Well it seems a pleasure to record this weekly update with my DIY mojo looking good and my self motivational talks are paying off. It is a mindset thing. After all, I’ve already said we should think of our move to the dusty museum as an adventure, not a burden. Hopefully all of this is paying off but there are some clouds on the horizon.
I may have mentioned before how my DIY skills and motivation have been dented over the last few years. All it seems to take is a few things to fall into place, plus some encouraging vibes and BINGO! I’m now enjoying the DIY tasks ahead, although I do know my limits.
With regards to these limits, I’m not looking to become a plumber. It is true that I have relished the challenge of changing washers in the past but that’s it. Electrical things? Well it is also true I have installed a few additional power sockets in our house in Dunstable, changed light fittings etc but I do, nevertheless, feel nervous in doing these things. Besides, we have a friendly electrician friend (hi Val!) who is very obliging and nice to have around.
I think I prefer to restrict my DIY to imaging how things could be and then working to achieve that. I enjoy the decorating and can do this reasonably well and then perhaps it’s best assume the role of project manager; after all we soon have our friending carpet fitter lined up (hi Jeff), all-things windows (hi Nathan) and plumber (hi Paul W) – all over the coming weeks.
Now this is all very well but it does involve some diplomacy with Rachel from time to time. In all fairness, she is far more willing to trust me with colour schemes these days. When we met, the walls in my micro kitchen and hall were bright red, which I thought was fabulous. Rachel thought otherwise as she is from far more of a conservative stock with a tendency to veer towards beige and magnolias as safe, easy-to-live-with colours. Certainly none of these radical colour schemes would be her natural choice but with the success of our sitting room with the solid dusty blue walls has meant she is more open minded nowadays.
Grandma is a bit non-plussed about all of this decorating lark. She can’t quite see what all the fuss is about or why there’s anything wrong with a 1970s decor actually done in the 1970s.
We had an interesting conversation about a carpet. It wasn’t even a fitted carpet but instead a faded, acrylic carpet which was tatty at best. Truth is, it was revolting and should have been burned years ago. She thought it would still be useful and was surprised when I said it was heading into the garage for the time being. I didn’t have the courage to say it was heading to the tidy tip, via the garage.
Wasps!
In recent weeks we had become aware of a wasp’s nest somewhere in the brickwork. In fact I had been stung near to the hole in the mortar, just near Grandma’s window. Somehow they were finding their way into an upstairs bedroom, by the dozen. Now ordinarily we know the best thing is to leave well alone and sooner or later the queen would fly off taking all of her subjects with her. This was not exactly happening and we were becoming increasingly nervous.
Rachel had bought some powder to squirt into the hole. She did this late one evening, when it was cool and all was quiet on the wasp front. Apart from making them angry and killing a few, we weren’t convinced it did the trick. In fact it didn’t do the trick at all, so an expert was called.
Jo arrived on Wednesday. “Oh yes” she said “they’re a bit aggressive, aren’t they. Oh and it’s a big nest in there”.
So she donned her PPE, seriously heavy duty PPE. She pumped up her compressed spray pump and poked the eight foot long tube into the hole. We were, needless to say, watching eagerly from the safety of the house. It seemed to do the trick in one go, so we are well sorted now.
Well nearly. I will plug all the holes with mortar over the coming week. We don’t want to entertain any more wasps!
So wrapping up
I do feel far more motivated with decorating and dragging our new (dusty museum) forward by 40 odd years.
Not completely though. We live in a charming house with lots of nooks and crannies which bring real character. The trick is to retain those features and create a nice home for us, while giving a nod to its heritage.
So there you go, I do feel like an interior designer, project manager and chief bottle washer all in one.
Next post – health – I’ve let things go a bit.