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Another week or at least part week - the blog seems to be running behind the reality but who knows what is really real?
Anyway picked Wendy up on Thursday from Callander and returned to find Douglas continuing with the electronics to control the heating systems (Dunsley the makers of our stove seem to be unable or unwilling to answer straight quiestions and seem to be intent in over complicating things (they have added a gas/oil burner to our system which simply doesn't exist). Anyway I'm sure things will get sorted eventually.
Note from Wendy... I do not actually recall Douglas being in the house when I arrived, but perhaps my short term memory is failing me.
Thursday evening and Friday morning, we tidied up in readiness for my Dad, brothers (Stuart and Roger) and sisters-in-law (Elizabeth and Linda) visiting that afternoon while Ewan finished the last of the downstairs flooring.
A pleasant afternoon was had including lunch at the Lawers Hotel (thanks Dad), they then returned south and we had a lazy evening watching the ever changing sunlight on the hilsides across the loch. Did not actually start the gin & tonic - will
have to have a patio party complete with deckchairs before we can sit lazily sipping gin. (We'll also have to install the patio first).
On Saturday we continued oiling beams and kitchen worktops, as well as painting the living room ceiling and walls and ceiling in the utility room. Spoke to Ronnie our plumber and he agreed we could light the stove now that the initial electrics had been connected.
The fire was lit partly to heat water for a bath - this worked too. Something we hadn't realised was that the radiator in the upstairs bathroom can't be switched on or off - it's always on as an escape for the heat, so the bathroom got nice and warm as well. A great bonus.
So had a couple of glasses of wine to celebrate only to be visited by Tober, Ben and Jean (Sue and Tober's latest woofer) looking for party so had a pleasant couple of hours with a couple more bottles of wine. Then to bed.
On Sunday and Monday we finished painting the living room ceiling, the utility room and the entrance hall and started on the kithcen ceiling but ran out
of paint. We had a relatively lazy afternoon on Monday and day taking Pebbles for walk. Then we lit the fire and had baths and an early night.
This morning, (that's Tuesday), it got busy again, but first a wee digression. We've both been waking up really early because the bedroom has an east facing window. This morning there were four areas of coloured light on the wall: a square of yellowy-orange from the east window, pure blue sky through the velux and a triangle of blue from the big velux seen through the internal window and I must have imagined the fourth.... It makes getting up a much more attractive prospect... though every day the weather has promised much at 5am, but clouded over by 9.
Before the rest of the world wake Willy and I tiled the utility room. Ok we only put one line of 6 tiles along the splashback - and failed to photograph it. Later Willy replaced a couple of cladding boards that had to be removed when the balcony was being erected, I plastered some holes and some bits that had been missed and then started filling knot holes in the floor
All the colours of spring
One thing I have enjoyed over the last few weeks has been the seeing all the different trees come into leaf, (and for those that believe in old wife's tales or the oak was in leaf before the ash so we should have a good ie dry-ish summer with wood filler. Ewan finished off the units in the utility room and made a start on the bathroom cupboard door. Keith arrived to finish the living room floor.
Then we left, came down the road, went to B&Q to return some unwanted bits of kitchen unit - they gave us £350 back and we only spent £100 on other stuff, which was nice. To celebrate, we went and brought a mirrored bathroom cabinet, but we're still in profit overall!
Now it's back to a basement in Auld Reekie for me and back to Tombreck for Willy.
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