More Windows.

Another busy day today. While the men were working on the windows Peter and I took my bike and some other stuff down to the garage and used the trolley to bring back the foam sofa bed that flips open to make a generous double bed for visitors. Going carefully to avoid the ice from a very frosty morning we got the sofa up to the front door and then the strong window fitters carried it up the stairs for us old folk. As it was a crisp sunny day I wrapped up in my scruffy working clothes and did some more work on the shed. I got as much of the tar paper that I could reach off and then broke up and bagged the old cupboards inside the shed. I've taken the whole lot down to the dump already. Just one cupboard left and then we can begin chopping up the shed with a circular saw.

More windows done today, namely the sitting room, my study and new sliding doors to close off the conservatory. The bigger sitting room window looks so much better and didn't cost any extra as the plastic panel which took up over a third of the space was part of the original window. My preference is always for the biggest windows possible to let in light and any views. While all the houses in the street have the same window opening there is a great variety of designs though I haven't seen any with clear glass as far down as ours. Quite a few houses have frosted glass in the lower sections. There was only one hiccup with the sitting room window which is that they will have to order safety glass for the big panel and the small low down panel. That is to comply with safety regulations, after all you wouldn't want a small child to ride its bike through normal glass even though it is double glazing. No extra charge to us as it was their oversight, just a wait of a week or so for the glass to arrive from the manufacturers. 

I've moved the orchids to the front window, my current plan is to make a low shelf so they sit a little higher. My neighbour was a bit taken aback when I said that we wouldn't be having blinds or net curtains but the garden plants act as a partial screen and the only people walking past would be going to the next two houses along or the one around the corner. 

This is the sliding door into the conservatory. In hindsight we should have asked if it would be possible to have two doors that swing open as when the door is open the gap is fairly narrow. However we now comply with building regulations with a certificate for the highest level of double glazing. The biggest difference we have noticed is how much sound is cut out by the new windows. It does also feel a lot warmer but then the wind has been light south-westerly and not the bitter north wind. They are coming back tomorrow morning to do the kitchen window and replace the cladding between the upstairs windows at the back. They've also agreed to take down the old TV aerial that sits above my study window.

Lastly - I really enjoyed singing with the choir yesterday evening. It's a no-audition choir with no reading music scores but you are expected to sing from memory after a while. That is certainly going to expand my neural pathways. Once I sign up as a member the website has the words and music to help you with learning the songs and they do sing a lot in other languages too. There were about 50 people there last night and you simply put yourself into the voice range you feel comfortable in. I chose alto though I may at times sing with the tenors who are a mix of men and women. Everything was sung in four parts and we produced a gloriously rich sound. They do a lot of concerts, as much as one a week in the summer but there is no pressure to take part in public singing if you don't wish to. They also hold social events and seem to be a very friendly and supportive group. My next step is to persuade Peter to come along. Being Lithuanian it is in our blood anyway but he was made completely self conscious by an nasty music teacher who singled him out in a music lesson when he was a child and told him not to sing with the rest of the class. However he enjoys singing sea shanties with the gig club and we both belonged to a Lithuanian song and dance group when we were young so I shall keep on working on him.