Start the week as we mean to go on

These are some of the mini cyclamen that I rescued last week; they make a lovely splash of colour on the back steps.

Well, we're off and running this week!  Menu plan written out, meters read and usage recorded, bread baked, and 'to do' list being worked through as we speak.  I think we were more stressed about the flat sale than we realised.  It really is a huge relief and consequently we are far more relaxed and able to get on with things again.

Monday is, tentatively, cleaning day.  Not necessarily set in stone, but having fretted about not being able to clean the house when we were in the midst of the refurb, I like the thought of a routine.  Dust, hoover, tidy-up - the whole house was done in an hour!  We don't have a huge amount of 'stuff' cluttering up every surface so that makes cleaning so much easier.  We've also learned to put away rather than leave things out - now we have found homes for almost everything that also becomes a doddle - and cleaning the house is not the chore it has been in the past.  Perhaps it's because I wear my new apron - thinking about it, that is probably the reason!  I'm becoming quite attached to my pinny.

Having got the inside of the house sorted out, we need to turn our attention to outside.  There is a lot of maintenance to do in the garden and the exterior of the property and we will need to do this on a regular basis.  This morning was set aside to check over the two small wooden sheds, both of which were in need of a bit of TLC.  I painted them with wood preservative which will help keep them watertight and N checked them over for gaps in the planking.  

As so often happens, one job led to another and before long he had completely dismantled one of the shed doors.  There was a problem and it needed to be sorted, and N spent half an hour working out a solution and finding odd bits of wood that would serve the purpose.  The door now fits properly.  A good mornings' work.