Working On The Hoose

So this week and mostly this weekend was spent doing up the flat. It has been a lot of work so far just getting it back to a base, and we aren't quite there yet but the end is in sight. So that is good, starting tomorrow we are having the plumbers and the electricians in, the former to get some central heating installed, and the latter for a new fuse board and new wiring throughout, which is good, just a lot more work than we wanted to have to do straight off. But at least this way if we get it all sorted now we won't be tearing up walls later once it is decorated. So in a way its a plus.

On Thursday I had a day off to myself and I went down to strip the wallpaper off of the living room and man was it tough, It was that textured wallpaper and it was painted with an ultra thick coat of paint, so I got started by soaking the wall and getting the steamer started. And once I got under the paper it was going quite well until I stumbled upon a live wire. I must have been extremely lucky that day cause I didn't hit it even though I passed my metal scraper right over it. So luckily no shocks and the electricians tested and covered it up for us so it was safe. It wasn't til later that the giant live with the arrow made sense.

So then on the weekend we moved almost all of our stuff over to the flat, now we thought we had a lot of stuff, but as it turns out if you do not own any furniture you do not have a lot of stuff. So it went pretty quick, plus Darren and Mhairi came over and helped us out with removing a lot of the rubbish and the massive vine that was on the wall. Me and Mhairi finished off the living rooms wallpaper, and started on the hall. 

And yesterday I went over after work and they had taken up all the carpet in the hall. Dixon and Gordon had done the other rooms before that, and I really like the floorboards in the living room, I am wondering if I can get Dixon to just sand and varnish them, I think it would look lovely.

The laminate in the hall is not budging so we will have to see what we can do about that, probably cover it but that will be ok. Dixon and his dad also moved the living room door so the next photos are where the door is going to go and where the door was.

This will be the master bedroom, once we pick out all the wallpaper and everything for it, but currently it is housing all of our stuff. And we thought we had a lot.

The garden has been a lot of work, but it is definitely coming along and when it was all sunny and gorgeous out on Saturday, it was excellent to just sit out in the sun, so I can't wait until it is finished and looking amazing.

And this is my new wardrobe I got free! Thank you internets!

New Flat

So I posted a while ago saying that we were looking at a new flat, and if I stopped talking about it, it would probably mean that we didn't get it. Well I stopped talking about it but we did actually get it. So that is extremely exciting. We got the keys on Friday, so over the weekend we were doing a lot of cleaning and on Sunday Gail and I removed the wallpaper from the master bedroom, while Gordon and Daniel cleared out a lot of the overgrown ivy on the wall in the garden. Which was a mammoth undertaking, it was huge and well grown into the wall, we are hoping that once we get it cleared out some more we will only have to do minor repairs on the wall. So as nice as ivy growing on a wall looks, you have to keep it in check as the mortar has just turned into dust. 

I've realized I should be taking some before and after photos as we do up the rooms now! So its a bit late for the master as we have stripped the two layers of wallpaper off, but I'll head down this week and see if I can snap a quick photo. We are going to be moving into the spare room there next week as long as we get the water tank sorted this week. It is unfortunately broken, but because they wouldn't let Dixon's dad up into the attic to check to see if it was ok, due to health and safety, we will have to see if we can get some compensation for that, as it should be in working order.

So a lot to do for then next long while. I will be cheerfully looking at paint and wallpaper this week and hopefully getting some in the bedroom so we can move in as quick as possible.

I also did a wee bit of painting as Baby Dykstra is due in the next couple weeks so I should really be finished but hopefully I will find some time soon.

And some more photos of Edinburgh, because even though it wasn't beautiful out every day some days were gorgeous.

Doctor Where

So Sarah's parcel arrived already, it must actually take a week to get to Canada, just once it gets to Canada it must take ages to make it to the west coast, because it usually takes at least a month for things to arrive that I send to my family there. So that was pretty exciting that it turned up already, what's not exciting is that along the way someone nabbed one of her Doctor Who stamps, and not just any one, but Tom Baker, pretty well the majority of peoples favourite. That is why I think that it was nabbed not just fallen off. I'm a little bit upset, but hopefully I can get another one to replace the missing one. It could have been worse though, what if they stole the stamp and sent it back to me for not paying enough postage! That would have been an outrage! Either way its exciting she got her parcel already.

 

So after work today, I went to the Filmhouse to meet Gail to see I'm So Excited. I had never been to the Filmhouse for a film before and you might remember from a previous post about the paper sculptures that kept turning up in Edinburgh, well the Filmhouse was one of those locations. So Caryn and I last year (last year already!) had visited it then, but didn't even think of seeing a film (Caryn might have fallen asleep, she was just off of the plane). Anyway it was really interesting to see in the cinema, it had amazing seats and pillars, all you would expect from a proper cinema. Though it had just as many adverts and previews as any other one, just as the film started the curtains closed and then opened for the film. That was a pretty nice touch.

 

 

The film was really good, if you want to see something camp and hilarious this one is for you!

 

 

Its also been a couple lovely days in Edinburgh so I have more pictures for you and also rainy today and yesterday but I like the picture from then too.

 

 

 

 

 

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey.... Stuff

It is my pal Sarahs birthday this month and I got her a signed 50th anniversary book of Doctor Who and when I saw the Doctor Who stamps I knew it was going to be a very Doctor Who themed gift. Which was great because it got me out of this painting slump I have been in. Even when I bring everything through and sit down and get ready to paint, I just haven't been doing it I am not sure what it is but whatever it is, its not good. So whooo! New painting as well. I hope she likes it. I usually struggle with persective and geometric things and this time was no different. But it was still a lot of fun. The picture of it is on a slight angle that I didn't notice til now and its been posted away so there is no going back now. Now I just need to watch more Doctor Who so I know whats going on! But where do you start?!

Now I have been having a painting slump I have been in baking mode, which has been super! This is a loaf made from a recipe on Paul Hollywood's program on the BBC, and I can say I haven't made as good of bread as this since high school, so I am pretty chuffed! Its a filled loaf with roasted veg pesto and mozzarella.

I also do not say enough about my niece and she is awesome so here is my niece with her mom (my sister) and my Grandma! Isn't she awesome. 

And an obligatory instagram of Edinburgh