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| The bed-cave curtains half drawn |
These days, when it is cold outside and the urge to hibernate becomes overwhelming, I really appreciate my Tudor style bed. I had it specially made by the Woodworkers' Guild many years ago. For some strange reason it didn't come with curtain poles - apparently most customers don't put curtains on their beds. This seems exceedingly strange to me - why have a bed like that if not to keep out the cold?
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| Viewed from the foot part |
But a lot of people think that way. You notice in hotels etc these sorts of beds are never properly curtained, but only have a little bit of curtain at the head part of the bed? My bed is different, I can close it off completely, and it makes a real difference to the temperature inside my sleep-cave, let me tell you!
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| Ditto |
'Course I had to work hard to achieve this, and there is a price to be paid. I installed curtain poles, but because of the way the bed was constructed the poles can't really be attached permanently, and about once a year they come crashing down while I draw the curtains, which is most irritating and often results in a bump on the head.
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| Ditto |
This happened to me last Thursday, and while reattaching the curtains - did I say curtains? They aren't really curtains, they are afghan kelims! And that is exactly the problem, because kelims are beloved not only by me but also by MOTHS! Yes, gentle reader, while reattaching the poles and rehanging the kelims I noticed that the Moth Menace had once again reared its ugly head. Tiny monsters had laid their eggs into my bed-kelims and their larvae were busy chewing up my cozy curtains.
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| From the inside, with curtains almost drawn |
That meant WAR!!!! So yesterday I dissembled the bed-cave and attacked the kelims. Simply hoovering isn't good enough, those larvae are very attached to their habitat! No, you must brush them with a hard-bristled brush, then hoover them hard, and then spray the whole carpet with lavender-water. Ideally one does this every month, but I am usually too lazy for that. I had relied on pheromone traps .... They aren't too bad, but one needs to combine them with poisonous paperstrips, which I can't do when I sleep in the bed of course - I'd get poisoned, too!
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| Ditto |
Usually I sleep in the back bedroom in the summer, when being warm isn't a priority, and then I use the paper strips on the kelims. How the moths got past them last summer I don't know - I am beginning to suspect they are tougher than me! I have been fighting them for 15 years now, and still a few of them survive! I suppose I should be happy, at least I am providing a healthy habitat for a fellow species, but with a house full of cashmere cardigans etc moths are my natural enemies. Mind you, so far they left the cashmere alone - why try to infiltrate my cupboards if there are loads of carpets etc for the taking? I haven't a single carpet or kelim left that hasn't a few holes.
Never mind, I am finished now and my kelims should be safe for the next few months. It is supposed to get chilly tonight, so I shall pre-warm the bed with a hot waterbottle, and drink some hot beverage before slipping under the duvet. The bed still smells strongly of lavender, so I shall have a heavenly sleep ...
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| Me in my medieval cape |
While rooting through my cupboards - don't ask! - I came across my hooded cape - don't I look like some sort of medieval denizen of fairyland? I wish I had some medieval enactment to go to, I'd look the part.
