On Monday we had nearly a full complement of builders - two plasterers, a stonemason, a labourer, BOB, two carpenters, an electrician and two Aga engineers. This was mostly because The Other Job (remember: there's always Another Job) had come to a grinding halt. It's a listed building and extensive woodworm has been discovered so all the internal woodwork has to be removed. BOB is waiting for formal written confirmation from the Listing Officer (or whatever it is) before he starts to be totally sure they've got approval. Thank goodness for woodworm and bureaucracy, eh?
So, we really did have the Aga put in on one of the hottest days of the year. Genius. It was duly turned on, then turned off again. Not actually because of the heat, but more because (a) there's no electricity yet and (b) we need to cover it to protect it from paint and plaster.
We started with this:
Went through this:
And got this:
Before covering it up to this:
It is utterly GORGEOUS. We already love it. We will love it even more when it's turned on...
Meanwhile, the plasterers cracked on through the rest of downstairs. We are now completely plastered, except for a final coat on the fireplace. The downstairs looks HUGE. We're not quite sure what we're going to do with all the space. Roller blading??
The carpenters cracked on with external cladding - from this:
To this:
Yes, it would look better without the external oil boiler in the way. That will be plumbed in on Monday.
The Music Room is nearly clad too - all except for the really fiddly top bits.
We had a chat with the decorator who came back on Thursday and speedily mist coated everything before saying that the oak should have been done before the decorating started. Helpful. He said he liked the natural look and, yet again, we pointed out the footprint on the rafter...
That's Guy up a ladder rinsing the oak. By the way, what's with masking tape?? You put it on, you do what you have to and you peel it off, right? Oh no, no, no... You put it on, you PLASTER all over it, you then have to slice it with a Stanley knife, and THEN you peel it off. Good grief - what a palaver. Bit rough on the hands too - after the acid rinsing (yes I did wear gloves) and the masking tape peeling, my hands are now a weird shade of grey. And I thought they were just nicely tanned...
We also got slabbed. That's a proper building term...
Our little patio table and chairs are going to look slightly lost, right? Oh, OK then, we may just HAVE to buy one of those huge gas barbecue things. Except we don't really barbecue... And we have an Aga... Anyone got any other ideas?
We have declared war on the bloody rabbits. Our lovely new bed on top of the wall has become, basically, the salad bar at a Harvester for rabbits. So... not only have we put fishing line round it on little metal hooks (excellent tip from Sian's gardening friend - thank you!) but also put a sign up to deter them.
Yes, of course it will work. Because we are sooooo sure it will work, there's another one on the veg patch gate:
The signs were a housewarming present from Richard and Sue in the village - I have NO idea how he managed to get these, but they are just BRILLIANT! And they will work, I have no doubt...
On Wednesday, just because there wasn't enough going on, we picked up Ruby and Wooster, our two new cats - they're mum and son. Wooster is so-called because when we first met him he was a proper wimp so I wanted to call him Wuss The Puss. It got slightly upgraded to Wooster. He is now a proper brave little chap whose major passion seems to be climbing trees. And chasing wine corks. I don't know how we found one for him to play with - I mean, it's not like we have a drink of an evening, is it?
After three days, Wooster and Izzy will eat out of the same bowl and cwtch up together but Ruby (mum) still wants to be on her own. She is, however, recovering not very quickly from being spayed so she's allowed to be a bit huffy, bless her...
Purchases Of The Week:
The cat house - it's a bit small, but it's temporary. We'll be selling it after we move in - if you fancy a chicken coop cum cat run cum rabbit hutch at the end of July, let us know.
Two cats - from a charity, to go in the cat house. Obvs.
3 bags of cement, an in-patio manhole cover, and a Y drainpipe junction. Guy is now on first name times at the local Robert Price.
Plants - thyme, hardy geraniums and chamomile. They're all rabbit proof. Oh yes they are.
36 bottles of water for the builders. It was the least we could do - I mean, we didn't want them fainting or anything, did we?
Un-Purchases Of The Week:
Beehives. Having ordered two beehives in early MARCH, the bloody company cancelled our order once without us knowing, never refunded that money, said a second order (mid May) would take 10 days, didn't deliver and wouldn't respond to emails or phone calls. Guy lost patience (and that's saying something), spoke to an actual human at PayPal (remarkably difficult) and had a full refund for both orders within 4 hours. Which means we have the money back but no beehives. The company are Leeway Woodworking from Surrey, they sell through Amazon and Ebay. Avoid, avoid, avoid.
Plumbs Upholstery. After the ridiculous saga of them losing half our sofa, they had the nerve to demand the full balance of payment. I sent a rather weary letter explaining everything (again) and along the lines of 'do you seriously expect us to pay the whole bill?' They offered a £250 discount which we accepted. Still a crap service, still wouldn't use them again but, as a major supermarket says, every little helps. I won't now be posting my 'already worded in my head' vitriolic review on TrustPilot, but mainly because I really can't be bothered, not because I think they've put things right. Avoid? Oh yes...
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