Kates Journal

So, we managed with a lot of effort to get the kitchen to nearly finished; yes, I know it was nearly finished when we started, but now it’s nearlier.

We’ve painted the ceiling, the walls and the woodwork. There are a couple of areas around and about that need touching up, and around one window needs painting with basecoat, probably a few times, to try and cover the crappy state of the paint, on the top of the window-frame before we do a final few colour coats.

The woodwork around the doorframes has been stripped, primed, undercoated and painted with two coats of super-cheap oil-based gloss paint which is working on destroying the planet as we speak, but is also fairly hard-wearing and was, as I said before, really, really cheap. Given the amount of woodwork that needs painting in the house, price was a significant factor.

Yesterday we finally put up the kitchen light, it’s really pretty… but… does not work.

Since we bought it a long time ago, on sale, from B&Q, this is somewhat frustrating. The receipt is almost certainly missing believed permanently lost, and it’s not an ordinary lamp. No. This is one of those evil lamps which contain a powersupply in the ceiling rose (a 240V AC -> 12V ?AC or DC) and which, I suspect, is tripping an over-current device as soon as you switch it on. It did work for about 30 seconds, twice. But since then has managed only to occasionally flick-on and then instantly switch off.

I am rather miffed by this, and am not hugely looking forward to taking it down, and I suspect discovering that I don’t have the skills or equipment to fix it. I have to admit I am well out of practice with repairing electronics, and unless it’s a glaringly obvious charred wreckage fault will probably not be able to spot it :(

I’ll have a look though, at some point in the not too distant future. I suppose, theoretically, I could go and find my oscilliscope too, and poke at it with that (if I can remember how to work the damn thing, and the valves are still working after 3 years in my mum’s attic).

It looks like it’s one of these evil modern power supplies, rather than just a chunky transformer and a diode pack*, but I guess when I take the cover off I’ll find out :-/

Anyhow, the majority of the last two days hasn’t been spent on the house, oh no. We have, with the help of my mum and her husband, transformed the back garden. From dump to delight, I would say. There’s still some more work to do; we even did some more today despite promising that today would mostly be relaxing (we had vague intentions to look at the pulling brakes on the DAF and the exhaust on the minor (which is apparently 2 inches too short)).

Anyhow, yesterday we spent a fair sum of money on plants, bark chips, soil improver, compost and seeds. With much work from everyone we dug over the soil (which Big Steve gave us free**) with lots and lots of soil improver and compost, we laid bricks, we planted plants, we planted herbs, we planted onion thingies, garlic, raspberry canes, a goosebury bush, two blackberry bushes… So hopefully we’ll have some fruit, possibly, this year. We planted beans and peas. We planted flowers. The whole garden got a work over.

And it looks gorgeous.

I would show you a picture, but it’s dark.

We’ve got a herb and vegetable garden near the house, yesterday we ate fresh basil in home-made pesto; to be fair, it was a basil plant that we put outside, and it’s now somewhat short on leaves, but may survive and the act was somewhat enjoyable. One hopes that it’ is indicative of a future of growing some of our own veg.

Kathryn spent much of the afternoon laying bricks for the new ‘patio’ type area near the shed… We have all but eradicated grass from our garden. Maybe a 6′ by 5′ area remains, near the house. We just need to get more bark chip (So far we’ve put down 240 litres of bark chip), get the wild flowers into the wild flower bed and put netting over it, and decide what we’re going to do with the rockery (now it’s got sort-of-soil on it).

Oh, and we put up a bird feeder, so the birds can nibble on seeds :)

Woot.

Pictures tomorrow….

* Which I have a hope in hell of fixing.
** (1) I didn’t know we knew someone called, ‘Big Steve’; the fact we do unnerves me somewhat. (2) I’m slightly worried as to why he gave us the soil free. Yes it was very poor quality clay soil, but still.

So, yesterday, while it wasn’t our anniversary, was the day we chose to celebrate it this year (because I was on nights, or had just come off nights, and therefore it would have been difficult, and then it was Kathryns driving test, and then, and then, so it was the day we picked).

We started out with an exchange of gifts, Kathryn painted me a beautiful picture, which, when I have charged my camera batteries, and with her permission I’ll post a shot of here. She just is the most wonderful woman in all the world, and is so thoughtful and creative and talented.

I gave her the book I’d seen and wanted to get her, and she seems to like it :) (Shaun Tan’s The Arrival).

Then we headed in to London for a day of museums, fine food, comedy and being jabbed with needles.

See we combined the day of celebration with my first trip to the Allergy Clinic in Guy’s Hospital. Having made it in to London we first headed to the Plastics exhibit at the Science museum. So. Many. Small. People. It had escaped me that it was Half Term, and thus the Small People were not in school. There was a massive queue for the Science Museum, and while we vascilated about whether we should queue and go in, or go to the V&A, we had made it far enough down the queue that it seemed like we really ought to wait and go in.

It turned out to be a really interesting exhibit – and reminded me (/us) that I(/we) want to go back and explore the Science Museum some more, it’s a terribly interesting place.

And I discovered that what I often assume is Bakelite is actually more often Urea Formaldehyde.

Anyhow, it was then time to make me look like some really bizzare druggie. Unfortunately I didn’t get the piece of paper which said ‘don’t take your anti-histamines’. So I took them. Not that they do much. After a chat with the Doctor my arm was jabbed the-once to test how well my antihistamines were working – and thus to see if it was worth doing the rest of the test. My antihistamines are not doing as much as they could, let’s put it that way, and so they continued to do the rest of the test, which involved scraping my arm with a sharp thing a further 12 times. Each of these scratches had an allergen on them.

The results, they suspect, were skewed by my anti-histamines because the only thing that came up positive (and is still positive nearly 24 hours later, and still itchy) is Grass Pollen, which fits with the worst of my symptoms, but not my actual spread of symptoms. Because of the whole Anti-Histamine screwing with results they want to see me, in agony, at the height of summer. That’ll be 3 days without Anti-Histamine and I have to make my way into London. They did not really discuss putting me on Immunotherapy, which is what I want. Especially given that it’s still fricking itchy. I am not looking forward to Summer, because now I *know* my anti-histamines aren’t working and I know that it’s not just all in my head, I really am stupid-allergic to grass pollen.

Anyhow, that over with (which unfortunately took us most of the way until dinner) we made our way to our reserved table at Ottolenghi. We’d wanted to go to Ottolenghi for quite some time, and had failed to on a couple of occasions, what with you needing to book, really, to get a table. We hadn’t booked, and thus wer lacking in tableness on previous occasions but had had desert there which was astronomically good.

This time we’d booked, we went in and were seated at a simple white table (the decor is generally very simple, so as not to distract from the food, one presumes). Having discovered that the meals are ’starter sized’ we opted to pick two each (they recommend 3 each) and save space for desert. Having managed to decide that we weren’t just going to order everything on the menu (it is one of those places where the entire menu sounds unutterably delicious) we finally made our pics. Aubergine and Scallops for Kathryn and Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash (with Pine nuts and chilli) followed by Rice coated King Prawns with Miso Mayonnase and chargrilled broccoli. Now, I can’t remember exactly what Kathryn ordered, but I did sample it and it was equally delicious, but the fact I can actually remember, unprompted, what I ordered, should give you an idea of just how incredibly good the food was.

When Kathryn was trying to decide what to eat she asked a waiter who offered the advice that the Scallops were the more ‘challenging’ dish. The complexity of flavours, the nuanced undertones…oh. my. god. This was food as I’ve never experienced it before. This was gastronomic heaven. Normally I have to think to slow down when I eat. This food? I paused after each mouthful savouring each and every bite.

It’s not like the sort of complexity which arises from sauces or many different foodstuffs combined, no, this is the complexity of really well prepared ingredients combined carefully and subtly, giving such phenominal flavour that I really am lost for words.

I feel so middle class, so foodie, so…everything for going on about it so much. But it was incredible.

We moved on to desert, Kathryn selecting a moist chocolate cake with bailey’s mascapone cheese, and I had a white chocolate cheesecake with cranberry and pistachio. I shan’t bore you with my opinion of it, suffice to say it was *really* *really* *good*.

And then I had a very nice cappuccino.

And thus filled with exquisite food, we set off to find Geeks at The Library. Now, we’d forgotten to write down the address, but thankfully we both felt it was very close to Ottolenghi. Unfortunately we both thought it was in opposite directions, and the garage shop person thought it was in the wrong direction. Still, at least he’d heard of the pub/club. Having wandered around for quite a while, asked in many many places (who’d not heard of it) we made an emergency call to Nikki, who through the internet found the place and confirmed the address that Kathryn had in her head and the direction I thought it was in, and which disagreed with the garage person.

Eventually we located it and sat ourselves in some Comfy Sofas. It’s not an open mic, but the comedians were very uneven and somewhat patchy. And one poor woman, her entire routine fell completely flat.

But the last guy, Tony Law, was very funny; and I had a thoroughly pleasant evening, and for only a fiver it wasn’t bad. It did, however, prompt Kathryn to suggest that I should try Stand Up. Which is something that’s been suggested before. So maybe I will.

So today we:

- Painted the ceiling (second coat)
- Painted the walls (second colour coat)
- Painted the other walls (second colour coat)

I then went out into the garden and moved approximately one tonne of bricks and hardcore from over here to over there. A total distance of about 8 feet. I separated out from the hardcore the sandy-pseudo soil (probably was mortar and soot once) and placed that strategically around the garden. The breezeblockery now has mud on it, and the two raised beds have some sandy ’soil’ to aid drainage. We probably have enough that we could, in fact, do the drive way with our own hardcore. Need to check about whether that’s feasible, or how much a builder’d charge to do it, because it is a big ‘ol chunk of concrete and a wall taking down that we require.

Then I took down all but the top 3 layers of bricks of the approximately 1.2m wall which used to stand the other side of the concreted area in the garden, you can see it here:

Then I moved the blue 50 gallon container of rainwater* (about 1/3rd full) to the other end of the garden, out of the area of the raised bed (actually to roughly where I was standing when I took that photo, oh so long ago)…

Then the tonne of topsoil** arrived, bagged it may have been while it was on the truck, but the delightfully cheap delivery company didn’t actually have a crane to lift it off. So they tipped the lorry’s little tippy bit until the bag slid, falling onto its side and sprinkling earth all over the driveway. I can’t say I’m terribly impressed, but then their ungraded cheap topsoil is 25 quid, whereas everyone else wanted 70ish quid.

So, realising we couldn’t leave it there Kathryn and I then spent the next hour, in the drizzle, moving the top soil to the back garden. The first raised bed looks very, uh, raised-bed-y. The second one is more a ‘pile of earth’ motif, and the third, well, when we got to the stage we could drag the bag into the garden, it got dragged round the back and left. So the third is still devoid of soil. It maintains it’s breeze-block trim motif.

Still. It’s a lot of progress.

I (presumably, we) are very tired. And now I think I’m going to go to bed.

This, incidentally, is important:

* and bits of dead bird, and I have to wonder if the ?stolen MP3 player possibly got knocked in there by the builders. It just occured to me that I left it on the wall near the big drum, I wonder if one of them knocked it in and didn’t mention it. Still, we’ll find out when it’s empty, eh.
** With free brick components, wire, metal, roots… graded soil this ain’t.

Or, possibly a breeze-blockery. One or other.

Before I get started on this update, can I share a moment? We were expecting (to use a very loose term, I think faintly hoping is more what I was doing) that we would have a delivery of top-soil today. Our local top-soil merchant having given us a price which is much better than one of the national companies (but also means it’s almost certainly not screened, graded soil). Yesterday they didn’t turn up, and I had a little book running in my head regarding today’s excuse.

Sorry, we…
a) had problems with equipment
b) over-ran on the previous job
c) got stuck in traffic coming back from our previous job
d) had to close early due to a sudden onset of bubonic plague
e) were overrun on site by a horde of marauding miniature nuns (skateboarding nuns, no less) demanding all our topsoil for a new convent garden they were building

It was of course e, uh, I mean, a, today. But it did make me wonder, do builders have a magic-8 ball which they shake when a customer rings? Or do they have an excuse of the day message e-mailed to them?

Apparently he will ‘personally’ deliver the topsoil tomorrow. I will believe it when the annoyingly large pile of dirt is on our driveway.

Anyway, we went to Tummies for lunch, the service was somewhat lackadaisical, not dreadful, but not brilliant. I was slightly less than impressed that they pulled the panini from the chiller (and Kathryn’s sandwich) – at the price they’re charging I’d expect a bit better’n that (given that for much less in a similarly nice cafe in Brizzy you pull things from the fridge and they toast ‘em). But the food was good, and it’s a pleasant (and less paint-y) environment. And we needed to celebrate Kathryn’s test-passitude.

Anyhow, after shopping and a somewhat lax period of web-browsing, I headed out to the garden to move rubble. I’ve moved a slightly distressingly small amount of rubble, although I did create the basis for the breeze-blockery (aka rockery, aka good-way-to-disguise-a-pile-of-rubble). It includes, at the moment, an impressively large lump of concrete which I have no means of getting to the tip. Once the earth arrives, we shall pile it all over the damn thing, and then wedge some nicer stones in it, and some of those rockery-type-plants and no-one shall know the evil lying beneath; at least, not until they go forth and attempt to move it.

Plan is to put a fence segment up behind it (between it and the compost bin) and thus hide the big-black compost bin from the view out of the windows. Of course, the big plain brick wall will still be there.

Oooh, there’s a lot of fumes in here now, I may have to move.

Anyway, the undercoat’s gone on the door frame, Kathryn’s working on my anniversary prezzie, (I cheated and bought her something, but it must be said I just looked at it and wanted to give it to her right there and then, so ordering it and waiting was pretty good). Rebecca’s booked in to have her exhaust sorted on Friday*, and the oven’s on to cook dinner.

Today has been a day where much has been accomplished. Ra :)

ETA: The laptop, incredibly, has a bid on it. i.e. it has sold. Even despite the description.

*I should ring the gearbox reconning company about the gearbox but can’t pay for it until I’ve been paid anyhow. And there’s still no signs of the king/swivelpins; a somewhat significant component in the front suspension which have now been on back-order with most MM companies for over a year. A situation which borders on the ludicrous.

So, progress has been good this week; we’ve painted all the walls and the ceiling once, a second coat on the ceiling (and Kathryn will be here to help with the ceiling tomorrow*, yay) and a second coat on the walls and the kitchen will be painted, less the woodwork. I’m going to paint the door frames later today, just want to make sure it has as long to dry as possible, because it says 16-24 hours to dry.

Once they’ve got undercoat on them all the woodwork in the kitchen will be ready to be painted. We can put one coat of that on tomorrow, take much of the coverings off, and then Friday we can paint the last of the woodwork, let it dry, and pop the fridge back in it’s normal home in the corner. But tomorrow evening we will get our kitchen back. Which is a good thing. Hopefully the paint fumes will abate soon, too.

But it has made such a change. The kitchen is much lighter and airier, even covered in dust sheets.

We have managed to create a weird optical illusion though, the green and sand paints meet on two corners; one, an internal corner, you can see the different colour paints quite distinctly. The other, an external corner which is really well lit, has the bizzare effect of making the two very different colours look the same. In fact it looks like it’s just shadow that’s making the one wall look a bit darker. it’s most strange.

Anyhow; I’m off to lug stones about in the garden.

* She was off doing her driving test today**
** Which she passed, because she rocks.