Dr Jenny's Office

There is not a lot I'll miss about the hospital. There was the occasional happy surprise when a new piece of art appeared in a corridor...

Art or "eczema"

or when Dr Jenny had her new glossy monthly house magazines dropped off.

With the advent of smart phones there is no longer a need to cough and surreptitiously tear out a recipe or paint colour or fascinating article on Lucien Freud! Yes, I do read the articles.

"Sub dermal mass"

However there is something about those colourful gleaming houses that is a bit intoxicating. You know their owners are either obsessive compulsive or out of the country most of the year.

 "Cells Getting Reddy"

It's just nice to fantasise. See below- the boy with the pie-pod is on a most attractive Ikea covered box thing. I like that fabric and hadn't seen it on my last Ikea run. Possibly due to the fog of drugs I was floating on that day. Ikea on chemo drugs is pretty spectaculous!

"Boy with pie-pod"

I do love covering old Parker style TV chairs with new fabric too, except I went all Betty Beige during my last pregnancy and have yet to rectify the chairs. This one would suit nicely. Note again the accessory dog? That's where I'm going wrong in my styling. I have grubby childerbeasts on my furniture instead of nice, clean dogs.

"Dog with personal assistant"

We have this very stool bequeathed to us from elderly Bob, the best neighbour in the world, before he moved out. One of his boys made it at school and the eldest is now sixty. Mine is drab white and I'm liking this minty freshness very much.

"Stoolish"

Oh, for an enormous storage companion like this beasty. Where does one find a huge dresser like this to put all ones bits and bobs on in the kitchen? I know at least one of you has one of these. It has to be cheaper than another wall of built ins and we ARE living in a farmhouse of uncertain age. She prefers not to reveal her true age to us. We just know it was around the war years somewhere and leave it at that. Manners.

I could get the chairs too for when I move into my post- modern, post chillun house...when I'm eighty or Hell freezes over! Either way.

"Argh! My pumpkins are out of order!!!"

Stool samples

Somebody else is ill now after a late night at an Awards supper with my entourage in tow and the indomitable Grandad along for the ride. She can keep the toddler occupied with Soduko so I can ask you for some much needed advice on stools.
After looking at Fun and Vj's handsome stools the other day, I thought about how many stools we have accumulated in this house. I don't even like some of them but I'm stuck with them.

The Scottish best little mother in law in the West-ern suburbs gave us a set of FOUR of these country cottage pine beasties because she thought they would suit a country cottage pine kitchen. The fact that I will never have a country cottage pine kitchen seems to be a moot point. I can't even do a Sonia and paint them because Nanna mentioned pointedly how much she "hates people who paint perfectly nice wooden furniture". She is a darling and I don't want to hurt her feelings but I really dislike these stools. Should I just paint them? Really Bright red??? I have Sonia's paint just sitting there. There's an excellent yellow too.
As an aside this is what my 80+, best neighbour ever, Bob, used to do with his asparagus. He was full of depression era cleverness. There would always be some asparagus in a glass in his window sill. You trim the bases and he swore they grew more and became juicier. He also swore but we still loved him.
This one is meant to be for my tired plates of meat at the end of the day but is rolled from room to room by Shorty and used as activity base/ stool/ jumping off point.

Meet my nemesis. I loathe this stool but haven't found one yet that matches it for correct height for my Fishy boy. It's plainness is not even worth recovering. It came with the piano from Lily's house (she was 100) and one day I will replace it with the perfect pointy legged 1960's one. It will be teak, please, with charcoal or cream vinyl pad, stitched in squares a la Parker. OK? Have you got that op shop karma fairies? Oh, can it have a compartment for all the sheet music he brings home, too.
I love this sweet little stool. She has been on here before and came from- you guessed it- Ron and Brian's. She is living in the bathroom for now.
This one has been moved by the poltergeist to the window. Danger, danger!! She came from Bob's next door. When the family were moving him out I found it next to the wheelie bin out front. It had been made by his eldest son at the local high school in the 50's. Needless to say, she came to live with us.
She is meant to live here for access to the big high cupboard when necessary. There are confiscated items like hard plastic swords up there that I can't reach that will come down only when there are grandchildren. "If you fight over it and don't share it will go in the Big, High, Cupboard!" And invariably it did. Look who is sleeping on the big fella's side while he is camping on rocks and lichen. Usurper!
A sneak peak at his riveting bed time reading...there are some Golden Books in there too.
Now I'm taking you somewhere you have never been before. This is the dark abyss we refer to as Underthehouse. That black one is from an old science lab and we had a set but nowhere to put them except maybe under the recycled SCIENCE LAB ISLAND in the kitchen. He gave the others away because he thought I didn't like them!! This one is to be saved somehow. Once again...paint? Where has that Sonia gotten to.
The turquoise one was from my nanna's house. It is a tad special because, legend has it that my Dad would churn butter and sing in an angel's voice to himself on that stool. So Nanna said. Once again what to do with it?

The 2 year old poltergeist seems to have a particular liking for seating as well. Although I am not discussing stools with her at the moment as they are becoming a sensitive issue between us.
When all else fails, I can always ponder the history of the stool and see if I can be inspired like these people.