We both felt a little underwhelmed this week, in terms of how much we got done. I think this is in part because we got through so much in our time off that a weekend’s work seems poor by comparison, in part because we’re still pretty tired out, and finally because we didn’t really get to tick anything off our to do list. Half-completed jobs are your typical half-glass empty/full situation. On a good day we’re pleased to have gotten half the work done, on a bad day we’re irate that we didn’t finish it.

One good thing this week was that Chris managed to get a bed and bedside tables at an auction got £100. It needs a little attention, but as it’s a good quality solid oak bed it’s definitely worth the time. Unfortunately there’s currently no where to put it but the lounge, so we’ll be tripping over it till the spare room is ready.

The plaster in the study now dry we sanded it down and put on the first watery coat of paint. Chris then did a great job getting all the skirting and architrave onto the wobbly walls. He’d seen a new technique where you cut little slits out of the back of the skirting so it can be bent around corners, and this seems to have worked well.

As I didn’t want to get in Chris’s way in the study I decided to finish off the cupboard in the bedroom, something that took a frustrating amount of time. I added the architrave, painted the frame and the doors, caulked the edges, fill the wall inside the cupboard and painted that. So much work for a tiny cupboard.

Now we need to get some boards to build the shelves inside. Although it feels a little pointless when there are so many big jobs to do, the extra storage will help empty out a few more packing boxes, freeing up space in the spare room.

As the next job we’d been hoping to get the study ceiling done, however we realised we didn’t have the right wood to cover the gaps in the wood, or enough coving. Once those things are in place the room will just need painting. Some paint samples arrived, with some options for the study, kitchen and spare room. Painting colour on the walls is always a joyful moment.

Finally moving on from the cupboard, I started putting the final layer of lime plaster on the edges of the kitchen wall. A slow processes I was still fairly convinced I might get it done in one sitting… when I ran out of lime. Another half done job.

One job that was particularly exciting to get done was the installation of the dishwasher, which Chris got on with after the skirting. There’s nothing more magically than stacking all your dirty cutlery in a box and having it reappear clean. As someone who has been hand washing since July I’m looking forward to the test run.

Finally, I fetched the various pots and saucers we had outside. A few had succumbed to the ice but most are still fine. They need a good scrub before matching them up with our various houseplants.

Outside spring is giving a glimmer of hope that the winter will come to an end, though in reality we’ve got months to go. The banks are already lined with snowdrops, and patches of daffodil leaves have popped up here or there. It’s a good reminder that perhaps we shouldn’t be too gloomy when progress isn’t what we expect. We will get there afterall… eventually.