2010 — 12 July: Monday
Among the drawbacks1 of retiring to sleep before midnight is that the following day invariably starts earlier than I would like. For example, it's only 07:59 and the desktop indexing tool has only just finished what it would otherwise have been doing over seven hours ago. So I was stalled by that, and also must wait for the vinyl fitters at around noon. I was never much good at waiting.
Still, it's been doing some of the forecast light raining, which has again brought the temperature down to a more humane level. I've been wondering about relocating my PC system permanently downstairs to the back of the living room. After all, that's where my toys live, and I like to be close to them. Then I could make my study upstairs into a full-on library, forget about running another audio system up there, and even turn what was Christa's office (back) into a real spare bedroom. Endless decisions. As I've said, it's like having a whole new house to mould (as it were).
I certainly don't want the freezers in the living room any longer than absolutely necessary today.
Nor the fridge-freezer in the hallway.
Time, and a bare cupboard...
... wait for no man. I shall therefore nip out on that well-trodden supplies trail. Meanwhile, my NZ lamb-rearing chum has pointed me to a tool I never knew I needed: Google SketchUp viewer. Awesome list of pre-reqs, however, for my little system.
Somewhat later
It's 14:03, the vinyl fitter, having chatted a while about hi-fi and video systems, is now hard at work on the kitchen floor. Lunch has been lunched, and I continue to ponder gently on potential changes to the layout and purpose of various rooms hereabouts. I think I'm too selfish to turn Christa's office into (as it were) a fulltime spare bedroom. But I could certainly see putting in a comfy chair, a cut-down music system, a good light, and a book or two.
Meanwhile, I took some "before" photos of the kitchen this morning. This one most clearly shows the current emptiness:
This next one shows the new cooker, neatly shoehorned into its space (with about 1mm to spare):
However, if I'm honest, I still infinitely prefer the older, more cluttered, model along with its ever-smiling keeper!
A couple of cuppas later, quite a lot of hammering, and the vinyl is about ready to go down on top of its plywood layer. It's 15:29 and counting. [Pause] Aah, I failed to factor in the plaster-like gunk used to seal ("feather", apparently, or maybe it was "anti-feather") the edges of the plywood gaps before the vinyl is allowed anywhere near. Still, at 17:29 there are sounds that seem to indicate victory is almost within grasp.
Then the fridge-freezer and two freezers need to go back in place, of course. [Pause] A final (or should that be "vinyl"?) video and music related chat over a final cuppa, and the job is well done at 18:55 — so that's Stage 1 of the house adventure. Still a lot too much to do, of course, but that's the end of the beginning, as it were. And then to be charged less than the original amount because I'd done so much of the preparatory stuff-shifting was a nice touch.
Right. Time to think about my evening meal, methinks. And, as I munch my delicious chicken and oak-smoked cheddar salad, I can contemplate the difference six hours can make to a chap's kitchen:
That's an offcut on the floor, by the way, not a mistake. Wonder of wonders, the (unpatterned) vinyl is a close, and compatible, match with the Schreiber wall cabinets, too. Bonus. I'm sure Christa would approve.
It's 22:55 and I'm drooping fast here. Still, the kitchen is already looking much better. Yawn.