Prosperous & Creative Soul Year 4

savingholmes

mark55man said:

Happy shiny new diary SH - good luck to you and all your followers

+ yay Page 1 baby

Well done Mark!!!

Thanks Mark, Beanie, Dawn, Jwil, Skint, Blackcats, TG

For any new people to my diary - decluttering and general organisation is a constant challenge - because I'm neurodivergent and have constant, multiple creative projects on the go. I see a use in everything - I therefore also have to fight a desire to hoard - and yet I feel so much better when my space is clearer and calmer. 

DD is due over in about an hour or so - so that will be my cue to do more decluttering. I'm paying her to help. It's like the stuff in whatever room I occupy mushrooms when I glance away. I'm always totally shocked. It's like my art stuff is that porridge pot that forgets to stop and just flows over every available surface. Plus I'm not quick enough at putting any new deliveries away (of anything)... That's assuming I've even given it a home. I recently found my labeller again - so I'm hoping that will help me remember where I've put things if their home has changed.

I managed the dishwasher yesterday - so now need to unpack and reload that. I have put a load of washing on. I want to hide some (soft) drinks before DD comes as last time she drank loads of ones I ordered online for £34 for 24 x 250ml - but they are my wine equivalent and reward to myself after a hard day - and I don't want them used up that quick! I have a different fave drink of hers which I'll offer instead. One I don't like which makes it easier! (Keeping it real). DD's BF is working today - but need to agree a slot when he can come and clean and do some handyman type work for me (again paid work to help us both out). It's positive reinforcement of the importance of work and of self-efficacy and builds confidence.

savingholmes

My drive should hopefully be completed by the end of this week. The snow has finally gone thanks to the recent rain. I'm then due to have raised beds. My back garden is currently one level next to the house, then a step or two up to a raised lawn that takes up a third to a half of the back garden then a raised concrete tier which runs the length of the back garden and is 1-2m ish wide in a triangular wedge flowing between each neighbouring garden. Then I get the benefit of an upper tier from the neighbour who sits higher up the hill above me. I'm having 3 foot high raised bed along that back edge and then round the corner to the right (when looking at it from the house) that will be about 1 metre deep (and take up part of the lawn) in an L shape - built with sleepers. The raised beds will help retain the hill!!! and where my concrete panels are currently bowing out in places - help provide extra support. They also agreed to dig out some bamboo and grasses that I don't like that are in the upper tier. 

I've spent hundreds of pounds on plants this year - buying them out of season / when on sale where possible - and brought a lot of pots with me from my previous home. The previous owner was not a gardener - although I think the one  prior possibly was. I love evergreens - particularly if they also flower. I have red robin, laurel, rhododendruns, azalias, hellebores, ceonothus, magnolia, acers, various climbing plants including an evergreen clematis armandi which has white flowers, ferns, fatsia japonica, mahonia, lots of lavendar, heuchara etc. Strawberry plants, a couple of apple trees, fruit bushes etc. I also have hydrangeas. I have more plants than I probably should for the space!! So I need to plan what I want to put where to maximise my use of the workmen while they are here as I included transplanting and new compost and bark dressing in the job. 

Then at the front the L shape raised beds is on the opposite side when looking out from my front room and curves towards me. Beyond that I have a view stretching for miles - so I will need to choose plants that are pretty and yet don't block that view. They took out a previous raised bed that was blocking the path underneath the kitchen window - and making the wall damp - so I may use those plants at the front - as they are things like rosemary, sage, thyme etc - so evergreen but not particularly tall growing if trimmed regularly.

They are also due to replace an electrical socket at the back - so hopefully I can use that for my waterfall and for Xmas lights. I am very excited about the raised bed part of the job and finally getting the plants where I want them. I'm great at the initial vision part of the work - but not at maintenance - so I like plants that give a garden structure and year round 

My asbestos is due to be removed Friday 6th so I need to empty the front room and hall before then - although some of the stuff can go into a utility area that he will seal. It doesn't yet have a door. Then the following Monday I'm having a new floor laid in those two areas which I'm very excited about. Like a rustic oak effect. I may then change some of the furniture in the front room, as some of it I'm using over rugs to hide where the previous occupant started to remove the laminate and stopped part way. I now think he stopped having discovered (and not told me about) the asbestos tile underneath.

I'm then hoping a neighbour can help me by putting on new skirting boards and framing a door into the utility (again I'll pay him). I have the door which the previous owners had bought but not put on. Some of my skirting boards are missing anyway (thanks to bodge jobber previous owner) - but also where they are in contact with the asbestos I've agreed they will be removed.

So busy time - and all part of trying to get my home looking its best for a mid December celebration with wider family.

julicorn

Just popping in to say happy new diary 🥰

WelshmansDaughter

Happy new diary.
very inspiring reading your review 

astrocytic_kitten

Happy new diary SH! What a year you've had!

catclaires

Happy new diary - I'll be enjoying reading as ever. Absolutely fantastic progress - it really brings it home to see it listed like that - you must be very proud of of everything you've achieved!

I was really happy to read in the summaries at the end of your old diary that you feel grateful for your view every day. I feel the same about my view and remember commenting along those lines when you were thinking of moving but hadn't fully decided - I'm so glad that you gained your view and that it brings you daily joy!  These things (however small) that we can appreciate daily are so important.

jwil

It will be lovely to have the garden and flooring completed before your Christmas celebrations.

savingholmes

Thanks Claire and Jwil. 

@catclaires I remember that now. Sorry I didn't reference you. The views are amazing. Even the workmen seem to be enjoying them and every new delivery driver comments on them too.

The workmen did more of the block paving today. It took them forever as the more experienced crew that turned up last week in the snow and got sent away said they were 'too busy' to come today. Hopefully the sleepers for the raised beds will go in tomorrow and hopefully then the compost and replanting. Will then be on the final stretch to get the ground ready for the tarmac.

I am a little concerned about the stepping distance at my entrances - so I need to check their height tomorrow and think about how to resolve that if it is an issue now the ground is back below the damp proof course rather than above it. It's slightly complicated by the fact that I also asked for extra drain channels as there weren't really any before which further limits the levels.

DD and her BF came to help today with the decluttering and organisation mission. I now have a mirror up in the spare bedroom that I bought months ago. He's also put a coat rack up for me, moved a roll of leftover carpet back into the garage and cleared some other items from the hall. They took a chest of drawers upstairs for me (£15 from a reuse shop - kind of whitewashed pine that goes perfectly with my laminate floor)  - and moved an existing 4 cube unit from that slot into the guest bedroom to sit inside a wardrobe to make the most of that space. DD and I then made a start on decluttering my 'official' WFH space. It's a lot better now. I'm hoping the worst of the decluttering is now done - it's more a matter of giving the final things homes and then getting back on top of the cleaning by her BF being paid to be my weekly cleaner.

Only about 19 sleeps now before the house and garden 'reveal' at a celebration event to be hosted here mid December. There will be lots more to do but it should look hugely different to those like DS who only saw it after I first bought it or some wider family where it's been a few months since they last came. I'm hoping seeing it done incentivises DS to come and stay more often as I don't often get to see him (4-5 hour trip with breaks).

Before then we need to completely empty the lounge, hallway and understairs cupboard though. Hence the focus is on getting everywhere as decluttered as practical and then hopefully there should be space for things to have temporary homes while the asbestos is removed and then the new laminate floor laid in the lounge and hall. I've booked time off for those days but there is a weekend in between which increases the upheaval period.

I'd love to put up xmas decs now - but can't really until the outside is finished. I also need to not get too much extra stuff out while I'm trying to clear the decks for the new floor.

skint_spice

The raised beds sound great, they will make a huge difference to the house and hopefully make you happy each time you pass by.

WelshmansDaughter

It sounds like progress is being made. DD and BF seem to be making themselves useful