Matthijs would be away for a week, including the weekend, on holiday with his parents and so I decided to clean te house on Saturday. (Somehow I get less motivated when someone else is around) Especially the living room could do with some cleaning because the cats had repeatedly knocked over a pot plant, which spilled earth on the couch and floor. Some good dusting and vacuum cleaning and washing the plaids of the couches would be welcome.

Well, the living room is cleaner now, but also more empty. While vacuuming I knocked over a plant, of which of course the pot broke on a just vacuumed spot of carpet. Then, when I was nearly done, one of the cats jumped up on the mermaid-table (it's a mermaid statue supporting a glass tabletop) but the weight of the cat added to the unbalanced weight of the plants and the whole table fell over shattering the tabletop itself and damaging several plants and some glass ornaments.

I quickly put the cats in a separate room; Melisse was already sniffing at the broken glass not in the least disturbed by the crash. Then I took away (the rest of) the plants and put all the glass in cardboard boxes to take to the trash. I had to break the bigger pieces that were left of the tabletop with a hammer. And then I could vacuum the carpet yet again.

So, now I'm looking for a new glass tabletop, which will probably be a costly thing. At least the room is clean now.. for as long as that will last. And there's more room to walk with the tabletop missing. Melisse even uses the mermaid statue as a climbing frame. Still, I hope it can be fixed before the 1st of August because I plan to celebrate my birthday with family that day.

On Sunday I've been busy varnishing 12 broomsticks and 14 wooden 'feet' for the broomsticks. They'll be the base of our tent wall for the Sahara tent. Unfortunately I only foud out today, after 2 layers of varnish, that the sticks don't easily fit in the holes of the 'feet'. It would have been better to check that first, if needed sand off a bit of the sticks and then start varnishing. Ah well, somehow we'll make those things fit.

I have a baking-itch at the moment. I've found a recipe for 'fake fish', a medieval dish like apple pie, and been willing to try it every since. I've already got the ingredients but the nasty thing of baking as a hobby is that you produce foodstuffs. And too much yummy food makes one fat. I'd also like to bake some fresh bread, because that's just delicious. My, I need to get rid of this hobby.