Coming up for air

Hi again. I’ve had a few days off blogging because I’ve had limited office access, and have been prioritising paid work during that time. Sorry, but that’s freelance life for you.

We are still having building work done, but I think I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Not that we’re having a tunnel built, that would be crazy. Anyway, it’s dragging on a bit and I’m getting antsy for the final bit where you do the last bits of decorating, finish the DIY, and hang up your curtains and artwork once more.

The place is taking shape though, and is starting to look like something approaching a dwelling place, which isn’t bad for a little fixer-upper. We’ve been keeping our costs down in the meantime by:

· Staying home a lot in the evenings
· Basing food around the garden and the store cupboard
· Using supermarket vouchers
· Using Nectar points to buy household stuff from Argos (our new doorbell was completely free, and it has an extra gizmo that you can take out into the garden with you so you don’t miss the postie)
· Buying the own-brand paint from Homebase, very designer-a-like, with some nice new shades just launched

I’d also like to point out that I have managed to completely avoid buying any gin or takeaway food, or chocolate, which is quite an achievement. Might celebrate with one or all of the above after we’ve finally shut the (fully replaced) door on the builders. However good they are, there inevitably comes a point where you want them to finish up and sod right off. In all honesty, that point was reached a week ago – they work Saturdays, the diligent bastards.

While chaos has reigned in the house, I’ve been outside fixing up the garden in the sunshine. That includes painting the outdoor table and chairs, sealing the deck, and tending to the fruit and veggies. This has paid dividends, with a good yield of tasty foodstuffs, and a green haven away from the worst of the building noise and dust. Keeping busy really helps, but it means more time away from the keyboard.

This time around we’ve had the whole front of the house refurbished, as well as the living area, hall and landing. Turns out that the front of the house had been painted with indoor emulsion paint by the dodgy previous owner, which was why partly why damp got into the brickwork so badly… So, er, money saving tip of the week is don’t paint your external walls with magnolia emulsion, or you’ll end up paying a packet fixing the fallout. Yup.

Stay tuned for more updates from the pint-sized money pit. It’ll be lovely when it’s finished, promise.