Matthews Mansion

 We have been in for a week, and it is quite nice. the Decorator was in touching up the painting and we had some landscape gardeners doing some turf.  But really.... now the builders are gone till next year. Apparently woodchip that is starting to decompose is an ok bedding material for grass.

 Due to some misunderstanding the builders we were expecting on Saturday and the cleaners we were expecting on Sunday couldn't come.  We were told on Saturday "no one's coming around" its yours.  There are some things happening next week. The builders are coming and sorting out some of the last of their stuff and taking the skip away.  We are not expecting builders back again till late January to fix the new front door and do work on the garage roof.  We are making a list of the little things that are wrong.  Somehow the water to the dishwasher was disconnected, some painting that was missed, the downstairs bathroom not quite done.  So we started early this morning with the vacuuming and the cleaning of surfaces and the scrubbing of floors.  It was really very dusty. We let the cats roam the whole house  on Saturday and Sunday we let them into the garden.  After 2 and a half weeks of being locked up they stepped cautiously out the back door.  Sniffing the air, nervous

Living in a small 3 bedroom flat has been a little challenging. We have decided that the quality of prepared ready meals is a little variable. Fortunately our tabletop cooker is working, so we can have bacon sandwiches.  Also we found the kettle today. We can drink tea again.  We had the tree man around to clean up the unwanted trees. it has made the garden look a bit stark, but we plan to replant.  This link shows the   Tree being cut down . We got left with a lot of wood and a pile of woodchip, and a pile of twiggy branches. The carpet man came by on Friday and finished the carpet. Now we have carpet both on the stairs and in the downstairs front room. And the landing went from this to this. And the lower stairs too. The bathtub got fixed. It had a case of the wobbles as it was on little legs.  It has been put on the ground and siliconed down and this was our first test run. The Laundry is now working (hurrah clean clothes) and although my husband who was previously a hater of clothe

There is a partition in the entranceway that blocks off access to the ground floor, that essentially splits the house into two flats.  Since London is currently in lockdown, that properly separates us from the builders below.  We are in the upstairs flat and have converted the entranceway and the box room into kitchen areas. Emily's room has the  big desk that doubles as a dining table and computer desk. The moving has resulted in many boxes in the grand room. With lots upstairs with us as well. The kitchen is progressing well. the drawers are installed and the oven, hob and hood are all setup.    There was a little drama, in that the window is below the height of the bench.   But they put in a nice wooden splash back in front of it and tiled it behind.  The fences are finished now though.  The front fences required a lot of digging out of stumps. The downstairs bathroom has been tiled. and the countertops and cabinets have been setup in the laundry.  That dryer is not plugged in y

 We are moving in this week.  The top floors are mostly done. There are some issues with the 1st floor bathroom, but the loft and the bedrooms are complete except for some computer network wiring. We have booked some movers for Wednesday, and we are taking the week off to pack and unpack.  We don't expect the kitchen or the laundry will be usable by move in date, but it won't be far off. We expect a week of eating pizza. The excitement this week has been the kitchen which has progressed well.  For some reason the guy doing skirting boards has setup his saw in the  same space.  It was very dusty for a few days there. Images from newest to oldest lap cat