We had a howler of a storm last night -- driving rain and fierce wind. I think I can honestly say I've never seen such wind here. In fact, we even had damage from Storm Eleanor, as the gale was called. It knocked over the heavy, cast-iron mantelpiece we leaned against the fence on the patio, sending several terra-cotta potted plants crashing to the ground. I haven't surveyed the scene in daylight yet. (It's still dark out as I write this.)
Otherwise, life is returning to normal around here. I took down the Christmas tree on Monday morning -- packed away our scant collection of ornaments and wound up the lights to take them back to work. The Christmas tree stand gets returned to work today, too.
And then Dave and I pushed the tree out the front door and carried it several blocks to Fortune Green, where Camden has a collection point for tree recycling. I think they get turned into mulch. Unfortunately, many Londoners seem content to dump their Christmas trees on random street corners, where the council has to come and get them later.
I also sprayed the geraniums for rust, which has returned this year. It must be a winter thing. The leaves start looking anemic and orange-brown lesions appear on the underside. They need to be pruned this spring anyway, so I'm not too concerned.
Another thing that's returned are the spots of black mold on the wall behind our living room couch. I'm surprised because we've been running the heat and the apartment should be relatively dry -- I'm not sure why mold would crop up, unless there's moisture seeping through the wall. I set up a fan to run now and then which will hopefully help keep the wall drier, and I'll let the maintenance guy know. (Just to cover myself -- I don't have any illusions he'll fix the problem. Thank goodness we don't own this place.)
Finally, I picked up Dave's final Christmas presents from the post office:
No, you are not imagining things. These are actual socks imprinted with Olga's picture. I got them from an outfit called Pupsocks -- I uploaded a couple of photos of Olga when I ordered them online, et voila!
It took longer than expected to get them -- they were supposed to arrive by Christmas -- and Pupsocks has taken some flack online for failing to deliver their orders on time. But I don't mind waiting an extra week or two, honestly. It was worth it.
How can you not love that?
Dave does love them. Olga, however, seems less certain.
(Top photo: Portobello Road, a couple of weeks ago. I love the old sign on that shopfront.)
Those pup socks rock, as does your dog! I'd get a second or third opinion on that mold problem before it gets worse and you both get sick...
ReplyDeleteJust love those socks, so unusual.
ReplyDeleteBriony
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Ha-ha! Those socks are brilliant! Storm Eleanor was rattling our house so much last night that I woke up and had to come downstairs for a cup of tea.
ReplyDeletethat's what I was going to say. Olga looks like she's thinking really? you put my picture on socks. but they are pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteDarling socks! What a great idea!
ReplyDeleteI woke up to ice and snow this morning.
Yes. Really.
Oh my gosh, I love the pupsocks. When I read your comment about the storm, I had to go check the Abbey Road webcam to see what was happening. All I saw were some crazy tourists posing on the crossing and bright sunshine. I guess the storm has passed.
ReplyDeleteThose socks are fantastic!!! You've given me a great idea for my daughter's birthday present in March! Hopefully the socks will arrive by then!
ReplyDeleteLove those Pupsocks! As for your weather, think Global Warming and Climate Change.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like quite a storm. Makes me wonder if it is part of the crazy big "bomb cyclone" getting ready to hit the east coast here. Yikes! Love those Pupsocks!
ReplyDeleteI love the socks! I'm sure Dave does, too. Maybe I need to order some for the next gift giving occasion!
ReplyDeleteI love the socks. But the title suggested an entirely different kind of "pup sock", the kind Olga could wear :)
ReplyDeleteWe had one area of basement wall that kept showing moldy spots (light but still visible as dots and small black areas, nothing too big) and were told to treat it with denatured ethanol. We found a disinfectant spray by Lysol made with denatured ethanol. It worked. You might have something similar there. It's marketed as a spray for killing viruses, etc. Denatured ethanol should be listed as an ingredient. You might also want to check the back of your furniture that sits in front of that wall. The spray I have can be used on fabric as well. As for prevention, as I'm sure you know, the solution is to keep the area dry and keep the air moving. Maybe move the furniture out further from the wall. Using a fan and/or dehumidifier in humid conditions is helpful. We eventually used a paint sealer on the wall and painted over it. Now we keep the heat on in that room in the winter and a dehumidifier running in the summer. Sorry for so much info! Ya never know what might help a person :)
Thanks for all the positive feedback on the socks, everybody!
ReplyDeleteJenny-O, thanks for the tip re. the mold. I cleaned the wall with a mild bleach solution and that seems to help, but I'll look for the denatured ethanol option. It's really a very small amount of mold, and it seems to occur mostly behind the couch. We leave the couch pulled away from the wall a few inches, but it tends to creep backwards with time and use, so I just have to be super careful to leave that space at all times.