House update

Sarah got into a bit of a tizzy yesterday morning regarding her perceived lack of progress in turning the house into a home. With nothing better to do, I spent the entire weekend fixing over thirty pictures around the house and there is still a pile leaning up against a wall somewhere. A cluster of six Japanese prints took several hours wrestling with templates, rulers, tape measures, a spirit level and a keen cartographic eye to ensure the arrangement was within a tolerance of +/- 1mm.

The neighbourhood is expanding as more houses are finished each week. The level of sand and dust is also increasing and Sarah spends much of her day tutting and rubbing the floor with her Vileda mop (which makes a good surfboard for the kitten). To be fair, Sarah’s doing a grand job of creating a home within my ‘you’re not spending any more money’ restrictions.

Meanwhile the previous landlord has just phoned to ask how the watering system works as all the plants are dying. I mentioned to him months ago that there was a leak in the system which caused the pressure to drop throughout the day forcing the pump to activate with teeth-shattering brusqueness. Combined with the regular power cuts which reset the controlling computer, he’s beginning to realise he might have to spend a bit of the obscene amount of rent he has accumulated over the last three-and-a-half years.