AWOL

Holiday with my sister back in 1997

And three guesses why I have been AWOL recently. Well, I am celebrating the fact that I am holiday. At least, I had taken some days off to spend with my sister who was due to come over. The emphasis on WAS. She isn't. Again. Our hope is now for December when she will come over for three weeks: enough time to include a quarantine if needed. 

We knew and dreaded her not coming for a while, but in the end all was not lost, as there was a house to be decorated. I have been going over most days (two days I was out of the running due to a bad H) and have taken stuff from storage with me. 

My collection of bin bags. *Sigh*

Most of my kitchen stuff is now in the house, washed up as well. The only thing missing really are my dinner plates that have still not been located. I finally did locate curtains yesterday: in the first row from the door! *Sigh* But, they have been found and most are usable as are, some need a small adjustment, some need sewing from scratch. The main thing though: I don't have to buy any curtains! 

The inside painting was finished on Tuesday, the last bit involving some severe acrobatics on my side. Think ladder resting on stairs or me climbing over the protective barrier. The result however is good and I am very pleased. There are some bits where I spilled a bit, but they will have to remain so: no more acrobatics for me!

Last week the solar panels were due to be installed, but heavy winds on the day prevented them from doing that. They did do the preliminary stuff though, so it should be a quick job today. Some of the trees have been removed, which means there is a lot of light in the house now. My living room is north facing, so having big trees blocking light was not good. I still have some trees left that need pruning, and I have a big laurel hedge that is out of control. That will be trimmed back in a few weeks' time.

Today and tomorrow are the last days of me working in the house really. We are now on to coat hooks, and picture hanging anyway, so not that bad. On Monday the floors upstairs will be carpeted, which will mean that a lot of stuff now in the shed, will be moved up. Then on Wednesday the downstairs will get a laminate floor. Sunday in a week the big stuff will finally be gotten: bed, couch, wardrobes, washer and dryer. 

This was not part of the acrobatics!

I will not move in then just yet. There will be another week needed to get everything right, also because cooker and fridge don't arrive until Wednesday the 28th of July. A lot of my small appliances and some of the big have UK plugs on them: they don't fit our European sockets. They all need to be changed. And the remaining two lights will have to be hung. As I am still on the fence about where to put what in the living area, I thought it wisest to wait until it has found a place!

So, that is what I have been doing lately. Painting, fetching, carrying, doing dishes. But it is starting to look good!