That's it!

Leaves are falling!

Autumn is most definitely here and the rain has arrived back full throttle, it's absolutely bloody miserable this evening, just coming up to 6pm and it's suddenly dark grey out there! Yuck. I'm so not ready for those endless long winter nights. Luckily I have found my jumpers and coats but not my boots, yet!

Anyway, we are so not nearly ready for a winter here, the heating is still off because of decorating and the log burner is still with the courier, no clue why? The chap surveying the chimney has told us to send a drone up, rather than pay for an expensive inspection, so thats what we will do and then once we know if it's capped or not, we can get him back to sort the flue. We still need to grab the fire surrounds from the storage and figure out the fitting of them.

I keep getting stomach cramps and I'm not sure why? Maybe we should have the water here tested, but I think I'm the only one suffering sooooo, it's probably not that. It could be stress with my dad in hospital again? The doctors suspect a bleed on the brain, but as he fell off a stool, they don't know for sure what caused it, although he does have heart problems to consider.

One thing is clear and thats that Mum and Dad can no longer help themselves and a tough conversation needs to be had. It's just awful when our parents get sick and especially because I'm here feeling helpless. My heart is a little broken to be honest, it's just the circle of life I know, but I wish it wasn't like that. They were determined to look after each other and pass peacefully one day in their own home, everything on their own terms and I can respect that. However, I'm not sure how practical that will be going forward?

Philip and I are planning for our old age best we can and like most couples we'd like to stay at home until its not practical anymore. I can completely understand their want to stay somewhere familiar. If I am in need of full time residential care one day, then please send me to the Marigold Hotel in India or some whacky American old folks village with a bar and a bowling alley! There I will continue to misbehave with some grace!

At 56 & 57 we feel young still but getting older, not wiser. Young enough to plan ahead and still relatively healthy but old because we are nearer 60 than 50 these days, parts keep failing and there are no spares! Another 30 years on this mortal coil would be good, please god!

My tennis elbow and tendonitis have been the main feature of this year so far and his GORD and cough have rattled the house foundations for a month or more now. We are also feeling our age with this renovation and when the weather turns, something new aches every day. C'est la vie!

So we've plenty to be getting on with this week and we've just heard the plasterer is delayed by a day, which is good because we need to shift some stuff out of his way and we get tomorrow to do that, which is good. The carpenter leaves Friday night, so we need to get the cabinets finished and crack on with the other bits that need doing. He's a busy guy so we need to get that list completed.

Philip has just started some Sunday plumbing, shifting a radiators plumbing because we are putting reclaim panelling behind it. A lot of the design decisions we've made have been organic. I quite like it that way, but it's hard to plan and we appear to be making more work for ourselves, that said we've gotten to the point of no return and if it's going to be done at all then lets do it right eh?.

I've cooked up a storm all week and now the freezer is full, especially for our veggie guest. I've managed to get it all done without loosing my shit in my very untidy kitchen, stuff everywhere because of the cabinetry being built in there. It's all good but once finished I need to mist coat it and then think about colours again! Then and only then can I get my kitchen organisation on point, 'A Place for everything and Everything in it's Place', makes sense to me! I must put less on my kitchen counters!

I'm such a natural clutter bug but I'm trying! I think the only overwhelming task ahead, is the amount of decorating left still to do. I really want to be done by mid december and decorating for Christmas? Thats just 11 weeks away!

It will be what it will be, won't it and anyway theres always wine, cheese and movies in front of the fire we haven't got!

I'm also sliming down my online presence, because I don't have the time or inclination to spread myself too thin these days. I think social media is loosing its shine for me and my days are numbered. It's such hard work and I'd rather spend my time doing something that benefits me or my family right now, life sure is short!

Back to the reno, every room we complete is my favourite at the moment! I know it sounds odd but when the wallpaper and paint is adorning that fresh plaster, I can't help but love each room for different reasons. I also realised that in someways I'm looking forward to doing it all again! 'Who'd have thunk it'!

D x