Not quite flushed with success!

Evening all.  Take a look at this picture... methinks the loo maybe in the wrong place! 

It was crossed legs time today, out came the loo, only then did the plumber discover he had the wrong part for the new one!  Yikes. 

Off he goes... hell for leather back to the stores, then back to me.  Not sure why he said he didn't want a cuppa, mind you neither did I, we both just wanted the new loo fitted - pronto.  And it was, relief all round.  Give him his due he stayed late to make sure everything worked, well except for the top bit, he couldn't work out the external flush button - don't worry I can flush my loo.  

So have loo, and bath, but no shower... boo hoo.  Floor tiles got ripped out.   So bathroom is still looking like a bomb site.  Oh... the external flush button,  guess who's worked out how it all goes together?   Yup, MOI.   Looked at the bits, then the instructions and - eureka.  I'll put it together tomorrow.  To be fair to the plumber he was tired, and he'd been working bloody hard all day,  half the bathroom is now tiled.  Those tiles are not small, they are big, and heavy,  plus some have had to be cut to fit.   Plus he fitted the loo, boxed in some pipes,  and did God knows what else.  And he insisted on cleaning up, even though I told him to leave it to me.  No idea why but the electricians came back,  perhaps to fit the shower but they couldn't as the tile adhesive hadn't set,  personally I think they popped in for a cuppa, seems they like my tea.  Note to self, stop making a decent cuppa for workmen. 

The other end of the bath, so entire wall has been tiled.  I didn't think they would do the whole wall, had visions of them just doing half a wall.  All that has to be grouted, and there is still more tiling to do, then the floor has to be laid, ceiling painted and filled in places, then the walls and woodwork all painted.   I'm amazed how long it takes to do one small room!   At least now I can enjoy some peace and quiet for a few days.  I can use the bath as well.  Just done a load of washing, and contemplating how one person manages to get through so many clothes.   My lovely neighbour said she'd give me a hand to clean up the mess after the work has finished.  They've put that plastic sheeting down, so it isn't too bad, but the place is now terribly dusty.   Also discovered how weak my hands are, couldn't turn the tap off,  plumber had turned it open to full, so he had to turn it off.  I did explain the reason for the weakness.   

Nope, not a bathroom picture,  but Nana's Pantry, or the rear wall.  I'm doing a brick finish the hard way.   I first rolled out some paper clay, 2 mm thick, then liberally spread some super PVA glue on the wall, then put the slab of clay on top. That was left to dry, I just gave it a thin coat of grey paint,  just to make it easier for me to see what I was doing.  I'm using a piercing tool to etch in the bricks.  Just taking a while, but there isn't any hurry.  I can't leave the flat for long, so need something to keep me occupied.  Thank goodness the French Open is on the TV, else I'd be going nuts.   Murray played a good match today,  more like his old self and won fairly easily.  It will soon be Wimbledon! 

The work on the bathroom has done me a favour,  the plumber was searching for the off switches to the taps in the bathroom, consequently he yanked out all the dust sheets that mum and I had stuffed behind the hot water tank!  So that gave me a reason to sort them out, plus a few other things were unearthed in the airing cupboard, even found some socks.  So I will sort the airing cupboard out properly over the weekend.  I need to do it as the central heating is due to be replaced,  and the tank will be removed.   I also discovered the other bath mat set, a lovely shade of blue, I can use that again, couldn't before as it clashed with the green.   Can't help thinking that mum would have liked the new bathroom,  precious little work was ever done to the flat,  mum would never ask,  while others were always demanding stuff.  She did kick up a fuss when we had the new kitchens installed.  We'd had the washing machine put in the airing cupboard as it was the only place it could go in the old kitchen.   When the new kitchen was fitted they told her that the washing machine would have to be moved, she dug her heels in and demanded that they fit a double sink unit,  she wouldn't budge!   She also insisted that the wiring all be sunk into the walls, she was not going to have that awful trunking put in, she won that battle as well.  I am glad she refused to let them touch the bathroom,  as so many of our neighbours had problems with leaky baths and toilets. 

Nice ending to Corrie, good to see Tracey get her comeuppance, and also for her own daughter to see the light and head to live with her dad.  Glad Roy had a change of heart and said a proper goodbye to Carla.  And the body has been found,  don't forget, Kylie is leaving...  cue dramatic music!

Now going to pour myself a large glass of wine. 

Work on the bathroom is now in full flow...

Evening,  it is day three of the bathroom saga!   It should have been day 2,  but the workman turned up early on Tuesday.  I just agreed that he could get started, the sooner it gets done the better.  Then there was some confusion, workman said he was there to install a wet room...  mmm, didn't sound right, but I didn't mind.  He made a phone call, then started the prep work,  two hours later we were back to a bathroom.  But I was in for a surprise, not only were they putting in a new suite and tiles, but also a light, fan, flooring and then decorating.   The pic is of the prep work and old bath, plus shower.

The electrician joined the plumber on Tuesday to install the light and fan, he also sussed out the shower, also to be replaced.  Harvey was coping pretty well with the noise and strange voices, quite proud of him.

 The new light, very smart!  Talk about bright, the fan is a bit big, but can't say no to it.  Yesterday it was just the plumber, who worked like a trouper.   Think he took half an hour for his dinner,   then he was back at it.  I kept him going with cups of tea.   Poor Harvey wasn't getting any sleep, he'd no sooner settled down than a drill would start, or the banging,  so he cuddled up next to me before then bravely going to say hello to Sean, the plumber. 

 No chance of a bath!   Day 3, and I had 3 electricians plus Sean the plumber/decorator/carpenter.    At one point I had one electrician in the bathroom, one downstairs at the fuse box, and the third in the loft...  plus a very nervous Harvey.   Poor Harvey, I had to go get some milk, he'd been have a nice snooze, then woke up to find me gone and these four strange blokes!  He was not happy.  Finally the electricians solved the problem of how the shower had been wired in, and rewired it.  Phew...  then Sean did battle with the bath, which didn't seem to want to go in. 

The new tiles, which received the seal of approval from Sean.   He also praised my tiling,  no, honest, he did.  So right now I have a bath and a loo, no shower or sink, and a bathroom that looks like a bomb has hit it.  Roll on the weekend,  can't wait for some peace and quiet.  My anxiety got the better of me during the afternoon, needed to take some meds it was so bad.  I'm just not used to all this noise and hassle.  The workmen have been very good,  they clean up every day, are polite and drink gallons of tea.  The tiling should be finished tomorrow, the other walls were all skimmed to give a nice finish.   The shower will be installed tomorrow,  relief, really need to wash my hair. 

This isn't as bad as when they refitted the kitchens, that was a nightmare as it dragged on for weeks.  Plus workmen used very shoddy materials,  that was because they had to bid for the work, and then supply tiles or whatever it was they were installing, hence they got the cheap and nasty stuff.  Our HA has learned the lesson, now they supply the materials, and the work is done inhouse by their own maintenance team.  That is how it should be as it saves time and money. 

Are you sick of all this EU stuff?   I'm sick of the lies and propoganda,  I was hoping for a half decent debate and some facts, fat chance of that ever happening.  This will be my 3rd vote on the EU,  originally I voted to join the Common Market, my second vote was to leave as it became clear we'd been misled and that the Common Market was going to expand to what it is now, only no-one envisaged all of Europe signing up, nor did anyone mention free movement.   Right now I'm torn,  my city has received a lot of EU money to help with regeneration,  yep I know that the EU is flawed,  and I disagree with the free movement thing, but then I agree with other stuff.  There is also the temptation to vote to leave just to see Cameron get the sack.  I'm highly amused by at how many tories are outraged by his lies and arrogant behaviour, they never said that during the general election, then it was fine for him to use the fear factor and lie through his teeth.   I loathe him, Osborne and as for Boris...   I wouldn't trust him as far as I could throw him. 

Enough,  hasn't Corrie been wonderful this week?  So OTT,  still haven't worked out who caused the crash last night, personally I think they should just arrest Tracey and be done with it.  And Callum's body is about to be discovered!  Cue dramatic music...  Of course the actress who plays Carla is leaving,  as does Kylie... will she end up in prison?  So much excitement,  need a cuppa. 

More on the bathroom saga...  and a house update!

New week, new house, and a new bathroom!

Hi,  I'm back after a short interval cos of back problems, and hospital appointments.  All go here!   Not, just look at Harvey.  Lately he's taken to tucking himself under things,  the other day it was the cushions on the sofa,  today it was under my duvet, were he stayed for most of the afternoon.  The cat is nuts.   I was also doing some painting, or trying to do some painting.  In the end I went back to sketching,  no idea why I seem unable to wield a paint brush at the moment.  I'm sure the knack will return at some point.  In the meantime a small package arrived..

Inside was this,  Nanna's Pantry, which is another property in the Memory Lane set.   It came on Friday, since when I've been prepping, and searching for suitable wall paper, and flooring.   

On the lower floor is the pantry, which I guess could be a small cafe, or cake shop, I've not yet decided which it will be.  But I do aim to put the name on the shop. 

A head on shot to show the flooring.  I used the chequered duck tape for the lower floor.  I had thought that the 'tiles' might be too big, but think it just about works.  For the top floor I used some coloured card to resemble lino. 

I'm now prepping the front of the shop, there is lots of work to do to it.  It has to have some bricks, and there is a frontage to paint and build up.  Oh almost forgot, plus windows and door. 

I'll be stuck in the flat for the rest of the week as the bathroom is being done.  Work will start on Wednesday and should take about four days.  I know the end result will be worth it, but I can't say I'm looking forward to all the mess, noise and inconvenience.  There was a surprise,  they are giving me a new shower as the one I have will not be compatible with the combi boiler that will be installed in the next few months.   So because of that I had to agree that the tiles would be replaced.  I'll be sad to see the others go, they are so pretty,  plus they cost a fortune.  When we had the other shower installed mum was determined that it would all look nice, so we spent ages looking for tiles.   I put them up,  I'd never tiled before so it was a huge learning curve,  I was also worried about breaking the tiles as I cut them, luckily I only wasted a couple.  Then there was the fear that they'd all fall off the wall!   They didn't,  and I have to admit I did a pretty good job. 

Last week I had a hospital appointment with the haemotology dept.  At first the doc wondered why my GP had sent me,  my notes were a bit jumbled up,  so I was hoping she'd just say I was fine and I could go on my way but... suddenly she said: oh, no wonder he sent you.   So that had me worried,  anyway I had to go round to have blood tests and have to go back in two weeks.  I also need to go see my GP about my back,  today my left leg refused to cooperate whilst I was driving, luckily it happened in the car park, I couldn't push down on the clutch properly.   So think I really need to go see a specialist,  I've not been able to sit or stand for long, and walking is so painful.    I'd just gone to B&Q to look at loo seats,  well decided that if the bathroom was going to be tarted up I may as well have a few new things in there.   Going to make a picture as well, mixed media,  won't say too much about it! 

I've got plenty to occupy me, the French Open has started, so I have tennis to watch,  although Murray nearly made a complete hash of his first round match!  And I've got some finishing off to do on a few little houses, mostly landscaping.   No idea how Harvey is going to react to the workman, or all the noise,  it should be interesting. 

Right, time for Corrie...  another wedding disaster!