It’s definitely a good news month. We’re jabbed up, bathrooms & cloakroom complete, hall stairs and landing nearly there, the last room is underway, the garden really starts to come alive and we had the first taste of freedom. Woo Hoo! 

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Got to get you into my arm……

OK we hear you say, enough of the terrible song puns, but we’re afraid its nonsense like this that has kept us going, so that means brace your self for more! My vaccination? WHO said that? tee hee. Neil kicked the month off, as he is in his own words, an old fart. He got the call from our community hospital and had his armful of finest Oxford with no side effects at all. Two weeks later and Cheryl was jabbed, again at our wonderful local centre and again with no side effects.  We do know some people that have felt really grotty for a couple of days so we count ourselves very lucky.  Hopefully, we’ll finish the process in time to go on our planned narrow boat trip in June.

Mirror in the bathroom

We finally managed to get the bathroom finished (well, apart from the blind). Matt the plumb came back to refit the sink, and to final fix the new sink & toilet in the cloakroom. Dave the spark returned to install the lights over the sinks and to help Neil fit the beautiful old mirrors that we found stored in the loft.

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We also got creative with the window treatment for the hallway. We never draw the curtains here, and the window is an awkward size which doesn’t fit with standard curtain lengths. A bit of internet inspiration and we made our own window scarf using three voile panels. We can’t get the carpet down until we finish the last bit of decorating which should be complete in April. Then we can get started on putting up the pictures on those bare walls.

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We’ve also been on the lookout for some interesting bits of furniture and decorative touches and came up trumps with this little beauty. We just need to find an old fashioned jug & bowl to finish it off.

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Regular readers may recall that as former cheapskates, having to invest what seemed like an eye watering sum on some large sofas last Autumn was a big step for us to take and we spent months dithering over the various options. We were concerned that if we got it wrong, it would be a really expensive mistake to make. We opted for a bold colour choice and placed the order last August and waited as the sofas arrived in stages from December through to February.

Well, it didn’t go smoothly. The corner sofa arrived and it had a couple of issues which couldn’t be fixed by the supplier, so we negotiated a refund of 40%, not bad.  Within a couple of hours Neil had fixed the problem.  Then the large sofa arrived weeks later but this also had a problem, the seat foam was of a different texture making the sofa extremely firm and nothing like the corner sofa.  The supplier sent their technician to inspect, and he agreed they were different. We waited another 4 weeks to get replacement cushions – but these were exactly the same. After many phone calls and emails we seemed to reach an impasse and the discovery that the factory had changed foam supplier between making our sofas.  We really wanted comfy sofas and this new stuff was like sitting on a brick.

We were given options by the supplier, who was very sympathetic and desperately wanted to make us happy. We could have a full refund – but that would mean starting the whole process of finding new sofas all over again. At this stage we were in full lockdown without even a date for reopening of non essential shops so that wasn’t going to happen. It was time to get creative and see if we could resolve the problem ourselves. Neil went to see a local upholsterer and she confirmed that she could get some different foam but suggested we try taking out one of the thin layers of foam to see if it improved.  It did and so we hassled with Next and got another settlement of 40% off that sofa too.  Result! Great looking sofas which are comfy and a refund which would top up the renovation funds.

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Paint it green

With spring in the air we took time off decorating inside and gave the garden some attention. Neil replaced the trellis at the front which was in a poor state of repair utilising a mix of the original support posts and some new ones  Whilst it was good to re use what we could, the end result was not overly pretty despite the brand new trellis panels. Cheryl took on the task of staining the whole lot, a tricky and time consuming task as anyone who has ever painted trellis will understand, and definitely not something that Neil has the patience for. Part way through, despite the stain being sage green, the air was blue as Cheryl initially regretted what she had taken on, but she was committed and saw it through.

In the end it was all worth it and it looked superb. We just hope the jasmine which had to be unpeeled from the old trellis will recover from its shock and grow back. Then she was on a mission and turned her attention to the tired looking Veg Trug – a giant raised planter which was left behind by the previous owners and was looking very sad. Neil emptied it out, put in a new plastic liner to protect the wood sides from more decay, and Cheryl set to with the stain. Another result it now looks smart and has a lot more years of use to come. Finally, the covered bench seat under the Cedar tree got a much needed makeover. What looked like a gloomy & grubby bench now really stands out as a welcoming spot to sit and enjoy the garden.

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Neil meanwhile gave the grass a good trim ready for feeding.  He also cleared the pond of zillions of dead leaves and weed that had collected.  We didn’t touch it last year and as we didn’t see any life in it assumed that all we had was plants.  How wrong we were.  As the heaps of pond debris were stacked at the edges of the pond, we watched as various critters emerged and made their way back into the water. We discovered that we have lots of newts and dragon fly larvae.  Last year we had lots of very large dragonfly in the garden, and in the house, so we were hoping they came from the pond.  Apparently these little blighters have huge appetites and this would explain why we don’t have any frogs or toads.

Please release us, let us go……

The best news this month was the roadmap to freedom. This lockdown has been the hardest to endure for many, but we at last could see the light at the end of the tunnel. We waited patiently for the official Covid numbers each day, and started to get excited as the graphs began to show that downward curve at last. Dealing with a pandemic has not been easy and with the benefit of hindsight we could have done things differently. That said, our vaccination programme has been truly outstanding, and we are beginning to reap the rewards.

Writing this blog it seems incredulous that an entire year has passed since we wrote the entry describing how we went into the first lockdown on March 23rd 2020. We’ve been thinking about the events back then and how they completely changed our lives. For us, the immediate impact was a halt to our renovations leaving us with gaping holes where walls had been taken down and not having a kitchen for 3 months. We have been extremely lucky that all we suffered was really inconvenience and delay. Others have had to cope with losing loved ones, illness and losing their livelihoods. We have certainly realised that being with people we love is the most important thing in our lives, and will never take the simple pleasures of life for granted again.

Reasons To Be Cheerful

1 – Freedom is coming, we can meet in groups of six out doors and the social calendar is already filling up with invites from the neighbours.

2 – We’ve started work on the final room of the house – yay!

3 – We still have one pheasant in the garden – sadly, we haven’t seen our favourite Piotr Pheasant for several weeks now.  It looks like he’s moved on to avoid Rufus who occasionally shows his face.  He’s incredibly touchy so not sure we’ll ever get him tame enough to feed. We are content just to watch him strut around the garden looking beautiful.

Stay safe

Cheryl & Neil