Timeless Paint

Another early start (for a Sunday), and the topcoat of Timeless Dulux Kitchen+ paint has gone on the kitchen walls. It's looking good: so too is the white silk on the ceiling. After the kerfuffle with the undercoats, the final coats went on really well. We still need to do the gloss work and make the curtains (next weekend?), and obviously the floor needs to go down (starting next Friday), but it's looking almost complete.

I forgot to say yesterday; once we'd finished the bulbs in the bank and verge, we were left with about 100 daffodils, and about the same of each of the puschkinia and scilla. We're putting the daffs in groups in the copse, and adding the others in two (discrete) swathes.

Finally, we've potted up the perennials from Van Meuwen:

• Echinacea
• Aquilegia
• Gypsophila
• Hollyhock (Alcea rosea)
• Chinese Lantern (Physalis alkekengi)
• Lupin
• Kniphophia (Red Hot Pokers)
• Sea holly (Eryngium maritimum)
• Delphinium
• Liatris

I think we're just about sorted for the return to work tomorrow, though everything's finished a bit late. That's because we discovered that the central heating plumbing had a slow leak (radiator at the top of the stairs), which has affected the sitting room ceiling. After getting the floor up, it looks like the connection from the 15mm leg of the radiator to the 8mm supply hasn't sealed. Plumber out tomorrow, and in the mean time a bodge repair (silicon sealant and PVC tape: crude but reasonably effective).

Merry's still not doing well; we've been making her hot water bottles to make sure she's warm (she considers this a fine, and long-overdue, plan), and she's been getting plenty of attention. Poor girl probably doesn't have long, though; but at 17½, she's done alright.

Bulbs, Once More

Well, the kitchen looks like it might finally be ready for a top coat. We started (early) with a second white coat, and had hopes of doing the Timeless (and white silk on the ceiling) late afternoon. However, the white hasn't dried properly (no idea why: it was meant to be over-coatable in four hours), so it must wait until tomorrow.

As there was no option of painting, we spent the afternoon planting yet more bulbs! Having established that a daffodil bulb weighs about 50 g (or that there's about 20 per kilogram), we've got about a thousand to plant; we've done about half today. Liz continued putting the puschkinia, muscari and scilla in the corner bank; I've put the daffodil groups in between these, and also put clumps along the verge outside the house, and on the verge opposite (there's no house opposite, only a field, so I'm not encroaching on someone's plot!). I've done the groups in various sizes, of 3–12 bulbs, and hopefully they'll really brighten the lane when they're up. I don't know why, but I find odd numbers of bulbs (or other plants) seem to work best in groups; hence, most of the groups are 3, 5, 9 or 11.

The other nice thing is that they'll give me an excuse not to trim the verge for a while...as it'd disturb the bulbs!

Paint Resistant Paint

This morning we've been painting the undercoats in the kitchen. Because the new paint is very nearly white (it's called 'Timeless', which leads to questions about marketing teams choosing paint colours), then we're undercoating with pure white (watered down, first, on the new plaster).

The new plaster is straightforward; less so, the old (slightly yellow?) paint. I think it must be something oil based, or 'kitchen' paint, but it's from the '70s, so I have no idea. However, it is stubbornly resisting attempts to cover it, so at least one more coat is going to be called for.

Thus, progress has been a little slow, but everything is now white(-ish), and we also managed to plant some more bulbs.

Unfortunately, Merry is still declining, and is falling over and sleeping (in quite odd places) rather frequently. She's still eating and purring, though, and seems comfortable enough. [The odd places: she appears to believe that she is a door stop or draught excluder, at present.]

Painting Preparations

This morning we finished getting the kitchen in order, ready to start painting tomorrow, and we've spent this afternoon planting bulbs.

We've extended the daffodil collection up towards the lane, still along the edge of the garden, and into the raised bank. To start with, it was a contiguous drift, but as we went along, we've changed it into clumps and groups. These then continue all the way round that corner of the garden, past the arbour, and along the bank that lies beneath the wall at the edge of the garden (next to the lane). The daffs, as mentioned, are from Fentongollen: 50kg (about a thousand) of mixed bulbs for naturalizing.

Once we were into the bank, between the clumps of daffodils, we've planted the Muscari armeniacum (blue grape hyacinths), the Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica (Striped Squill), and the Scilla siberica (Siberian squills, rather like bluebells). These will—hopefully—complement the English bluebells in the ground already, although be a little earlier.

We're not done yet; we've probably put about half the bulbs in the ground, but it's a good start.

Gloss and Garage

I've painted half the window frames' inside today, while Liz and parents have sorted the garage. The windows are much improved, and the garage—which has been in a state since the kitchen units were delivered, and the car's been on the drive since. That's now improved, and although there's a pile of cardboard where the car should go, it will fit in once the cardboard's moved to the compost heap (or nearby). Ticking on with the things we needed to get done, at least!

More Shopping

This afternoon turned into a bit of a mammoth shopping trip. We went out to get some of the things needed to finish the kitchen, and succeeded, at least, in that. We now have curtain poles, for example, a shelf, and bits and pieces. Once that was all done, we've only got a little bit of work in the kitchen done, by way of polyfilla, and the like, but that's life.

Back Home

We've been in Cambridge since Thursday, staying with two sets of friends, and catching up with others. It's been really good to see everyone, including both couples who got married in August, and Hazel and Alex. While we were in a city centre with time to spare, we also did rather a lot of shopping. Too much, perhaps? We are now the proud owners of a ceramic hen (called Henrietta...), several metres of different Christmas-patterned fabrics, a small counter-top bin for the kitchen, and fabric for the kitchen curtains.

On the way home, we stopped off at our 'old' garden centre (that is, the one near the old house), and had a mooch, picking up some Christmas bits and a few plants. Good fun to wander round: I think I still prefer it to our local centre, but there you go. Further on, we called in to the manufacturer of our kitchen units, to pick up some final bits, which will hopefully be installed this week.

We got home to discover our Van Meuwan order of perennials had arrived, so they will need planting out this week, or at least potting up. I'm not sure we're going to get everything we want done, but there you go. Hopefully the bigger tasks can be accomplished.

Unfortunately, it looks as though our eldest cat, Meriadoc, has gone a bit downhill while we were away. She's been doddery for a few months, but she's looking rather thin and tired. We'll try to keep her comfortable as long as possible, but I fear she's on an inevitable decline.

Cold Frame

We had a visit over the weekend from university friends, Ann and Alan. It's been a little while since we saw them properly, though we were at their wedding in August. They set off home earlier today, which left us time to get out in the garden for a bit.

We've planted some pansies (Amber Kiss) in the troughs near the porch, and will try to plant more in the hanging baskets over the next week or so. This necessitated removing the Busy Lizzies from the troughs: they were rather past their best, and I've cut them up and suspended them in jars of water, where they'll hopefully send out adventitious roots. They can then be potted up somewhere, and over-wintered. I think I ought to take some more geranium and fuchsia cuttings, too.

Alongside this, we rescued a few dozen bricks from where they've been loitering near the compost bins, and brought them to outside the dining room window. We've used them to build the walls of a cold frame, which we've topped with some secondary glazing panes rendered redundant by the new windows. Into these we've put the perennials that arrived a little while ago and were potted up. I'm hoping they'll get a bit more light, and grow a bit faster!

The kitchen is almost back together, now: we've restocked almost all the cupboards (that is, we've removed most of the kitchen stuff from the dining room, guest room, and study...), and tidied up almost completely. The floor still needs to go down (probably starting in two weeks), and the walls need painting. We've got some holiday coming up, and hope to do the latter then.

That said, we also have a lot of other bits to get done, such as planting the two thousand-odd bulbs we've got waiting, building a new compost bin (and repairing the current one), finishing the vegetable beds, and brewing some wine and cider. Thus, it will probably be a busy, if fun, holiday.

Green Manure

We've made good progress with the kitchen over the weekend: the cupboard doors are all primed, and we've painted the fronts of all the doors, and the drawer fronts and backs. I've cut, fitted and primed the windowsills, and cut and fitted a replacement filler board (to the left of the cooker). I've had fun trying out the new cooker, too: my initial thoughts are very positive. The lowest flame on the hobs is lower than that on the old hob, which is a great improvement, and allows better simmering. Conversely, I think the highest flame is as powerful, which is just as well. There's also a much better range of hob size: one small, two medium, one large, and then the super-burner for the wok. Which I've not tried yet, admittedly: I think it might first be used on a big stock pan, or for chutney. With the wok cradle, it's designed to go with a Typhoon 35cm wok—I may succumb to the pressure to purchase one. I also did a batch (36 rolls) of bread yesterday, to try the convection oven. Brilliant: cooked in 21 minutes from turning it on. Well; I say 'brilliant', but I've not actually tried the bread yet. Looks good, mind.

The worktops now all have three coats of oil, which I think is enough to get them started. They're looking good, and are hopefully protected. I'm being a little paranoid about them at the moment, but it can't last.

Lastly, we got out into the garden (a real shame to have spent almost the entire weekend inside, when it's been so glorious), and sowed the vegetable plot with the green manure we ordered a few weeks ago. I'd have liked to sow it a week or two ago, but there's just not been time. It's a winter mix of crimson clover, mustard, red clover, and Italian rye-grass. They each have a part to play: the crimson clover provides quick ground cover (to suppress weeds) and fixes nitrogen. The mustard (a brassica) produces lots of leaf, which adds bulk to the soil, and its roots add some soil structure. The red clover, also, produces plenty of organic matter, and has deep nitrogen fixing roots (both clovers are legumes). Lastly, the rye-grass helps the nitrogen fixed by the other three to be released more slowly after they're dug in, and its deep roots help bring nutrients up from the depths. All helpfully supplied by Sow Seeds. Hopefully they'll germinate over the coming week or so, and will protect the bare earth of the vegetable plots over the winter.

While we were down there, we also cut a half-dozen gladiolus stems, to bring the flowers inside. They seem later than I'd expect: I would have thought flowering would end in September, rather than peaking in mid October, which seems likely now. We'll see, next year, if this is normal for the location.

The cyclamen we picked up are now planted out in the front, under the acer, where I'm hoping they'll recover (they don't seem to have enjoyed their spell in the workshop, sadly), and add some winter interest to that bed.

Plumbing and Wiring

I took today off 'work', and got on with some bits of the kitchen. The sinks now drain into the drain (rather than into the cupboard), and the taps are connected to the water supply. Plumbing and wiring the water heater in was a little more involved. The heater's a 9.5kW beauty, and—therefore—requires a fairly beefy cable. This was a little tricky to manipulate into position, but is now sorted. There was also fun and games with plumbing; it's further than I thought from the taps to the water inlet, but I got there in the end. (The 'idiot proof' push-fit fittings also leaked, which was irritating: I have replaced them with compression fittings.)

Having shuffled the cooker out of the way, I also installed the extractor above it: this is a bit louder than I expected, unfortunately, although it's also rather effective. We'll see how much use it gets, given the former characteristic. The fridge is now back in place, as the electrician finished his work yesterday, and chilling.

Lastly, I started filling the gaps in the beams: two of these (they're solely decorative) had extra lengths added because the ceiling has got longer in their direction. I'll need to do a little more filling, and then they can get stained to the same dark finish as the existing lengths.

Tell a lie—lastly was actually oiling the worktop again.

Having squandered a lovely day inside, I then nipped out and cut a bucket of elderberries, which I've frozen. With a little luck, I can make some wine/chutney/jam over the weekend.

After a long day, it was a pleasure to cook on the new cooker, and even more fun to wash up: the new sinks are just the right size (as well as looking good), and it was something I've missed for the last 14 months; being able to turn the hot tap on, and get the sink filled with hot water. The heater seems to work just fine!

Kitchen Nearly Completed

After a busy week (with some ups and downs), the kitchen is nearly complete.

All the units are in, and all but a 250mm length of worktop; the electrics are having their face panels fitted tomorrow, and the plastering is all but done. Still to go: the cooker needs connecting; the last bits of plaster around the beams; fridge needs connecting; extractor hood needs fixing; the taps need water supply, and sinks need drainage. We spent quite a lot of yesterday in B&Q, getting bits and pieces to achieve all of this, and today doing some of the work.

Liz has started priming the cupboards, while I replaced a section of upstand that wasn't quite right. I've also applied the first coat of oil to the worktop, which vastly improves it. It starts looking a bit light and bland, but the first oiling adds some depth of colour, and really pulls out the grain. Obviously, it still needs several more coats, but it's looking really good.

The cut-outs from the sinks are sitting to one side: I'm going to clean them up (they have rough edges and are slightly misshapen at the moment), and then oil them, too, as chopping boards. The floor isn't going to be installed for a couple of weeks, to give the room a chance to dry out, but I'm hoping it will—otherwise—be up and running next weekend.