As predicted the grouting took a while, but the cleaning of the tiles afterwards took the longest. I had tried to sponge off as much excess as possible, but because the tiles aren't all even thickness, there were lots of nooks and crannies for grout to build up in. I suspect, I will be fiddling about with it for a while yet, but it's pretty much there and useable now. I have 8 navy whole tiles left over, so they can
act as coasters for wine glasses - don't want to spilling wine now do I?!
I fancied some candles too, then remembered I had some lanterns bought in Primark many tears ago which were lurking in the shed.
They were bare metal and a bit rusty, so I dug out some Humbrol paints and tarted them up. I only had three colours of paint, so white, black and blue it was then! I have hung them from the struts of the parasol with the three chains from an old hanging basket.
Jet has had two wonderful walks around Vurginia Water this weekend. He has loved swimming in the lake and meeting lots of other black labs - all very wet too! It's about a 5 mile walk to go all around the lake. We love to see him having such a good time. He's off with Mr D and eldest daughter to Chertsey Meads today to try out the Thames for size.
Posing by the Falls at Virginia Water.
I have been struggling with red mites in the chicken coop this summer. I have tried the powder Diatonous Earth and I have sprayed the coop with some red mite killer. I have used smoke bombs too and used a lavender smelling red mite killer and then my steamer in full blast to get in all the grooves and corners. I have also tried a combination of several things. Does anyone have any suggestions out there? I only have the one coop so it would be tricky for me to have it 'out of action' for any length of time. I have read that they are almost impossible to get rid of, so I am working on keeping them in check, but am very open to tips as its been a very time consuming business and I don't want my ladies to be uncomfortable or indeed to stop laying (they are already laying less). I'm hoping some of you will have some tips?
Your table looks great.... I hope that we have lots of warm summer evenings so that you can enjoy it in the candlelight. Jx
ReplyDeleteThank you. Of course we have now entered a spell of rainy weather!!
DeleteTable and lanterns look really good.
ReplyDeleteRe the red mite - they are a pain, we use a powder on the under side of perches and in the nest boxes, Sometimes Col uses some waste oil on the ends of perches where they sit in the grooves.
I'll try the oil on the perch ends. I didn't have any last summer but this year, they are rife!
DeleteLooks great, well done on sprucing the lanterns up x
ReplyDeleteThanks - if I remember correctly, they cost £1.50 each about 5/6 years ago so it's good to spruce them up a bit! X
DeleteRe the spider mite. Proper creosote does the trick for us along with powder in the nesting boxes. If you know of a farmer he can probably get you the real stuff (now banned from ordinary shops I believe)
ReplyDeleteGood Luck.
Gill
I'm not sure I know anyone with a creosote licence, but I could perhaps contact the supplier, who sold us the coop and had originally painted it with creosote..... They really are a nuisance!
DeleteThe table looks fantastic!!
ReplyDeleteYou are doing all the right things for the red mites, they are a real pain to get rid of and you have to keep applying the Diatom regularly to catch every cycle of them reproducing, don't forget to do the chooks too. I struggled for a whole Summer a few years ago, but got rid of them in the end.
I always find the best thing is a Diatom puffer bottle. It gets the fine dust in every nook and cranny.
After you have thoroughly emptied and sprayed the house with a liquid red mite killer in every nook, crevice and space between boards etc, leave all the bedding out and lay some white paper on the floor of the house, close all doors, windows etc so it is dark in there, then if there are any mites left they will come out in the dark and when you look in you will know to spray again. ONce the house is dry liberally dust with Diatom, puff into every crack and crevice and put a layer in the bottom of every nesting box, then refill with the bedding.
Dust all the chickens down with it, paying special attention to under their wings.
If I am 'telling my granny how to suck eggs' ... I apologise. It can take ages to get rid of them, the thing is once you've had a bad infestation you know all the signs and be ready for next time.
And Gill is right proper creosote is brilliant, we always use it on the outside of roof of our henhouse now, just a fresh coat once or twice a year seems to really help.
Good luck.
Thanks for the advice. I guess I will have to just keep persevering! I think the conditions this year have made them flourish! Poor ladies,g must be horrid! Thanks for the advice!
Deletere red mite - apparently they have a 7 day cycle from egg to hatching so in the past when we had an outbreak we hoovered out the coop, sprayed and dusted and then did it all over again everyday for 7 days - it worked.
ReplyDeleteWe have an old hoover that we house in the garage and after the 7 day deep cleanse I throw the bag away -
Perhaps I'll have to bring my Mums little Hoover back specifically for this purpose. Don't fancy using my Hoover!! The steam cleaner seems to do a good job at blasting them out of the cracks. They are a blinking nightmare!
DeleteGreat job o the table it's lovely x
ReplyDeleteThank you :)
DeleteI can not help with red mites but I can and do know
ReplyDeletewhen a table is looking very beautiful.
Well done !
cheers, parsnip
Thank you - I'm really chuffed with it! :)
DeleteWow, your table looks brilliant, I would love to have a go at making a mosaic one day.
ReplyDelete