Cheery's country living adventure

Cheery_Daff

Thanks folks, dentist was bearable... Got to go back again in a couple of weeks to have the proper crown put on (they just took moulds and put a temporary one on this week). Yawn.

Gosh it's warm. Not inside, but I'm still listless and can't be bothered Taking tomorrow off and I'm working but out of the office next week so lots to do this afternoon but just can't work up the enthusiasm...

Nothing much to report I don't think. Someone else gave us a pot of jam yesterday so that's two we've been given this week :j Went to the cafe this morning (£6.30 between us). Lots of lettuces growing - harvested one yesterday to take to a friend's house :j Lots of bought veg inside the house that needs eating but I'm struggling to be bothered to cook at the minute...

Oh dear, I'm a right moaning old thing today! Sorry!

Mr cheery has removed a false wall upstairs :eek: We're still struggling to get a builder to come and give us a quote for removing the downstairs wall/chimney so basically he's just starting to do the job himself (and will stop short of the structural bits - although they only involve removing the chimney and replacing a few floor joists so if this carries on I wouldn't put it past him to learn how to do that himself too :eek: )

Builder 1 was a friend of a friend, first came in March and again in early April, promised to send a quote - I've now asked for said written quote more than 15 times (!) in various emails, texts, phone conversations, I've sent pictures (because he didn't bother to take any), and all I've had is a 'rough estimate' which is approximately the same as the one he gave when standing here before he'd gone away and looked at materials - and didn't include any of the options we'd said we wanted costed so we could choose between them. It's been over three months now and after being told about his van breaking, internet breaking, hard drive malfunctioning etc, I've had enough :mad:

wouldn't have bothered being this persistent if we didn't know him but I'm afraid I won't be contacting him again - let's see if he ever bothers to get in touch with me.

Builder 2 - someone localish I know from a previous life - wouldn't even quote as they're booked up for a year :eek:

Builder 3 - from CheckATrade. Turned up when he said :j with a co-builder and a mate who 'just came for a nosey'... Rang me a week later to apologise for not sending a quote yet, his phone had been broken. Said he'd email me that afternoon, but it's now 4 days later and I've had nothing.

Builder 4 - from RateMyBuilder. Due to come last Sunday but didn't turn up and hasn't been in touch. I confess I forgot he was meant to be coming (but I WAS here all afternoon!) so didn't chase him at the time and now can't be bothered

Builder 5 - recommendation from someone I don't know on the email group for our local village. Replied to my email, I had to chase him by phone but he is apparently coming tomorrow afternoon. Have photographic evidence from local person that he has actually done some work so I have high hopes :rotfl: :rotfl:

Gosh it's hard work - this is exactly why I often refuse to 'get a man in' and why we ended up doing the vast majority of DIY stuff ourselves in the old house! :mad: Bloody ridiculous.

Local farmers are building their own extension for the same reason (but sadly can't be persuaded to do our building too :rotfl: ) They reckon we'll have more luck when the weather turns bad again as local folks are doing outside farming-type work at the minute and only do building in the winter.

I'll believe it when I see it!

Hey ho. Best go and crack on...

therocket_2

We found builders to be a right pain due to similar issues that you're having Cheery! In the end, the husband of a friend did it for us, but we weren't overly happy with the end result - hence the breakdown of that particular friendship unfortunately! Has put us off using people we know for other jobs now, which is a shame. At least we have learnt new skills that we would normally have asked someone else to do for us (every cloud.....)!!

The house/lifestyle/adventure sounds wonderful and I love reading your diary - very keen to one day be in a similar situation! Keep plodding on, you're doing great and it makes great reading!

Karmacat

What a shame, Cheery - I must say, even when I've had builders so local they only live a few streets away, they've been really bad. And the renovation of my brick shed isn't anything like I wanted builders are so disappointing - like you, its why I'm tempted to do as much as I can myself. And now I have more energy, thats exactly what I *will* do.


How you doing today? Can't be bothered, that isn't like you

themadvix

Hope you're feeling a bit cheerier today Cheery!

I feel your pain with the builders.... that's an impressively long blacklist Hope no. 5 turns up today!

greenbee

My builder actually answered the phone the other day and is apparently coming over on Wednesday. I'll believe it when it happens...

Pooky

My pet hate is when they turn up and tell you what they are going to do rather than listening to what you want them to do. Hence I learnt how to fit a new kitchen, a parquet floor, a new bathroom,a new downstairs loo and replace radiators. All stripped back to bare bricks and plaster and started from scratch. At least I know what's where if I need to fix/replace anything.

Frustrating though when you see other people having these renovation works done and they look stunning, I can only assume they are giving the builders free range or paying well over the odds.

Greying_Pilgrim

Pooky wrote: »

Frustrating though when you see other people having these renovation works done and they look stunning, I can only assume they are giving the builders free range or paying well over the odds.

Or on TV programmes, where the builders turn up with days of the work being decided upon, finish the project within 'weeks' and it only goes over budget because the homeowners get carried away with high-end fixtures and fittings.......... I was watching 'love or list' recently - grrrr!


I too feel your pain Cheery as we rarely get past the 'will you come and give us a quote' stage.......


Greying X

Cheery_Daff

Oh dear, such builder-related woes! I do apologise for sparking so many unhappy memories :eek: very pleased that for some of us at least it can lead to learning new skills though :j

Yesterday's builder did actually turn up, seemed knowledgeable and cheerful and trustworthy :j We'll see what happens next :rotfl:

Weird day today, frustrating morning fighting with technology, went for a rather hot sticky run and had a chat with a couple of neighbours, popped to the local school fair for a cake, and also to a kind of Tudor fair happening a few miles away, where I had a go on a drop spindle, and a nice chat with a lady I've seen at other events locally (who knew the person who previously lived in our house) -she gave me some Tudor butter they'd made as part of a demonstration :j

Not a dead cheap day out mind you

£2.50 cakes at school fair
£6.50 tea and cake at the Tudor day (£2 for a scone?!)
£5 to get in (Mr Cheery sat in the car...)

Not too bad I suppose in the grand scheme of things...

Might be back later with a list,feel like things aren't progressing as I'd likeso far this weekend...

But for now I'm going to sit in the garden with a book and a drink for half an hour :j

Cheery_Daff

Ooh, I forgot to tell you about our bargains yesterday! :money:

Called into a 24 hr supermarket about 10.45 last night on the way home and got a load of stuff reduced to 1p each! Yes, 1p! :j

We did stock up a bit... didn't want it to go to waste... there was hardly anyone else in the shop and we did leave some on the shelves for others...

However, we did get

- 2 cabbages
- 4 bags of diced carrot and swede
-coriander
- basil
- a tray of peaches (2 had gone off but 3 nice peaches for 1p is still good!)
- 2 boxes of 'carrot spaghetti'
- a bag of organis carrot batons

Not bad for 12p! :money:

Anyway, a list...

Cheery_Daff

Really I just want to lie down on a blanket with a book but I also want to get things done!

5.30-7
Swap jackets that are airing on the line
Ring sister
Plant out beans
Plant out squash
Water all the growing veg

7-7.30
Bring in the jackets
Fold up as many shirts as I can and put into baskets to go into the attic

7.30-8.30
Tidy living room
Clean bathroom
Clean kitchen
General tidy
Hoover everywhere

8.30-9.30
Nice garden pottering while it's still sunny

9.30-10
Quick shower

10-10.30
Flute practice for rehearsal tomorrow

10.30-11
YNAB/banks
Online tasks
Blog post

Of course this is wildly overoptimistic but a plan will help me not drift toooo much...