Cleaning up!

Day 11 of kitchen renovation.

It was bliss to have a lie-in this morning, and I woke up at the very reasonable time of 7.30am. Perfect! The floor was now dry, but covered in dusty footprints where Keith had been walking on it! The room looks huge with everything out, and the boarded-up alcove where the door used to be is perfect for housing the new fridge freezer.

After breakfast of bacon sandwiches, Keith and I moved the washing machine back into the kitchen and placed it on a thick piece of cardboard. We then went out into the garage to locate the source of a bad smell that we thought was coming from behind one of the fridges. I gave them both a good clean and we moved everything out and swept behind them, but we didn't find anything (like a dead rat).

Jordan, one of the plasterers, had asked us to come up with a plan for the tiles so we used a panel of plastering board to map out what we wanted. The first idea, to mix the decorative tiles in with the grey subway ones didn't go down too well, and Keith suggested we use them as a backsplash behind the hob.

We liked this idea so this is what we'll go with, and maybe use any leftover tiles to go behind the sink.

The rest of the morning was spent cleaning and tidying up the conservatory, moving stuff into the garage that we didn't need and streamlining it so that we didn't knock things off the windowsills every time we passed by! 

The weather today has been a mix of sun and clouds, with the occasional heavy downpour. It's not that warm, either, so a typical English summer! Keith went to see Sileby play in the afternoon and Sophie and I managed to have a face mask and relax for half an hour. Bliss!

When Keith came home from the football, he sat down to watch the rugby in the living room. I suggested a game of Scrabble but Sophie was not keen! She didn't want to sit in the messy conservatory, so we turfed Keith out of the living room, poured ourselves a very good glass of Rose and watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding!

Dinner tonight was much better - we turned the oven on and roasted a tray of chicken with new potatoes, and we made room for some mini corn on the cobs. With cold meats and salad, the meal was delicious and a lot less stressful! We even managed to heat up an apple pie with custard!

A bit fraught...

Day 10 of kitchen renovation.

The plasterers arrived at 8am this morning so I fled into the shower, and by 8.30am I was ready to go to work. There was no point in me hanging around so I went in early, calling at the garage at Moulton on the way to pick up a coffee and pastry.

Work started off busy, then went quiet, then went mad! I was glad I was able to do the majority of the box office returns before the phones were turned on! A lot of the calls I received today were quite complicated and long, but the time did pass very quickly. As well as the cinema work, I also did a couple of orders, emailed some figures over to the managing director (for the cinema, and a bit worrying as attendance has been low), and kept an eye on the contact centre's emails, as Sara had taken a day's holiday today.

At 4pm I sped home to find more plastering had been done, and the floor had been skimmed ready for the vinyl tiles. We were unable to walk on it for a few hours, which meant we had to go outside to get to the conservatory... A load more stuff had been piled up in the poor room, and our washing machine was standing forlornly on the driveway covered by a cardboard box.

I took Keith to the pub and returned to have a drink with Sophie, which was a long drawn out process in itself! I'm just glad it wasn't raining like last night!

Keith wanted me to pick him up a bit earlier from the pub as John was leaving at 7pm (Dave is still in hospital) so Sophie and I hadn't done anything with our exciting dinner this evening - soup and crusty bread. Things are getting very tight in the conservatory now, and there's really not enough room for us all to try and cook. We attempted to switch the oven on but nothing seemed to be working and then it went off completely, followed by the computer. This meant that something had tripped the switches. 

We sorted this out, managed to work out how to use the oven, and successfully baked the bread, which was delicious. Even though we're all excited about the kitchen, the reality is starting to get to us now because the space is so tight, and there are multiple extension leads everywhere for the appliances that we use on a regular basis. I'm worried about either tripping over on something or having a fire.

It became a bit fraught after dinner, so Sophie took the cat and went upstairs for some peace while Keith and I watched the last episode of Baptiste. One day all this will be a distant memory and we'll be enjoying our new kitchen! Let's hope it's sooner rather than later!

Browned off!

Day 9 of kitchen renovation.

The plasterers arrived at about 8.30am this morning and applied a coat of PVA glue over everything. By 9am Keith and I were ready to go shopping, and I had made a list of what we needed and the meals we were going to be eating. As we've been lent an oven, we're going to attempt to make beef casserole and dumplings on Saturday night!

Sophie and I were supposed to have been going to London on Saturday but we've postponed it (for the third time) as I just can't justify the expense at the moment. Sophie estimated it would cost us each over £100 - actually nearer £200 - and with the car bill yesterday, and the expenditure on lights, barstools and the new tumble dryer we ordered yesterday, we have to rein it in a bit. I said to Sophie we could go in the Autumn when, hopefully, the coffers have been replenished!

The shopping went smoothly and we headed home to find somewhere to put it all away! Just as I was filling the kettle, Anthony arrived and we all stopped for tea and coffee, and a chat. Once he had gone, Keith and I tucked into pastries as we were both starving!

The afternoon was spent catching up with chores and the weather changed for the worse. This morning it hadn't been bad at all, with sunshine and a few clouds, but it really clouded over and looked very much like it was going to rain!

The plasterers left at about 3.30pm and had plastered two walls completely. They felt as smooth as silk!

There was no way we could move the paste table back into the kitchen, so we had to make do for a second night with it in the conservatory.

This evening, with the awful weather (it become really wet and dark, as well as being chilly) we all felt a bit fed up! Keith barbecued, but it was raining so he had to stand in the garage!

I think we are all now officially done with barbecues, new potatoes and salad/stir fry veg! It's Friday tomorrow so we're going to have an easy night, and have some lovely soup, crusty bread and apple pie for pud. I just hope we can get the mini oven working!

We get plastered!

Day 8 of kitchen renovation.

Another Wednesday, another day of building works! Pete, the electrician, arrived just before 8am and two plasterers arrived shortly afterwards. They asked us to move our makeshift kitchen into the conservatory as they were going to be working in the whole of the kitchen today. We hurriedly moved everything, and the conservatory looked a complete mess!

Keith amid the clutter!

Pete also had to dig a trench from the wall to the middle of the room for the electrics to go onto the island, so there was a lot of noise and dust today! The plasterers also built the stud wall between the kitchen and the hallway so that entailed a lot of banging!

Keith and I took my car to the garage at Moulton first thing, to try and get the knocking sorted out. It's also due for its MOT at the end of this month, so that had to be done as well. Neither of us were looking forward to the bill, and we were dreading how much it would be. We left the car with him and headed home to see what was happening. The two plasterers had already taken out the coving from the top of the wall, and all the skirting boards had been removed. They then started on preparation work for the real plastering tomorrow. 

We went and collected the newspaper and we were amazed to see lots of building and gardening work going on around the estate. Another house looked like it was undergoing a kitchen renovation, and we could see a skip at yet another house!

Towards the late morning, the garage phoned to say that my car had failed its MOT, and the cost to put everything right, including a new indicator and headlamp, would be £390, a lot less than we were expecting to be honest! We told them to go ahead, feeling very relieved!

The noise and mess were incredible, so we escaped at lunchtime to meet Sophie in Cafe 900. We enjoyed sandwiches and mugs of tea, and it was lovely to escape the mayhem and chaos for a while! Back home I sat upstairs in the bedroom and watched a programme on kitchens and bathrooms (I could empathise!), and Keith caught up with the Olympics.

My phone rang at about 3pm to say the car was ready so we drove to collect it. The weather today has been gorgeous with blue skies and sunshine and warm temperatures, and the views from the garage over the countryside were stunning.

I drove my car home and it was silent! I was very pleased indeed! It now has its MOT for a year so that is a relief! The plasterers had almost finished when we got back and the floor was covered in dust and dollops of plaster. There were also dusty footprints all over the driveway but they did hose it all down before they left.

As soon as they had gone, we set to and tried to clean up as much as we could. We didn't want to tread dust and dirt all through the house so I hoovered and mopped, and did a bowlful of washing up. We also tidied the conservatory and cleared the table so we could sit down to dinner this evening! There was no way we could move the paste table back into the kitchen as all of the plasterers' stuff was piled up by the wall!

The new stud wall between the kitchen and hallway

Our washing machine, nicely shrouded!

The rough edges have been boxed in.

Sophie arrived home and was very bemused to find she could no longer walk straight into the hallway from the kitchen. We rarely use this door anyway, but it is going to take some getting used to!

As it was such a beautiful evening we sat in the garden with drinks and then Keith lit the barbecue while Sophie and I took care of the new potatoes and stir-fried vegetables. The dinner was delicious as ever, and I'm really proud that we're all pitching in and eating so well!

Noise!

Day 7 of kitchen renovation.

I have to admit to sneaking back to bed this morning after I'd waved Sophie off to the gym. I hadn't slept well, so I set my alarm for 8am and went back to dreamland!

I was still early for work, though, and we had a busy day today. It seemed busier than yesterday, which is unusual, and I had to come off the phones for an hour to do the cinema work. Today it was a drip, drip, drip of phone calls, which is far more annoying than a sudden rush as you can never get a break. I said to a colleague that if I heard the words, "I can't book online" one more time I was going to scream! We have now been taking swimming bookings for a year and it's such a pain! I just think that people are too lazy to try! It was also noisy in the office so it was bliss to escape at 4pm and go home!

We had a relaxing evening and Sophie and I watched an episode of the World's Most Extraordinary Homes. Some of them were downright ugly and the insides were worse!

Quiet Monday.

Day 6 of kitchen renovation.

Today has been quiet and uneventful. We haven't had any work done to the kitchen - the plasterers are due on Wednesday, so nothing has changed.

Work wasn't as bad as I feared and it helped that four of us were answering the phones. I managed to do the box office returns in between phone calls, but tomorrow I need to put on the next week of films. On the way home I drove through a torrential downpour, but it was as dry as a bone in Walgrave! How weird!

Keith and I played cards in the conservatory in the evening, and we all enjoyed a cooked chicken and salad for dinner. Tomorrow we're having Chilli con Carne, and I for one will be glad to skip salad for one night! We're coping well, and although it's a pain having to do the washing up in a tiny bowl balanced on a paste table, it's not as bad as we expected!

Trawling about the shops...

Day 5 of kitchen renovation.

The weather this morning has been dreadful - a constant downpour of rain, and grey miserable skies to welcome the first day of August. After a breakfast of crumpets, we all tackled the conservatory and the rest of the downstairs rooms, organising things a bit better and giving everywhere a good clean. I mopped the hard floors, and Keith glossed the skirting board and door of the cupboard-under-the-stairs, which is going to be a mini utility room, housing a tumble dryer, the iron and ironing board, and maybe even shelving to store foodstuffs that we don't use regularly. I'm hoping to paint the outside of the door the same colour as our units so it all blends in.

It all looked much better and cleaner (the dust in the living room was really bad!) and in the afternoon Sophie and I set out to find two pendant lights for the kitchen. We went to eight stores, but didn't see anything we liked at all! After a sneaky lunch of chicken wraps in McDonald's, we tried Homesense first and they had nothing, then The Range (which I wasn't keen on), then a large furniture store to look for barstools.

We drove across the road to B&Q and chatted to a woman who was having the same trouble as us - everything looked bland. From there, we crossed the road again and went to Dunelm, who had barstools and pendant lights, but nothing we liked!

Getting a bit fed up now, we drove to Riverside and popped to Homebase where an assistant told us they were getting new stock in soon, but he didn't know when! They were just about to close and were hurrying people out so we popped to Next and had a look there. We liked a couple, but they weren't good enough for us to buy, so we were getting desperate! Keith had told us not to return home without them!

Whilst in Next we chatted to a Virgin holiday staff member and asked when the San Francisco flights were going to be available for next September. She told us October, but if we booked a flight and car now it would count as a package... we sat with her and told her the dates, and she looked at hotels in San Francisco and car hire. The package came to about £2600 which was way too much, and we don't need a hotel in the city anyway, as we've booked the Airbnb. It was good to see prices though, but I think we'll wait until October!

We went to one last store before going home - another large furniture store for barstools. The prices were very steep indeed, but we did spot some lights we liked. When I spoke to a salesman, he said there was a 4-6 week delivery as they don't have them in stock!

We drove home feeling a bit dejected, but to our amazement, we found pendant lights from Marks and Spencer online that we loved, and which take inspiration from my favourite Gin glass! Sophie also found two beautiful barstools in pink, which look extremely comfortable, so that's that done! Hooray!

Dinner tonight was another delicious barbecue - we're certainly not skimping on food at the moment!