It’s been a windy week here in the hills, with 50 mph gusts howling round the house. Having installed the roof ourselves we’re always a little nervous when it gets windy, but for the last few days we’ve been hearing a knocking noise whenever the wind blows. Other than being very annoying we were worried it meant something had come loose. However, having checked everything obvious on our side we actually think it’s something to do with our neighbour’s new solar panels. Though it’s a relief it’s nothing we’ve done, we may have to get on the roof to deal with the knocking before it drives us mad.

This week’s work for me has been fairly repetitive, as I went round and round the kitchen in circles. First I filled various holes, then sanded any uneven areas. Next the ceiling and walls got their first watery coat of paint. Having given all the beams one coat of stain I then gave the new beams a second coat, so their colour better matched the older and darker beams. Finally, I got on to a first full coat of paint to the ceiling.

Chris spent his Saturday in the Christmas pass time of plucking turkeys, but he was back to DIY on the Sunday scrubbing the wall he previously grouted. He spent the rest of the day lugging around boxes trying to make space in our other rooms so we can empty out the kitchen ready to grind the floor in a few days.

Idris isn’t very good at painting but he enjoys a good dust sheet.

Things will soon become pretty cramped as we empty out the kitchen into our lounge, so Chris was keen we get our Christmas tree up now, so it can stake its claim to the floor space. It’s certainly going to be a dusty, messy Christmas, but at least we’ve got a little bit of Christmas sparkle in place.