Two of our sons, and a nephew paid a flying visit to us, and gave us the impetus to complete the upstairs to such an extent that we could sleep up there. With three extra bodies in the house, we needed to, but it was on the actual day of their arrival that the bed was assembled, and their first night here was our first night upstairs too. All change here, and another momentous occasion, not fully appreciated by the visitors I'm sure.
Once they had all gone again, the work continued. The added bonus of the visit, was the supplies they were able to carry - all those little things that are so difficult to find here, are so expensive here, or the quality is so poor - sometimes all three. We have managed to adapt over time, and have noticed that when we return to the UK, or have visitors here, our shopping lists have dwindled considerably. Some things turn out to be not so important anymore.
The bathroom became a priority - it wasn't pleasant to have a bedroom with a toilet in the corner, so Craig busied himself with the stud work, and plaster boarding of the bathroom walls. It's easy to write this, but not so easy or quick to do - there's the electrics to contend with too, and once the walls are in place, there's the worry that maybe the rooms too big, too small, or in the wrong place. Luckily, Craig has a better imagination than me, and once he's decided on things like this, is very sure of the outcome.
Now that the visitors had gone too, we dismantled the downstairs bed, and replaced it with a sofa - one of our sofa's that we had effectively not seen for two years, and we really felt posh - sitting watching TV in a cosy, snug room. In fact, now we have decided (12 months later), that we are going to keep this room as a 'snug' as it has proved easy to heat over the winters, and is great for the two of us. When we have visitors, on special occasions, and in the summer, we'll open the lounge up and use that, but otherwise, its a bonus. It would have ended up as an empty thoroughfare otherwise.
It was time for our lambs to be prepared for the freezer - stop reading if you don't like this sort of thing - I must admit, I wasn't there at their 'departure', but did watch the actual butchering of the meat. It was OK, and we both felt very proud of the fact that we had produced this meat from start to finish - very satisfying.
As with all jobs here, we find that daily, the priorities change, and quite often there isn't a chance to finish one job before another more pressing one needs to be started - whether its plumbing, electrics or any other number of trades that I expect and hope that Craig can turn his hand to. Sometimes, he sits down in the evening, and decides to rewire a lamp, draw the plans for the garden or change a plug, but whatever it is, you can be sure that he is already thinking of the next stage in the process. I may come home from work or my French lesson, to find something new in the house or outside. One night, he had fitted and connected all the outside lights - what a sight that was when I came round the corner - the dark is just that here - DARK, and our house can shine like a Christmas tree when all the lights are on.
Tiling the kitchen floor was the next job - 25 square metres - not the smallest room eh ? It is a job that takes time, a clear space and definitely not a little dog, who thinks you're ready to play every time you get on the floor.......My part in all this was to keep Arthur occupied and out of the way as much as possible, while keeping Craig plyed with coffee, and help clean the tiles and excess grout afterwards.
Onwards and upwards - things are never easy, but are definitley worth while.....
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