Mix 'n' Match

It certainly has been busy for us but it was nice to have the weekend off. It wasn’t in the plan to have the weekend not doing much but Ray the plasterer let us down on both Saturday and Sunday and our work schedule at the OB flat was planned around him. Never mind, Phil could barely walk on Saturday and I was knackered so I think it did us both good to have R&R time. The BBQ on Saturday was good fun and on Sunday we had Steve Pem over to watch the grand prix. I cooked a rather hot chilli con carne with salad with strawberries and cream to follow. A pleasant afternoon was had by all.

We have just about finished Shirley’s house all bar the kitchen which doesn’t arrive until the 17th. All the photos on this posting are of Shirley's house. The lounge didn’t really need decorating but I thought I’d just put a white coat on the ceiling and then I went on to the walls and then I thought I’d just do the top half. Phil put on a new border to cover the old one and after he done it he said it looked stupid so then I had to paint the bottom half of the walls. Trouble is I didn’t cut in very well under the border so we’ll have to strip this off or cover with a new one. Some you loose and some you totally f**k up. Never mind.

The removals were complicated and we now have mix n’ match furniture in the NH house. Our bed in the main bedroom is from Harriet’s flat, our mattress is from the kebab flat, the sofa is from Aiden’s flat and the rather lovely pine furniture is Shirley’s. The bed in the spare room, again, is from Aiden’s flat but we did buy a new mattress. In the lounge, the sofas are from the kebab flat, as is the white unit. The mattress is from the OB flat and we spotted some chairs in IKEA that we just couldn’t resist. They really are outdoor patio chairs and the plan is that a later date, we shall get proper chairs and move these outside. The kitchen is usable despite the absence of units. I am using the dishwasher as a wall cabinet because space is tight but this should all be sorted by the end of next week.

We really got stuck into the OB flat on Monday. Ray, the plasterer did eventually turn up with his son James and finally got stuck into doing the ceilings. Phil couldn’t really work downstairs so he had no option but to help me paint upstairs. For some reason I had painted all the walls yellow a few years ago so of course they all had to be changed. What was I thinking??? When there are 2 of you, it’s surprising how quickly you can get the walls covered. The plumber came in on Monday night after he finished his day job and replaced all the pipe work in the kitchen. He is a wonderful find and so far we have been very impressed with his work. Efficient, cheap and most of all, no leaks after he’s finished the job.

Yesterday we made really good progress which is not altogether surprising seeing as we had two extra pairs of hands. Mad Betty from Cranfield, who has been bombarding me with texts for the last few weeks, asking me for work. I finally caved in and promised her she could help out for a couple of days. She is great at cleaning but not so brilliant at painting and boy can she talk for England! But that said, she turned up yesterday with dust sheets and newspapers and she even brought me a little pot of coffee. Added to which she worked for 5 hours solidly without even so much as a coffee or a wee break. Phil also had Shane helping him tile the kitchen floor. Poor Phil has buggered up his knee and is struggling to walk. He really should go to the doctor but of course he won’t so he has no choice but to soldier on. Shane was laid off from his job on Monday lunchtime so Phil has promised him a couple of weeks working for us around the flats. After they finished the floor, Shane painted the hall, stairs and landing which he finished in no time. At the end of play yesterday, we pretty much had a first coat everywhere.

Today is another full on day at the OB flat (Oldbrook) and quite a big day because the kitchen is being delivered. I need to be at Sainsbury’s at 7am and then I need to go to the Bleak Hall tip because my car is full of rubbish. The guy shouted at me at the Bleak Hall tip the other day for walking in my rubbish instead of waiting in the queue with my car. I said I would never go there again but unfortunately it’s the nearest tip to the OB flat so I might just dump there just one more time.

Ray has finished the plastering but it’s still early to paint the ceilings because they won’t have dried out yet. It’s a shame because in my plan all the painting including the ceilings should have been finished by now. Never mind, if we bang on the heating tonight hopefully this will speed up the drying process and we can paint tomorrow. Perhaps with the hired help I can slow down a bit. I am looking and feeling my age, plus some more. The focus for the rest of the week will be on the kitchen and hopefully if nothing major catastrophes we should be back on track by Friday.