A change of scene

Day 19 of kitchen renovation.

We'd decided to go out somewhere today, as it was our wedding anniversary, and also to get away from the house for a while and have a break, but where? We live so far from the coast that it takes us over two hours to get to the seaside, and that's on a good day! The east coast is the easiest to get to, but the roads can be busy and apart from the A14, it's mostly single lane highways, so frustrating if you get behind something slow, like a tractor, which is very likely at this time of year!

We then debated going to Oxford or Cambridge, Stratford-upon-Avon or even Lincoln, but in the end, I suggested Southwell again, as it's only about an hour and a half away on the M1 and A46, and there were some nice shops. 

We set off later than we intended, after opening cards and wishing each other a happy anniversary - we celebrate 29 years today! The A14 was very busy, as was the M1 but once we turned off onto the A46, the traffic became lighter. We made it to Southwell in good time and managed to park right outside a pub called The Admiral Rodney. As we needed to use the facilities, we had a drink and looked forward to walking around and looking in the shops. I am after some pretty bottles for the kitchen to keep detergents in so I was hoping there would be some antique or charity shops open.

Imagine our disappointment, then, when we left the pub and absolutely nothing was open, not even the little deli/cafe nearby where we had hoped to buy some treats to take home! There were a fair few people walking around looking in shop windows but everywhere was closed. The wine shop we had visited before was all shuttered up and we were very disappointed - we had come here to visit the shops and then have a meal!

We got back into the car and found a pub I'd been looking at on the internet, The Hearty Goodfellow. It was on a pretty street on the outskirts of the town, and we walked in full of trepidation, as we were fully expecting them to be full with no tables available.

Luckily, we were able to sit at a table by the window and order within half an hour. We all fancied fish and chips and the food was very good indeed. Light, peppery batter, delicious chunky fish and fat chips accompanied by mushy peas, which Sophie now loves!

We were going to have dessert but the service was slow, so we decided to call at an ice-cream parlour we'd seen on the road to Southwell. It was due to close at 4pm so we hared off and made it just in time! It looked like part of a dairy farm, and there were lots of people sitting outside enjoying their ice cream. We queued up and ordered three ices and ate them in the car. I had a scoop of banana which started to melt on the way back to the car, and I realised I was wearing the same top when we had had the frozen banana at Naples Pier four years ago... today I was soon covered in banana ice cream again!

The journey home was quick and uneventful and the M1 was very busy again, but then it is the holiday season! Back home we relaxed for an hour and then it was time to resume our Scrabble game of yesterday and I beat Sophie! She beat me when we played again, though, so she had her revenge!

Settling in!

Day 18 of kitchen renovation.

Sophie and I took Mum over to the Weston Favell Centre this morning to try and sort out the Nationwide bank account. We spoke to a very sympathetic and understanding manager there who has sorted things out. However, they don't do third party mandates on the account, as Natwest do, so I would need to set up a Power of Attorney to have any control or access to the account. This is a very time-consuming and complicated process and one which I dread having to do!

We had seen Mum's friends Garry and Gloria sitting having a coffee, and once we'd sorted the bank account out, she joined them while Sophie and I popped into Tesco to get some shopping. When we'd finished we joined them for a coffee and had a great chat! For Mum, it was like old times!

Before going back to the care home, we had lunch in Jenny's, a restaurant on the ground floor, and Sophie and I enjoyed a jacket potato and halloumi salad. Mum wouldn't eat anything, which was a shame, and I think she felt a bit sad after catching up with her old friends.

After we'd dropped her off, we returned home where I did some housework - hoovering everywhere, and giving the living room a good dust! It certainly needed it! While I was cleaning, Vince and Sue arrived back from a week's holiday and were very impressed with how the kitchen had progressed while they were away. They loved our stable door as well!

Sophie had been packing for her trip to London next week, and when she'd finished we all enjoyed a glass of Prosecco to celebrate mine and Keith's anniversary tomorrow! We have been married 29 years now, so next year will be our Pearl! Our wine cooler is up and running so it was lovely to not have to pop out to the fridge in the garage every time we needed a top-up. Keith put one of his bottles of beer in there as well!

Sophie and I played Scrabble in our new favourite place! It was bliss to sit there with the stable door open and the new window ajar to catch the cooling early evening breeze. Our bar stools are so comfortable!

We ordered a Chinese takeaway this evening (I think we deserved one!) and after we'd eaten we watched The Dry, a murder mystery film set in Australia. I had read the book ages ago, but couldn't remember any of it, which was a good thing!

So glad it's Friday!

Day 17 of kitchen renovation.

It was Mike's last day at work today, so another era has come to an end. He is still looking for a job in Southampton, but doesn't seem worried! He can be so laid back!

Before I left for work this morning I asked Tom, the kitchen fitter, to please, please connect the washing machine so we could get our huge pile of laundry washed this weekend! He promised he would!

Work was fine today, and the time passed quickly. I sped home at 4pm to see what progress had been made, and I was delighted with the worktops, which although not finished, were in place. It now means we have some surfaces in the kitchen!

The window had been tidied up and Jordan, the plasterer, had also plastered the new cupboard in the hallway.

Mike was off to spend the weekend with Abbie so Keith and I dropped him off in town, and returned home to find Sophie was back from work. She was pleased with the progress as well!

We used the oven for the first time tonight, cooking some jacket potatoes, and they turned out really well! It was a lovely, simple meal to end the week on and I think all of us are heartily glad it's Friday and we'll have no builders coming in at 8am tomorrow. I am hoping for a lie-in!

Sad news.

Day 16 of kitchen renovation.

Keith's friend Dave died yesterday, and we found out this morning. It's very sad, and although we knew he was very ill, we didn't expect it to happen so soon. I really feel for his son, Josh, who only lost his mum a few months ago.

I was at work today at 8am, catching up with all of the cinema admin, my own emails, and doing some work for Sara. The time passed extremely quickly, and it was lovely to be off the phones!

At 2pm I sped home to find all the workmen on our drive looking at one of the worktops which they were attempting to cut in a curved way to match the cupboards. I don't think Tom, the kitchen fitter, was very happy...

As I needed diesel and had forgotten to get it on the way home, I fled in case anyone started shouting at me! On the way to get Mike, I bought two bottles of good wine for Pete, the electrician, as he had helped us out by lending us the oven (invaluable) and had gone over and above what we were expecting in terms of the electrics.

I picked Mike up from work (the last time I will ever do so) and he wanted a haircut... I knew that the extra hours I had today would be spent doing menial things! Luckily, he wasn't long and I was home at 4pm, only half an hour earlier than usual!

Today, the new stable door has been fitted, the oven is in and things are really progressing!

One of the pendant lights - matches my favourite Gin glass!

One of the new bar stools. The worktop still needs work!

I am so pleased with the stable door - it's wonderful to have the top half open and a lovely breeze coming in, plus all the extra light. I couldn't stop standing there and looking out!

Keith made me a cup of tea and then I did an hour's cleaning, hoovering the hallway, living room and kitchen floor before tackling the conservatory. I can't wait to get everything moved back and reclaim this room as somewhere just to relax and eat! Having said that, I think Sophie and I will be hanging out on the island a lot!

Dinner tonight was fajitas and we did a good job, cooking the chicken in the slow cooker, and roasting the veg in the oven. Our new oven is working but we were all too scared to use it!

Heat and dust

Day 15 of kitchen renovation.

I think today has been the worst day in terms of noise and dust, as a builder arrived this morning to cut out the new window in the wall overlooking the gravel garden. Keith, at one point, went into the living room and said it looked like it was full of smoke as the dust was so bad! And the noise! It shook the whole house!

However, it looked fabulous (well, it will do!):

I spent five hours doing three washes as we haven't been able to use the washing machine since Sunday, and the laundry was piling up. We took the twin tub into the bathroom and used the plentiful hot water supply from there, rather than staggering up the drive and into the garage with buckets! I also changed our bedding, which Keith said was silly, but I wanted fresh clean sheets on the bed!

I had an appointment to see my parents at 3pm in the garden room because today is my Dad's birthday. Although pleased with the gifts we'd bought him, he was grumpy and cantankerous, the argument of a few weeks ago still on his mind, so it wasn't the most successful of visits. When it was time to go I couldn't get out of the garden so I wasn't in the best of moods!

Back home, I was delighted with the progress made today:

The island is in place, and most of the electrics has been done, including the lights in the cupboards where we're going to display our glasses, the pendant lights, and the under-cupboard lights. When Sophie arrived home she was stunned by the lights in the cupboard - apparently, you can play around with the colours by installing an app!

Keith barbecued in the evening and the food was delicious! We had very smoky frankfurters and marinated chicken with roasted vegetables and cous cous. Yum!

Craving peace and quiet!

Day 14 of kitchen renovation.

Work was busy today, but thankfully not as bad as yesterday, and we did get some gaps in between calls. I was in half an hour before the phones were switched on, as I'd been to the garage to get a coffee and a pastry. This is going to have to stop!

When I arrived home there didn't seem to be much of a change, but the water pipes for the sink and appliances had been sorted out, and another couple of cupboards installed. There is only one man, Tom, working on the kitchen at the moment, which does surprise me. I had imagined there'd be a team installing everything.

Keith had prepared chicken curry for dinner, and it smelt delicious! We certainly haven't skimped on meals this week, and tomorrow, as the weather is set to be good, we're going to barbecue. We attempted to sit out in the garden this evening as the sun was shining, but the boy next door immediately began to kick a football around, so we all retired to the living room!

I know there are people far worse off than us, but I really feel like I could do with a holiday at the moment, or even a change of scene! It's our 29th wedding anniversary on Sunday, and I've suggested a day out somewhere, just to get away from the mess and chaos! While Keith was cooking we watched an episode of The World's Most Extraordinary Houses, which was a mistake as they were all outstandingly gorgeous and looked like havens of peace and quiet, something I could do with at the moment!

I flip!

Day 13 of kitchen renovation.

All of the kitchen cabinets arrived this morning, just as I was about to leave for work, so I had to take Dad'd car as the van was blocking the driveway. It was all very exciting! 

Work today has been horrendous, and even though there were three of us on the phones, there was no time at all in between calls to do anything. I had the box office returns to do from Friday and the weekend, and there was just no way I could do them. All three of us were completely fed up, so half an hour before we were due to go home I asked Sara if I could have a word, and it all spilled out!

Luckily, she understood completely (she'd been working yesterday on the phones and it was manic), so to cut a long story short, I've been given an extra six hours this week to deal with the cinema work and then do anything else to help. I did say that I was doing Stella's job almost completely, and she used to come in at 8.30am and finish at 1.30pm, so it wasn't really fair that I was expected to do all that in between sometimes long and complicated phone calls. Sara is very understanding, but I think she knew how fed up we were, and could detect real rumblings of discontent. It doesn't help that several staff are still languishing on furlough!

Back home, I was delighted to see that progress had been made and some of the cupboards were in place:

It's still a mess, though!

The previously large and empty space was now full of boxes, and there seems to be an awful lot of them!

For dinner this evening we enjoyed beef casserole (finally!). My dumplings were lovely cooked in the little oven and it was the perfect night for a hearty meal as it was pouring with rain outside and thunder was rubbing all around!