Things to do in the cold

One of the things you can do in the cold is to wear a hat: Here is the teen modelling her favourite battered used-to-be-black-before-it-faded trilby. Worn with hoody and turquoise braces, Yves Saint Laurent watch your back...

Gimlet has also been keeping warm. A few weeks ago boyfriend bought him a new soft basket; Gimlet treated it with the contempt he felt it deserved and ignored it. Then we had the idea of putting it under a radiator, and it became suddenly more desirable.

I myself was persuaded to do a craft fair for a day. I had reservations, having done a few of them years ago. My main problem with them is that the same people who will happily part with £300 in an art gallery don't want to be parted from a fiver at a craft fair. But I already sell prints at the craft barn where the fair was to be held, and the owner is lovely so I gave it a go:

Held in what was called a 'heated marqee', and which I absolutely knew would actually mean 'cold drafty tent', I enjoyed it more than I thought I might. The fair itself had problems, the marquee, although new, suffered from a build up of condensation in the middle of the roof, causing indoor rain as the wind ruffled the fabric. Several sellers abandoned ship, particularly badly affected were the girls next to me selling soap and bath bombs and a chap with unwrapped greetings cards. Most of my stuff was cellophane wrapped so I avoided any stock damage. The unpleasant weather meant few visitors and some people lost their table money. However, despite all this, and freezing feet, I sold 3 prints and several cards and tags, met some interesting contacts and made a reasonable profit. I may even do another (in warmer weather!)

Back at home work continued apace, with door frames, electrics and plumbing.

 After the usual extended bickering resulting from me wanting my own way and boyfriend not giving in quick enough, we finally ended up in B&Q looking at internal doors. Loading his estate car with two doors meant the seats were so far forwards and upright that boyfriend was unable to drive his own car. So with me driving (knees in sideways position above pedals, boyfriend's head rammed against roof/sun-visor) we set off. Changing gears was challenging and as we kangaroo jumped through Colchester boyfriend said 'Stop drawing attention to us!". Luckily the police were elsewhere and we made it home with the doors in better condition than our spines.

By now front of the house now looked splendid with a proper garage:

And it was left to us to remove the large pre-fab garage that takes up half the back garden, here it is in all its glory:

And here it is gone:

Apparently there is a market on eBay for it, obviously some people care more for sturdy storage than asthetics. The back garden seems huge now it has gone:

Although it is not perhaps the haven of vegetables, flowers and water features I imagine, it is at least a blank canvas, and one that no longer contains the worlds ugliest garage. I will see you at the garden centre in the spring!