"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

greenbee

Eight cousins and my mum for supper on Monday - it was exhausting getting ready, but lovely. And the getting ready resulted in a LOT of tidying.

Ikea stuff was ordered and delivered, and 6 bookcases and a desk put together. They'll have to come out for decorating, but I know how I'm going to use them now. Just the paint colours to choose - and a note to the decorator to ask whether he knows someone who can cut out the skirting that needs to come out. I should probably take up the carpet before he starts too. Frames arrived and pictures were framed and put on the walls - they have transformed the room. 

Various spice racks were ordered - one happened to fit a gap my mum had between hers, so between the other two I'd ordered and the two spare that she didn't need once the new one was in, my work surfaces are a lot clearer. 

Two armchairs were ordered in the sale (forgot cashback, but it probably wouldn't have applied) and are due to be delivered on March 28th. I need to chase my dining room furniture as hopefully it has now made it to the UK despite the issues with the Red Sea and Suez. When it arrives I'll have at least one table to rehome, possibly two - plus quite a few chairs. FB marketplace has slowed down - only one blind and a pair of curtains have gone recently. I have a few more things to list still, and need to rationalise the storage for what's left.

The pile of dead shrubs in the middle of the garden has finally been defeated - either shredded, cut up, or binned. We have a LOT of material to compost. Particularly now the tree surgeons have been (they're 2 days in to a 3 day job) as there is yet more woodchip. Although there's more in the wood next door where the chippings from the overhanging branches have been left than there is in the garden!

The cardboard from the bookshelves is in the greenhouse (along with other cardboard I've scrounged) ready to create no-dig beds. The first 4 inches will be the compost from the compost heap, and I've ordered a mix of topsoil and compost for the top couple of inches. We just need to source boards to hold the compost while it settles. 

There's a wardrobe that needs to be taken apart to get it out of the house (and one listed on FB that's in the workshop and needs moving into the garage), and another that probably needs to be taken apart and reassembled to come downstairs. Plus a fitted wardrobe that needs dismantling. I wonder whether the Easter holidays might be a good time for sales as there will be time for people to do projects like there was at Christmas.

Lots of bills coming up for 'stuff' that's been ordered/delivered, electrician (although they're not coming back to finish the job until the end of the month, so no bill so far), tree surgeons, decorator. Some will be this month, some next. However, there is budget for all the work - so cash flow has allowed for some money to savings and a mortgage OP in Feb. 

Work is very busy and pretty stressful, so the work on the house is fairly disruptive, but worth getting done. It'll be nice having the office and studio decorated - but there's quite a bit more to be done before any other internal decorating can be done. The external paintwork is booked for June. I need to bite the bullet and get one of the major bits of electrical work done which means clearing two large rooms and then living with the mess until the decorator can deal with it (so I'll book him and the flooring people as soon as I have dates). It will make sense to replace the woodburner then as well. 

Lighting needs a serious rethink - there are 62 LED downlighters in the house, and they're mostly unecessary. While it'll involve quite a bit of work to remove/replace them, a lot of them need to go. They're not energy saving in these numbers!

There's still lots to do - but there is also definite progress!

teapot2

Wow, so much in that post.  Well done on everything achieved already and hope all your dates for future works come together and the trades folk turn up when agreed.  I need to arrange some repairs in the house but am in awe of your organisation and energy 💪🏼 

greenbee

I’m not organised or energetic really. I finally get so irritated by things that I arrange to get them done. 

I’m currently annoyed because the current tree work has confirmed that all the other things I’d suggested including probably do need dealing with, but of course the sap is now rising and birds are thinking about nesting. So I need to get the boss back ASAP to look at the rest, give me a quote and get it done. Or call the people who were working down the road the other day and stuck a card through the door…

Something odd is going on with the heating - upstairs says it hasn’t been on since yesterday morning but it has - and it triggered the overheat alarm (set to 21C) this morning. Radiators were in, but all says otherwise.

I’m also back on the waggon with Pilates, doing a 24 day daily challenge to get back into the habit. I’ve managed it today despite the fact that I have a very stressful 2.30pm deadline of a meeting with the CEO to present  something that I’ve been given no clear brief for. I had 48 hours notice of the meeting and have been dealing with crises and urgent deadlines since. So let’s hope I still have a job by the end of the day…

My mum is apparently sending another of my planters and all my strawberry plants over with the gardener tomorrow, so I’ll have to spend the weekend replanting them somewhere, and I have other plants arriving today. I was thinking of going over to here for mothers’ day, but I think she’ll have to spend it here helping me in the garden 😂

greenbee

Definitely getting spendy here... electricians have been back and are ALMOST finished with phase 1 (back again next Thursday to hopefully complete it). Two rooms have been decorated (he's done a fabulous job) and I'm back in my office (I put up two extra shelves just before the decorating was done which helps), but waiting for the carpet to go down upstairs before the bookcases go in. The carpet fitter lives 300 yards up the road and has agreed to fit an ancient and fairly threadbare oriental rug as the carpet in there - so this will be it's final home. He's also able to do bamboo flooring, so I can use him for all the floors.

Electricians are due back in May to do the old master bedroom and sitting room - so I have to work out how to empty both rooms over the next few weeks. I'm hoping the plumbers can come around the same time and sort out the radiators in the sitting room (the floor will need digging up) so that all the dirty/dusty work is done at once. The incoming broadband will be rerouted to under the stairs, where we will set up a router, switch, and all the things that need to plug in (cameras, heating, mesh wifi, catflap/feeders etc) and sort out cabled networking to the office and a few other key places). I'll also use the time that the floor is up in the bedroom to lag the pipework, which will hopefully reduce noise and heat loss - in fact I might just fill the gap with insulation. 

The carpet fitter has recommended acoustic underlay for the room I use as a recording studio, and I may use this everywhere to reduce noise transfer. 

The first solar quote is due this week, and I have another solar survey being done next week. 

The chimney sweep has told me where to go to look for a stove, and will then come and check that it fits and work out whether he needs to enlarge the hearth (in which case I may choose something different). 

I still have woodworm treatment for the garage attic to organise, followed by re-insulation. It's all set up for a trainset in there, so a lot of boards - I have a plan for using them (if I can find someone to do it) to fill the gap between the workshop and the cart shed at roof level. Or possibly create a mezzanine for storage (there are loft boards in my mum's shed too, so I can pinch those). 

I've had some tree work done, but still need more. However, it's going to wait until the big tree next door has come down in early May, after which I can get going on the garden in earnest. I've got on well building no-dig beds, but now need another topsoil/compost delivery (bottom layer is home-made compost that's not fully composted, middle is topsoil, top is commercial compost). And I need to sow more seeds as so far I only have broad beans ready to transplant (and fruit bushes heeled in that need to go into their permanent homes). Next door have given me some wooden crates that I may use as part of my composting system. And the soil/compost deliveries come on pallets, which is useful. 

The decorating work makes me feel as if I'm really starting to make progress (well, that and the fact that some of the furniture I ordered before Christmas has finally turned up!).

Sadly I haven't won the premium bond jackpot yet, but so far I'm within budget. We'll see how long that continues for!

Baileys_Babe

Well done with staying within budget, that is an impressive achievement.

It sounds like you are making great progress on the house, as always I'm impressed.

greenbee

Thanks @Baileys_Babe - to be fair, I've mostly just booked appointments so far! But I'm fed up with living in chaos, and a lot of this is better done over the summer. I have no clue how I will decide on paint colours though. 

Baileys_Babe

Living in chaos is hard work, I remember from when we did this place. You also spend an awful lot of time trying to organise everybody and everything as well as make decisions about everything as well as trying to fit work and living in as well.

Cheery_Daff

You are rocketing through that list, well done! 

kazwookie

Wow, that is a list and a half, if you need a hand just let me know. But I am not choosing paint colours!

greenbee

Thanks Kaz - you'll have to come over and see what's changed since your last visit!

I remembered to book the woodworm survey too, so that's another thing off the list.