Bathroom anorak

Yes this might seem a contradiction in terms but you know you have become a little too knowledgeable about a subject when on arriving at a bathroom showroom you are ecstatic that they have the Vitra S50 on display. It was what I thought would suit us having got the catalogue and so it was great to actually see it, the salesman was very helpful and we spent a most productive hour together!!

Window troubles

We are having to replace two of the front upstairs windows which were poorly made. Our new ones though are somehow deeper than the originals despite the company coming and measuring them up, it is all very stressful and eventually Dave and I leave the building team to it.

We should have known, on Grand Designs it is always the windows that cause problems.

Pandemonium

Today is manic, we have people everywhere tackling plumbing, plastering, building and electrical work. It is quite overwhelming. Everyone wants instant decisions, sometimes about things we haven't even begun considering yet. Suddenly the farm doesn't feel 'ours' any more and I have reached a real low point and will be glad of a break from everyone over Christmas and hopefully time to draw breath.

Christmas is coming .. ready or not

We decide to go and buy our Christmas tree. We have gone to the same farm every year and want to buy before the weekend rush. We are pleased with our choice and even more so when we get it home and find that it fits in the allotted space with about an inch to spare!

Road sweeping

Our road is so muddy that I decide to sweep it. Most of the cars that pass by comment that they have never seen anyone doing it before - so it's no wonder I find grass trying to grow in the middle. It's slow work but satisfying and warming on a misty grey day.

Oh no ....

To our dismay we now have two poles in place of the one we started with. Apparently because a telephone line is fixed to the old pole (although it isn't connected to the house) the top will be sawn off and it now becomes the property of Open Reach. You really couldn't make this up. The old pole is also leaning away from the new one so it looks extremely drunken.

We have had enough and Dave and I leave them to it.

The second pole is in place

The replacement pole is up - it is very substantial and should last for ages. The process of moving the wires across is a slow one though and there is a large team onsite.

Pole day!

Well today we are going to have one electric pole removed and another replaced because apparently it's rotten. Fortunately the sun is shining and the ground pretty dry.

Festive greenery

I was delighted to be able to walk round our hedges and collect a festive bunch of greenery for the front door (I made sure it was detachable so it can hopefully survive the builders!) Although the birds have taken almost all the holly berries there are some beautiful red hips from the dog rose and lots of ivy.

With all our time spent at the house the last week has been a rush of Christmas cooking and writing cards, but today in the sunshine and enjoying our very mild December weather making this was a real pleasure.

A tidy up

The builders have concreted the parts of the path they dug up a couple of months ago and inspired by this we had a good tidy up leaving the front of the property much smarter.