I'm still sitting on that mission statement but at least I now have the photos to go with it.  However, in the meantime, the school holidays got in the road along with a long overdue renovation of the bathroom and the kitchen.  We decided that since we couldn't afford to move the toilet out of the kitchen, we would have to transform the kitchen into the bathroom and move the kitchen into what was supposed to be the new bathroom. (still following???? :)

So stage one was to remove as much of the kitchen furniture as possible into the entirely unstarted bathroom (which James was using as a bedroom) and shift James into Matts office where there is a loft bed (which he inhabits anyway as that is where his computer and the music keyboard hangs out. Still with me :)

Then we had to remove a wall and a door (unfinished because the bathroom never got any further) carefully so that they can be reused in the old kitchen which will be divided in half - one end becoming the bathroom and the other retaining the kitchen bench for laundry and dyeing purposes. (It's a long narrow lean to that was probably the original outside laundry/toilet). Then we replaced the (way too small) bathroom window with a recycled one from a demolition yard - larger by far and lets in lots of light.  It came with a type of frosted glass which we could have replaced with clear but we rather like it and the view is straight into the bank so why would we bother. This is now installed and I spent a couple of days cleaning up the dust bunnies and their families and finding places for all the stuff which now has nowhere to go (Question - how much stuff can you fit under a double bed?  Answer - lots if you move it up to its highest notch :).

We now have the job of moving the electrics for the hob and getting the plumbing put in.  Fortunately the shower hangs out in the new hallway so will be operational at all times (if a little public) and the toilet will remain where it is although it will get a much needed facelift (new pan etc).  There will finally be a handbasin and I get to crazy tile another shower :)

The present job is to remove the very rotten window in the new bathroom and replace it with the fancy one from the might have been bathroom.  This is creating some headaches as rather a lot of the wall (inside and out) is also very rotten and we have no idea where the leak is coming from. We will have to live with black building paper for the moment as the budget is non existent but at least the rot will be gone.

The whole thing is turning into rather a marathon effort but the result should be a wonderful bathroom and an adequate kitchen which will turn into something much better if we can ever afford it. And no more washing of hands from the toilet in the kitchen sink!!!!! And no more washing machine in the middle of the back door to sidle around to get to the kitchen and toilet. And no more washing machine blocking up the floor where you want to get dried from the shower. I even get to rip up the horrible lino in various places and give our house a proper 100 year old birthday with some nice new clothes :)

viv

And I washed the socks......