Transient's diary, weeks 11 and 12

So close and yet so far…

The house is nearly ready. The new bedroom has painted walls as well as a floor and a view.

Blue walls, wooden floors, and a view:
our bedroom just needs a bed

The new bathroom upstairs has bathroom fittings.

New bathroom looking good
If they can replace the leaky toilet
and turn the water back on

Fresh paint is on the walls of the new staircase.

Great pale green staircase
Just needs a carpet

What more could we ask for?

Well, I suppose water in the upstairs bathroom would be good. In the new shower room downstairs, too, come to that. But, hey, we’re nearly there. The stair carpet’s ordered. The new carpet for the living room has already been delivered. And the kitchen was finally finished this morning.

We’re sticking with the removal van’s arrival on Saturday, and that’s that.

Anyway, a rite of passage has occurred. For the first time since we moved out in August, the whole household gathered in the old place, indoors, in daylight, this Sunday. Ever since he’s been on his own in the place, our cat Misty has been most chary about coming indoors: it was a mess and often full of strangers, and few people are stranger than builders. He preferred to keep out of the way, hanging out, we suspect, in a neighbour’s house and only appearing at night, in the garden, when we came to feed him.

But on Sunday, the toy poodles Luci and Toffee were able to get together with him, share the joy of reunion, and start exploring the place.

Gathering of the clans.
Note the new pet flap in the background, being examined

The joy didn’t last too long for Misty. He quickly remembered why he’d always found Toffee an annoyance: she followed him everywhere, pushing him around when she could to try to get him to play with her, or smelling him in inappropriate places. Eventually he retreated behind a ladder and had to defensive action with a paw to keep her away.

Misty chastises Toffee
“Great to see you, but clear off now you irritating little tyke”

Still, at least that too is part of normal life, now close to being re-established. Indeed, it was because of normal life that we were there at all on Sunday: a house must be cleaned and when it has had builders in it for twelve weeks, it needs cleaning on a massive scale.

We were there for ten hours on Sunday (though I would slope off from time to time to walk the dogs). But for Danielle that took her total to 32 hours in three days (the first two of which, sadly, I had to be away on business. In Sicily). And we’ve had two wonderful Polish women put ten hours each. But the pace still isn’t clean.

Ah well. I’m looking forward to moving back in. But I suspect there’ll be a fair dose of purgatory mixed in with the pleasure, at least initially.