We’ve never been very lucky with Washing Machines! We seem to go through them like others go through, err washing powder!Well, at least the washing now smells ‘outdoor fresh’! Today, we pensioned-off the Bush – donated to us by Lee back in May 2011, when she moved house. The Bush was a washer-dryer combo, but …
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Category:House and Garden
Dining Room
Out with the ‘Old’ Hot on the heels of the Kitchen makeover, is the Dining Room. The final addition – the furniture – was delivered today, and I can now say, we are free from any more makeovers (for at least a month or so!!) …and in with the New Steve PalmerI got into blogging …
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A Flaw in our Kitchen Plans
OK, do I get ‘pun’ of the year’? At last, the kitchen makeover is almost complete. The floor was completed yesterday and all we’re waiting for now, is the splashback behind the hob, and the swishy red window-sills. Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – …
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Kitchens, Arks and Takeaways!
The Kitchen Makeover – Almost Finished We always knew today was going to be busy! It was the day we set aside for restocking the kitchen cupboards after emptying them last week in preparation for the kitchen makeover. In spite of the hard work by Anglia Interiors’s Grant, their kitchen installer, the job wasn’t quite …
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Let the Chaos Begin!
Sooooo last century! And so, this week sees the start of ‘kitchen chaos’ as it gets a well-deserved makeover. Stage 1 includes smashing the s*** out of all the tiling, together with the removal of two doors (to the dining room and utility room), to create an altogether more cleaner, more modern look. On Wednesday, …
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Table Mountain
After last week’s disappointing mission to locate and purchase a replacement dining room table and chairs, as well as look for ideas for the kitchen makeover – today could only be described as ‘mission accomplished’. We drove up to Downtown near Grantham, for a look round their furniture department, and discovered they had mountains of …
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The Perfect Equation!?
Phew! The perfect equation!? David + Me + 29 x 90 litre bags of Bark Chippings = Weed-free front garden and a happy Wife! Cheers for your help David! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology …
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Table Where?
Fabric Display at John Lewis MK – is it me, or do they look slightly creepy?It was a rather disappointing day today. We set off for MK in search of ideas for a replacement dining-room table and also to pick-up some ideas for colours for the planned refresh of the dining-room. First stop was the …
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Kitchen Plans
We dropped into see our friend Paul from Anglia Interiors this afternoon to discuss our thoughts for our kitchen revamp. Looks like we’ve got a plan for later this year! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of …
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HSL Project – Completed
The HSL (Hall, Stairs and Landing) Project is now completed, and here are some before and after photographs. The Old… Strip away! The New… Sorted! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication …
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HSL Project – Friday
Fifteen rolls of wallpaper, more white paint than you can shake a brush at, plus 47 tea-bags later, Honor and Karen from Paint-Pals are 99% finished. Everything looks fab and once the radiators, lights and alarm panel are re-fitted next week, we’ll be totally sorted! Some ‘before’ and ‘after’ shots next week. Nice one ladies …
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HSL Project – Wednesday
Apart from Monday, where, due to my enthusiasm for getting all the ‘little’ pre-jobs sorted, I had decorators, electricians and plumbers literally tripping over each other, the re-decoration of the Hall, Stairs and Landing is back on track and going well. Honor and Karen from Paint Pals are doing a fab job with most of …
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HSL Project – Monday
This week sees the Hall, Stairs and Landing getting a major makeover. In order to ensure the most professional of results, I’m NOT going anywhere near the wallpaper, paint, electrics or plumbing – I tend to play to my strengths, so I’m looking after teas and coffees! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in …
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Wi-Fi Range Extenders
Those with technophobia, should look away now! If you live in a house where certain parts of it don’t receive a very good wireless signal from your router (because of thick walls or just physical distance), then there’s a good cost-effective solution available. Called a ‘range extender’, these bits of tech, ‘do exactly what they …
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Wallpaper sorted!
In what what seemed like a few gazillion hours searching the internet, and as a result, enough samples in the post to cripple the postman, we eventually tracked down what we’d been searching for: “Lucia Wallpaper in Gold with a Textured Vinyl finish” Wallpapering begins in a few weeks – a big job needing 18 …
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Who Needs the HS2?
Who needs the HS2? Our investment here is in ‘the HSL’ (Hall, Stairs and Landing!) The project started today with our textured ceilings being ‘flattened’. Next on the list is to re-site the burglar alarm panel, then paint, then wallpaper, change the lighting (to LEDs) and finally source some new wall decorations/pictures. Unlike the HS2, …
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Count Clockula Lives! – an OCD confession
No, not the latest timepiece from Transylvania, but a cheap trick to get you to read this far! In many places, the clocks have just been altered – back an hour – and it got me thinking about the process of changing the times of ALL the timepieces in a typical 21st century household – …
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Brass Monkeys and Grey Dustbins
So, the Winter preparation of the garden continues – but with soooo much to do, and a less-than-enthusiastic team member (me!), it was now time to call in the ‘big-guns’! No sooner had my neighbour, David, returned from his holiday, he was then in the thick-of-it (quite literally) at ours, and adding ten very green …
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Preparing the Garden
I love a nice looking garden (who doesn’t?) but I HATE the physical preparation side of it with a passion! Give me a non-functioning PC or a web-site to design and I’m happy, but weeding, planting bulbs and pruning is just sooooo un-rewarding for me. Tough luck then, because our garden needs a shed load …
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Knuckles Rapped and Bubble Wrap!
Bummer! Why was it that today, the only recycle-bin in our street that wasn’t emptied, was ours? Simples! (apparently!) I’d put bubble-wrap in the bin and as every schoolboy knows, that’s not recyclable. So, I had to empty the bin and remove the bubble-wrap before ringing the Council to arrange a separate pick-up ‘sometime soon’. …
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Mirror, Mirror…
After lunching with David at Prezzo’s in town (courtesy of Mr Tesco’s vouchers!), we headed home where the task-of-the-day was to hang the new mirror for the converted bedroom. It was a heavy beast that required two us to position it so the supporting screws could be positioned .Job done! Steve PalmerI got into blogging …
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Kettering’s Smallest B and B?
And finally, with the bed arriving from Fenwick’s late last week, this was the first opportunity we’d had to get the ‘blue bedroom’ back to looking like.. well… a bedroom – it’s been the dumping ground for all sorts of c*** for what seems like months, whilst the office was being converted back to another …
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Steve and the Blind Man
Today was the day when Gary D from Notions came to fit the blinds to the windows in the office/bedroom conversion. Good timing really as we had Ralph and Karen staying tonight! Nice job Gary – thanks! Apart from a few bits and pieces for the ‘guest tray’, that’s the room all sorted! Steve PalmerI …
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Bird of…
A lovely ‘Bird of Paradise’ flower arrangement from our friends Ralph and Karen. Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed …
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From this to that
..and so, the old ‘office’ finally becomes a bedroom! Before Now Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art of writing seemed to be …
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Magic Carpet
Steve from John Lewis arrived as planned and laid the carpet today. Magic! Now it’s just a case of positioning the new furniture! Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), …
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Home for Chrome!
It’s almost ‘job done’ so we’re putting the finishing touches to the office/bedroom conversion – and it seems that chrome fittings are the current trend. The headboard and ottoman arrive tomorrow and the the bed should be here in a few weeks. Currently the bedroom furniture is ‘living’ in the second bedroom whilst we wait …
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Spot the Difference
Answers on a postcard please! Can you spot the difference in these two (almost identical) photographs? Steve PalmerI got into blogging quite late in life, not publishing my first post until 2004 – well into my 40s! My lifelong love of technology and communication (in all its forms), together with a fondness for the art …
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Bedroom Redecoration – The Final Phase
We can now see ‘the light at the end of the tunnel’. The wallpaper is up (thanks to Honor), and the room is beginning to look more inhabitable! So, all that’s left to do now is: – Reinstall the new radiator – Site the new furniture – Position the bed – Replace all the brass …
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Big Blue for Kettering!
Nothing really exciting ever happens in Kettering – it’s a nice place to live but nothing really ever gets the local tongues wagging! Until June 2013 that is! The Council has decided that the current refuse collection arrangements of a Black bin, Grey bin, Blue box and Red box, don’t quite cut it any longer. …
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