Watching Sex and the City 2, my memory was triggered.
(Yes...I own up, guilty as charged. I went to this very disappointing sequel and was in a word, disappointed. I watched every episode of the series and loved them, each and every one. I can admit to adoring the fashion, I was captivated by Carrie Bradshaw, bedazzled by the city of New York, I looked forward to the silly plot lines and I even enjoyed the first SATC movie....bought the DVD and have watched it with the DD's several times. But number 2...in my opinion, embarrassingly not good.)
Watching these women stumble around on film, I was reminded of the souk in Marrakech. I have been there. As I soaked up the sights and inhaled the exotic aromas I was inspired. My imagination was peaked - travel can do that - and my attention was grabbed. I wanted to take hold of the atmosphere and transport it home to France. Not that easy to stick a souk in your carry-on but I figured out the next best thing. Cushions and lots of them. There was a guy - one in a million - selling cushions in all colours and sizes. The muted colours, the rough weaves and the embroidered embellishments, they 'spoke' to me and somehow I knew that they could find their place at the farm. The 'one in a million' guy was a true wheeler dealer and promised an excellent price and he also assured me that he would make it very simple for me to carry my loot home, 'No problem lady, you will see...you will see'.
You may be wondering where the sage council of Mr FF was when I needed it. One very lovely thing about Mr FF is that when it comes to my whims he trusts me. If I thought we needed these cushions, covers and rugs in all shapes and sizes (yes, I didn't stop with the cushions) then so be it. He had faith. Besides, I think he was much happier to indulge my cushion fantasy in the souk than venture into the main square. The main square meant snake charmers and monkeys and those he definitely didn't want to touch or have draped around his neck. No... haggling over cushions was his preferred option.
'One in a million' guy promised to deliver all of the above to our hotel in no more than two carry bags. We were nervous and doubtful that he could accomplish this but as the financial outlay was small we figured that it was a risk worth taking - another reason to shop in the souk. He delivered, literally. 'One in a million guy' came through and two bags were waiting for us at our hotel when we arrived back that afternoon. My very own 'souk' was reduced and squashed into two reasonable carry bags. There was no fuss and even more remarkably no overweight baggage when we came to fly home.
A frame was made out of wooden poles and a chicken wire 'roof' was created to hold the camouflage netting. I found the used desert nets from an army disposal store in the UK and bought various lengths to cover the back, sides and top of the structure. Charlie, our Bernese Mountain Dog, was our third hand and Apache .... who was hiding... was no help at all.
After the structure was in place we put up 'curtains' in the four corners to cover the outside poles and to enclose the sides of the tent.
Once the corners were up we started on the back using three panels of camouflage netting to cover the expanse.
The tent taking shape...slowly.
The reason I chose the camouflage netting was as much for the pretty patterns that form in the dappled sunlight as for the shade that the cloth provides.
Once the corners and the back panels are in place the chicken-wire roof was covered.
Two extra large nets were used for the top covering so that there was ample cloth to create valances with the overhang on all sides of the tent.
Nearly there....
Finished but un-dressed, apart from a few holes that needed closing.
Fully dressed ....cushions, carpets and covers finally at home and all ready for lounging.
all images - me
xv
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