Moving forward and upwards

riotlady

I wouldn't know where to start doing anything with skirting boards or walls! xD Taking some time off for jobs sounds like a good idea, don't want to try and cram too much in and burn yourself out 

MovingForwards

Thank you SH, SW, Ren and RL.
I appreciate microwaves are a huge help for most people.
Decorating and DIY is a fine line between letting him learn, pointing out issues and not knocking his confidence. 
No progress with the utilities as I've been away today. Dozed a few times on the way back, which just put a bit more pressure on TomBo to get us home; he did all the driving.

Came back with loads of rowies, looking forward to eating them 😁 

Need to work out when I can have another day and get that booked.

Skint_yet_Again

Haha had to google rowies don’t remember them. What do you have with yours? ☺️

Irenadler

Me too! Sounds, erm, interesting! Not sure about the quantities of lard and butter though.... ha!

MovingForwards

Lightly toasted with butter. Had some for lunch.
I try not to look at ingredients as I wouldn't eat most things if I did 🙈

Hoping my sanding pads arrive tomorrow as I would like to get the skirting finished off. Then I can order my ladders (use my survey points to pay for them) and give the walls / ceiling a once over. All with a brush due to textured paper and artex ceiling.

Counting down until I break up for Christmas as I'm really struggling now.

MovingForwards

Sibling was messaging me before my alarm even went off today 😬 what I came to realise is there's no one to sound off to, aside from me. It doesn't make it any easier!

TomBo has got his shifts, so I know what days I can do the lounge in private, no interruptions or grumbling about the dust. Means I will have to work quickly to sand and base coat paint everything, worrying about being tired when it's all done. 

More of the monster tree stump has been taken down. TomBo wants to get it out this year, do the soil prep, ready for me to plant in the new year.

Because I'm counting down the time until I break up for Christmas, I'm very aware of how little time I have; so need a proper break before I break, everything is getting pushed on to me to do.

Getting a lovely coffee table from MIL next time we visit. A dark oak wood which will go nicely with the existing furniture and the planned replacements. A proper old table and the style I adore 🤗

Moved some money to savings, which perked me up a bit. Nice to see the numbers increase.

Having roast chicken and veg tonight.

Skint_yet_Again

Sorry to hear about the pressure from sibling. I have an idea how you feel as I have a colleague who rings me every morning about a minute after I start work with loads of questions, so I am always on edge. I have no problem helping but it becomes a drain when it’s so relentless. 

Coffee table sounds lovely. Do try to pace yourself. You don’t want to spend your whole time off recovering just to be in the same position when you start back to work. I know you are wanting it all done but can’t some of the painting wait until after Christmas ? 

MovingForwards

Thank you Skinty, I feel your pain. Normally I would have a daily work phone call for ages, but that person is on long term sick hence me covering both roles; I'm enjoying the break from them!
At some point I hope sibling starts to think for themselves and not have everything as being a disaster, can't see it changing if it's not happened yet. I'm at the stage where I dread seeing the pop up on my phone as my heart starts racing and I begin to shake knowing it's just going to frustrate me ☹️

The table was lovely, I'm disappointed TomBo didn't rearrange the car so we could have brought it back down with us! Needless to say, I've started looking at that company for the sofa and arm chair. It's the very expensive version of what I've been looking at from 1k3a. There's a few used ones for sale, I would be happy to take money out of savings to pay for them and hire a van to get them home, but TomBo is non-commital about them. Someone is selling the sofa and 2 arm chairs for £850, another is selling the sofa for £250 but it needs new cushions / covers (MIL recently replaced hers and so we could use the same company). I just can't get an answer as to what furniture he actually wants!

I've sanded ¹/3 of the door frame, 2 unit doors and 1 skirting today as my sanding pads arrived. I can make a start painting them tomorrow.

Left to sand:
- 3x skirting
- 2 bits of door frame
- 1 unit (2 doors)
- the shelves / interior of the unit I did today
- the door

I'm struggling with what to do about the door. Not sure whether to strip it back to whatever is under the varnish or sand and varnish it to match the window surrounds as I don't think this type of door would look right being white; will do an image search and see how they would normally look.

I am surprised at how much I did. Somehow I woke up with energy and felt like I did get a bit of sleep. Decided to take advantage and crack on with the DIY as who knows when I will feel like this again 🤗

Having chicken stew tonight 😁

MovingForwards

My head was swimming with ideas and thoughts, I didn't get to sleep until 5am. 

Done some dusting and the washing up, then more sanding. Only the underside of the shelves to sand, then that unit is ready to paint.
-- TomBo has volunteered to do the manual sanding for parts of the lounge I can't do eg under the radiator.

I did have a look online to see how the lounge door may have looked years ago, plus saw the new version and the wood variants.
Part of me is tempted to get some paint stripper on it, see what's hiding and the viability of having it as a natural wood but with varnish, stain or oil on it for protection and longevity.
I'm going to speak with TomBo later, see if I can extract some thoughts from him about his vision for it. I know I've got one shot with this door and want to get it right, for both of us.
-- realistically, I need to find a company who dip strip and clean doors back to their natural state, but I obviously don't have that kind of money to prioritise the doors over everything else I want at the moment. At the same time I like seeing all the paint built up over the years, adds that touch of 'these are old' about them.

Can't stop thinking about that sofa and chairs, they would be perfect 🙈

One of these days I will take a very slow stroll to my local antique shops. I must also pop to the reclaimers and see what door fittings they have, otherwise it will be reproduction ones I get.

I've now got hot chocolate in the kitchen and have been enjoying a mug over the last few days.

Having fish fingers and chips tonight 🤗

Skint_yet_Again

I know what you mean about the doors. My upstairs doors are the originals 4 panel ones painted white with original metal door locks, apart from the bathroom which is a cheap plywood type thing. I think they must have remodelled the bathroom at some point and the door is narrow and looks awful. I have been looking for years for an old 4 panelled door to fit & tried DIY stores, reclamation yards & even the tip ! I've never had a door dipped but I have heard it can bow the door ? Maybe they can offer more advice on the DIY thread.