The Garden Fence - help and support in tough times

nuatha

Softstuff wrote: »

Thanks all for the comments, they're reassuring.

No, they are well earned. It really does look good.
Hopefully it sells fast and at top price, leaving you some cash to do the new place the way you want.
If you weren't quite so far away I can think of several projects who'd be offering you work.

Softstuff

nuatha wrote: »

No, they are well earned. It really does look good.
Hopefully it sells fast and at top price, leaving you some cash to do the new place the way you want.
If you weren't quite so far away I can think of several projects who'd be offering you work.

Thanks Nuatha, I've done a fair bit of friends houses over time (and can be hired for filling, minor plastering, painting, tiling, sewing and other reno items with only the inducement of red wine!)

camelot1001

Wow Softstuff, that's stunning. You must be very proud of yourselves and I hope you achieve the price the flat deserves.

GreyQueen

:T Blimey, softstuff, that apartment of yours looks superb, you can just imagine the potential purchasers thinking how easy it would be to just move in, arrange their stuff and get on with living. I think it'll sell easily and all good wishes for a prompt sale and that you'll be able to re-pay your FIL and have enough to do some great reno at your new place.

Be sure to take some before pix, so you can post them alongside the after ones, in the fullness of time, so we can see what you did.

When my folks had their extension built, one room with a shower-room WC, Mum arranged with the builder that she'd tile the shower room. I think he was a little bit dubious at what kind of a fist a 50-something matron would make of it, but was so impressed, he ended up offering her tiling work with him! She didn't take it up, already had a job, but it tickled her no end.

Thanks for the offer of the paint, btw, but due to the 8,000 miles apartness, I shall decline in favour of the white emulsion I have in the bike shed. It's Doolux bathrooms, so should be entirely suitable. I shan't be painting for some time, nor reloading the cupboard, until I am absolutely sure it's bone dry in there.

No sign of activity upstairs, herself isn't living there and I thought the contractor might be here already, for an 08.00 start (council doesn't allow its contractors to start work on tenants' homes before 08.00 but they typically arrive ready to knock on the door for 8. Maybe they've scheduled a later start, but it takes most of the day to replace one of these tanks, so I thought they'd be starting first thing. Ach well, it's out of my control, we will have to wait and see.

Have a good day, folks.

FairyPrincessk

Morning all,

Softstuff that looks very sleek and polished! I hope it earns some extra cash towards your house.

Fuddle, similar to Nuatha's suggestion, another approach might be to stock your freezer with 'building blocks.' Pre-cooked chopped chicken, pre cooked mince, pre rolled pastry (roll and cut to fit your dish then place on baking paper and roll, store in a freezer bag), a big batch of beef stew which you could either top with pastry or heat up with fresh dumplings etc. might work. During busy periods I find it less exhausting if I only have to cook a full meal a few times a week instead of day in and day out. If I can't devote a weekend to stocking the freezer then I'll just pick my least busy day of the week and plan a meal that makes a 'building block.' I'll make extra and bung in the freezer.

Nice and quiet here now, and things settled down around bed time last night so it was a good night's sleep. :T Not sure what my spring cleaning chore will be today--the oven is probably the most logical, but I really hate doing it so I usually save it for OH as he doesn't mind. His half-term is coming up so it is very tempting! It is rainy-ish here, but the BBC SAYS that should improve. If it does I may try to wash some curtains and do some hand-wash items. Must pop out for some milk and cat food later and the rest of the day is dedicated to sewing. I'm using a dress pattern from 1939 that I got for a pound, and it is interesting to see how they worked then. The dress is a fairly straight forward bodice and bias skirt, but if one is so inclined one can use two of the newly popularized for clothing zippers or slide fastners in it (I'll probably use buttons on the front rather than a zip). Apparently it was only a few years before, in 1937, that zips became popular in men's trousers after the French fashion industry used them. Before that they'd been pushed as an innovation in children's clothing and often manufactured for shoes and boots.

I'll also have to check our progress on the cake--this is another reason I don't tend to make iced layer cakes--they're really a lot for two people to finish before they go stale. If we aren't sufficiently close to finishing it, I may turn it into cake balls. It is a chocolate cake with a butter pecan and coconut frosting, so it could make nice little bon bons if rolled and dipped in melted chocolate.

Softstuff

I'm so glad the consensus is good, hopefully we'll see a happy buyer soon.

GQ, I'll certainly do some before and after in the house. The house will be a bit more personal to us decor wise, what I did in the flat was to fit in with existing theming in the complex. And when I need a hand tiling I'll send for your mum

Supposed to have a washing machine today, but when they tried to unload it, the door was broken off. Have spent half my day trying to sort out a redelivery :mad:

moneyistooshorttomention

Softstuff wrote: »

Living there you get all your gardening done, all your exterior maintenance, 4 pools, 3 spas, a tennis court, a sauna and an onsite restaurant with a head chef from a 4* hotel. Which is nice, but if you're handy like I am, you can do all of that for less than $8000 a year. Without blowing my own trumpet, renovation I can do and do well. It has one bedroom which was fine for us, but it'll be nice to have a study in the new house for the hubby who works from home.

Didn't realise you had all that level of facilities. Now I understand that high annual charge.

I can see where you're coming from that you've renovated it like that - and it should now sell readily. The sort of person who wants spas and sauna included in the communal facilities would expect their own home to include a modern bathroom and...yep...to look very much the way you have just renovated it to be.

You should be on a winner now for selling it promptly. Fingers crossed for you....

That level of communal facilities should certainly be a draw too for many...I was looking at that enviously and thinking "The whole town I am now living in doesn't seem to have any spa facilities at all and I've finally managed to track down one sauna".

edit; cross-posted with you Softstuff...yep...that's another way to put it "fitting in with existing theming". Top marks for that one...

ivyleaf

Softstuff The flat looks lovely :T I'm sure it will sell quickly. GRRR re washing machine!

Fairyprincess Enjoy your sewing

Fuddle ((HUGS)) I so sympathise with feeling too tired to cook when you get home. Tbh it sounds as if you could do with a few days off.

[Deleted User]

We're having relly easy meal today, I'm cooking some YS new potatoes to leave to get cold (I've done the whole pack as I have some nice uses for cooked potatoes), I also have some cooked peas from a couple of days ago and some cold cooked sausages from Tuesday. The potatoes will be sliced, the sausages will be diced and all will be mixed together with the peas in a large bowl and some mayonnaise and plain greek yoghurt added along with a good grinding of black pepper to make a dressing. You can dress this up with pesto, curry paste, chopped olives and tomato puree added to the dressing but it's lovely as it is and plain. I serve it on a bed of mixed green salad leaves and it's a godsend for those days when I'm just too busy to cook. That is the summer version, the winter version uses the same ingredients but hot and works as well hot as it does cold.

mardatha

Fuddle when I'm ill - as I am just now- I live on cooked chicken and prepared salad, with boiled/fried/chipped tatties. As a moneysaver, I am a disgrace lol