Works. I didn't want to varnish them in the house as the varnish is very smelly. 

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18th February 2021

2/18/2021

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Well, I got my first Covid jab on Tuesday. It was very busy but well organised and the injection did not hurt. The needle must have been very fine. I was told to wait 15 minutes before driving which I did and then went to Merry Hill to exchange something at M&S and to bank some cheques. I thought the arm might hurt when I lay on it in bed but it didn't though I did feel really cold and then later on really hot. I took some paracetamol during the next day and some more to go to bed and had a good night last night.

The shopping centre at Merry Hill was absolutely deserted. It reminded me of Birmingham airport when all the planes got grounded because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland. I had flown up to Edinburgh the day before for a meeting at Oatridge College and was due to fly home later that day. Luckily I put the TV on in my room as I was getting ready to go out and heard the news. As I left the hotel I had the foresight to book another night, just in case. It was as well I did as no planes were flying and I was stuck. The resourceful admin assistant at work managed to get me on a train from Edinburgh Waverley the next day and even booked a seat which was amazing as the train was packed and it was a long journey. When I got back to Birmingham International I then had to go to the airport to collect my car and make sure I would be able to get out of the car park as the booking had expired. The airport was deserted but I managed to sort the parking with no extra charges and was very glad to drive home.  

Have been working the last couple of days but also done some more to my crochet while watching Life on Mars which passed me by when it was on TV but I came across on Netflix. Set in 1973, the year I got married and my eldest son was born.

I am still trying to dry out the conservatory. A guy came on Tuesday to patch up a channel across the floor and a hole in the wall outside made by the electrician. I have tried leaving all of the windows and the door open and that seemed to work and the floor looked nearly dry but then the next morning it was wet again. Today I have tried keeping it closed up and warm (the sun was lovely) and running the dehumidifier. I got about a litre out so lets see what it looks like tomorrow.







​While I was outside in the conservatory I looked up and was surprised to see two men in the oak tree at the bottom of the garden climbing around with chain saws. Boys and toys. Job well done though as the tree keeps dropping dead branches into my garden (not to mention leaves and acorns which the resident squirrels then dig up). One more tree at the side of the garden still needs to be done but they said that as there was a Tree Preservation Order (TPO) on it they had to get council approval so they would come back again.
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15th February 2021

2/15/2021

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Half way through the month already and a big Happy Birthday to my youngest son Richard for yesterday, a mere 45 years old! 

Started a new blanket using the pack of yarn that I had for Christmas, all teal blue and neutral colours that should go nicely in the conservatory. The pattern I am using this time is just straight rows so it's much more straightforward than the last one. It's called Coastal Crochet. I have sorted the colours into order as I think they will look better that way rather than just random. Progress so far below.
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I had THE LETTER today inviting me for my Covid jab. (Yes I really am that old!) You have to book dates for both the first and the second injections which I thought was a good idea so I am off to the Black Country Museum tomorrow for the first one. 
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12th February 2021

2/12/2021

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The plaster is drying out nicely with the dehumidifier running and we have had some nice sunshine this week which I think has also helped. The electrician came on Wednesday to fix the light and sockets in the conservatory and wire it all up back to the meter. Made a lot of mess in the porch as he had to take the cable across the ceiling and fit a new box on the wall. Everything had to be taken off the shelves, the plates taken off the walls and the freezer had to come out to get at the pipes behind to fit an earth. Still, all done now and I have an industrial sweeper so will be able to clean it up. 
I think I will also take the opportunity to change the crockery that was displayed on the shelves for something different. Don't know what yet but I think the crockery will go nicely in the conservatory as it has splashes of teal blue. It is very old and delicate china and belonged to my grandmother.

Have also finally finished the crochet cushion cover I was working on. Has taken a long time but I calculated it has used about 375g of wool so that's probably why! Anyway I am pleased with the result. Pattern from a Paton's Learn to Crochet book. I now have 5 new cushions, just need a sofa!
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8th February 2021

2/8/2021

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​The plasterer turned up this morning in the snow - in his shorts! What is is with men and shorts? Anyway the plastering is now all done. Just the electrician now to do his final fix which will be Wednesday.
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7th February 2021

2/7/2021

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The conservatory has been drying out nicely during the week. I have been getting about a litre per day out of the dehumidifier. The fitter came on Thursday and fitted the window boards and took away the pile of rubbish from the electrician. I also dusted and swept so as of last night it was quite tidy in there. However, today and tomorrow I have the plasterer so we'll see what it looks like after that!

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​Have been working on the crochet cushion cover. I ran out of the yarn I started with and no one has it in stock so have had to improvise with what I already have. Luckily I have a good supply of aran which is about the same thickness so I will finish the back with that. I don't think I'll run out this time! 
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Started tidying the spare bedroom yesterday and came across a frame which I thought would fit a print I wanted to frame. It's a hand drawn plan of a windmill that we visited some years ago in Cambridgeshire. It had curled up as it had been rolled so had to iron it first but it fitted quite well. Just need to find a bit of wall now in the hall to hang it on!

Also found a tapestry that I bought from a car boot sale (I think from Huntingdon Race Course, also in Cambridgeshire). I love the colours and think it would go well in the conservatory, either on the wall or used to cover a chair or stool.
I noticed a few spring flowers when I went out for a walk yesterday. Some crocuses and snowdrops and the primroses in my garden have been flowering all winter.
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​The plasterer has finished the boarding and it looks better already. Lighter and brighter. He will do the skimming tomorrow and then I need to get it all dried out.






​This afternoon I collected a roll of upholstery fabric that someone was selling on Marketplace. It is a John Lewis fabric with a teal blue background and huge cream roses. It will go great in the conservatory but I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do with it yet. There is 8 meters so plenty to go at.
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2nd February 2021

2/2/2021

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The electrician came this morning at 8.00am to do the first fix in the conservatory. He kangoed a channel in the floor across the doorway and chipped holes in the walls to take the boxes so the conservatory is now all covered in brick dust!!!!!!! Not happy!. It was spotless yesterday when the fitters left. They cleaned all of the glass and the frames. He also left me with a pile of rubble in the corner as he 'hadn't got a bucket'. The surveyor is coming on Thursday to 'finish off' which I assume means fix the window boards so I will ask him to remove the rubble. 

It was very steamy in there this morning which was not surprising considering that the concrete slab was soaked with all the rain and snow we have had so I have invested in a dehumidifier. I was considering it anyway as it will be useful to dry out the plaster. The plasterer is coming on Saturday. When it is bit dryer in there I will attempt to clean up all the brick dust. 


I have finished the teal blue cushion. I managed to find a ball of DK which was a very close colour match and used three strands together which worked OK. Altogether it took 200g to complete the cushion. I have also started another one in a beige random yarn, James C Brett Marble. Crocheted this time.
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1st February 2021

2/1/2021

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Well it didn't rain and the conservatory fitters turned up nice and early at 8.15. There were 3 fitters and they worked well as a team. You could tell they had done this a few times before! I can't believe how quickly it all went together and by 2.15 it was all done and they had packed away.
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    Author

    I am Jenny (when I was little my dad always called me Jenny Wren) and I enjoy making hand crafted things. Watch this space to see what I am working on.
    I have two sons - Mark, married to Michelle with children Anais 19 and Roman 15, and Richard - married to Debbie with children Brendyn 15 and Olivia 12.

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