Stair project

Okay, okay I have been really remiss in not posting any house updates since the kid was born but I am determined to get into it again. Especially as we are about to start on a new phase of works and I need to catch up on what's changed since last July!!

Okay between May and November 2010 there was the small matter of a small person that landed in our lives and dropped the bomb of never sleeping for more than two hours at a time. Which sounds a dream during the day and prior to having a baby I thought that wee ones sleep muchly so I would be able to, blissfully, get on with the numerous house projects while my little ray of sunshine slumbered away. Well it didn't exactly pan out like that...although she slept a fair bit in the day her snoozes were filled with me trying to retain some semblance of order and housewifery between THE CONSTANT FEEDING and THE WASHING MOUNTAIN....man they can eat and poo those newborns.

Anyhoo, after 6 months of shattered sleep, we eventually started to come out the other side and as an early Christmas present, in a wave of "wow our baby can sleep, let's make sure we put measures in place to never disturb her again" fervour (which included nailing down floorboards, installing black out blinds and oiling doors) t'husband arranged for our stair carpet to be fitted.

Looking at this picture, the non-carpeted stairs look quite nice....they weren't! If they had looked anything like this I would have kept them as they were.

And below is the new carpet....

Seems like a small project but seeing as we had to decorate the stairs and entire landing before it was fitted, this was the pay off.

Isn't it funny how some twinkly, sparkly lights make everything not only brighter but better!

An extremely belated Happy Christmas...

The reason nothing on the house is getting done...

 

 

The Bedroom Project

So we have spent the last few weekends trying to get a few projects completed before the arrival of the baby. Weekends in March and April have largely been overtaken by the Bedroom Project, the Nursery Project and the Downstairs WC Project.

Here is the low down on the Bedroom Project. This is it emptied of furniture. The front wall needed to be re plastered as the plaster hadn't been applied properly before and had lifted away from the wall.

The removal of the radiator in order to facilitate the plastering nearly led to the Replacement of the Living Room Ceiling project but luckily we managed to catch that little disaster before it became..well.. too disastrous.

Here is the removal of the old plaster and t'husband doing what he does best, project managing, which admittedly looks a lot like watching and chatting...

And the new plaster in progress. Love a bit of smooth plaster which is good as this wall took forever to dry. A good few weeks....

Then there was the sanding. Oh sanding how I hate thee...which is why t'husband did it.

Essential tools of the sanding trade. Paper, mask, ample supply of warm brews accompanied by lots of encouraging words...

I didn't photograph the next stage but between the sanding and the wiring was the wood worming. Apparently, the fumes are not good for a woman in my condition! Then there was the wiring. I am so impressed that I have a husband with all these rad skills.

Then there was a painting which was something I could help with. However, painting skirting boards at 35 weeks pregnant leads to all sort of contortions.

And finally there was the fitting of the carpet and the reinstalling of the furniture. So a few days of plastering, a few weeks for plaster to dry, several weekends of sanding, wood worming, wiring, painting and carpet shopping and that is our bedroom...DONE!*

*With the exception of a new light, some bedside tables and putting pictures up.

And from looking at this, it's just in time...

And none of this would have been possible without the skills, patience and hard work of a good and loving man. I am indebted to t'husband who promised me all along I would have a bedroom ready for when the baby arrived. You totally rock and I love you....

What Goes Up...

To burn off some of the copious amounts of calories consumed over Christmas, our kind friends the O'Neills asked us to come and spend some time with them in the Lakes. They suggested a bit of skiing which I couldn't, unfortunately, take part in due to the passenger I am now carrying that makes these things difficult. So they suggested a nice walk and some fun in the snow with a stop for tea and cake after.

What I didn't realise was that the 'walk' was more akin to a hike. A three hour hike, up a hill, at 25 weeks pregnant with nary a toilet in sight...toileting issues (or lack thereof) aside we had a marvellous day. The weather was amazing...

The terrain challenging...

...enough to feel a sense of achievement at the top...

And the views were immense enough to warrant catalogue style posing...

But what goes up must come down and the descent was precarious and hilarious. I ended up deciding it was safer to scooch down on my bum, rather than risk slipping and falling. Anyway, I lifted my heels off the floor at the top for milliseconds and before I knew it was sliding high speed down the peak with no real means of stopping…all I could hear was t'husband screaming from the top of the hill ‘Who let the pregnant woman go first!?’ I eventually managed to anchor myself with a walking pole after sliding about 70 metres. Scare-larious…

Due to high jinx above, I was made to follow t'husband down the hill as he slipped and slid in his inadequate for ice, snow and descent shoes. Mrs O'N and I tried hard to contain our giggles at his flailing arms and legs but failed. Was exhausted with laughing by the bottom…


A brilliant day...

Christmas in Pictures...

There was snow to get us dreaming of a white Christmas...


Gifts!...

Decorations...

Preparations.
Including cooking for the 5,000...


Seating the 5,000....

Eating....

With family (the aforementioned 5,000)...



Drinking...
With friends...


Visits...from family....
After this young lady below visited...

..and wore an apron so charmingly, helped to not only cook breakfast but also clear away afterwards and paid due attention to the man of the house t'husband decided he wants a girl...!


There were also visits from friends and friends' young families...


All rounded off with another flurry of snow...
A really, really lovely Christmas and thoughts now turn to what the new year will bring...good times!

Christmas House...

Although, this is not the first time that we have seen The Money Pit blanketed in snow, it is the first time since it has felt like a proper home. The weekend we moved in, back in Feb, it was snowing too. That was a fun weekend! We had spent 3 days packing and shifting our wordly goods, and another week or so making good Eliza, and were leaving our warm, snug little house that we had made home over the last 10 years, for this monster. It was cold, actually it was freezing, empty and the size of the task ahead was a little intimidating. However, by Sunday evening we were in. The bed was made, the fire lit and the first of a few warming whiskies had been drunk and I was able to appreciate why we liked this monster so much.

The move would not have happened without a mammoth effort from t'husband and an intrepid bunch of helpers that I am still beyond grateful to, who not only did all of the heavy lifting but also had to prevent t'husband's wife from going into complete meltdown at numerous stages of the move. Thanks Dave, Graham and Rob - you all totally rock.

Just under a year down the line, although the task is still large, the Money Pit (despite living up to its name) , is no longer a monster. Even though we are still in a bit of a pickle, shopping for pretty stuffs (and even some essential stuffs) seems still to be a long way off, we couldn't be happier. I mean how could you not love a place that looks like this...

I wonder what 2010 will bring for The Money Pit. I suspect the projects may be smaller but will also, in their own way, be significant due to that other project we are also working on. You know the one that looks something like this....
Expect a host of nursery pictures in the new year. 2010 is going to be exciting....

It's (nearly) Christmas....

What with all the snow, a stack of wood in the cellar for the cold nights, (non-alcoholic) mulled wine ready for mulling and the tree decorated it is feeling very festive at The Money Pit. I am lucky enough to have two trees this year which is an extravaganse in these lean times but we are entertaining a bit over the festive season and I am hoping that pretty trees will detract from the lack of carpets and soft furnishings and the chilliness...


There's something about the warm glow of of fairy lights that makes a home feel cozy even when it is -5 outside. I was watching Nigella's Christmas last night and she goes fairy light crazy but with a load of fairy lights you need little other adornment. Can't deck my halls with fairy lights, but I am going to buy up a large supply of candles.

I just hope I can make it home tonight to enjoy it all. It's really coming down out there...