…well, almost.
Great news on the house front – things have moved along rather substantially. I came home today just after lunch (I had earned myself a rostered half-day after what turned out to be an absolutely shocking weekend on-call) and had a chance to have a good look around the house in daylight (remember, we have no downstairs lighting at present).
The kitchen is very nearly finished. All the units have been installed, it’s painted and the floor is tiled. The cooker and extractor fan are in situ (although not wired/plumbed in yet) and Fiona’s breakfast bar is finished. I even put another coat of Danish oil on the worktops this evening. Our dishwasher should be arriving this week along with our black Smeg fridge-freezer. The soil pipe has been boxed in and skirting has been fitted. All that’s left is to touch up the paint, tile the window-sills and finish the electrics. This should be done tomorrow/Wednesday. I’m really, really pleased with the result and I’m not just saying that because my kitchen for the last month has been a picnic table, an old fridge-freezer and a microwave! I’m hopeful that we can start filling the cupboards tomorrow evening/Wednesday (I need to clean everything first). That would be great as I am thoroughly fed up of washing up in the bathroom!
I probably should have revised this afternoon with my half-day but I didn’t. Instead I put a second coat of ‘Antique Cream’ on the cinema ceiling and undercoated the woodwork. Being the muppet that I am – I went outside to the skip to put something in it after the builders and the kitchen-fitter had left and the door shut behind me. This wouldn’t have been a problem if it wasn’t for the fact that I didn’t have my keys (or my phone, wallet or glasses). I should also point out that I was covered in gloss paint! Given that Fiona was at work and wouldn’t be home for about four hours – I did seem to be up shit-creek without a paddle. I wandered down my road and came across a chap painting his fence and borrow his phone to call Fiona to see if she could phone our builder (I didn’t know his number) and get him to drop round with the spare set of keys. Rather annoyingly, it went straight to voicemail. I really was bricking it by this point. In the end, I had the foresight to look through the window and saw that our patio doors had been left open by the builders (normally this would piss me off but not this time!). The trouble with this situation was that our back gate is currently padlocked and I didn’t have the key! In the end, I emulated a cat-burglar and climbed onto the roof of the extension, over into the back garden and through the patio doors!
I’ve got a normal working day tomorrow but then I’m on study-leave from Wednesday for my MRCS exam (Part A). I really do need to do some work but there are so many distractions. At least the builders should be gone so I can study if I choose too. Whether I do or not is another question…
Our new bed is due to be delivered on Wednesday which is pretty exciting. Let’s hope it’s worth the eight week wait.
I’ll post some pictures of the house including the new kitchen in the next few days when we’ve had a chance to tidy up and the light is better.