July Phil

I got caught out this month because it seems to have gone so quickly.  Its the last day of the month and I am only just starting to write my end of month report.  We seemed to have started this month renovating the first flat that I bought around 14 years ago and it was certainly ready for it.  The last tenant has been in it for 12 years so it doesn’t owe me anything.  I just worked out that he has paid me twice as much as I bought it for over these dozen years and I have only put his rent up by £15 a month this entire time.  This flat on Giffard Park was the first kitchen that I ever fitted so it has lasted quite well.  We didn’t change the bathroom earlier so that has lasted well too.  The most amazing thing is that the carpet was even there when I bought the place.

We have had lots of work to do because the whole place was wall papered which we had been painting over until now.  The bedroom took me three solid days to get off because it was wood chip but the hallway required lots of filling once the paper was off so that took ages too.  There were huge cracks in the walls around the windows so I got a structural engineer to inspect them.  Oops, just remembered that I haven't sent his cheque yet.

He recommended that I chipped the plaster off around it and tacked metal mesh along its length and then plastered over which I did.  We also took the kitchen dividing wall down so as to make it open plan and we could move the sink next to the window.  All this created a huge mess which kept Claire busy clearing it away and taking to the tip.  The lino in the old kitchen area took me more than two days to remove.  It would have been longer but I gradually homed in on the most efficient way which was using a lump hammer and bolster.  It would have been much easier to take up ceramic tiles.

Claire had plenty of trips to the tip, especially because the tenant had left a loft full of old computers, an overgrown garden and a scrap car in the garden.  It wasn’t so easy to get someone to take away because we don’t own the car but Claire sorted it out with some bloke selling pegs and laying tarmac.

While we were making such a mess anyway, we decided to go the whole way and cover up the artex with a skim over the ceilings.  Claire managed to track down the little Irish fella that we used in out Cranfield flat.  His name is Tommy and he is cheap and a really nice chap.  He brought his son along so that he didn't have to do all the difficult jobs himself.  The pair of them moved our radio into the room that they were working on singing all their favorite songs as they worked.

We have managed to have every Sunday off work.  John and Marie came to stay in the other caravan one weekend which coincided with our campsites annual proms in the park.  The only other one of these that I went to was one in Bedford where Status Quo topped the bill.  Ours wasn’t quite up to these standards, they turned out to bee a brass band.  We had Sue and her friends Ann and Jim meet us for dinner at the Mandarin which is one of those chinese buffets.  It is consistently been the best one that I have been to with great choice.  Once we had finished our meal, Sue returned home as she wasn’t feeling so good but we managed to talk Ann and Jim into coming to watch the start.  Claire had bought a £20 gazebo which John and myself put up earlier to reserve our places.  They ended up staying until after midnight we had a great night.  I hadn’t realized that you could have such a good time whilst listening to a brass band.  Mind you, they have come on a little since the Salvation Army ones that I used to watch as a kid.  They played several Queen songs which got Claire off her seat.

Claire found an old friend “Bob” in the next tent and luckily just in time to save him from falling over.  Or is that one of Claire’s special dance moves?

At the end of the night they put on a firework display which was really good.  Photo’s of fireworks never come out so good; you have to be real quick to catch them.

Back to our caravan for warming drinks before bed time.

Plaster all dried, Claire could get back onto her favorite job.  Poor Claire, she was looking at me sideways for two days after painting all the ceilings with three coats of cheap white.

Never mind, she could twist her neck the other way while painting the walls.

Another weekend, another party, this time it was Jan and Steve over for dinner with Sue.

Steve and I managed to sneak down to the clubhouse for an hour.

They always have a band on at the clubhouse on a Friday and Saturday night.  Trouble is, they play 60’s, 70’s and 80’s songs so they are getting on a bit.  This week they had Status Quo’s parents.

All these Sundays off means that we haven't finished the flat yet but not far off now.  I cant fix the kitchen worktops down until we have the custom stainless steel splash back made on the cooker wall because I want to tuck it behind the worktop and wall units.

Financial Awareness - Clash of the Taylors

Not so much to report on Daphne’s financial arrangements other than I am bleeding money.  I now have another solicitor in Milton Keynes.  I needed someone to sort probate for me since Jim decided to cause a scene at my last one in Lowestoft.  I have a lady from Franklins who is a senior partner.  She used to barrister and is very sharp.  Her name is Helen Taylor.  Jim is using a different solicitor in Lowestoft to complete his probate.  I know, two lots of probate is not good.  Strangely, his solicitor is also called Helen Taylor and my solicitor has already talked to her.  Good job they have different accents or they wouldn't know who was talking.  More about finances in next months roundup.

Where did the week go?

This week has flown by.  We were up late on Monday morning and didn’t leave Overstone until after 9am.  We went to Wickes before going to the GP flat because we wanted to buy some oak skirting for the lounge.  It wasn’t cheap and we ended up buying 2 packs so we get the 20% discount.  Phil cut the skirting with his new circular saw and then set about fitting the new lights.  Working with his arms above his head for long periods of time isn’t Phil’s favourite pastime and the wiring wasn’t straight forward.  I don’t think anything on this project has been straight forward so no surprises there.  There was lots of huffing and puffing from Phil with several electric shocks even though the power was turned off.  Phil thinks this was due to static from the new floor. 

Lunch was a Whooper meal from Burger King; not the healthiest of lunches but Phil had a voucher and we needed to go and buy stuff from B&Q so it was convenient.  When we got back to the flat Phil scraped off some of the wall where the skirting was going.  I cleared up after him and then went round the room touching up with the white emulsion.  This meant that Phil couldn’t glue back the skirting until the paint was dry.  I painted the radiators with a second goat of gloss and also painted a second coat of gloss on the copper pipes but that was my only input for Monday.  It was a frustrating day and we didn’t seem to get very far.

Phil got up early on Tuesday morning and got stuck into the paperwork.  I am afraid I have rather been nagging him about tackling this and we have so many things that are outstanding that it’s been worrying me.  So much so, that I took to emailing him on Monday evening bullet pointing the things that I needed him to do.  Bit sad really but it obviously did the trick because as I said, he was straight on it the next morning.   I thought the plan was for us to go both to MK late morning but all of a sudden Phil grabbed his car keys and said “right I’m off”.  I wasn’t even dressed but Phil said he’d go alone and that there was no need for me to go as well.  I stayed home alone.

When Phil left I did the ironing and then went to Sainsbury’s to get some supplies.  After putting all the shopping away I went next door and made up the double bed.  I then did the housework and cooked some salmon noodles ready to take to Sue’s.  I knew the new kitchen was being delivered to the GP flat in the afternoon and I was a bit concerned about Phil lifting all the units up the steps because I knew from experience that the Wickes delivery men wouldn’t help.  I phoned Phil to see if he needed me but he said he’d be fine on his own.  It was such a glorious day and with all my jobs done, I decided to sit out in the garden next door and read my book.  I felt very guilty but with all the rain we’ve had recently it was nice just to feel the sun on my face.  Phil phoned around 3pm to say that the kitchen was being delivered.  He said he was going to make up one of the units before coming home.  I put a chicken in the oven and when Phil came back we sat and ate our roast chicken with salad and some new potatoes underneath the gazebo.  It was a pleasant evening.

On Wednesday it was back over to MK to make up the kitchen units.  This is Phil’s job mainly, I assisted where I could and took the empty boxes to the tip.  Other than that I did a bit of touch-up painting but was mostly there for moral support.  Again it was another gloriously hot day and if I am honest I would rather been anywhere other than the GP flat.  Phil worked hard whilst I popped round Sue’s for a rather long tea break and a catch up.  When I finally got to the GP flat Phil had built up all of the base units. Unfortunately I noticed that the oven housing unit was built up the wrong way so he had to change that.  I was also perplexed and so was Phil as to where the dishwashing housing unit was; we checked the plans and ended up going into to Wickes just to check.  Fortunately Joanne, our kitchen designer was on duty and we were able to check with her.  It turned out that integrated appliance units don’t need their own unit; they just need a door front which we had ordered and already brought.  We felt like real dorks but it was worth checking.

After Wickes we went to Argos to try and buy an integrated dishwasher but it was all home delivery so we ended up buying one front Curry’s.  It was heavy and hard work getting it up the steps to the GP flat but everything with this flat seems hard going.  Harriet phoned as she had the day off and we ended up walking to The Giffard Park to meet her for lunch.  Bad move sitting in the midday sun and drinking cider.  The Giffard Park had an half an hour wait for lunch so it was a while before we got our food.  Needless to say we were certainly but not in the mood for work on Wednesday afternoon and thus it was not a productive one. 

I dropped my boy off at the Ship Ashore for his usual meeting with the Wednesday night boys and then it was back to Sue’s for upper. Dinner was a disaster; I had cooked salmon with egg noodles which turned out soggy with the re-heat.  Never again.  Sue soldiered on through the main gallantly but it was crap to be hones t and I won’t be doing that recipe again.  So much for trying something new and trying to be adventurous!

Thursday fared a little better.  It’s never a good day for Phil but when I arrived at the GP flat he’d made fairy good progress.  The kitchen is definitely coming along.  I stagnated at Sue’s not eager to rush to work which was a bit naughty really. When I eventually got to the flat I painted the skirting in the bedroom and the hallway.  I assisted where I could in the kitchen but wasn’t much help.  It felt like a wasted day if I am honest.  Phil went to Sid Telfers, he also went to Homebase and the day soon went.  Harriet had the day off work and dropped by for the keys to the caravan.  I guess we got home to the caravan about half three.  We have discovered a new way of going to and from Milton Keynes, basically turning off at Horton and following the signs to Brayfield.  This brings us out at Great Billing and definitely saves a few minutes on the journey, also its far more preferable than getting on the busy A45.

We chilled under the gazebo whilst Harriet sunbathed on the patio.  She’d taken a couple of days off work because of the sunshine.  Harriet stayed for a few hours. I did offer to cook her dinner but she had made other plans for the evening so once the sun went down she took herself off home.  I put half a quiche in the oven and we had a very lazy evening.

Yesterday wasn’t such an early start but I guess it wasn’t long after half eight when I dropped Phil off at the GP flat.  I went for tea at Sue’s because there really wasn’t much I could do at the flat.  I stayed for the hour and then went back to see how Phil was getting in.  The boy had done well.  He’d made up all of the wall units and had fitted all the base units back to the wall.  It was only when we lifted in the gas oven that we realised we had a problem.  Basically the new pipes were in the way and we couldn’t get the oven back.  This is not a huge problem but it does mean that we will have to get all of the units out again and get the plumber round to re-site the pipe. 

Having stumbled across the problem we went to B&Q to buy worktops.  Unfortunately B&Q didn’t have the dark wood work top that I wanted and I really wanted to go to Wickes but they don’t cut worktops at Wickes so in the end Phil persuaded me to go with the light wood top.  We got them cut and then lugged them to the car.  Boy were they heavy and it was no easy feat getting them up the steps to the flat but we managed it. 

Lunch was a kebab at the new kebab café on Giffard Park.  I didn’t like my kebab and couldn’t eat it and I also noticed that Phil left half of his meal.  I don’t think we will go there again.   Yesterday afternoon Phil put up the kitchen wall units.  He had wanted to cut out the worktops for the sink and the hob but in the end we ran out of time.  To be honest we ran out of energy rather than time but we’d simply had enough so we packed up tools and went home.  Last night was an easy one in front of the telly watching the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

All in all, it’s been a funny old week.  Yes it’s gone quickly and although it hasn’t been so strenuous, well for me anyway, it’s been frustrating.   The goal was to finish the kitchen by end of play yesterday but that didn’t happen because of the pipe problem.  Phil has gone over to the flat this morning as he is meeting the plumber.  I am hoping that he will keep to his word and finish at midday.  We have friends over this evening and so I have some cooking and cleaning to do.   I am hoping that the weather stays nice so we can sit outside but I see from the weather forecast that it’s going to be chilly again tomorrow.  Shame really as we had planned to take the whole day off.  Never mind, mustn’t complain too much as weather wise, it’s been a glorious week.

Not a bad weekend

It’s been a pretty okay weekend with the sun showing its head FINALLY.  We headed to MK reasonably early on Saturday morning and headed straight to the flat.  I don’t think we are making ourselves very popular with the neighbours, using the circular saw, hammering and hovering on a Saturday morning before 9am but hey-ho needs must and all of that.  Phil worked hard and he managed to finish the laminate flooring.  I finished up with a final hover up and it looks okay, a bit bland if I am honest but far better than the previous flooring and I will rug most of the laminate anyway.   About 11ish we packed up tools, loaded the land rover for a tip run and then we stopped by at Sue’s for to pick up Phil’s ipad and then we had a quick whistle stop shop in B&Q.  We managed to pick up new lights for the GP flat but couldn’t decide on the skirting.  Time (as always) was of the essence so we deferred the skirting and headed over to Caldecotte to pick up Harriet.

We have been neglecting Harriet of late as we have most of our friends (and family for that matter) and we had offered to take HH out to lunch at the pub on Caldecotte Lake.  It wasn’t ideal because we were out to dinner in the evening but we needed to have a snack and as it happened the sun was out.  Harriet was in good form; she had collected her new iPhone4S the day before and was keen to show it off.  I don’t think she had really got to grips with her new phone in just one day but Phil showed her a few tricks.   I am a little worried if I am honest, because the plan is that Phil will get the new iPhone5 when it comes out and I will have his old iPhone 4 but if Harriet is struggling to operate the new iPhone4S what chance have I got???  At the moment I am using a cheap Nokia 10 quid phone which suits my purpose but it’s impossible to pick up a signal at the caravan and mostly I can only receive text messages the day after they are sent.   And even then I have to make sure I power down each night which mostly I forget to do.

We dropped Harriet back at her flat after lunch then went back to the GP flat to pick up my car.  We also had to pick up some tools and it was gone 2pm by the time we got back to Overstone.  Unfortunately there was no time to dither because we had promised Steve Pem that we would give him a hand with his decking.  There was only had time for a quick shower and change and even then, we didn’t get to the cottage in Olney until half 3 in the afternoon. 

Steve had been working on his new decking all day and looked pretty knackered by the time we arrived.  Phil helped him screw in the posts but I spent the time catching up with Mads.  I hadn’t seen her since Boxing Day so lots of catching up to do.   Mads was manic as ever and the same crazy girl that I have know for 12 years now.  It may have been a while since we saw each other but some things and some people, never change, certainly no Mads.  She is deeply involved in her new job as area manager at the airports and now has 5 if not 6 London airports under her belt.  I personally wouldn't want the responsibility or the drive or the long hours but for the most part, she seems to be thriving on it.  Good for her and well done my friend.

Steve and Mads new decking is massive.  I think it will look rather palatial when the job is finished and I hope that we will be invited to a dip in the hot tub and a celebration opening of the decking when it is unveiled.  We went for dinner at the Anya Indian restaurant in Olney where we have been before. It was really good, but as ever, too much food.  Tramp that I am, I insisted on a doggy bag which Phil and I took back to the caravan with us.  Mads and Steve did say that we could stay but I hadn’t brought overnight stuff and to be honest ,I don’t think an overnight stay coupled with a boozy night would have boded well with a pre planned trip to Phil’s parents on Sunday morning.

Yep, we did the right thing, Steve was knackered after a day working in the garden and Mads was suffering from sleep deprivation after a 10 day shift.  But it was a nice evening and we were tucked up in our own bed by 10.30pm, knackered after a long week and sleep came easily.  We were awake at half six but lay in bed with tea and our respective books, not getting up until 8am.  I had a shower, bunged in some washing and we were on the road to Melton Mowbray just after 9am.

I hadn’t seen Phil’s mum and dad in quite a while so I was very pleased to see them and they me, thankfully.  Unfortunately we had forgotten to bring the tools so that Phil could finish off the new loft hatch ladder because they were in the Land rover but Phil did fit the new door chime bell.  Mum cooked roast pork with all the trimmings followed by raspberry crumble and custard.  It was lovely I have to say.   I don’t know quite why but food is so much tastier when its cooked by someone else and I have to say we have been rather reliant these past few weeks on friends and family to provide the staples.   Pub grub, however posh or expensive just doesn’t make the grade.

After lunch was finished and mum and I had washed and cleared away, I popped down to their local Tesco to get us a few supplies.  It’s only 3 minutes in the car and is really handy.  When I got back I helped Bet finished her crossword and then we had tea and cake and then headed home.  We were back for half four; we unloaded the car, put on some washing, hung out some previous washing and last night was chilled and reasonably early to bed. 

We are being very boring and very predictable I’m afraid, but once again it’s back to MK this morning to choose and fit skirting board.  It will be the same every day this week.  The new Wickes kitchen is being delivered on Tuesday and although its all Phil jobs, I am hoping by the end of play on Friday that we will have the new kitchen sink fitted and hopefully will have running water and a working boiler.  If we do, we can then rip out the toilet and the sink in the bathroom and start refitting that.  And then fun and the hard work really begins.  It’s been good to have the weekend off, family, friends and wine and who can ask for more?   But if the truth be told, I think both me and Phil are both on a mission and we really want to get this project finished.  

Blood, sweat & stress

It’s been a pretty hard week all in all; okay blood, sweat and tears is a bit of an overstatement but there has been blood, certainly lots of sweat, no tears but an awful lot of stress.  I feel like I am climbing a steep hill and getting nowhere fast.  Actually to be really truthful, I feel I like I am fighting a loosing battle. Why?  For fucks sake, it’s a 1 bed flat and we have faced and conquered far worse. I feel my age plus ten this week.

As I said, it’s been a tough week.  I don’t why I feel that this project is so hard or difficult for that matter.   But it has; Tuesday, Phil wall papered the feature wall.   I used the same old black and white floral which I used in number 11 which Phil moaned about but it works for me, it ties in with my white gloss furniture and it is still current.  They do the same paper in black to white and I really wanted to use that but Phil thought that it would have been too dark.  It wouldn’t, it would have been a good contrast with the white walls but it’s too late now.

After Phil wall papered, in record time I might add, we went to IKEA to buy the laminate flooring. I am not a massive fan of laminate especially in a kitchen but with an open plan kitchen-cum-lounge area I didn’t want to limit my options, i.e. I didn’t want to have a firm boundary line between the kitchen and lounge, I really wanted it to be a flexible area. If I had of laid a ceramic floor area for the kitchen that that would have definitely defined the kitchen area and I didn’t want that.  At the moment the floor space looks massive but once the furniture gets moved in, then who knows.

We have been in the GP flat all week; I have got away with only 2 coats on the ceilings but the walls have needed 4 coats. It’s been nightmare because the walls, stripped of wallpaper have been so bad. The plumber went in on Tuesday and Wednesday evening to lay new pipes and refit the new radiators.   He did a good job apart from fitting the new bathroom towel radiator in the bathroom on an unpainted and un-sanded wall. Obviously it needs to come off and Phil must phone him to sort it.

Wednesday was a frustrating day in many ways more than one. The electricians were in fitting lights in the loft and new sockets for the kitchen and they made a right old mess.  Phil was hoping that he could get the lino up in the kitchen area but there was no chance.  I had already planned on taking the day off because I was meeting Christine (ex boss) for lunch at half midday but I had also scheduled a part of my day to help Phil with the flooring.  It just didn’t happen I’m afraid, the rain came down intermittently almost on the hour and we spent most of the day dipping in out of Sue’ in different cars, mostly missing each other.  I felt sorry for Sue, having both me and Phil popping in and out of number 2 all day but she said she didn’t mind.

Lots of you ask me off line how Sue is doing and the answer to that is she doing really well  since she came out of hospital.  The daily injections are definitely helping and she is feeling so much more positive and more like the Sue of old.   Her energy levels are back to normal and she looks great. Sue’s surgery is scheduled for the21st of August and she will have a 6 wk recovery period afterwards.

Talking of Wednesday and Sue, it was supposed to be my turn to cook on Wednesday night, and because Sue has been told by the hospital doctor that her body needs red meat, I had promised  to cook her my infamous beef in red wine with creamy mash.  Sue seemed really keen but somehow in all the flat frantic chaos, Sue offered to cook and I quickly and very gratefully accepted.  Sue cooked  a lovely veggie roasted lasagne with salad with a balsamic vinegar dressing; not only did she do supper but she also cooked a lasagne for Phil and I to take home.  Bless.

Phil wasn’t feeling none too bright on Thursday morning.  I let him sleep in until 9am and then went to wake him up.  The electrician guy was coming round to test the electrics and we wanted to be on site to meet him.  We weren’t that pleased with the electricians work on Wednesday.  They fitted a new fused box which was fine but they made a right hash of the walls when they were channelling out for the new sockets.  Phil could have made a much better job.

On Thursday I carried on with the painting in the hallway and the bedroom.  Having already got rid of the carpet, the underlay, the gripping and another layer of lino which was not only in the lounge, but also in the hallway and the bedroom, the last job before laying the laminate, was to get scrape up the lino in the old kitchen area.  God it was stuck like glue.  Phil started digging it up but gave up after an hour.  I tried with a Stanley knife and a scraper but it was so difficult that I too gave up.  Phil laid 3 rows of the laminate at the far side of the lounge but had real difficulty getting started with it.  We used the same laminate from IKEA that we used in our last house but they have changed the locking design and it’s not as easy to lay any more.  We went back to Sue’s for lunch, we did a couple hours of work afterwards and then gave up and went home at half three, we’d had enough for the day.

Yesterday we had left Overstone and went to MK in the one car.  Phil cracked on with the laminate and I touched up with the white paint.  I stupidly changed paint halfway through painting and the finish in both the bedroom and the hall was patchy.  I spent so much time touching up it would probably have been easier just to paint another coat over the whole lot.  Sue stopped by in the afternoon to see how we’d progressed at the flat.  She hadn’t been round since we had been plastered and although I think we are still in a right old mess, Sue said she thought the flat was looking good. 

There is still so much to do.  We really wanted to have a day off today with it being the weekend but Phil wants to finish the laminate and we also want to go and buy the skirting board and some new light fittings.  The plan is to fit the new skirting on Monday in readiness for the new kitchen arriving sometime on Tuesday.  So much to do and so little time to do it.   Right now though, I must get dressed, clean my teeth and get ready to get on the road.  We have absolutely no food in the house so our first stop is going be the bakery in Newport Pagnell to pick up a bacon roll.  An indulgence I know but it is the weekend after all.  Enjoy everyone and have a good one.

Party in the Park

We had a good day working at the flat last Friday; it felt, for the first time that we had achieved something.   On the way back to Overstone we stopped off to see Sue; she had been discharged from hospital and Anne had gone to pick her up.  Sue looked pretty tired so we didn’t stay for long plus our weekend guests had already arrived so we had to get back home.    We’d left the keys in a safe place so step dad John and his partner Marie had let themselves in and made their selves at home.  This was the first time that Marie had seen the new caravan and she liked it.   Good job really as this was to be her home for the next few days.  At least it wasn’t raining on Friday evening.  Phil & John went down to the club house for a couple of hours whilst I prepared dinner.  Actually they were only meant to go for one pint and I ended up having to call Phil on his mobile and cajole him into coming home.   As it happens, John met somebody that lives here at Overstone who recognised John from La Manga.  It’s a small world.

Unfortunately it was peeing it down on Saturday morning.  Phil cooked bacon sandwiches and then we went over to MK.  Phil wanted to sand walls for a couple of hours so we dropped him at the GP flat and then I took J&M over to Cranfield to see the flat.   I had a couple of small things to do there and then we headed back to Newport.  I needed to go to the bank and we had some time to kill so we went to a café in town for a cup of coffee.  We picked up a very dusty Phil and then headed back to Overstone.  Unfortunately the A45 flooded and we had to come off and go the back way home which was via Billing and involved a long traffic queue by the bridge.  I guess it took nearly an hour but at least we got home in the end. Lunch was cheese and onion quiche with a green salad; we didn’t want too much as we were out for dinner in the evening.

There was a party in the park here at Overstone on Saturday evening and I had invited Anne and Jim and Sue to come along to watch the band after dinner.  But with all of the miserable weather I thought there was no chance that we would be able to go.  Who would want to sit in a soggy field in the rain?  But the sun came out mid afternoon and it actually felt quite hot so I popped to HomeBase and brought a gazebo.  Phil & John put it up in the park and also took a table and some chairs.   The rain stayed away until half five, just as we were about to drive to Weston Favell.   We had booked a table at The Mandarin table for 6pm and had arranged to meet Sue and Anne and Jim. We were a little early and the restaurant was really busy.  I was glad I had booked but what I hadn’t realised that on a Saturday evening you only get the table for an hour and a half.  

Still I like the food at The Mandarin and on Saturday evening they had some Thai dishes which are my absolute favourite.  After the meal, Sue who had driven in her own car went home and Anne and Jim followed us back to the park.  We picked up the ice box, some blankets and a couple of extra chairs and headed for the party in the park.  The steel band turned out to be a brass band; at first I did think Salvation Army but in actual fact they turned out to be quite good.  We had a few drips from the Gazebo but it didn’t actually rain.  Okay, it would have been better if it was a balmy mid summers evening but that was never on the cards.   The party in the park finished with a spectacular firework display which everyone enjoyed.  A good, free evening, and well done to the park management for organising it.

We didn’t have such an early start to Sunday morning and it was all a bit of a rush when we eventually got up.  Phil & John went to take down the gazebo and when they got back we went to find the car boot sale that Marie wanted to go to at Overstone Park.  It wasn’t where we thought it was but we asked someone for directions and found it quite easily.  The car boot was quite a big one but most of the stalls were selling a load of old rubbish.  Marie got a bag and a belt, John got some DVD’s to take to La Manga but I came away empty handed.

We had a late lunch at The Manor which was absolutely packed out.  I should have cooked really but lunch out was easier.  On the way home we brought papers from the site shop and then it was back to the caravan for a chill out.  I was absolutely knackered and went to bed for 2 hours;  Phil had to wake me up because we had said we’d go next door for tea.   Too much of the red stuff and a late night and I just can’t hack it these days!

J&M decided to stay an extra day in the hope that the weather would improve and they could explore.  We took ourselves off to the flat yesterday morning before they rose because there was much to do.  I stopped off at Sue’s for a cup of tea first and a catch up while Phil sanded but then it was straight back to crack on with the ceilings.  The first coat on all the newly plastered ceilings was fine but the second coat wasn’t so thrilling.   My neck was starting to ache and I was struggling to see where I had painted.  But I was determined to do a good job and ensure that I didn’t end up having to do a third coat.  A third coat would have been plain right tedious.  I think I have got away with it but I shall have to see when I go back today.

While I painted, Phil sanded and sugar coated the walls in the hallway, not an easy job and he was cursing the whole day.  Luckily he had a couple of trips to B&Q to get supplies and he also had to pick up some bits from Sue’s garage.  I think Sue took pity on him and ended up making him a cup of tea and a corn beef sandwich. Other than that, we pretty much worked all day, well I say all day, we actually downed tools at half three.  To be honest I was knackered.

When we got back to the caravans, we found out that the electric was down on the whole site.  Thank goodness I could still have a shower because I was absolutely covered in paint.  I wondered what J&M had done with themselves all day but when I went into our caravan I found out.  Bless ‘em they cleaned both caravans from top to bottom and had done all of my ironing.  And there was a big pile of ironing, 3 wash loads in fact.  Not only had they done my domestics but they’d also cooked dinner as well.  I told them they could stay again!  Dinner was toad in the hole with mash and onion gravy followed by jam rolly poley and custard.  I am not sure we were very good company though as we were both knackered.

J&M are going home today and very shortly we are going to the flat.  We have the plumber Blue coming at eight thirty to refit the radiators. Unfortunately I need to get another coat on the walls where the new rads are going and they have to be able to dry, so once again I am under pressure.  We had a good day yesterday and FINALLY, I feel we are getting somewhere.  Don’t get me wrong the whole place still looks like a bomb site but at least I can see a light at the end of the tunnel, albeit a small one.   

Getting plastered

On Tuesday morning I went to Sue’s house to grab her a few bits and then stopped off at the GP flat before driving to Oxford.  Phil had had a good morning’s work; he made good the wall edge where we’d ripped it out and he’d also put in some electric sockets in the kitchen.   Added to that he’d ripped off all the horrible skirting board in the lounge and took up all the underlay gripping.   I’m afraid time was of the essence for me, so I gave my boy a kiss and drove to Oxford to see Sue.  I’m getting used to this drive now and each time it gets a little easier.  It helps of course that I am using Sue’s sat nav but I pretty much know the way now without it. 

Sue was in good spirits when I caught up with her.  She said she’d had a lousy nights sleep but I thought she looked the best I’d seen her look in a long while.  For a change it wasn’t raining and we were able to sit in the garden with our takeaway teas.  It was a nice visit but as always it went far too quickly and before I knew it I was saying my goodbyes.  Sue is doing well; the injections are making her feel better, she is now up to the full dosage and is even able to do the injections herself.  She called me last night and hopefully (fingers and everything crossed) she should be able to go home today.

We stayed at Sue’s on Tuesday evening.  Harriet popped round and very kindly dropped us off at the Mysore in Newport so we didn’t have to drive.  Actually the plan was to walk but it started to rain a few minutes before we decided to leave.  Phil wanted to treat me to a birthday meal and it was agreed that even though my birthday was on Wednesday we’d celebrate on Tuesday.  This was fine by me; I know how much Phil enjoys his Wednesday nights with the boys and to be honest with everything else going on, I wasn’t much in the mood for celebrating.

The Mysore was quiet and without atmosphere and unfortunately the food was not good.  I just had a chicken tikka masala which was very dry.  I suspect it had been prepared at lunchtime and slung in the microwave. Phil had a balti which wasn’t great either.  The service was slow even though there were very few in the restaurant and I don’t think we will be going back.  We were disappointed the last time when we went for the Sunday buffet with Jan & Steve and Sue. I seem to remember we had to complain then.  Never mind, at least we went out and I didn’t have to cook and we finished the evening with champagne (well Cava) and chocolate. 

We managed to get hold off Tommy the plasterer from Cranfield on Monday; Phil met him at the flat on Tuesday and he said he would skim all the ceilings in the flat by the end of the week.  This was great news because we can’t start decorating until the plastering is done.  Luckily for us, he phoned to say he would start on Wednesday.  This meant we had to be at the flat early on Wednesday to get all the light fittings down and clear all the tools from the lounge and move them into the bedroom.  We’d just about finished when Tommy and his son Jo arrived.  Phil & I had several tip jobs to do, so after making the boys tea we gave them a key and left them scraping the ceilings. 

Phil and I tipped the lounge carpet for our first trip. It was a heavy carpet and it took a tremendous effort just getting it out of the flat.  We had to use all our might and as we were unable to get it down the steps we had to throw it off the step railing.  It was fine, it landed on the 4 ft high stinging nettles in the front garden and luckily Tommy & Jo helped Phil lift it into the landrover.  It was nice and dry when we loaded up but sods law, the heavens opened when we arrived at the Newport tip.  We did 2 more tip loads on Wednesday morning, one trip with the old bath and the last trip with all of the internal doors and a couple of abandoned suit cases from the flat downstairs. 

I stopped work at 11am as there really wasn’t much I could get on with at the flat.  I was meeting Jan for lunch so went back to Sue’s to get showered and changed.  I picked Jan up from the OU and we went to the Plough @ Simpson where she very kindly treated me to lunch.  Bless her she also gave me a lovely card and a travel pack with  Morocan Oil goodies for my birthday. I love these products and am looking forward to trying them although me thinks it’s going to be a long time before we manage to get away.

I did very well for my birthday this year and was very spoilt.  Phil got me wine and champagne and a shedful of chocolate and of course he treated me to dinner.   Harriet got me a rather sexy swim suit, a cropped cardigan and some fancy flip-flops.  Sue treated me to a new handbag, some Moulton Brown products and some transfers for me Kindle which I am really look forward to trying.  And Mads, who I haven’t seen for ages, sent me a whole bag of goodies with Steve last week.  Inside there was as a Radley purse, some Sisley hand cream, a bronzer, some perfume and some little beauty product samples. Yes, I did very well, not sure I deserve, but thank you everyone.

After dropping Jan back at work, I went to the GP flat to see how the plastering was going.  It was going good.  Tommy and Jo were doing well, now that we have knocked down the kitchen wall, it makes the lounge combined kitchen, a big area.  Phil & I were rather in the way so we decided to go to the DIY shops to pick up some bits and pieces.  First stop was Wickes, I‘d seen a display wall with a paint that I rather liked.  I asked the kitchen designer girl and she told me the colour was ‘Lime’ and it was their own brand.  I also got some big tubs of white emulsion, again their own brand which saved us some money.  Next stop was B&Q to buy a couple of new radiators.  We needed some slim line tall radiators, one for the lounge and one for the bedroom.  Again we were in luck because B&Q had a 15% off deal.  They weren’t cheap though, even with the discount, the white gloss rads that we selected cost £169 each.  As usual, we stayed at Sue’s on Wednesday evening; Harriet called round and very kindly dropped Phil off at the Ship Ashore which saved him walking. 

Yesterday we were back at the GP flat for 8am.  We were a little alarmed to see that Tommy had left our new radiators out overnight.  He had said that he would move them inside but he’d obviously forgotten. We were lucky that nobody had nicked them.  I opened my lime paint and starting paining in the kitchen.  Phil is not so keen on the colour, he thinks it is too bright but I think it’s perfect.  Once the kitchen and the worktops are fitted it won’t be so in your face.  Tommy turned up at half eight and started making his plaster mix ready for the bedroom.  He is a good guy; he works hard and cleans up after himself.   I can thoroughly recommend him.  Phil scraped the bathroom walls but had to leave at 11am as he was taking Harriet to East Midlands airport.  She is off to Jersey for 3 days to visit her cousin.  I worked till half 12 and left Tommy to plaster the bathroom.  I went back to Sue’s to shower and pack up my stuff and then went to Tesco’s in Wolverton to get some shopping.  Then it was back to Overstone to unpack and catch up with some domestics.

This week has gone fast and as ever we seem to be chasing our tails.  We are back to the GP flat today as we have Blue the plumber coming round to take all the radiators off the walls.  Normally we would paint round them but as its paper we have decided to take them off and do a proper job by stripping off all the wallpaper.  I also want to get starting painting the lounge walls.  The ceilings can’t be painted yet because they to dry out but hopefully I can get going on these on Monday.

We have to be back at Overstone by 4pm at the latest today as we have step-dad John and Marie coming for the weekend.  I have left the key in a safe place so they can let themselves in and unpack.  What a shame that its pouring down with rain and the forecast for the weekend is grim.    Overstone Park really comes into its own when the sun is shining. Not so though when it rains and you have to put all the heaters on in the caravan.  Tomorrow evening I have booked a table at the Oriental in Weston Favell and have invited Sue along with Anne & Jim.  There is a party in the Park tomorrow night and the plan was to set up a gazebo, take some wine and go along after the meal to listen to the band.  I don’t this is going to happen now and think we will have to revert to ‘plan b’ which is a drink at the clubhouse to see if the band is any good and then back to the caravan for birthday cake.  This weather is really getting me down. Will we ever get a summer his year I wonder.  It's mid July for f**ks sake.

Fifty shades of grey

The last few days have felt a little flat and grey.  I know that other people have going through much more difficult and painful times, but I don’t know, it just feels like Phil and I both together and separately, have the weight of the world on our shoulders at the moment.  It is not a good time in our lives.   On Friday Phil went over to the GP flat with Andy, our caravan neighbour from across the court.  Andy was made redundant from his job a couple of weeks ago and as he is a carpenter by trade, Phil had asked him if we would come and look at the steps in flat.  As I may have already mentioned, they are a right mess and we were thinking we might have to replace them.  Andy took at look but said he thought they could be saved by stripping the paint and replacing the rotten wood for new.   This is good news but we are still waiting for him to come back to us for a day rate.  In your own time Andy.  But actually, to be honest, the steps are not a priority so I guess we can afford to wait.

Andy suggested a pub in a nearby village so Phil took me there for lunch.  It wasn’t so nearby about 10 miles from Overstone but it was a lovely pub in a sweet little village overlooking a lake. It was just a shame that it was pouring with rain but when, and if the sun ever decides to shine again, we shall definitely go back and have a drink in the garden because the views were beautiful.  We had the 2 course special, which didn’t come cheap.  The service was good but my asparagus and trout mousse was a little on the hard side.  My fish pie was lovely but I didn’t really have much of an appetite when it came.  Friday afternoon was quiet, not quite a duvet day, but lazy nonetheless.

Phil went over to the flat quite early on Saturday morning and I wasn’t far behind.  We went together to Wickes for our 9.45am appointment with the kitchen designer.  The meeting went well and we were pleased with the overall design.  We have done so many kitchens that it’s quite straightforward these days plus it helps that I already knew that kitchen I wanted.  I dropped Phil back at the flat so he could carry on working and then drove to the Churchill hospital to see Sue.  I was a little worried that I might get caught up with the Silverstone traffic but it was okay and I guess I got there not long after midday.

Sue was eating her lunch when I turned up and I was pleased to see that she was looking much better, more like her normal self.  She said the hormone injections were quite painful and blood tests had revealed that she was anaemic and low in potassium.  But other that, she was in good spirits and it was good to see her.  Professor Grossman is keeping her in until the end of the week.  She had an MRI scan yesterday which she said was scary and on Thursday she will have her pre op assessment and a meeting with the anaesthetist.  Hopefully she will be allowed home on Friday with a date set for her surgery.  I had a fairly good run home from Oxford and Saturday night was a takeaway curry and some telly.

As there was so much sport on Sunday we decided to have a day of rest.   I went shopping at Morrisons having decided it was about time I made a home cooked meal. I did a very nice roast chicken dinner and Phil watched the Silverstone Grand Prix.  Afterwards we switched over to watch Murray lose; he did his best but at the end of the day it wasn’t enough.

Yesterday we went back to MK to do so more work on the GP flat.  I don’t why but I find this particular renovation so over-whelming.  It’s silly really as it’s only a 1 bedroom flat and we have worked on much bigger projects so why this is freaking me out much god only knows.  Maybe it’s because we have ripped so much out that the whole place looks terrible.  The logical part of me knows that it will start to look better soon but I am so impatient and I can’t bear the mess.  Also I am sick to death with waiting on tradesman.   

Phil worked on chiselling out the wall for the new electrics in the kitchen and I got back to scraping off the last bits of wall paper on the walls.  I managed to get the kitchen and lounge walls sanded and sugar soaped but they need going over again.   We stopped for lunch and also went over to have a look in Harriet’s loft because we are missing a box with all of Phil’s electrical stuff.   It wasn’t in Harriet’s loft and so we ended up buying some more wire and sockets at B&Q.  It was nearly 2pm by the time we got back to the GP flat.  We did another hour and then decided to pack up and go home. Just as we were getting our stuff together, Emma and her sister popped their heads through the door. They were doing the school run and Emma had spotted my car on the drive.  I have been meaning to pop in for a cup of tea in the cul-de-sac for the last few weeks but it just hasn’t happened.

Phil has already left this morning and should already be at the flat.  I have decided to stay home for a couple of hours as I need to do a bit of paperwork and make some telephone calls.  I will drop by at the flat to see how Phil is doing and then I am driving to Oxford to see Sue.  And that’s about as far as we have got this week.  Not very exciting I’m afraid.  It doesn’t matter how hard we work or how many jobs I tick off the ‘to do’ lists; the list just seems to get longer and longer.  Oh well, I’m running behind already this morning so stop complaining Clairabella and get your arse to gear.