Ceilings and floors

Praise the Lord! The Panini-Boys are back, and this time Mum has furnished them with their own supply of crumpets in the fridge, butter and honey and Jamaican Ginger Cake. Dad's at work this week, so doesn't actually see them, so he's not in a position to scold them when they feed us with tear-offs, but he suspects we must be getting spoiled rotten, as none of us really want boring old dog food for supper, when he gets in.

You can see from the pics that the start of the laminated floor up the hall is in place, and that the inner walls have been chopped out to accomodate the French windows. The Paninis can't do the outer walls yet, as we are still waiting for the double glazed units themselves to arrive, but they needed to do the inners so they could proceed with the floors.

What you can't see from these pics (or at least only indirectly) is that the ceilings have been painted a lovely dense 3 coats of white. You'll know this when I also tell you Dad is using bounced flash off the ceiling, and you look at the difference in lighting between the new-plaster ones a few days ago.

Hey, Progress!

Welcome back Paninis

Deefski

Panini Count Zero

Ha! This Rob might know a bit about plastering (see what a great job he's done from the pics) but he knows zip about how to spoil (sorry, I mean "treat") doggies. He accepted some coffees from Dad and a few chocolate digestives, but didn't go over to the bakers once - no cheese rolls, no bacon slices, no baguettes, and definitely no panini.

The Panini boys appeared first thing to bring him here and show him the job, and then came back briefly at about 1pm when he was gone but on neither visit were there any victuals to be had. All we got, just before we passed out from malnutrition, was a bit of cold roast lamb from Dad's lunchtime wrap.

And to add insult to injury, on returning from our Rec walk (in which admittedly I did have a roll in the muddy grass) Dad decided I was way too scuzzy to remain unbathed, so I alone have been shampoo'd. He tells me that never has a small dog needed so much shampoo to raise a lather, and that the water coming off me was some kind of record breaking black. Guinness was mentioned, though this might be a slight exageration.

Ah well, weekend is here, builders are gone and Dad has washed the kitchen floor about 5 times by now. We are all expecting a million more fireworks tonight, but to be honest we're a bit bored with them at this stage.

Have a great weekend

The fragrant, white and fluffy.....

Deefer

Tomorrow we get plastered

Remember remember, tonight's the night we're allowed lots of legal shouting in the back garden. How dare people invade OUR airspace with those nasty flashy, screamy, banging fireworks. Haggis has LOTS to say on the subject, most of it at full volume from the top of the steps. Megan shrugs (seen one firework, seen 'em all). Me, I'm not so sure, so I'm usually out there supporting Haggis but from a position closer to the house than he is, just in case a girl has to make a run for it.

Last night we dined in style, as you can see, red wine amongst the Panini-Boys' equipment, with Dad dodging between tools to conjure up a roast lamb, roasties, carrots and chard, followed by Christmas pud (but don't let on to the Pud-Lady we took this long to get around to it!) and ice cream.

Today, the Paninis have been gyprocking about the place and making good the grooves left by the absent wall, putting up the new ceiling and generally titivating because tomorrow we are getting plastered. No, Haggis, this isn't Calva and no, Megan, we are not talking red wine, Mum and Dad are under strict instructions to have the kitchen entirely clear of all kitchen-y stuff because "Rob" is going to perform a transformational miracle.

The Paninis are off to another job for the day, so we don't know how we'll do tomorrow for cheese rolls, cheddar puffs, cheese-and-bacon savouries and , of course panini. Today we were offered tomato and basil soup, coffee and a "roll up". I think the Paninis might have been taking the Mick at that stage, don't you.

Deefski

Diagonal Door and Panini

Oh what a perfect day (I'm glad I spent it with you). Not only have we have the builders round again which means plenty of torn off bits of cheese sandwich, bacon roll and cheese/ham panini (Old John has not yet learned to avoid our imploring looks, even though Dad scolds him). The guys have put up the door which sits neatly diagonally across the end of the hall (we have not yet been officially told that it's main purpose is to keep us at the back of the house when the humans are out), so we think Mum will be delighted.

It's a gorgeous honey oak, just waiting for some nice oil to be rubbed into it. There will be a glazed panel above it, and it has 2 windows, so will allow plenty of light through in either direction. They have also started on the ceiling work.

We also got taken out, all three of us, in the 2CV to go collect the old project car, Mademoiselle, to take her for a nice blast through all the country lanes across to Lew's workshop, where we are all allowed out for a good sniff around, There are old farm buildings and greenhouses so plenty of chicken-y and ratty smells to chase, as well as beer-drinking, tea-drinking Jack Russell "Rosie" to talk to.

We do, though create a minor drama when we stray too near some pigs in a field. Lew runs to rescue us in alarm. Dad is quite knowledgeable around farming but has no experience of pigs, and wasn't aware that pigs will quite happily surround and kill a dog, tearing it to peices if they get a chance. Could've told me!

Dad does not think it was such a perfect day though, just because he gets chauffeured around all the builders merchants in Canterbury shelling out for french windows here, a door there, wood there and laminated flooring there..... He's gone for a lie down.

Deefer (pah! Pigs! I wasn't scared!)

Canterbury Steel

Day 2 of the house-wrecking project. A lot less masonry flying about today and (Mum will be delighted to hear) a lot less dust. The guys tidy up the broken off edge of the ceiling where the RSJ is to go, then bash out a hole in the walls at either end. The beam gets hefted into position while we're out for a walk, so we didn't see that bit, and "wound up" with two more Acrows. Next comes blocking up above the steel, packing out the gap from RSJ to the bottom of the upstairs wall with slate, blocks and cement. All good stuff.

We get a nice walk round the boat yard and the town. Dad is curious as to where Sailing Barge Greta has got to. Working the touristy charter business all Summer out of Whitstable harbour, she was due to come "home" to our quayside last Sunday but-one, and hasn't appeared. Hope she (and skipper Steve) are OK.

Deefski

Trick or Treat?

Trick or treat? This is what happens if you don't give them the correct sweeties. They come back next day and knock your house down! I jest, of course. This is day 1 of Mum and Dad's

"re-modelling" project, to whit, knocking down the wall between Kitchen and Diner. So we have had Bob the Builder and his mate (actually, John and Dan) to "play with" all day. Can't think why we were all shut away out of the firing line when the boys set to with the kango's and hammers and the shards of masonry were a-flying.

End of Dad 1, and we have no wall left and the ceiling held up by Acrow props. We have a 3.7m RSJ (Yes, Mum did manage to call it a JCB this morning) coming. We shall have new floors, new ceilings and lots of making good in the walls dept. A new radiator, too, and some re-sited sockets. Dad has the week off, so he's been able to keep up and email some pics to Mum, but I bet she'll still be impressed when she first steps into her new "Kitchen Diner".

Meanwhile, up at the allotments, it's that time of year when some plots come free because people decide not to re-new. This year we have 6 part plots to let, and 35 souls on the waiting list, so Dad is busy arranging meetings up at the site to show people the options. We love this because we get to come too and get a good run around the site - this time with beardy black lurcher, Finzi.

You were only meant to blow the bl***y doors off!

Deefer

Undiscovered Kong

Ah the joys of it! Mum and Dad are clearing the dining room and the kitchen preparatory to Bob the Builder coming in Monday to demolish the wall between the two. In the process they move a big dresser and, lo and behold!, under it is an old Kong toy. What's more it's full of treats!

Now these may be fairly ancient treats (rumour has it that the kong was bought for me as a pup but that I either lost interest or it rolled under the dresser and got forgotten, but these treats improve with maturity and age, so I immediately claimed the toy as my own and set about extracting the goodies (and growling at anyone who came near.)

Haggis, on the other hand HATES all these furniture moves with a passion, strongly suspecting that they may result in humans disappearing with their belongings in a suit case and us being abandoned to the tender mercies of Dog Sitters. Now the only dog sitters we've ever had are Ken and Jackie one side, and the Angel B and Uncle Jim the other, all of whom are wonderful, but that doesn't stop Haggis slinking around with his tail and ears down, and a hang-dog expression like his little world is falling apart.

Meg's cool as long as no-one turns off the food supply....

Deefer