The End of Stage One Undercoat

Having taped up the goiter with packing tape, the night passed uneventfully albeit slightly chilly and I awoke on British Summer Time to a rainy Sunday.

A most productive day was had and I completed Stage One Undercoat throughout. Even the bathroom which was slightly indulgent and along the lines of polishing a turd turned out to look slightly less shit so that’s a plus.

I even managed to go to the launderette and pop into the office for a shower. Hurray for a corporate job with showers!

And so with all that done, I’m almost packed and will be off at the crack of dawn to avoid annoying commuters with my luggage (or am I the only one who finds it completely inconsiderate that people travel with luggage and strollers before 9:30am?)

I suspect after ten days in the South of France a long way from a paintbrush, I’ll feel positive and refreshed upon my return and Letad will be ready to embark on Stage Two Undercoat where he gets to sand, fill and cover up my patchy painting.

What is it they say? A change is as good as a holiday.

That Sinking Feeling

Apparently I have melted the air bed with the heater. Who knew plastic would melt?

I am slowly sinking lower and lower and despite taping the hole, there is a strange goiter which looks like it could burst at any moment. I’m not entirely confident that we’ll make it through the next two nights. It’s also bloody freezing as I have no heating.

On the plus side I have a white room and a bottle of wine. Seems like things could be worse!

A Day of Epic Proportions

Saturday and despite my best efforts, I couldn’t repair the tap so I remain waterless.

Having said that, I am employing genius tactics of reboiling the water from my hot water bottle to refill it. I was clearly born in the wrong era.

Despite the limited water, I worked hard and now have a patchy white bedroom to add to the collection. What a difference badly painted undercoat makes, from streaky brown plaster to gleaming white walls. I’m also high on paint fumes so that’s an extra bonus!

After the front bedroom, I tackled the back bedroom with sealant so the walls are ready to paint tomorrow. My goal… to leave here on Monday morning with everything undercoated except the imaginary kitchen. I may not be able to walk and I will say, it is bloody hard work especially the ceilings.

Still, I’m proud of myself for soldiering on and indeed surviving the last two weeks. It hasn’t been the most fun I’ve ever had but in the grand scheme of things, so what if we have to fix the bathroom?!

Clearly the wine/paint fume combination has made me strangely optimistic… 

Thar she blows!

I have to confess that despite putting my best foot forward (as much as possible) the bathroom has been somewhat plagued with problems.

The dodgy tiler did a pretty bad job and every time I sit in the bath I see more problems. The tiles are badly laid and horrors, the grout around the bath has already cracked. Nothing looks straight and it goes without saying that nothing’s actually finished. It’s very depressing.

My beloved floor tiles, much desired are badly laid and weren’t cleaned properly before he sealed them so they’re dirty. It’s heartbreaking as I know they could look so beautiful.

A few days ago I found a small crack in the brand new bath, how that happened I have no idea, I suspect the dodgy tiler did it though. It has a ten year warranty so however it happened it looks as though we’ll have to pull the bath out.

To top things off, last night one of the taps for the heated towel rail blew its top. The towel rail is no longer installed as the floor had to be leveled (and the pipes are now too short) so there are two taps coming out of the floor unattached.

I noticed a small leak and tried to tighten the nut. It wouldn’t tighten and when I turned it by hand, the whole tap came off. A huge brown geyser of boiling water sprayed the bathroom, up the walls, across the floor, everywhere. Oh my god.

I ran, panicked, shit, shit, shit. This was bad.

Under the stairs I found the stopcock and turned off the water, hopefully not to the whole building as we have that tap too. The geyser abated and the mopping began.

Upon closer inspection it looks as though the seal has gone on the nut. I will be trotting down to the hardware store as soon as they open in the morning to see if it’s something I can fix otherwise the water is staying off until a plumber can come.

The most positive thing I can think, thank goodness this didn’t happen while we’re in France next week. The entire house would have flooded and probably sunk.

White white baby

Having woken up at 5am, I decided to crack on and paint the upper hall. Don’t look closely because my early morning painting is pretty rough. 

Hopefully a second coat will even things out. 

I stopped for a moment and relocated the plants into the early morning sun. 

And the rest of the day consists of digging through boxes in the storage unit as I need to find some paperwork and a trip to the launderette as I’m out of clothes. Fun times!

I have two rooms to seal and undercoat and the last room to paint will be the front bedroom, my brown bedsit. By next weekend things should be looking much better. 

And then, I shall go to France to recover. 

All white

Saturday and I was painting undercoat.

All white which is better than plaster brown. 

It’s a bit patchy and the ceilings are very hard work but overall it’s light and bright and makes a huge difference. 

The white living room

The white lower hall

It was a busy day. More to come tomorrow…

More stripping

Here’s my next stripping project…

It’s metal, insanely heavy and has great potential. But not until I’ve painted all the walls.

Bedsit Supper

At the risk of being dull, tonight’s Bedsit Supper surpassed all others. 

A frittata or rather grilled omelette. Feta, grated courgettes and segments of green beans mixed with two beaten eggs and poured on to the grill. A quick close of the lid and voila, a light, fluffy, delicious omelette or frittata. Whatever it was, it was lovely and bedsit suppers have reached new heights. 

I may not be able to up the ante after this. 

To celebrate I cleaned the bathroom and installed the shiny new toilet seat as I was worried I was falling off the DIY wagon…. 

And then there was Light

And it was good. 

The hall – illuminated. 

The bathroom

And the shiny new toilet seat. A treat indeed. 

Meals from the Bedsit

Another successful evening on the grill. 

This time, sliced courgettes (or zucchini depending on location) topped with halloumi, green beans on the side and spooned avocado. Cracked black pepper and it was perfect. Yum, my ideal food. 

I’m not sure what my next meal is as I have eggs, avocado and courgettes left… I’m tempted to try a frittata. Can it be done? Stayed tuned as the excitement continues!

I don’t have a fridge so the challenge is to pretend it’s the war and shop every other day. 

I’ll also be hand washing clothes in the bath so I’m not sure which war…

Exciting stuff from the QPMP bedsit!