Day whatever...

Well, there has been somewhat of a hiatus in the blogging of the building project, which has cunningly coincided with a hiatus in the actual building. Last week I arranged for a short notice week off work to remove Josie and myself from the proposed kitchen-free situation. What a good idea, I thought. I arrived on the Isle of Wight as planned, but the week was scuppered by Millie requiring an emergency tooth extraction under general anaesthetic on the Friday, me needing root canal work, and the builders not actually doing a blinking thing due to the fact that the glass for the main windows wasn't ready. As twitter would put it #fail.

Still we survived at least, and the builders worked on Sunday to finally rip the kitchen out by the roots, just in time for us to get back from the Isle of Wight, where we'd had to go to get Josie who had been left there for the duration of Millie's operation... confused yet? I was.

Yesterday and today (Tuesday) the builders have worked as if the full fury of my mother-in-law was snapping at their heels (in case they were wondering, it is). A text from my neighbour earlier today threatened that if she was driven to suicide due to the noise it would be all our fault. I feel guilty. But pleased that we are finally getting somewhere. Nick the builder did pop round to apologise for what Amy the neighbour termed "another day of hell". She is definitely suffering more than we are at the moment as we are at work/school most of the time.

We've had two days without a kitchen so far (the plan to leave erm, anything at all, in situ seems to have gone by the board as the urgency of the situation became clear). I have served up pitta and houmous and spaghetti on toast so far for the children, and a salad and fish pie (microwaved) and peas for Ed and I. I'm concerned that I've run out of inspiration and that Josie is going through a particularly picky eating phase at the moment, but I suppose this is kill or cure.

Speaking of the girls, we came back to a note yesterday telling us to stay out of the kitchen, because it is dangerous, and to be careful on the floor above. This concerned us somewhat as Josie's room is above, and although I don't actually think the whole lot is likely to collapse, it seemed provident to put Josie to sleep in Millie's room for the time being. This is an arrangement I have been lobbying for for some time, but one which Ed has refused adamantly up to now due to his fear that they would keep each other awake, wake each other up, and generally interfere with his beauty sleep. (It wouldn't interfere with mine other than for me to wake up and prod him to go and see what the matter is.) So far, his fears have proved unfounded as they slept like babies last night - in that Josie woke up screaming at 3 a.m. but that's standard, and she didn't wake Millie. They've gone off to sleep alright tonight too, so fingers crossed. If this works then we might look at them sharing officially for a while, which will leave us with a spare room for visiting relatives.

I can't face grappling with the camera to upload the photos tonight, so please just imagine a kitchen ceiling suspended on scaffolding and quite a lot of dust. Now I'd better post this before our geriatric laptop, which currently sounds like a contented cat on speed, finally gives up the ghost.