You may be the Chosen One, but just look at my lights...

There are lots of things that we put up with in our homes - the things that we'd like to replace one day when time/money permit. Some things are best lived with for a while until the right decision can be made. However, some things are just so brutally ugly, so poke-my-eyes-out-with-a stick ugly, that they cannot, and should not be borne. Example A, the box of light fittings in the picture above. Surely these could only be at home in a little-old-lady's house with doilies and musty smells.

Just to convey the true horror, here they are in situ.

Admittedly, the slightly phalic light globes are not helping matters.

So, where does one go when one is unsure of what to buy, but needs it quickly? Ikea of course. A quick trip on Saturday saw us return with bellies full of breakfast and three new light fittings. Two matching lights for the open kitchen and family area, and one for our Room of Requirement (another Harry Potter reference). Our Room of Requirement is at the end of our entrance hall and is a bit like a foyer (but nowhere near as grand or posh), with no real purpose at the moment  except to house our piano and a few other musical instruments. If you are unfamiliar with Harry's Room of Requirement, it gives you what ever you are looking for/need at the time (I think he wins as his is much more exciting).

But I digress. A few hours later and, thanks to a husband who quite happily tackles small electrical tasks (with the power turned off of course), we now have lovely lights that wouldn't know a doily if they were draped in one.

These in the kitchen and family room...

...and this spectacular number in the Room of Requirement.

I bet Harry is just a little bit jealous now.

x

Isn't it romantic?

At first it was romantic - the way the leaves would quietly drift down from the pecan tree. I had images of my family, wrapped in scarves and wooly mittens raking leaves into piles in the back garden, and then trotting inside for hot chocolate. You get the picture?

Well, do not be fooled. The romance has gone. There is no hot chocolate to be found - only me, out there again, raking, raking, raking. 

I wish I could tell you that this shot was taken a week ago, when there were still plenty of leaves on the tree. No, I took this picture today, after raking up another lawn-full of leaves, the leaves that fell on my nice, tidy lawn during a three hour period when I was out yesterday. I came home to find the entire lawn covered. Looking up at the tree, I half expected it to be completely bare, having lost its leaves Whomping-Willow style (that's a Harry Potter reference for those of you who are wondering what I'm talking about). But, no, plenty of yellow leaves still hanging on, and a frightening number of green ones that seem to think it's still Spring. Oh dear.

Today's effort...

...even Tess looks confused and perturbed.

I've left them in a pile on the lawn, unsure of what to do with them. I had been raking them into the garden beds, but am alarmed to find that the garden beds are now about a foot higher than they were a week ago.

Hmmmm. This tree had better give me a lot of pecans come nut-season.

x