The painting has begun!

Mum and Dad extended their stay by a few days so they can attend a family funeral (which was expected) on the way back home to Scotland. They will also be running away with my quinces that they've already bagged.

They've worked for them though and even today Mum was digging in the garden.
I should point out that I don't get the camera out in front of Dad as I get told to put it away and get on with the important work.

Yet another fluffy neighbour came to say hello.

Alan & I spent the last week trying as hard as possible to get trades people round to give us quotes. I knew it would be tough but I had not idea that it was going to be like this. Wednesday ended up being laughable as two people called up to postpone due the England match that started at 6pm. At least they were honest.

This week we've seen a wooden floor restorer who quoted to restore this and the main bedroom,

...a plumber and another kitchen company. We've also ordered the bath (like this), which I'm especially excited about. We must order the other bits tomorrow and next week I've got loads of people booked in but have no idea who is going to turn up.

The only job that we manged to get booked in to take place this week was the chimney being swept in the living room.
So we thought we were in a position to order the fireplace and fitting today. After a last minute change of style, we ended up just walking away with two quotes. Do we go for an arch style fireplace like this or a style like (you're going to have to use some imagination here as this has lots of options with tiles and finishes) this, which I think is more traditional? Must decide this week so we can get it all sorted.

Mum and Dad did another important job for us and removed a lot of the remaining carpets. This really helped in getting rid of a little bit more of that dog smell that won't seem to shift.

We almost got back to normality today and spent a few hours in town shopping and I didn't try on one item of clothing or any shoes (but did find time for a coffee). We visited two kitchen shops/departments and realised that the kitchen we are thinking about is the best quality and possibly priced well but still very much outside of our budget.

Without a doubt the most satisfying thing to happen so far is this (before and after),
It is almost finished, just needs a polish tomorrow and a little touch up. Doesn't it look great?