Plans

A few steps forward, ish, this week.

The two new kitchen wall units arrived. The hanging rail for them (not from the kitchen company), did not.   We had loads of drawer fronts arrive, and DH has been busy fitting them. It's not been without its challenges. If it could go wrong, it has!

One of the fronts wasn't in the order, not even on the delivery note.  The company sorted it out easily enough, but it will be another week or so before it is delivered.    We'll probably be ready by the time it arrives.

I also realised I'd missed a pair of drawer fronts off, and I'd also missed off a replacement for a chipped drawer.   I also realised, too late,  that I'd assumed we could cut down an existing door for one part, but I'd completely ignored the fact that the unit concerned  is a gloss finish whereas everything else is matt.  So that's a couple more bits that I need to get.  I'm sure there will be other bits, so I thought I'd wait and see before placing another order.

Separately,  the bits for the under sink plinth drawer arrived and DH fitted it.  It works really well, and I'd thoroughly recommend drawerboxes.co.uk.   

We've also been working on plans for an extension.  We actually engaged an architect some months ago, but things didn't go to plan (pun intended) as the poor chap was ill for a while. We only got the outline plans a week or so ago, we are nowhere near submitting for approval.  The builder is coming this week to give us his views on what we are trying to do.

We've agreed (between ourselves) on the overall size of the extension, and the changes that will be necessary to accommodate it.     We're also in agreement that there are 3 places to put the lift, and we're sort of in agreement about the most likely place.  We've agreed on some internal wall removals both upstairs and in the downstairs utility room area.

We haven't yet worked out how we will do the downstairs bathroom layout (which is a practical thing rather than a fundamental disagreement),  we haven't agreed on the items that are going in the downstairs bathroom,  and we haven't talked at all about the utility layout.  We haven't agreed about windows, or door placement.    I'm anticipating a lot of agreements,  some mild differences of opinion,  and quite a few arguments.   

We've been together 40 years, and we still argue about most things. 

 

 

 

 

 

Visits

Mum came to stay for a week.   DB and I had bought her an ultralight carbon fibre rollator for her birthday present, and it was fantastic.  Bright red,  superbly styled, turns on a sixpence, and really is the lightest rollator in the world.  It's by ByAcre, a Danish company,  and it is... amazing.  She loves it!

The week passed quickly, in a good way.   We try and make these visits feel like "normal", so we spend a lot of time just doing normal stuff, as if Mum has popped in from across town.   We drink a lot of team chat a lot,   do a bit of shopping,  watch a bit of TV, and go out occasionally.

This time we caught up with a couple of uncles and an aunt-in-law while Mum was here, and that was very enjoyable. We're very grateful that Uncle C and Auntie P came over, it's a bit of a trek for them.   Separately, our lovely cousin and his equally lovely wfire popped in to say hello.

 Mum is struggling with the stairs, so we are looking at accelerating our plans for installing a lift.  There will be a time when she won't be able to come and stay any more, so we want to make the intervening time as visitable as possible.

We  played lots of Scrabble.  The RNIB version, with large tiles which sit securely on the board, is fantastic.  We all have sets now.     Mum plays most days with one of the other residents at her Home, and it's really made a difference to her.     I'm so happy that I suggested a game when she was last here.

DB and I are off to see Mum again this week, and we're staying at a local place (like an Air B&B, but direct).   We have two places that we favour, one near where Mum lives now and one near where she used to live (when Dad was still alive).     This particular place,  we have stayed at many times over the last few years, the hosts are wonderful.    There is a downstairs bedroom and bathroom, so Mum can come to stay overnight as well, and we're hoping she'll do that this time.  It extends the time we get to see her, and again we can do "normal" things together.

 

 

Failures and Successes continue

The decorations went back in the loft today.  We completely failed to do anything about  clearing that part of the loft while they were out, which is a bit pathetic.     We had some reasons:  we were ill, which pushed everythign behind, then it was Christmas, and then there was stuff and then... well, here we are.

 

My Mum is coming to stay and I've had to excavate the guest room.   Stuff was binned, stuff was charity shopped (well, it's in the boot of my car waiting for me to go to the charity shop) , stuff was stored neatly... and some stuff was put in a pile of other stuff in the box room, waiting to go in the loft.  Except there isn't any room.

 

We did go up there together, took a look at that end of the loft, and agreed on how we could improve the storage.  But doing it will have to wait until Mum has been and gone,  and then my grandson has been and gone.    I may engage help in getting stuff out, which will, hopefully, leave me enough energy to review and organise.  We'll see.

 

On the Success! front, we've done yet more stuff to the kitchen.  DH has trouble with the concealed drawers, mainly because I fill the drawer below too full.  We were discussing the tip-on (push to open)  runners which are part of the two under plinth drawer units we bought.   We have a couple of concealed drawers which have already have tip on runners, and we discussed making all the concealed drawers have tip on runners.  We bought some bits to see if DH could do a conversion:  I bought some preloved tip on runners from Ebay, and DH bought some bits to convert the actual drawers from the Blum Warehouse.  We did 3 to start with, and it turns out that  they work really well. 

 

We then decided to go ahead and do all the concealed drawers,  so I bought more preloved runners and DH ordered more bits.    I then bought an additional mahoosive concealed drawer (as part of my continuing efforts  to try and move everything to its final home), which was a Marketplace bargain. This was so big (900 wide and 500 deep) that I had to buy a longer preloved runner, and DH had to order yet more bits.

 

DH also fitted one of the plinth drawers (the other is going under a tower unit, and we have to raise the tower unit to the correct height first).    It works really well,  and will look great when we put a front on it.

We weer so pleased with it that we've now ordered a made to measure plinth drawer for under the sink unit as well.   It'll be another week or more before that arrives.

  

We're still waiting for the Blum Warehouse bits to arrive, they were on shutdown until Monday and then didn't have everything in stock at that point.    In the meantime, DH has installed the runners, all of which arrived really promptly.   My mahoosive drawer enabled me to move many many lots of contents around, trying to stick to my mantra of everything being in a sensible place.    I'm tempted to write it all down here for my own nostalgic reference, but it's not exactly scintillating stuff.

 

The base units now have the right things in them,  and most of the units are in the right place.  One run needs a reshuffle, and I guess we will do that when we get the replacement fronts, which I ordered at the same time as ordering the two wall units.

 

I don't imagine we will make a huge amount of progress over the next week as I'll have other priorities.