Brief update on this weekend
We,
moved a loada stuff on to Real, completed pipe boxing on one side, fitted another socket for the cooker, painted toilet door, fitted edging strip on kitchen worktop (twice), plumbed in kitchen sink, hung pictures on the wall, had a fight with the kitchen sink waste that insisted on leaking, booked dry dock for next week to have underside cleaned, welded and painted and to have sides painted ....
Breathe...
.. packed up more boxes and crates in the house, dismantled cabinet ready to move, looked at bank account with dismay, had a cuppa, bought some tools, found an oil drum caught behind the rudder, oil drum behind rudder disappeared, fed the ducks, watched the tide...
Tuesday 26 August 2008
Thursday 21 August 2008
Painting, Kitchening and OSCCD
This is my first posting on this Blog, Laurie’s got writers block or something.
So here goes…
It’s a really exciting time for us and Real. We are moving just that little bit closer to moving on board and calling her home.
We have had loads of ups and definitely some downs and I am still like a cat on a hot tin roof every time I hear Laurie shout “Help!” as visions of him falling overboard still haunt me. I have, in the last few months, contracted OSCCD (Obsessive Shackle Checking Compulsive Disorder) and each time I hear it creak we rush out with tools in hand just to make sure that the gang plank isn’t ready to toss us into the very murky depths of the Medway. My trust is improving and my confidence increasing following a visit from my Mum for the first time last month, she’s 82 and doesn’t particularly like being around water, so if she can feel brave then so can I!
I have painted, not once, but 7 times, one half of the interior hold. 7 bloody times! I now have shares in Dulux who presented me recently with the honorary Old English Sheepdog in recognition of my services to their company. As we have 2 cats I thought it best just to use him as a paint roller before returning him to them for safekeeping. 7 coats of paint – 5 white, 2 grey I ask you – are these the actions of a sane person!? I honestly went snow blind at one time. I now have an extremely good roller arm and would offer my services out if it weren’t for the fact that I now hate painting. And now when so called friends joke around with the comment “you missed a bit” I have a very good use for the fluffiest of paint rollers that would baffle even the most competent medical practitioner!
We now have an almost fully functioning kitchen, YAY! Its installation being very interesting – after all how do you level up anything that floats? We should find out how level it all is when we have moved on and can judge it based on which direction the peas roll on the worktop. Fitting the kitchen we developed a technique called “How much on the wonk”. No it’s not a new name for a game show (although that’s a thought). We started with a corner unit and measured the distance from the floor, making it even. Then we fitted all the other units to this measurement. To get the tops all level we then got out the spirit level and checked how much they were all “on the wonk” and made them all the same.
After building the kitchen we now have a big box of spare parts – screws, nails and other thing-ummies. Out of interest I looked on the suppliers website and found a piece that went something like this: “We only sell to the trade so you get a professional finish with no funny bits left over!” HA! Of course you don’t – the carpenters got a big box in his van full of screws, nails and thing-ummies he’s collected from every job! And another thing - why don’t kitchen manufacturers design kitchens that use one size screw for everything? I am sure that they’d save a fortune.
We also have a working loo – something I thought we’d never in a million years get excited about. Sitting on a proper seat rather than posed over a bucket is something I can honestly say is the best thing ever – more so than a new pair of shoes (which only a woman can understand!). And don’t even get me started on running water – hot and cold! Oh what joy!
It’s a really exciting time for us and Real. We are moving just that little bit closer to moving on board and calling her home.
We have had loads of ups and definitely some downs and I am still like a cat on a hot tin roof every time I hear Laurie shout “Help!” as visions of him falling overboard still haunt me. I have, in the last few months, contracted OSCCD (Obsessive Shackle Checking Compulsive Disorder) and each time I hear it creak we rush out with tools in hand just to make sure that the gang plank isn’t ready to toss us into the very murky depths of the Medway. My trust is improving and my confidence increasing following a visit from my Mum for the first time last month, she’s 82 and doesn’t particularly like being around water, so if she can feel brave then so can I!
I have painted, not once, but 7 times, one half of the interior hold. 7 bloody times! I now have shares in Dulux who presented me recently with the honorary Old English Sheepdog in recognition of my services to their company. As we have 2 cats I thought it best just to use him as a paint roller before returning him to them for safekeeping. 7 coats of paint – 5 white, 2 grey I ask you – are these the actions of a sane person!? I honestly went snow blind at one time. I now have an extremely good roller arm and would offer my services out if it weren’t for the fact that I now hate painting. And now when so called friends joke around with the comment “you missed a bit” I have a very good use for the fluffiest of paint rollers that would baffle even the most competent medical practitioner!
We now have an almost fully functioning kitchen, YAY! Its installation being very interesting – after all how do you level up anything that floats? We should find out how level it all is when we have moved on and can judge it based on which direction the peas roll on the worktop. Fitting the kitchen we developed a technique called “How much on the wonk”. No it’s not a new name for a game show (although that’s a thought). We started with a corner unit and measured the distance from the floor, making it even. Then we fitted all the other units to this measurement. To get the tops all level we then got out the spirit level and checked how much they were all “on the wonk” and made them all the same.
After building the kitchen we now have a big box of spare parts – screws, nails and other thing-ummies. Out of interest I looked on the suppliers website and found a piece that went something like this: “We only sell to the trade so you get a professional finish with no funny bits left over!” HA! Of course you don’t – the carpenters got a big box in his van full of screws, nails and thing-ummies he’s collected from every job! And another thing - why don’t kitchen manufacturers design kitchens that use one size screw for everything? I am sure that they’d save a fortune.
We also have a working loo – something I thought we’d never in a million years get excited about. Sitting on a proper seat rather than posed over a bucket is something I can honestly say is the best thing ever – more so than a new pair of shoes (which only a woman can understand!). And don’t even get me started on running water – hot and cold! Oh what joy!
Well, that’s all for now.
Late breaking news… we’re going back to dry-dock to have the underside and side cleaned up and painted (along with a small amount of welding),and then… we’re going to move in!!! More on all of this next time.
Late breaking news… we’re going back to dry-dock to have the underside and side cleaned up and painted (along with a small amount of welding),and then… we’re going to move in!!! More on all of this next time.
To be continued…
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