I feel so bad.

'Cappy' has left at lunchtime today. He is a good and kind big brother who is taking his sister into the hospital for tests. He gets big brownie points from me for doing so. Until he left everyone was busy, busy, busy. 'Cappy' has been breaking up chunks of concrete while 'Barry' has been throwing them into the back of the truck all morning and lovely ChristhePlumber has juryrigged my washing machine and sink so that I do not have to spend the next four months bending over the bath to get the dishes clean. YAY!

But now Chris has gone and so has 'Cappy' which leaves just 'Barry'. And this is why I feel bad. Because he is out on what used to be the back grass jackhammering away so that the Diggerman can work freely tomorrow.


I dare not look at him working away because I shall just want to go out there and demand he come in and have a rest. In fact if I can stand the noise I might just go and bake something so he will be able to sit down with a piece of cake a nice cuppa for the rest of the afternoon.

I wonder if there are any old movies on today?

The true definition of D Day.

I had assumed that the 'D' in my D Day stood for Demolition.

It is rash to make assumptions. In fact one might say it is tempting fate.

Turns out it actually stands for Disaster.

As in -

* spending much of the previous night waking at regular intervals bc your inner alarm clock knows you have to be up and dressed and ready for the onslaught of builders at an ungodly hour. I saw 0130, 0317, 0423 & 0531 before giving in with poor grace at 0630. I was hanging out washing and doing ironing by 0700 this morning.

* getting a final load of washing in before the 'Cappy' and his 713 year old oppo, 'Barry' (as dubbed by Pr C.W. & destructoBoy), start to demolish the laundry only to have the machine stop dead 10 minutes into the cycle. I spent haf an hour siphoning the water out of the drum and am now left with a load of filthy clothes (ref: yesterday's digging antics) that smell very strongly of washing powder sitting in the bath.

It can't even be blamed on the quite nice young spark who stripped all the cables and sockets from the laundry and fally down section of kitchen as the electrickery was still working in the bits he had left behind.

* Once the bramble thicket had been subdued Cappy & Barry started to take down the slates on the kitchen roof. Cappy got stung by a wasp and came into see if I had any bug spray as he was going to aerosol them into submission.

I went out and had a look when suddenly Cappy lifted another slate; quietly and nicely I asked him to step away from the scaffolding and walk back toward the house because OH! MY! GOD! there were a bazillion of the flying stinging buggers.

The exterminator man is coming tomorrow morning. Pr. C-W & destructoBoy are beside themselves bc his room has a ringside seat of all the action and are already planning which drinks and snacks to have ready.

* As the roof had to be left Cappy started 'boxing in' the electrics. Barry was there to offer moral support and to pass up the odd bit of wood. Following on from this was a discussion about which way the drains go and how many there might be given that this house is sited in an old industrial are of my Hilltop Town. This was a bad idea. A very bad idea. There is a blocked drain somewhere. Oh such a bad bad idea.

**Sigh** We shall see what they come up with tomorrow.

D minus 1

Tomorrow morning at 8am the men turn up.

They are coming to tear this down and dig this up.


Over the next 12 weeks that falling down wood panel fence will be magically transformed into the back wall of my new kitchen. From the red brick wall to the edge of what is currently a window frame will be the laundry and the loo. And looking down the drive will be a mahoosive floor to ceiling window.

We have spent the last few weeks hacking back trees, shrubs and brambles from the fenceline so the nice diggerman can come and turn that grassed area into a hole big enough to take footings for my long-awaited kitchen.

We have found new homes for the o/s table and chairs - on top of a dugover flower bed and the slide/climbing frame/tent combo - now at my painting teacher's house for her grandaughter.

We have been back and forth to the 'tip' (really a mahoosive recycling centre with enormous bins) a million times with bags and boxes and plastic tubs filled with garden and general detritus.

We have shifted furniture that has not been moved since that back part of the kitchen was built in 1237 AD. I do not wish to even think about the state of the walls behind said furniture.

And once all the jobs are done and your parents release you from slave labour there is really no other thing for it but to start an archaelogical dig.
Given that the builder men will be tearing the whole lot up with diggers it seemed a reasonable enough plan. Even cooler is when you actually find a clay pipe!

CK and destructoBoy researched and dated it to the 1850s. One boy headed off to bed tonight very excited.

In the last week I have ...

... discussed with the vet the fatal chocolate toxicity level in small black dogs. Again.

... watched 'Bridesmaids' and enjoyed it. Loved that the women in it looked like real women. Also loved 'Sookie' in such a different role.

... finished a lace scarf. Yay me!

... packed my daughter up and drove her to Scout Camp.

... counting down the days until she comes home.

... escalated a complaint with my electricity supplier bc they employ idiots and will not listen to what is being said in a conversation. All I wanted to do was pay them.

... buggered up Pr.CW passport application and now can't send it off until Monday.

... watched destructoBoy for signs of concussion or subdural haematoma (are they the same thing?) after being woken at 0230 by screams of pain after child headbutted his bed while asleep.

... received doctor's assurances that there is neither concussion nor obvious damage to orbital area. What he didn't say out loud was that perhaps child should sleep wearing a bike helmet from now on but I could tell he was thinking it.

... have played indoor football with destructoBoy. Take one small inflatable ball, one child determined to do all required jumping for said ball and same bossy child setting the rules so that I may only hit the ball while lying on pillows and duvet on the floor (obviously it was tricksy but I am prepared to make such sacrifices)/

... begun knitting Bella's Mittens.

... been reading Eragon bc I promised my daughter I would try again. Not unputtabledownable but quite a good read.

... been missing Princess C-W.

... been to see 'Mr Popper's Penguins' with three 9 yos and a 3 yo. Enjoyed by all, even me and I find Jim Carrey annoying.

... arranged to meet good friends over the next week, starting with a Moog Family dogger walk on Thursday.

... made plans for dinner and movie night out with CK and the smalls when we are all back under the same roof.

Did I mention I have been missing my girl like crazy?

Well, we saved £24 ... sort of...

We went to Bath on Friday. In passing we looked at the Habitat closing down forever sale. Few items were left, even fewer we actually wanted however there were boxes of white crockery. 12 pieces for £12. Two sets of that would do quite nicely in my shiny new kitchen. One to use and one for spares. £24 for two table services, seemed reasonable.

We walked around the store some more, toyed with the idea of buying the 'three drawer hutch' taht was missing the top section or the bookcase with only a few scratches. By this time reality had intruded. Not only would we have to lug said boxes of crockery up and down the streets of Bath but there would soon be nowhere to store extraneous items in my house. We are just three weeks away from breaking ground. So we left the shiny white plates and bowls on the shelf.

Saturday we mooched up and down the High Street up here on The Hill. Our fancy schmancy bead shop is consolidating and ours is the shop to close. We went in so Princess C-W could choose some beads. We walked out with this.

A four foot square, gold mirror that must be the bastard lovechild of a Dr. Suess book and the Roccoco movement.

I love it!