The Reveal . . .

 Confident that my children rarely look at my blog, and T is with her boyfriend until Storm Barra lets up and she can return through the mountain pass tomorrow, so even less likely to look at my blog, I shall share my hard work with you, and blimey it truly HAS been hard work.  My lower back and hips are very sore and I had to take painkillers in the night as the pain was stopping me sleeping.  The joys of getting old - and not wanting to pay someone to do the job you can do, albeit slowly. So here we are, the papering around the sink area has been finished . . .  I absolutely LOVE it. Glad I went with my gut feeling on that (children's) wallpaper.

The mirror we planned to relocate there (a lovely Art Deco family piece) may well be too heavy to put on the plasterboard wall.  We may be able to suspend it from the picture rail but it would mean a very long chain (:  So, we may need a Plan B.

Here on the opposite wall is the calm-it-down paper, a textured one with champagne colours and the texture on it makes it almost look like a misty scene. It reminds me of the winter sun on the bleached moor grass on the hills around here.  There are some more golden streaks (which you notice when in the bath) and the tiny bits of glitter twinkle like particles of frost.  If only I knew how to fit lino, I could finish the room myself!

I am now resting, and the steak and kidney casserole I put in the slow cooker at lunchtime smells divine!

I hope that no-one suffered from Storm Barra, although Tam is at Aberystwyth and sent me some photos of the Prom being half-destroyed overnight.

I shall be told off for this . . .

 The wallpaper I bought arrived today.  I had promised it was going to go into the little ante-room between the bathroom and top hall.  Then I held it up against the tiles and it was PERFECT.  So . . .

I shall do the full reveal tomorrow, and offer up my confession . . .

A small "ta-da" moment

 The new header shows the very bottom flanks of Carneddau, which we can see from here.

I decided to crack on with our bedroom again yesterday, and so cleared out one corner, painted the dado rail and the skirting board, and then set to with the beautiful wallpaper I bought back in late spring (Dunelm).  I wanted something which was a dichotomy to the sky blue above.

The paint above was patchy in places so I gave it another coat (up as far as the painting) and the right hand corner totally.  I need to go along with a very small brush to make it even along the rail. (I'm a perfectionist).  The bit (below) where there was a shaving light needs another coat too.

Doesn't it look tidy?  This was before my bits and bobs went back on the chest of drawers and Keith's everyday clothes on his old Windsor chair.

Back home, late afternoon, after going to Brecon Militaria Fair and absolutely FREEZING as there was no heating in the stone walled market building.  It was lovely to see old friends though and it cheered Keith up no end.  

A close-up of the hillside in the photo above.  It's to the left of the Quarry at Llanelwedd.

On the way back from Brecon, I pulled into the layby to finally get some photos of Aberedw rocks, where Tam and I intended to explore this summer.  Then she met J and has been away every weekend, so we've not had much chance.  Perhaps in the spring we can get up there.

My head was full of beautiful descriptions of the scenery as we drove home, but those have fled and I'm too tired to try and recall them.  I intended to concentrate more on writing once we had moved, but life has gotten in the way.

A new book started today, a re-reading of Phil Rickman's "The Heresy of Dr Dee", which I can heartily recommend.  I hope his new book is out soon - after his stroke we fans have had a long wait but it's at the publishers now.  Any other fans out there (I think you are RR?)

Caught out!

 

Our plumber said he would come back today and finish off two little jobs.  I set the alarm and got up early this morning - when really I just wanted to sleep on as I had been up for an hour and a half in the night - as I wasn't sure which part of the day he would be coming.  Once it got dark, I gave up on seeing him and - you ladies will understand this - took my bra off.  Oh, bliss!  (Sorry any male readers, you have to be female to understand why this is such a relief!)  Ten minutes later there was a knock on the door . . . of course.  I opened the door and said come in, and then fled upstairs to make myself decent again :)  Anyway, I can now report that we now have a working sink in the guest bedroom and a new set of taps in the Utility (they work too!)  What a relief.  However, we still have a pile of ex-bathroom in the yard, and it will be next week before he can get back to take that to the Tip.

The GSW has now discovered he can use the seed feeder, but he's not been brave enough to try the big nut feeder yet (though I think he could fit his head through OK).  We have dozens of Blue and Great Tits at the feeders each day, and Nuthatches and a thieving Jay who pecks seven bells out of the fat balls!  They give me such pleasure.

Meanwhile, I have just dashed into Keith, as I heard him what I thought was coughing and coughing, but no, he was laughing fit to bust about a certain news item involving WWII anti-tank shell which a man had "fallen onto" in his garage . . . as you do! - and had to go to A&E to have it, ahem, removed from his anatomy.  The Bomb Squad were also called!! One of the presenters was laughing till he cried and Keith wasn't far behind!

We will have a quiet weekend as T and her boyfriend are in a gorgeous AirBnB cottage in Pembs.  Envy ...  Keith and I are planning a holiday ourselves, perhaps a couple of days on Anglesey (I've only travelled across it on a Field Trip to Ireland) and a couple of days around Portmeirion. It wouldn't be until the spring, but would give us something to look forward to.

Before and after-ish

I'm not sure if the money spent at the Chiropractor recently was wasted as at the Tip yesterday I had to carry water-sodden bits of ancient kitchen cupboard (removed to facilitate the fitting of the new cooker) up steps to put in the container marked wood.  Heaving two pieces up to chuck in the bin upset my back somewhat! A young man that worked there watched me, then offered to help a (younger) woman with two - light - bits of electrical has-beens.  Hmmm. Anyway, there's a bit more room in the stables now, so that's something.

Two "before" photos of the bathroom.  The little mirror will go off to the Charity shop this week (it was £3 at a car boot sale, and we've had good use of it.  As you can see the original tiles were a bit . . underwhelming :)  And that BATH.  I scrubbed it and scrubbed it, but to no avail.  I got a little bit off one end, but it was so pitted that the staining was beyond help.

There were two hefty planks of wood set into the (cracked) plaster behind the toilet - these being to support the weight of the heavy (but still good)  ceramic cistern.  Now that area  has been properly plastered over and I painted it at the weekend.

Below: this is more like the colours of the tiles, but they still look deeper when not behind the camera.

New wallpaper  There I was, calmly ordering two bog-standard toilet roll holders this morning from Dunelm, when I thought I would check out wallpaper.  I wanted some yellowish print for the Hot Pink Bedroom.  Then I saw this and LOVE it.  I had a rush of blood to the head and ordered a roll to put in the little entrance bit to the bathroom.  Imagine the end of a corridor (basically what size the bathroom is!) with a dividing wall and doorway into the main bathroom. It will go there, so not in the main bathroom or close to the tiles - would be a bit busy I think. I think I'm allowed a bit of fun in my old age. :)

One of the bird-feeder thieves, this time up a tree across our track.  Of course, as always, power cables in the way of a clear picture! I've just realised though, he looks just like a musical note!

Another soft-focus picture of the little bit of snow Arwen left in its wake.

Today I intend to paint and paper.  Watch this space.

At least we have a fitted bathroom . . .

The plumber and his apprentice were here for over 12 hours yesterday and didn't finish until 9 p.m.  There are still a couple of little bits to do, but we have a working bathroom again.  The tiles (under the uber bright light) look much paler than they actually are.  I should have taken a photo in daylight. At least we can have a bath tonight - I am SO looking forward to that and I think my sore hips will appreciate a hot soak too.

 

The new sink and vanity cupboard beneath. This is more like the colour of the tiles.  Now I have to finish stripping bits of wallpaper over and get the new off-white wallpaper up.

Now, drawing back a bit.  Here is the Real Deal - no lino (it has been bought) but now I am trying to find a local handyman to come and fit it.  If we can't, Tam and I will have to somehow make a template and do it ourselves.  I need to go and paint the skirting boards first though, and paper the bottom half of the walls round the room.

In the guest bedroom we have our new smaller sink.  We will have to get Paul the carpenter to come and box the pipes in.  On Friday the Plumber's coming with a different waste pipe so the sink can be used.  Meanwhile I will have to take the ancient painted-over wallpaper off and am currently looking at some replacement wallpaper.  Hah - and I thought this was the one room I could just leave "as was"!

Yesterday, as you can imagine, was a bit hectic with the plumbers here so late, cats hiding (Alfie was the worst) and another trip to the Chiro in Carmarthen.  I was hoping for a magic trick and Keith's balance problems cured.  Sadly, that was not the case and although now we know what isn't causing his balance problems, the most likely diagnosis (after talking with P) is not a good one.  Back to the GP, since she clearly thinks Keith is "just old" whereas friends keep asking what is wrong with him.  We need to see a Neurologist.

Here's an out of focus photo from a walk up the hill the other day. Somehow I set the Scenery setting on portrait.

Becoming distracted

 

The above photo was not meant to be blurred in the distance.  Sigh!  You get the idea anyway.

I hope you all survived Storm Arwen with no great damage.  We are surrounded by trees here, up on our hill, and so have a good shelter-belt.  There was an eyebrow of light snow on the highest distant hills yesterday and a definite heavier fall on hills beyond Hundred House.  The Hay-on-Wye road was closed to traffic so I imagine there must have been trees down there, but when we drove to Brita's little Antiques Fair in Llandeilo, all appeared well.  Very chilly though - that Northerly wind just blew straight through you.  

This morning I came down intending to get on with chores and not be distracted by the computer.  Well, that didn't work out!  Not only have I come on the computer, but I checked out a post on The Smell of Water (sidebar) and have gone off on a wonderfully convoluted journey with everything from Odin and Huggin and Munnin on his shoulders, to drilled holes for  eyes in Anglo-Saxon sculptures and did they originally have glass in, to Pictish beast-headed men and the Iconography of the Papil Stone on Orkney and the Glenmorangie Research Project.  Well, that's got my brain working again.  I just LOVE research.  Oh, if only we could drive up to Teeside and back in a day and visit St Martin's Church, Kirklevington.  Ah well.  Perhaps we can get away for a few days next summer and head off that way.

I hope this link to Scotland's Early Silver will work: 

Oooh, never tried adding a video link before.  Success!

We still don't have a working main bathroom.  It's plastered, tiled, the bath and sink set in place, and that's it.  I cannot get through to the plumber - his phone goes straight to voice-mail - and I am leaving increasingly irritated messages for him to get in touch and let me know what is happening.  We are now going into the third week without a bathroom - ironic that we turned the 4 hour quote-from-hell plumber down not just on price, but the fact that the work would take "at least 3 weeks".  (Quite apart from the fact that he expected us (combined age 150 years) to take our own ex-bathroom to the Tip, including the old cast iron bath.  Sure, we could chuck that in the back of the car no trouble!)

Right, this won't do.  Must mop the kitchen floor (that was to be my first job, so it was dry before Keith came down!) and get the ironing done.