General Chat

I am coming out of my dark place and coping with things a bit better, being able to deal with bigger problems and achieving a bit more.

After a couple of attempts, I have the front room floor sanded and varnished and the front room decorated.

I have been thinking I will take do the rest at my own pace, sand the hall floor and then go on to do the bathroom floor, get the bathroom up together and then get on to the bedrooms, all at my own pace.

The tenancy is assured now and when the housing officer came to see me I asked her if she could give me a date for work to begin on the new kitchen.

Due to some administrative cock-up it had not been actioned.

Yesterday I had a call to say they would start the kitchen on 19th January. I was, of course, delighted about this but a bit worried about getting all the stuff out of the way (little panic).

Today I have received another call and, on the same day, I am having solar panels and heating installed.
I don't know whether to be delighted, to panic, to run away, crumple in a heap or what.

Do not crumple Sharron!!!! Sounds brill to me and 19th Jan will give you plenty of time - and as for the solar panels, well you might as well have it all over and done with - I'd love a new kitchen, but never will have one now

Just ignore them all, let them get on with all the jobs, hibernate in a bedroom with a good book or something. It will be fine and when finished think of your lovely new kitchen.

Give someone the key and have a day out,,,,,,,,,just make sure you can do without some stuff till its all done.

heating may mean a few bedroom up though.

dont worry till you have or need to.

At least you will get all the mess out of the way in one hit. Previous suggestions all good.

NOW WAY CRUMBLE AND PANIC,
THINGS DO MOVE QUICK WHERE
YOU ARE I HAVE JUST HAD MY
WORK DONE I HAVE ONLY WAITED
FIVE YEARS,,,,I NOW HAVE A LOVLEY
WET ROOM AND A STAIR LIFT

Too cold to go out for the day.

Flask of tea, packet of your fav bikkies, a good book....... and hibernate in your bedroom.... maybe a bottle of whatever you fancy....... and a "do not disturb" sign on the door. Take a radio with you too, to cover up the banging & crashing the workmen will make.

If they disturb you too much, have another flask of tea....... or go back to bed.

<3

Well no, they are going to be putting in storage heaters in all the rooms.

No hiding. Cat to comfort, he is old and deaf.

It is not their arrival that is the problem.

The house needs sorting out. We had a hospital bed in the front room for a long time. Things were put where they would go and we lived around them.

I have been sorting the house and decorating as and when I could and now it all needs to be done at once.

Luckily I have my troupe of strange men.

No point in rushing everything - they may make a mess!!

As for things like the hospital bed - just say why it's there.
Don't be ashamed of the state your house, it's the way you had to live to give Fred such a wonderful life, and that meant you had no time to redecorate etc. There were more important things to do with your life.

The kitchen fitters won't be there too long, but long enough to get to know them. You never know, they may paint the walls for you. If they don't - you'll have a wonderful new kitchen to paint :-D

The solar panel and heating fitters will be there a day - two at the most. Find a good book to read, or some games to play, like monopoly etc, shut yourself, OH and the cat in the last room they will be doing (providing it's not the kitchen and bathroom). Take a kettle (find out when the electricity will be off), and everything needed for a brew, and a pile of edible goodies, and just think about the reduced bills, heat in every room, and lovely sparkling kitchen you will have.

They're there to do a job, not judge you.
I have a friend who used to regularly do work in council houses, I can assure you, your house will be a palace compared to some. He even said mine wasn't 'bad' (he was looking at the amount of what he calls 'junk', I call 'possessions').

To make you feel better, watch one of the 'hoarding' programmes - it always makes me feel better :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D :-D

Above all - DON'T PANIC! <3

As long as they have room to do their job and get where they need to thats all the workmen will be bothered about.

If you need to move stuff out for a few days can you borrow a tent just to put all the none perish stuff and things you wont need daily.

Now Sharron, WHY ARE YOU PANICING??????

Obviously you want the new kitchen, the workmen don't care what your house looks like so just let them know where they can step and let them get on with it.

THEN YOU CAN CRUMPLE IN YOUR NEW KITCHEN. :-D under your solar panels (and heating is always a good thing. you never know when it might go down to -2! BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR ) ;-)

Don't panic Sharron, if the workmen don't like the look of your house they can lump it. You live there not them ;-). That's the way I look at it <3. I had my kitchen ripped out followed by the bathroom just months later. A bit messy and noisy at the time but well worth it now.

The real Sharron understands all this.

Unfortunately, there is some sort of gibbering, illogical person who is masquerading as Sharron and that person can't quite handle it all at the moment.

I felt the same Sharron, after our flood. The only rooms that weren't flooded were the living room, kitchen & the study.......... and they were full of "stuff" from all the other rooms.

We had workmen here for a week. If they didn't like the mess, too bad! There was nowhere else it could go.

The worken couldn't start until the house dried out.... we had 12 big heater/blower machines in the house for over a week.

Nothing I could do about it, so I stopped gibbering & panicing, sat on my bum and read books for weeks.......... until DH got pneumonia and ended up in hospital for a week.

THEN I was a gibbering wreck.

Gibbering imposter is actually feeling nauseous this morning. Silly cow!

You'll be fine Sharron,,,,,,you just had it sprung on you and not something you have instigated yourself so feel less in control.,,,just work towards whats happening first,,,,,,the kitchen? then just concentrate on that,,,,,,when the heating gets put in,,,it may mean just moving some stuff from one side of the bedroom to the other.

You could think of it as a slight setback to your copingnessness, but once it's done, it will be the start of a lovely new year with heating, a new kitchen and a real attack on the rest of the house.
Hopefully - the workmen will never darken you door again. :-D :-D

I must say, when I was gibbering, I had lots of support from lovely people here, as well as friends where I live.

You were all wonderful, and I very much appreciated the help & good wishes from everyone. <3

One step at a time Sharron, even if they're only baby steps....... you will soon have a lovely new kitchen & a nice warm house. :-)

It is all going on at the same time with two different teams of contractors.

At the moment my logical, controlled side is coping beautifully, planning and organizing, while this unfamiliar, other part of me is going into meltdown.

I am supposed to be going to the village Christmas lunch today but have decided that I can't cope with it this year.

We will get through it and I am very much looking forward to the new kitchen and have everything planned, my own paint and tiles, dipping into the savings because this is the rainy day I saved for I think.

It was all planned for but not for it to all happen together.

That bit is all being run the same way as I have been running things but there is this mad little person running about inside my mind causing chaos and disruption.

my kitchen goes in after Christmas
when the builders not got a lot of work on bless him
for now its stored in Stray garage
then its stripping the front room
there's no rest fore the wicked lol :-D :-D

ive had the new front room curtains for three years
they are still in the wrapper in the loft waiting