So this is how it starts..

This whole blogging thing is highly addictive. Having spent loads of time reading other people's entries, I am always amazed at the dedication that they show in trying to ensure that there is at least an entry a week. Here I am not even a week into the process and already I'm not sure what to write about.

Perhaps the biggest problem that I face is that I'm not sure that my writing ability is even remotely up to the task. There is a certain glibness that my favourites achieve that leaves me in awe of their obvious literal abilities and yet here I am struggling to string a decent sentence together.

In light of the above I have decided to not try to hard but rather to use this as an outlet for things that annoy or amuse me, the former I have clearly achieved (see yesterday) but the latter is proving more difficult to put into words, but I'll keep trying until I get it right.

I'd hate to give the wrong impression, I'm not a serious person by nature. The RO and I laugh all the time, at each other, with each other and generally at everything around us. The problem is that our source of amusement is very situation specific which is hardly useful when you're reporting it after the fact. We have our little idiosyncrasies that are rather endearing to us and pretty strange to others. One such example has been a source of minor embarrassment on a couple of occasions when we have people over to visit and we settle in to watch our favourite tv drama, namely, CSI - Las Vegas. You see, the theme song (Who Are You by The Who) is irresistibly sing-able. We slip into the habit of happily singling along at the top of our voices along the lines of; 'Whoooooooo Are you.. who who.. who who. Add to this the required head movements (imagine sideways head jerks and pursed lips) and a distinct inability to carry a tune and the result is very uncomfortable guests with no polite way to excuse themselves without drawing attention to the horror!

Our weird singing habits are unfortunately not isolated to this one tv time slot as we find ourselves doing exactly the same thing to adverts as well. Sainsbury's 'Little tiny Bob' is a current favourite and Renaults Megane advert provides much hilarity and ass shaking!

Speaking of the influence of adverts, I must remember to thank a certain company for providing me with the perfect word to use on those occasions when real Cushing just isn't appropriate. The word boswelox started being used way back when the advert first came on and is used to describe any situation which obviously doesn't ring true. It brought immense satisfaction when that particular company was recently said to be to be in trouble over this particular product as their claims about scientific evidence proved to be, well, boswelox!

Such is the life huh?

VP

A simple rant..

Yip, its finally happened. We have been attacked by the builders virus and its not pretty.

Today was the last straw because for the last 5 weeks we have listened to excuses and promises that never seem to be fulfilled and yet we're once again in a position where we're going to be 3 more weeks behind schedule. Making a total of 6 weeks! With winter around the corner this really is worrying.

We had watched all the relevant DIY shows, we'd planned scrupulously to try and keep the disasters to a minimum and in the end, the problem lay with the people, not the property.

Basically our electricians have dumped us right in it by disappearing mid job. They were supposed to finish the first fix (sparky speak for running all the cables and chiseling out the necessary channels in the walls) by last week-end. They were on track to get it done when I made the fatal mistake of paying them for materials - they left immediately afterwards and we haven't seen them since. Several messages seem to have had no affect at all as I'm yet to hear what the hold up has been.

The installers for our kitchen arrived today with everything in tow, to a kitchen that they can't work in because none of the ground work has been done. In short, we will now have to wait 3 weeks before they have another opening in their busy schedule. *sigh*

It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't the latest in a long list of builder ineptitude. I find it fascinating that there is no concept of time management or for that matter customer service in the English building industry (yes I generalise but this has been my experience so far). Surely word of mouth and repeat business are the staple for small companies and independent contractors? Work might be rife but so are the number of contractors to choose from. If I may be so bold as to use this forum as a mechanism for positive reinforcement, Dolphin Bathrooms and Magnet Kitchens have been wonderful - but then again, these are large companies with a lot invested in client satisfaction.

I itch to get my hands on the builders that are working on this contract (although violence is *never* the answer) to teach them a little bit about basic project and time management. Failing that, a simple lesson in communication and honesty wouldn't be amiss either.

The upside of all this drama is that the project is now going to be taken over by someone with a vested interest in getting things done, me! These poor builders aren't going to know what has hit them. I've had plenty of experience dealing with lazy, ignorant, dishonest workers and I'm perfectly willing to destroy any misguided impressions of saintly girliness that they might have.

Roll on PMS, this is going to be a wild week!

VP

The end is nigh..

Its always sad to say goodbye to the summer but it has been a lovely bank holiday week-end! The weather was ok but the bandwidth was fabulous!

I have managed to catch up on all of my favourite blogs and still managed to fit in almost all of the chores that simply had to be done by the time the new week rolls around. One of my favourite pastimes is to follow the links from one of my regular blog reads, find one that takes my fancy and then read all the archives until I catch up. My latest obsession is with Speaking as a Parent which is both entertaining and informative (highly recommended).

Its rather strange to be on the other side of things. I've spent months following other peoples lives and finding myself warming to many of them, but I can't really imagine the same
happening here. I don't mind at all, as the very idea of sending your thoughts out over the wibbly wobbly web is enough to keep me awake at night, I'm not sure I could cope with the responsibility of actual acknowledgment!

That being said, if any of you do stumble across this place that I call my own, let me know that you have been - especially if you have a blog of your own for me to sink my teeth into as I'm almost done with Speaking as a Parent and I'll need new blood soon!

VP

Heavenly creatures...

Animals are fascinating aren't they? Our 2 Jack Russels are now just short of a year old and we're trying desperately to get them house trained before the remodeling is finished. We were all prepared for this move to the new house, having bought a lovely (and rather large) dog run for them to stay in during the day while we're not here and the builders are. Unfortunately we hadn't consider the possibility of having a particularly unfriendly and grumpy neighbour - shall we call him Bob - and so we're forced to keep them indoors most of the time.

Bob isn't an immediate neighbour, he's about 200m away, across the brook and up the hill. Unfortunately he has a pretty good view of our garden and, it seems, he really doesn't like dogs. We'd been here about a week and the dogs were struggling to get used to the new sounds and smells and the steady stream of strange people coming and going on the property. It seems that in this week the dogs barked a fair amount while we weren't here. This seemed strange to us as they were perfectly fine when we got home in the evening and none of our immediate neighbour's had complained (even after they were asked). Bob however felt that it was his 'neighborly' duty to welcome us to the village with a particularly sarcastic little note. He made it very clear that we were to 'do' something about those dogs as he wouldn't put up with the noise. I was ready to super glue his letter box shut and mail bomb his doorstep with doggy-do but RO felt that there was a more 'English' way of going about it. It seems that he was right (for once) and after several nights of mithering about whether the dogs had behaved during the day, he seems to have admitted that things are better.

This may all sound perfectly reasonable but it seems that Bob has a bit of a reputation. Its been said that he would complain if a Blackbird was singing in his yard! I've since learnt that he is affectionately referred to as the Great Wall of China, what I haven't figured out is whether that's because he sits up on his little hill peering at everyone or whether its because he's a big, white monstrosity, I guess only time will tell.

VP

The high life

There are definitely advantages to living the simple life. For one, we have a fantastic excuse for having our laundry done by the professionals. There's something wonderfully decadent about dropping off your bags of dirty laundry, only to collect it the following day all neatly washed, dried and folded. This is going to be a very difficult habit to break!

Mam & Dad popped around for their bank holiday visit and were clearly distressed by the general state of the house. Perhaps with age comes the inability to see beyond the obvious? More likely however, they like us, are sensitive to the fact that winter is now around the corner and life won't be nearly as pleasant or as simple as it is right now.

On the up side however, the new bath is installed and its heavenly!! Not least because we haven't had our own ablutions for more than 3 months, but also because it is HUGE. Stretched out I reach both ends and the bulging bit at the end (that the shower fits over) means that there is simply oodles of toe wiggling room. Even my larger than life friends will find it comforting :-)

Its all rather tedious material for a blog but as its the beginning of this pigs new journey into the life of a small Welsh village, I figure it'll be the beginning of something beautiful. I'll be sure to keep my eyes open for more amusing anecdotes.

VP

Checklist:
Plumbing - Sort of
Electrics - 1 plug
Kitchen - apparently next week
Bathroom - part way there
Central heating - As if!!
Rendering - Most of the render has been removed, along with parts of the wall which have had to be rebuilt. Oh the joy of it!!

In builders we trust

It is true that absence makes the heart grow fonder because I never realised just how much I use and enjoy the simple things in life. You know the things I mean, hot running water, elecrical outlets in every room, lights that switch on at the wall... hell the list is endless and not to be sniffed at!

Its been 2 months since we've moved our dinky little caravan onto the site of our new house in Wales. Well when I say new, what I really mean is really really old and in need of loads of tlc. Which is what we're in the process of doing but thanks to our merry friends, the builders, we are now at least a month behind schedule! Not that I'm complaining - its very romantic eating our microwave meals (no kitchen at present) by the soft glow of a low watt lamp (no real electrics to speak of) off the charmingly disposable paper plates (no sink to wash up in). Truly the inch thick layers of dust over everything provide that soft glow around all that the light touches and the 'builders cough' is just a welcome bi-product of this romance.

BGA wonders how we cope? The answer is surprisingly simple, its a labour of love. Our first house together, as a couple and all going according to plan, the place that we will enjoy many clean, well lit, crockery using moments in the future.

VP

Checklist:
Plumbing - Sort of
Electrics - 1 plug
Kitchen - apparently next week
Bathroom - part way there
Central heating - As if!!