Facebook and blogging like most aspects of " social media" provide people with a Vehicle to show off.
See what I've done,
See what I've got, see how lucky I am...
See what an interesting , valid person I am
See me
See me
Like me
I've been asked by two people now to post some photos of the new( ish) kitchen. I think that many will think it a shame that we are moving so close to all the hard work it took to organise it....perhaps they are right but kitchens sell houses ( I am told) so it was fortuitous I got it done. It remains my favourite room in the cottage.
Today I've given it the weekend once over, and minutes after the last duster was packed away and the last bit of dirtymop water chucked down the sink, I am showing it to you
Of course it's not really like this....
The photos are there to underline how lovely I am.
How lucky andhow houseproud and interesting I am...
The photos lie
The arm chair never looks like the chair in the photo. The arm seat and back usually have strategically placed teatowels on them ---a protection from muddy paw prints.
And along the window ledge , just out of shot in the first photo is Albert's smelly cat food bowl half filled with bits of horse that has had the gravy licked off it.
Just right of the New York arty cushion ( see more me, me me !) are paw scuff arks on the paint where Albert knocks his bad leg at every visit to his dinner plate.
They are there every day
And I wipe them off every day.
Hidden under the table George is keeping his usual low profile on his sheepskin bed.
Despite regular washes the bed remains grey and "doggy"
Not quite homes and gardens material me thinks.
Part of the kickboard by the sink is not quite square , there is a dust trail the length of Hadrian's wall on the new radiator and I can make out a clear bum mark left by William on the side of the fridge cupboard which I somehow missed in my frenzy of cleaning
See not quite perfect everyone
Not quite perfect .......
bum marks on the fridge - I don't have that from the cats. dirt yes, but no bum marks. at work I am neat; at home I am a slob.
ReplyDeleteWilliam likes to " back into" things
DeleteLooks better than mine. I took down the microwave over the stove more than a year ago and still haven't gotten around to sanding the Spackle I filled the screw holes with, much less priming and painting the area it used to fill.
ReplyDeleteI had a dump of a kitchen for eleven years!
DeleteBum marks? I thought that that was what lazy students receive. I bet The Prof has dished out plenty of bum marks over at The University of North Wales.
ReplyDeleteAll his students a straight A grades
DeleteLooks pretty perfect to me....and a damn sight tidier than mine. Having just made a quiche (for tomorrow) and mixed root veg mash to go with the beef stew for tonight, my kitchen looks like a bomb's hit it. I was hoping that if I sat down, husband might take pity on me and clear up...some hope lol.
ReplyDeleteMy husband doesn't even know we have a mop
DeleteAll so lovely!!! And charming. And sure beats seeing skid marks.
ReplyDeleteEspeciLly my own!
DeleteIf you wanted to, you could always put the same/similar kitchen in your new home. It is rather lovely, but fittings do not make a home - it's the nature of all the little beating hearts in it. Bums and all.
ReplyDeleteIndeed but a lovely wooden work top does help so
DeleteOh, but where is that wonderful kitchen sink? I really love your kitchen, and if I were house shopping, I'd buy yours just for the kitchen and that sink!
ReplyDeleteI will mourn my sink bigstyle
DeleteYes, blogs and FB posts are sterilized often, it's never easy to expose ourselves, but the older I get the easier it is to show my "bum marks". Love your blog the way it is John.
ReplyDeleteYou have good taste
DeleteGive yourself credit. Perfect in your imperfection - for all the world to see.
ReplyDeleteKitchens do sell houses and I think it was a great move to get yours in and be able to use it for a while before you put the house on the market. Now at least it looks as though it's a kitchen in use and not just a show kitchen ... as if any of us with animals could have a show kitchen ... haha :-)
ReplyDeleteOh and get that dogs water bowl filled up there's barely enough in their for Albert ;-)
Winnie is a massive drinker...I suspect he is prediabetic
DeletePerfect is sooooo boring.
ReplyDeleteWell, you're only doing what every estate agent does. They're past masters at tidying everything up, taking photos from the best angle, describing a run-down shack as a bijou residence etc. If those pics were in an estate agent's brochure, I'd certainly be impressed.
ReplyDeleteFresh flowers in every window
DeleteI'm just relieved to read they're not your bum marks! X
ReplyDeleteThey are in the bathroom
DeleteThere is a rift in every lute. Just enjoyed a family holiday with children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren Loved every minute but have come home with nits.
ReplyDeleteBeen there... done that... several times :-)
DeleteHang on to the Derbac comb, Cherie. I jettisoned mine and here I am at 88-y.o. having to buy another.
DeleteKitchen looks lovely to me - it would sell me the cottage but then I would only move to Trelawnyd to be near you so that is defeating the object.
ReplyDeleteLovely! It's only human nature to want to put our best foot forward.
ReplyDeleteI call it blog la la land and am always pointing out that the elements of my life I show are heavily edited. Mainly I take the rise out of myself and some of my falling flat on my face moments have provided some funny posts. 90% of my life I keep off social media and private. Arilx
ReplyDeleteAll looks good to me... when is the first viewing?
ReplyDeleteLX
Your kitchen is lovely.. but then I love your pics of that cosy corner where George is lounging under the table, your bookcase and the back door with spring flowers. It all gives a hint of the characters who reside within - the charm, the humour and the humanity (whiffs and all)
ReplyDeleteIt is a welcomness that we feel without the self congratulations that often accompany the 'this is me, I have..' and that is portrayed in the way it is both told and shown... so thankyou John for sharing and showing your caring side.
PS Since I sent you those photos of our 'George' he has taken on a life of his own visiting various parts of the sitting room.. watching the fishtank, looking out the window, head stuck in the pantry. It is very amusing where hubby puts him to give me a smile :)
a sweet and welcomed comment x
DeleteWe uniformly love your kitchen with and without the reality.
ReplyDeleteBum Marks On The Fridge.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a great book title!
I specialise in them bob! X
DeleteWe need imperfection , that’s how come we are here .....x
ReplyDeleteHonest - and real, I'd hate to live in a kitchen that looks like a magazine picture. Kitchens are for making things in, not for looking at.
ReplyDeleteYes kitchens and bathrooms most important rooms when selling. The kitchen is lovely and you will have some use of it before moving and hopefully moving to a house also with a lovely kitchen. x
ReplyDeleteDon't even start, John Gray! Two of my grandchildren just left and my house could qualify for a natural disaster. Or unnatural disaster. It's 1:30 in the afternoon here and the breakfast dishes are still piled everywhere, not to mention toys and, well...everything.
ReplyDeleteWhoops
DeleteVery Nice. White kitchens are the rage right now.
ReplyDeleteIt's a home John. Your home complete with 4 legged friends.
ReplyDeleteJohn, when you move you might do your kitchen refit right away so that you get to enjoy the results of your effort and expense... It all looks so pretty!
ReplyDeleteI am thankful not to have ever seen bum marks on a fridge, anywhere .. my cats wouldn't dream of doing something like that . :)
ReplyDeleteIt looks great ... are you getting excited about the New Home ?
Perfection is boring - much better to have signs of life and love!
ReplyDeletePS - still looks very nice to me!
No-ones home is perfect, that’s what makes it home.The trick is to make it look perfect enough to sell!
ReplyDeleteLove your kitchen and as for animals....duvet cover here on for less than 24 hours from yesterday and already has dirty paw marks!! But I love my doggy. A house is only a home when it looks lived in!!
ReplyDeleteA skid mark on ours and I can't blame the bulldig
DeleteBum marks, snot trails, a patina of fur and dust are what keeps a lot of us coming back to your blog. And of course the farts. And the compassion.
ReplyDeleteI have 5 cats..all who like jumping and sleeping....preferably on a pizza box..on my work surfaces..on any chair in the house.And they love clean bedding,whether its on the bed or waiting to be ironed.I cant even paint the inside window ledges,because they love laying on them with one leg hanging down the radiator.I think i am going to have to live here for ever because the cats seem to think that they can do whatever they want to....n Im soft enough to let them ,lolxx
ReplyDeleteSometimes I would like one day without fur, piss or shit lurking about
DeleteBeautiful kitchen and lovely honesty! A kitchen is meant to look lived in and loved. Is that a Christmas cactus in the window? It looks like it might be about to bloom.
ReplyDeleteIt's late this year...I've had it 36 years
DeleteIt looks wonderful, thank you for giving us a glimpse.
ReplyDeleteVery nice kitchen! You make a good point about the edited versions of real life that people put out on social media. We tend to see the good, not the bad and the ugly. The danger lies in comparison, doesn't it? Your post is great, describing the reality alongside the photos. As you wipe up paw marks, I pick up clumps of cat fur. -Jenn
ReplyDeleteDon't clear off your counters until ordered to do so.
ReplyDeleteI know you'll be OK. I abandoned the world's finest walk-in shower a couple of years ago, and have not perished. xxoo
Wise words x
DeleteI love your kitchen John, I'm sure it will be a 'selling point', and having utensils on the benches makes it look real. Often over here, with prices astronomical, people are getting houses professionally staged, at a cost of thousands, because apparently it brings in the extra on the sale price.... but how could one compare??
ReplyDeleteHaha, yes, a woman's work etc! I personally like a home filled with stuff and memories but it does make for a bit of never-ending cleaning to try and keep it from ending up like Miss Haversham's, and even without pets and kids to accelerate matters. A bit here, a bit there, that's my approach to housewifery. It's nice, though, when visitors pop around and don't seem to notice the chaos and say they like the place. Much like the visitors to your home I guess, real and virtual.
ReplyDeleteIt is rather a chore, though, keeping the house inspection-ready when selling. Luckily you've got a pretty kitchen now with clean cupboards to shove things in. You may need to billet out the animals if it gets too much!
Looks lovely and I bet those hyacinths smell divine.
ReplyDeleteI love the cheerful and welcoming vibe of your kitchen. It's open and inviting. And I am dazzled by the pops of color and flowers and neat knick knacks that make it seem so vibrant and lively. The pet stuff really makes it into a wonderful home.
ReplyDeleteCongrats on a job well done!
It looks really good; ours is a bit similar. It'll certainly help sell the house!
ReplyDeleteI like it. Its homey and welcoming, not 'hotelly' at all (God, I hate hate the hotel style of new homes these days). We will be selling our house soonish (good, it's too big for me to keep clean, and am aware that it doesn't look like the estate agent pics nowadays. sigh.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the pics tho, satisfies this nosey gal quite nicely *grin*
Also, arm chair in a kitchen is a necessity I thinks.
Oh dear, that was badly written. My head is squdgy at the moment, sorry.
DeleteI love the real and metaphorical 'bum marks' of your blog. If it's any consolation it was only after our friends had left after a lovely evening that I realised I'd forgotten to mop the dining room floor between the French windows and kitchen and you could clearly see multiple muddy cat paw prints where she tracks back and forth. Frankly I'd rather have that than no cat - real life to much too wonderfully untidy to be photogenic. Winnie looks as gorgeous as ever. xx
ReplyDeleteIt's still beautiful, skid marks and all. And, you know, despite your best efforts you ARE interesting.
ReplyDeleteThe washing machine is a bit jarring in the otherwise beautiful kitchen. A simple fix. Some cream and eau de nil striped cotton on a curtain rod or wire. It’s annoyed me ever since you had it fitted. I once thought of googling the measurements of your washer and making you said curtain but work and family etc got in the way.Besides, that would probably count as weird stalky behaviour.
ReplyDeleteHow photos can lie, our best experience with that was when we booked a hotel reservation.The first clue was when they started laughing at us in the office when we said we had a reservation.They must have stood on the roof to get the shot of the pool in the advertisement.Your home looks warm, lovely and lived in. I always find The Home mag. pictures sterile. No pet bowls, no kids pictures, no mementos.
ReplyDelete