My Facebook photos came up with a memory this week, of me fixing the stainglass lampshade I brought off ebay, two years ago. Since then it’s sat in a box, getting slowly dustier and dustier. However, having ummed and ahhed for years on how to safely hang it up, this week finally saw it hung in pride of place.

One of the issues had been that it had been designed for a lamp, but someone cut off the metal attachment allowing it to be used with a lampstand. So Chris instead drilled out a section from the metal middle, threading through the light bulb and wire, and then hooked three chains through the metalwork to attach to the beam. I had my doubts that the finished look would work but now it’s up it looks great.

Because it was designed to be a lampshade we were also concerned you wouldn’t get enough of the pattern using it as a ceiling lightshade, despite it hanging up high you still get to enjoy the daffodils. Certainly worth the £20 and the bit of effort repairing and adjusting it.

A smaller job, but still needed, I managed to get the nursery door painted and Chris attached it into place.

Another addition to the nursery was an old chest of drawers. We picked it up when we bought the house, and always knew it needed work. The drawers pushed too far in and were stiff, and it needed sanding down. However, it did the job and so we never got round to it. Now, we needed storage for the nursery, but the space was very narrow. Chris therefore cut off the back and reduced the width. The drawers now hit the back, stopping them from pushing too far in, and it fit the space. He then sanded down the body, though the drawers still need doing. Once fully sanded and treated it will look great – another job that only took 3 years to get to.

In the lounge I added a coat of plaster to the fireplace. It’ll need a final coat of lime plaster and then we can paint.

Before a final coat of paint to the lounge, Chris decided to try and hunt down the electrical fault that meant our outside light hadn’t been working for several years. He’d put it off as it meant breaking into the plasterboard and making a mess, but when it came to it he found the wiring issue after one little hole, and we finally have a front door light again.

Although we couldn’t paint the fireplace, or the newly filled patch above the door, I got to work painting the rest of the lounge. Although the red had coated really well, we’d done lots of repairs and patching over the years, so a second coat just tidied the room up. Once the fireplace is done, the final patch can have a quick coat and the room will look as good as new.

We had planned a second day of DIY this weekend, but with the due date less than five days away, we decided to take a day of rest. There’s still plenty on the to do list, but they are little jobs now, easier to fit in here and there. The main thing is the babies room is ready, now just have to wait for the baby.