Journal Entries
New kitchen sink
Posted May 11, 2005
The fitter is back....
I have a working kitchen sink - running water (hot and cold) and drainage. And a working gas hob (as long as I use a match to light the gas, the electric ignition not yet connected). Don't want to use any of it while it's all so new - and the rest of the kitchen so unfinished.
Just emptied the big bookcase in the living room so that the fitter can get access to the electric socket (to create a new socket on the other side of the wall for the fridge). So the one room that was very vaguely in some sort of order is now knee deep in books. Had to move all my Antartica books - when they're on the shelves its easy to ignore that I've rather a lot of them. Perhaps when I reshelve them I can bring down the ones upstairs as well - just have to figure out what books can go upstairs instead. I've nearly filled the extra shelving I got last year.
Keep waking up at 3 in the morning and not going back to sleep - a sign that the new job is getting to me. This, combined with long days at work, means that by the weekend all I'll want to do is sleep - instead of play with the new kitchen!
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Latest reply: May 11, 2005
No Progress...
Posted May 10, 2005
The kitchen fitter still has a bad back - so no progress on the kitchen.....
Think the decorator has been round though, as a small table was turned by 90 degrees and the broadband cable wasn't where I left it. They may have done another layer of paint in the living room - it's looking yellower but that might just be the light. Slightly odd as I thought they only had the kitchen left to do but I know the fitter hasn't been here so if it's not the decorator I have a strange poltergeist.
Beginning to feel too many people have access to my house - would like to come home to a house that is as I've left it (though I suppose I would prefer the kitchen to change 
)
Jane's asked what the new kitchen is like and to remind myself of why I'm doing this here it is. The cupboards are a light/mid oak in a shaker style. The work surfaces are a gloss granite style laminate. And yes I know that's not the most practical and they'll scratch if I'm not careful but it's what I wanted.... All the appliances on show are stainless steel (well that's only the oven and hob and chimney/extractor fan). The floor is already stone flags. I'm most excited about my larder unit with pull out crome (spelling!) shelves. That I'm excited about this means I really should try and get out more.
Off to phone friends to line up access to a washing machine at the weekend - I've now had a week without doing any laundry. It will be interesting to see what I'm wearing to work by Friday....
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Latest reply: May 10, 2005
Horse and Kitchen Trials
Posted May 9, 2005
Went to stay with friends in Wiltshire for the weekend. We'd tickets for the cross country phase of Badminton (3 day event - horse trials) on Saturday. Luckily the rain held off most of the time - so we didn't have the knee deep mud of previous years. Though I was a bit disappointed my wellies didn't get a full work out - and why won't my socks stay on my feet when I wear them? Badminton was too crowded in the afternoon - being short I found it a struggle to see much near any of the jumps. Prefer our local 3 day event (Bramham) which is of a more manageable size.
The work on the kitchen continues..... New fuse box was needed (and as far as I can see near full rewiring of the kitchen), and the delivery men were very obnoxious (complaint has been made). Progress was being made - the carcasses of the cupboards are all in place so the outline of the finished product can be seen. But today, disaster, the fitter has done his back in. He assures me he will be back tomorrow, but I'm steeling myself for a delay.
Not sure how much longer I can face washing up in the bathroom basin, nor the obstacle course most of the house has been turned into. It will be worth it, it will be worth it, it will be worth it (it had better be!).
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Latest reply: May 9, 2005
Farewell to a washing machine
Posted May 3, 2005
Just done the last wash in the old machine. It goes to the tip tomorrow. I'm feeling rather sad about it. I bought all my electrical white goods over 10 years ago when I still worked for our local electricity supplier (when they still existed) and it still had shops. I got staff discount on them all and they've been a good purchase - only 1 repair needed on the whole lot of them in that time. Still the fridge, freezer and tumble dryer are off to good homes!
Best company I've ever worked for too - bet I would still be there if we hadn't been sold and then got rid of. Still miss it - though I think we (my former colleagues and myself) have a tendancy to look back through rose coloured glasses. All the same they treated us well and I do miss it and my former colleagues.
Haven't dipped into ML tonight - need an early night (not sleeping well at the moment and it showed today) and if I dip in I'll spend all night catching up on the day's threads... That'll be tomorrow evening taken care of
Discuss this Journal entry [1]
Latest reply: May 3, 2005
An empty kitchen
Posted May 2, 2005
Have packed up the kitchen - and then spent a lot of today excavating essential items from the bottom of boxes (teaspoons, the ipod charger, the liquid soap I use for washing "delicates" etc). Have had to sit firmly on my hands so that I don't clean the oven, after all it's going to the tip on Wednesday. I'm sure the kitchen fitter is not going to judge me on the state of my cooker. Did all but polish the fridge though - but that is going to the son of our HR director's PA - and I don't want her thinking I'm a complete household slut.
So downstairs is now full of boxes and apppliances in strange places - and since the house is open plan I can't get away from it.
Had a good time at my friends on saturday night - and the salmon in filo pastry came from the Jennifer Aldridge's Archers (or Ambridge?) cookbook! Friend is a listener - in fact it was she who first alerted me to ML - or at least to the online synopses. She denies venturing onto the boards but I'm not entirely convinced....
Finally cut the grass in the back garden for the first time this year (hangs head in shame - don't think I can admit that in the Village Hall). My wonderful new (pink) ipod is going to be a boon as it makes this very boring job a lot more pleasant.
Back to work tomorrow - I already have that sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I may have taken on more than I want with the new job.
Discuss this Journal entry [5]
Latest reply: May 2, 2005
Hebe
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