Monday 31 October 2016

Me on Monday - towards a new kitchen

The top of the staircase just peeking through the small hole.
It will get bigger eventually
 It's been a long week this weekend. Mr M doesn't like changes in his home, he hates it if I move the furniture so he is pretty darned stressed. Add to this the fact that some really nasty foreign truck driver reversed his huge articulated truck into the side of our car last Monday and you can kind of imagine how Mr M feels about "change"

Anyhooooo, We progressed quite rapidly from cellar full of cra stuff to staircase fixed top and bottom and then I said something.
"Because of all the woodworm in the wood we are chucking out," I said, "could you check all the joists in the floor above you?"
The staircase fixed top and bottom
"Yes" said Mike, and produced the technical testing equipment ( a cross-head screwdriver. You poke the joists, if the point sinks into the wood you have a problem if it doesn't you don't)
He called me down to see what he had found. Three of the joists were affected so this meant stripping the ceiling off the rest of the cellar and checking right across then replacing those affected joists and treating everything with anti-woodworm venom chemicals.
The new ceiling will be plywood with insulation between the joists so the ply has to be treated too. All good stuff for stress right? We still need to get vinyl flooring into the bathroom so we went to a place recommended to us by a satisfied customer and arranged for the man to come and measure.
Then we popped up the hill to see Lady B. She seems to think that she should have stopped crying by now, after all it has been three weeks (her words not mine). I have told her that we would all worry if she wasn't still dissolving and that it is to be expected for the next several years. She doesn't agree. I wish there was some way to convince her that it is not weakness it is human. I mean you don't live with your soul-mate for fifty years and not dissolve into tears unexpectedly when someone says a particular word or a memory fills your mind - do you?
She will be very cross with me for writing this but it is simply my way of coping with the ache I feel for her.

My thanks to Sian at FromHighInTheSky for inventing this meme and keeping me writing

PS two more rat bodies were found between the joists so it was A Good Thing we had to strip the ceiling

6 comments:

Sian said...

My heart goes out to her. I wish I had something useful to say. All I got is that you sound like the very best kind of loving companion and I so hope you are treating yourself gently too so you can keep up the support (and I don't mean in the ceiling..)

debs14 said...

Oh my goodness you really do have your hands full at the moment.
Take good care of yourself too, grief has a way of sapping energy. Three weeks is no time at all, how fortunate she is to have you to support her.

Patio Postcards said...

Cyber hugs to you & Lady B. I believe it takes a full year of mourning because you have to go through a series of "firsts" without that special someone. I think the Victorians had it right on this one.
Yes good thing to get the supporting rafters tested - like our own bodies if the bones are not strong enough, no matter how much make up with put on/into it, it will all crumble down quickly. Happy week ahead & good luck with the ongoing changes.

Susanne said...

Change is so stressful, but I am glad to see you are making positive progress on the repairs. Hugs to Lady B - I cannot even imagine how she feels. But I have learned we all deal with traumatic loss in different ways. She's lucky to have you standing by while she finds hers. And I am hoping you are finding that kind of support as well as you deal with it too.

Barbara Eads said...

We're getting ready to undergo some remodeling too. Although I do not look forward to the mess, I am looking forward to the end result. I feel your pain!

alexa said...

Your kind and thoughtful words to Lady B are so true - grieving takes energy and time, and has its own rythym and cannot be rushed. The only way out is through ... Hoping you all find support and comfort. And with all the disruption around you, you'll be needing some strengthening and stability too. So sorry to read about the car too :(.