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

greenbee

Got the raspberries in, so next job is the currant and gooseberry bushes. Then potting on 72 lavender plugs and pricking out seedlings and sowing more seeds in the greenhouse. 

Woodworm survey done - only a small bit in the garage roof. I’ve had the quote, so will get it scheduled. Main roof has no woodworm, but does have bats (which I’m pleased about) and birds (less so, they’re noisy in the mornings banging around!). Bats do mean that solar in the main roof will have to be delayed until autumn, and we also need to consider whether the other work needs to be amended to avoid disturbing them. I’m waiting for a call back from the bat conservation people. 

Car is booked in for a new windscreen (takes 2-4 hours in the workshop and they only let you know the day before what your arrival time is - I can’t believe they won’t do pre-arranged appointments. I suspect it will take several goes at rescheduling to get it done, as unless I get the first slot of the day I won’t be home in time for work. I also have a recall appointment for a fuse to be fitted on a different day. Only 90 minutes, but a ‘sit and wait’ appointment. I have no clue how people manage to fit all this in with work - if I wasn’t home-based with peculiar hours I wouldn’t be able to do it. As it is, the windscreen replacement will probably end up needing a days’ leave, and I have to book that weeks ahead. 

Studio carpet is in and looks fabulous. I’ve got all the bookcases in place, so those will need fixing when the handyman is here tomorrow and then I can start shifting stuff into them and packing up other rooms! 

Builder came over on Tuesday and can apparently do the cat flap ‘soon, probably next week’. I’ll believe it when i see it! They can also apparently block up the spare door in June so I’ve asked for a quote - and will also get them to quote to replace the gallows brackets under the dead chimney with a lintel and to replace the loft hatch(and possibly fix the utility/garage door. Hopefully they’ll turnout to be reliable for all the small jobs that need doing.

lots of change going on at work, so I need to consider whether I should be looking for another job…

Watty1

Bats are a mixed blessing for sure.  A joy to have but they so limit what can be done anywhere.  

The cat flap is turning into a saga for sure,  hope he sorts it next week.

greenbee

Crazy that a catflap is so much hassle isn't it? While I'm waiting I have it set up inside a cardboard box, and they can go in and get treats So they've worked out how it works. 

The bookcases are all now fixed to the walls, so I can get going on filling them later today. And the blind is up in the studio as well. I do need to find a lampshade (actually, I think I've got one I can move from another room... might do that in a minute!).

The gardener/handyman is here today (which is why the bookcases have been done), and he's cleared all the loose stuff out of the garage roof and is blocking up the holes where the pipes go through into the main house with wire wool. The cardboard and wood will all come in very handy for the garden. He's got some gardening to do, but I'm hoping that there might be time when he's done that for him to remove a bit more from the garage roof. If not, then it'll need to be done next week as I'd like it all out before I have to clean out the garage and fill it up with stuff from the house ready for the next phase of work. In fact, if he thinks he could clear it all out next week then I can book the woodworm treatment for before the project starts. 

My mum is here supervising today's gardening, and will be staying the night, so hopefully we can get a bit of either sorting in the house/workshop done or more gardening before she heads home tomorrow. 

greenbee

Catfood people have refunded 1/3 of the cost of the catfood due to the damaged package. Food is still useable, but it's good to see someone doing the right thing without quibbling. Now I just need the Amazon seller who sent three metal watering cans in bubble wrapped bags in a large cardboard box to sort out either a refund or replacement given that they are all damaged due to inappropriate packaging.

Looking at my bank account I think I'm just about going to squeak through to the end of the month, but there won't be much left to OP. Having said that, I've paid for the plumber, my brother's birthday and a fair amount of CC spending from cashflow. The furniture ordered back in October finally came out this month (paid for from savings). It looks like there's a fairly hefty CC bill next month too (not helped by two catfood subscriptions falling into one month!), but there's a lot to spend on at the moment with so much being done in the house and garden!

greenbee

Busy work week, not helped by a filthy headache on Monday meaning I went to bed at lunchtime and didn't actually get anything done. 

Builder appears to be unreliable, as they haven't called back even when chased, so I need to start looking again. There is also an intermittent fault with the heating, where the upstairs circuit kicks in even when the thermostat isn't calling for heat. We thought it might be due to it losing the connection with the wiring centre and activating 'failsafe' mode, but it doesn't seem to be that (the electrician turned that off). I've put the upstairs thermostat next to the downstairs one, and it's about 1.5C different. Oddly the upstairs zone also doesn't always respond to changes in the app (e.g. if the doors are open it knows they are, but doesn't always going into standby. Electricians think it is a plumbing issue, so next job is to call them. 

I also need to cancel boat insurance, as it turns out my brother has my boat on his policy as well. Not sure why he didn't tell me! 

Took my mum for her covid jab on Saturday, so was up early, over to hers and then filled the car up with stuff for the CS. Went to the CS (my stuff went too), then the local department store for cutlery - found what I wanted, and a lamp, then the pharmacy for her jab. Came back here and she slept all afternoon. I took her because she's had a lot of back pain recently and wasn't sure about driving - and also because I know how wiped out I can feel after them. 

I've gone lots of gardening - stacked all my gravel/sand/compost etc near the greenhouse, filled the garden waste bins, sorted my plastic pots, tidied the greenhouse, put the potting bench and some of the staging where I can use it to harden off seedlings, weeded the asparagus bed (looks like most of the asparagus hasn't survived), climbing bean bed (supports are up, and a few beans in), pea and dwarf bean bed (mangetout are in, dwarf beans are sulking), potted on courgettes and squash and pricked out and potted up some tomatoes. As I'm out of small pots, I'm now making them out of newspaper which should mean that I have fewer issues with root disturbance as they can just be dropped into the next size pot/ground. Borage and wormwood also sown in the fruit and bean beds respectively. Hollyhocks, foxgloves, and california poppies sown in the greenhouse. 

It's supposed to rain tomorrow, so I'm dropping my mum home first thing and possibly picking up some pots and plant supports (if I remember). Taking some garden waste over as I noticed her bins aren't full   and also giving her the cosmos that are potted up and need planting, as I'm not ready to plant anything yet - I need to dig over the borders before I fill them with annuals while I work out what I'm going to do in the long term. 

Next door's vast tree comes down next week, so after that i'll have a better idea of what's needed in the garden. It's going to be busy this year, but I'm trying to get as much done as I can so that it doesn't drag on forever. 

greenbee

Tree is down! You can barely tell that it used to be there, and the hawthorn that looked tiny now looks HUGE. It gives me a lot more options with the garden. 

Far too many seedlings in the greenhouse, so some will need to be murdered. Bit terracotta pots have been retrieved from my mum's (she can't manage the watering anymore) and put on the patio to soften the edges - these are being slowly filled with sweet peas and cosmos. 

I don't seem to have many climbing beans (must find the seeds and shove some in outside) but those I have are getting going. Plenty of mangetout and french beans now out, as well as courgettes. Strawberry bed is netted, so I now need to build the raspberry cages and net those. Gooseberry and blackcurrant are also netted. 

Composting is going well, but I also had another 4000l of commercial compost delivered so that when I start digging over the borders I can mulch them. I'm also scrounging cardboard from wherever I can get hold of it. The veg plot is starting to be more clearly defined, but needs more cardboard/compost/woodchip etc and a couple more beds building for squash and climbing courgettes. And maybe outdoor tomatoes. 

I've (hopefully) found someone different to do the cat flap - in fact, I have an excuse to message him (he was on holiday last week) as when the woodworm treatment was done they found some holes in the garage roof that need blocking and that seems like something he might be able to do. Once that's done, the garage roof can have the insulation finished off and be closed up and forgotten about!

The pest control surveyor found bats (and birds) in the main roof. I'm delighted they are there. Less delighted that it means keeping out of the roof for a bit. I was hoping to get the internet cable moved next week, and three noisy extractor fans replaced. However, it'll have to wait until the autumn. As will the solar planned for that part of the roof. Solar is being requoted for the garage only for now (with an in-roof system - the tiles will be used to edge the veg plot, which needs separating from the grass).

One of my neighbours put me in touch with another neighbour who is a plasterer - he's free at the end of this week so will be blocking up the extra door between the sitting room and kitchen. This means I need to get on and empty the sitting room by Thursday which might be a challenge, but also that I should be able to get the flooring down in June and therefore get the furniture back in before the decorating is done. Someone else has put me in touch with a carpenter who should be able to repair the shed and summerhouse, as well as doing various bits in the house that need sorting out (boxing in pipes and electrics in wardrobes, adjusting doors etc). Chimney sweep is due tomorrow to check that the stove I've looked at will fit and decide what we do about the hearth.

Next week is electricians. The week after is plumbers. I'm hoping that the stove will be done the week after that, and possibly the upstairs flooring, then downstairs. External woodwork is booked for end of June, then maybe some peace and quiet until internal decorating of three rooms in August. 

Once the bats are asleep, we'll do as much as possible of stuff that needs doing in the roof, but I'm hoping that I can get the two small bedrooms and family bathroom finished then as well, leaving me with my bedroom, the garden room, kitchen and utility to sort out next year.

I'm also hoping the budget holds out!

Watty1

I am just exhausted reading all that!

greenbee

I was exhausted writing it @Watty1 . I've just had a call from the bricklayer, who is coming on Thursday morning to do the cat flap and will have a look at what needs doing in the garage roof too. It's going to be an exhausting (and expensive) few weeks, but it'll be nice to know stuff is done and to be able to get on with the decorating and making it feel like home properly. 

greenbee

A new month and money vanishing like water!

Catflap is in. Found a plasterer in the village via a neighbour, so the extra door in the kitchen/sitting room has been blocked up. Gardener/handyman blocked the holes in the garage roof and finished off the insulation (and started the next layer - more insulation has been ordered for the next rainy day.

Electricians have run over (and after some chasing up on Friday to find out when they were coming back as they didn't know, they are here today and working round the plumbers to finish what needs doing) as they started two days late and therefore had to work around my meetings which had all been moved to the end of the week... although I'm not sure that's the only reason the work ran over. But hopefully the bedroom, ensuite, and sitting room electrics will soon be done.

Plumbers have just started, and are trying to find out where the pipework goes... there's a chance that it is in the walls and not the floor. I'm not sure whether that's a good thing or a bad one!

Lots done in the garden yesterday - another bed built and climbing squash and courgettes put in. And some of my tomatoes have been handed over to people in the village gardening WhatsApp group. Over the last few weeks progress has been made on some of the borders, and I've got a better idea of how the garden might take shape. I had a look at a neighbour's garden yesterday that is fabulous - they started with a bit of field seven years ago. 

So another noisy week is on the cards, but hopefully after this week it will be quieter work (plastering, flooring, decorating) for the rest of the year. 

greenbee

The dust is horrific, but hopefully over today. Might not get much work done until I’ve got rid of the worst of it!

I realise I need to make some decisions on colours. Firstly for the exterior woodwork (windows and doors). House is a soft red brick, windows have grey stone lintels at the front. Metal doors/window on ground floor at back are anthracite, wooden window and door frames are light grey, doors are stained oak which is badly done (yellowed and stained) so will be painted. I’m considering trying to get a colour close to this . And then do the shed/summerhouse the same. 

In case the weather is bad I also need to choose colours for inside. South-facing bathroom with dark grey and light grey tiles in both bath and shower, pale grey laminate on the floor, pale grey stone on windowsills and vanity, dark grey cabinets. It’s a big - long and narrow - room. Possibly Laura Ashley ‘Pale Cranberry’, or F&B Sulking Room Pink (mostly because I like the name!), or maybe F&B Brassica. Or Little greene Mischief. It needs warming up. 

The bedroom next to it is dark and east facing (but has trees outside so there’s very little light most of the time. Currently grey (like most of the house). Big room (technically the master bedroom but far too depressing!). Curtains have yellow and duck-egg blue in. So probably a yellowy cream or creamy yellow.

Sitting room - big, poorly lit in the evening (will be better now I have more sockets for table lamps switched from the light switch), south facing but doesn’t get afternoon/evening light. East window faces fence/trees so doesn’t do much. This is the one room I may go neutral - something like Dulux Natural Calico with Egyptian Cotton on woodwork and radiators (although I’m off grey at the moment, so maybe something different for those, but dark rather than light).