Daft Dogs and more DIY

It’s been a funny few days; we’ve not got as much done as we would have liked but at least we’ve got Harriet and Shane moved in, lock stock and barrel. I don’t understand quite why but it felt more stressful moving HH in than it does with a regular tenant! Harriet came over on Friday morning and I took her to IKEA to get a last few bits for the flat which seemed to make her happy. After IKEA we all met up at the flat to meet the aerial man who arrived promptly at 11.30 as promised. Luckily it wasn’t raining and he was able to fit the aerial to the side wall and feed in the wiring to the lounge and main bedroom. It took him 3 hours from start to finish and at least now Harriet can get Free-view in both rooms. Phew!

Harriet’s dog Coke seems to have settled well into his home. I don’t have much love for staffs but actually he is a lovely little fat thing and has a sweet temperament (unlike his owner!) It was funny to watch him slide around on the tiled floor. Also the steps up to the flat are quite steep and it was hysterical to watch him climb up and down. Coke took a liking to Phil and vice versa, he got lots of sloppy licks! Harriet says if I like Coke so much, how come she wasn’t ever allowed to have a dog when she was a little girl? I said to her, having a child was enough for me! I do like dogs but they are a tie, bit like kids really!

It was such a nice afternoon that after the aerial man had gone HH drove us all to The Giffard. She had a diet coke and a plain burger and then went on her way leaving Phil and I to talk strategies for our next project over a bottle of wine. We had much to discuss because whilst Phil was loitering outside watching the aerial go up, Aiden from next door came over and told Phil that he was going to be moving out at the end of the month. My heart sank when Phil told me because having just finished Harriet’s flat, we have to start all over again on next door. And having just been through the process, I know exactly what work is in store for us.

It looks like we will complete on the kebab flat sale at the end of the month and my initial thought was that we could move into Aiden’s flat and it would be problem solved. But Aiden’s flat is in dire need of modernisation and it makes sense to do it now whilst it’s empty and there is no way we can live in the flat without a bathroom or a kitchen. So if Jimmy & Shirley are okay with it, we will be taking them up on their kind offer and move into Shirley’s house for a few months. We walked back from the pub and just chilled in front of the telly watching lots of episodes of “Homes under the Hammer”. Harriet phoned to say the new cooker had stopped working but we couldn’t drive because we’d had wine and besides we were already in our pj’s. I have subsequently called out the Curry’s helpline and they are coming out on Thursday. She will just have to live on takeaways until then.

The communal heating has gone off in the kebab flat and we have gone from living in a sauna to feeling chilly. Now we also have to switch on the emersion heater for hot water. This is not only inconvenient but also costs us more on the electric meter. I think we are escaping from the kebab flat not a moment too soon. We started on the accounts on Saturday, a job which we both hate with a passion. The company accounts aren’t so much of a chore because I update them on a weekly basis but we don’t do anything on the flat accounts until the year end. This year it’s even more complicated because we have put a couple of properties in joint names, so we have an extra set of accounts to do. Also we changed mortgage companies half way through the year so this makes it even more fiddly. Accounts are not my forte; thank goodness we have a fantastic accountant.

On Saturday we did the tour of DIY stores to see what deals were on offer for kitchens. Along with the rest of Milton Keynes I think because the car-parks and stores were packed out. The plan is to source all of the materials for Aiden’s flat before he actually moves out. HomeBase had a fantastic deal and we found a cream shaker kitchen that we really liked, £480 based on 8 units. We booked an appointment with the kitchen designer and went back yesterday for our 10.00 am slot. We are doing a similar layout to Harriet’s flat, not identical because we are having an integrated cooker unit and are putting an extra unit in the cupboard off the kitchen. Craig, the kitchen planner, gave us an extra 15% discount on top of the 50% and 30% deal saving us around 500 quid. All in all, the whole kitchen came out at just under £1000. Not bad and we were most impressed with the service that we got, much better than B&Q. The added bonus was that Phil has a Homebase card and we got the interest free deal and don’t have to pay a penny for 9 months.

I cooked a roast chicken for lunch on Sunday which we had with new potatoes and salad. Phil was most disappointed because he was looking forward to a ‘gravy’ dinner but he still managed to finish what was on his plate plus some more! In the afternoon we went for a steam and a Jacuzzi at David Lloyd but couldn’t be bothered with a workout or a swim. Now that we have to pay to have a shower here, it’s cheaper and easier to go to David Lloyd.

This morning we lazed in bed with mugs of tea and yesterday’s papers. Well, what else is there to do on a bank holiday Monday? Phil got up and made us fry-up. I was meant to be starting back on the diet this morning but there is no way I can say no to fried potatoes. It’s nearly midday and I ashamed to say that I am still in my dressing gown. Phil is also still in his pyjamas but we got started on the accounts at half past 7 and 4 hours later we’re still going. The weather seems lousy so I think we’ll carry on until lunchtime and then call it a day. All run of the mill, boring stuff I’m afraid. Not really much to write home about but that’s the way it goes sometimes.