I am almost too tired to write this blog and I just want to switch off and watch the telly for once. I start the blog as soon as I wake up while I have my breakfast, then finish it after dinner in the evening (usually after 9pm nowadays) just before I go to bed. The time in between that is exhausting, usually involving hoovering up dust and rubble somewhere, scraping paint/filler/putty off something, keeping up with the builders, phone calls, emails, online research, online ordering, driving around collecting orders, accounts and finances, food shopping, cooking, cleaning, washing, walking the dog (and myself) and the occasional bit of paid work… I have been doing this 7 days a week since the start of June, all while recovering from cancer treatment that finished less than 12 months ago and trying not to overdo things that trigger my chronic back pain. I may need a holiday.
Cat’s new kneepads are now a permanent fixture.
Early morning tea break. Cat’s arm is already very sore and Jasper is trying to help.
Cat is f***ing exhausted and in a lot of pain too, yet she keeps on pushing herself. She wants to get the rest of the floorboards oiled this weekend. To do this first we need to clean the attic space as all the sawdust is blowing down onto these floors.
I start by sweeping up the worst of the sawdust and tidying up, then Henry the hoover proves why he is still the best site worker.
This nearly killed me. I’ve been struggling for a few weeks with pain in my hands, neck, shoulders and back (from too much bloody hoovering) but this had to be done. It was either this or crawl around on my hands and knees oiling the floors and my body definitely won’t allow me to do that!
Hoovering while bent double trying not to smack your head on the beams and being careful not to step backwards into the gaping hole in the middle of the floor is not fun and I wouldn’t recommend it. I couldn’t finish it and had to lie down early afternoon and promptly fell asleep. Cat was lying down on the sofa again as she was struggling too. Like a couple of old ladies.
Colin arrived late afternoon to help out with the sanding only to find the house deserted. We were both asleep next door. Colin has offered to clean up and sand the joists in the study and the sitting room, not an easy task as there are around 30 of them and some have black watermarks from the storm in August…
Cat was awake and back on it and finished hoovering the attic. She then finished sanding the rest of Zanna’s bedroom floor!
A very testing day that we ended with fish and chips, beer and a film. A much needed break from the house (and the blog).