Today I Saw the Last Butterfly of Summer ....

So here we are again, this is getting to be a habit! But don't despair, it is very nearly over, I can feel it in my bones.  So our thought for the day is 'To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan, and not quite enough time.'  Well we started out at a disadvantage, in so much as we only had a plot rather than a plan. But perhaps a plot is merely a plan without enough time put into it! We definitely don't have enough time though, I want the whole project finished by Christmas.  Yes, I have seen flying pigs.  There's a whole herd of them living just down the road.  Our song for the day is 'The Games People Play' or 'Love Thy Will Be Done'. Take your pick.

So what have I been up to for the past couple of weeks? Well, let me see, it's all a bit of a blur, Chris, Debs friend came to help clear the garden.  So most of the hardcore has gone. Then I was gaily painting the kitchen walls one day when a rather nice young man knocked at the door. I was quite surprised, as I had never seen him before in my life.  Anyway, when I had recovered myself, he offered to take away some of the other rubbish and the cooker. After a moments' incredulity, I said yes, and him and his mate made very short work of shifting a lot of stuff.  I'm sure he only knocked to make sure that no one was in before he nicked it, but he was very pleasant and it's another job done! Deb and Chris have finished off the rest today.

We're still waiting for Chris the plumber to come and finish, but apart from that the upstairs is finished. Hurrah!  The walls that were challenged in the smoothness department have become feature walls.  Do you like my choice of paper?

I chose it mainly because it's called 'Follow Your Dreams', which of course is what I endeavouring to do.  Only one or two obstacles in my way, but time and economics should sort those.   For the other I feel a burst of esotericism (is that a real word? This computer doesn't think so!) coming on.  So watch this space.  Of course I will be ably assisted by Anita, so that could mean anything might happen!  Our holiday, sorry that should be CPD course is booked. Fear and trepidation are setting in, it could possibly be the most stupid thing I have done to date. And that takes some doing. But as we all know 'Fear, like love, is difficult to explain after it has subsided, probably because it draws away the veils of illusion as it disappears'. Good, eh? Got millions of them. That's the draw back of reading anything and everything and having a good memory!

So back to the task in hand!  So all we are waiting for to finish upstairs is the sink and the carpet. Fabulous!  So to the kitchen.  We painted it last week, we've bought the kitchen, it's been painted, and  Darren and Zak have started to fit it.  What do you think?

We think it's starting to look really good. Amazing what can be done with a tatty £500 kitchen!  Apparently it wasn't as straight forward as it could have been, but it's really starting to take shape.  Sense of deja-vu anyone? Lot of it about on this project. Best be careful!  I'll touch up the kitchen this week and give the units a top coat, then that's finished too!  Stripping the black paint off the floor tiles is proving a bit of a challenge however, I think I've tried every type of stripper known to man (no, not a double-entendre at all), and some that are less well known, all to no avail.  I think it may remain black!

Really the only room that hasn't been touched is the living room. Hopefully that will be a breeze!

Having had weeks of dry weather, I decided it was a good idea to paint the  back step.  Only to have the heavens open. So far I've tried three times to paint it. Each time the paint has washed off before it was dry. I'm going to construct a tent before I try again.  The new porch is up and just needs painting. So the excitement is mounting, a crescendo is beginning, how will we contain ourselves?!

As a slight aside, I was walking through the town centre, in search of vital supplies (that'd be a Dime bar), when this woman came up to me and asked if I drank alcohol. I wasn't really sure how to take that, did she think I was drunk? I almost said that it was just the way I walked!, or did she want my help in finding someone fitting that description?  Confused you will be!  As it turned out they were conducting some form of Market Research. I didn't help. Sorry!

So, I don't think I've got any other interesting (or otherwise) anecdotes  for you today.  It's the onset of winter I think. It's definitely getting close to Christmas, I've lit the stove at home, I've written my Christmas missive (if you want me to add it to this blog let me know!). I've thought about buying presents, and Emerelda - the pet turkey - has gone into hiding.  But I did see the last butterfly of summer today, and as I let it go it flew away with all my hopes and dreams and good wishes for you all. I hope they reach you by Christmas.....