We are getting there, we really are. We are exhausted, very sore and getting going in the morning is a slow process as every muscle hurts. We have lost weight, clearly a good thing, but when your shorts nearly fall down (we have limited clothing in the van and it isn't too cold yet!)when walking to the launderette carrying 2 big bags, not so good!
Bed two is painted, and now insulated above the window with special insulating foamy wallpaper, bed one (that nearly broke me with it’s massive damaged wall) is looking good, the living room has paint on it and the hall is almost done with the base layer.
Now, as I have said Ian like things right, and so do I, he is just far more patient and determined than me. Ian is detail, I am big picture – we make a great team. So once we put some paint on (ha, this said pain, not paint when typing, possibly a Freudian slip as I can’t move my head today from neck pain!) we examine the wall in different lights, at different angles, for flaws, bits that need repairing or re filling, sanding and painting. We were doing this last night about 7pm, I was up a ladder putting more undercoat on the living room ceiling where I had missed bits and the tar colour was showing through the top coat; and Ian was spotting the bits that needed doing there, and on the walls, Ian asks “do you think other people go around drawing pencil marks on their new paintwork so they can try and make it better?” I think most people probably just go with whatever it is like having got this far, but I don’t really know. So, do you? If decorating, do you do the pencilled circle of doom? More filling, sanding then painting? We know these walls will never be perfect, but they will be the best they can be with what we have to work with.
To break up the repetitive movements, we mix in other jobs. The wall that we built in the kitchen needed rendering on the outside, so we (I say we, but mean Ian) did that. He’s never done it before, and I think it looks pretty good! It’s going to be painted, but for a first time, it looks great.
The other job that needed doing was fitting the new door furniture. We decided we could keep the doors if we sand, fill the holes and paint them, but they needed new furniture, so Ian has been doing that. Of course, the holes for the catches are a different size and shape, but he did it reasonably quickly on the 2 bedroom doors and new surrounds (jams?) we made, so they fit snugly. And then it was onto the bathroom door.
Now we have a story about bathroom door locks, and it make me smile every time I think about it. We have a friend, an amazing woman who inspires me to be a better person. She is funny, thoughtful, intelligent, has the grace of a dancer, is married to an amazing man, and can be a little bit how can I say it? A bit ditzy. When ‘friends coming for dinner’ was a thing we were allowed to do, many moons ago, that’s what we did. Our friends came for dinner, we ate good food, drank good wine (possibly too much good wine), the music was loud and we were singing along at full volume. A fabulous evening. At one point our fabulous friend, who was more than a little tipsy went to the loo, unfortunately Ian and I, along with her fun filled husband didn’t notice she hadn’t come back, we were too busy singing and dancing. After a fair while she appeared, clearly flustered with the sheared bathroom lock in her hand! Turns out this ‘will-o’-the-wisp’ woman has the strength of an ox, when stuck in the loo, while we merrily ignore her calls for help. Shamefully we laughed, but couldn’t understand how she could possibly be locked in. Turns out, if you push not pulled the door, it opened no problem. I’m just warning you now, it took Ian 2 days on and off, to fit the bathroom door lock as it needed chiselling out, the lock didn’t fit right and it wasn’t easy. So, when you come to visit, and we very much hope you will fabulous friend, the door opens inwards. We love you so much, but I don’t think Ian could face fitting a new lock.
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