Back in the summer we bought some replacement fittings for the kitchen sink, including a snazzy new tap with a spray, and a printer/scanner/copier to replace the machine I returned to the office when I finished work at the end of March. The boxes have been sitting in their respective rooms for several months now, while we've been off enjoying ourselves. But the time has come to play with the new toys, so the target at the start of the week was to have both bits of kit up and running by today. But even the best laid plans go off course.......
.....Rather than start the week by messing around with the water supply, we decided to tackle the easiest job. However, before connecting up the new printer and making sure it could talk to the computers, I thought it would be a good idea to reorganise the loft to make better use of the space vacated by all the other work-related kit, documents and paperwork from my previous employment. That started the big shred and two trips to the recycling centre, with more to come.
....Then the light bulb in the bathroom which had been flickering for several weeks finally expired - or so I thought - just as we were going to bed. It was too late and dark to do anything about it that night, so we cleaned our teeth by torchlight for the first time. The next day when I undid the fitting to replace the bulb, the light came on again so Steve (resident electrician) tightened up the connections and put the fitting back on. That evening we noticed a strange smell in the bathroom; the light fitting had started to melt. Off with the light and out with the torch to clean our teeth on night 2. The following morning, Steve realized that had put the light fitting back together incorrectly, which is why it had overheated. So now we needed a replacement fitting, rather than a bulb.
By the end of the day, the old fitting had been removed and the holes in the ceiling filled. But rather than risk drilling into the filler before it had set thoroughly, we managed without the bathroom light and cleaned our teeth by torchlight for the third time.
The next morning we were out on a photowalk at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory - a fascinating experience! We also felt pleased with ourselves by buying a new bathroom light fitting on the way home, ready to fix that afternoon. Then disaster struck. The holes to fix the lamp in place were just in the wrong place in the old lathe and plaster ceiling to get a good grip; the screw fixings were not strong enough to take the weight of the new fitting. We gave up, reconciled to cleaning our teeth by torchlight for the fourth night while we tried to figure out what to do.
A second set of drill holes and a good dollop of "No More Nails" later and the new fitting is up in place. We have light in the bathroom tonight!
However, we don't have the new printer up and running yet. The new kitchen tap is still in its box. We now have the aftermath of the bathroom light saga to sort out, as well as the remnants of the big loft clear out. Feels like we have moved one step forward and two steps back this week. Ah well, there's always next week.....I hope that replacing the kitchen tap goes a bit more smoothly!
At least it has provided a distraction from thinking about Steve's next assessment, now less than three weeks away. Just have to keep ourselves occupied.....
.....Rather than start the week by messing around with the water supply, we decided to tackle the easiest job. However, before connecting up the new printer and making sure it could talk to the computers, I thought it would be a good idea to reorganise the loft to make better use of the space vacated by all the other work-related kit, documents and paperwork from my previous employment. That started the big shred and two trips to the recycling centre, with more to come.
....Then the light bulb in the bathroom which had been flickering for several weeks finally expired - or so I thought - just as we were going to bed. It was too late and dark to do anything about it that night, so we cleaned our teeth by torchlight for the first time. The next day when I undid the fitting to replace the bulb, the light came on again so Steve (resident electrician) tightened up the connections and put the fitting back on. That evening we noticed a strange smell in the bathroom; the light fitting had started to melt. Off with the light and out with the torch to clean our teeth on night 2. The following morning, Steve realized that had put the light fitting back together incorrectly, which is why it had overheated. So now we needed a replacement fitting, rather than a bulb.
By the end of the day, the old fitting had been removed and the holes in the ceiling filled. But rather than risk drilling into the filler before it had set thoroughly, we managed without the bathroom light and cleaned our teeth by torchlight for the third time.
The next morning we were out on a photowalk at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory - a fascinating experience! We also felt pleased with ourselves by buying a new bathroom light fitting on the way home, ready to fix that afternoon. Then disaster struck. The holes to fix the lamp in place were just in the wrong place in the old lathe and plaster ceiling to get a good grip; the screw fixings were not strong enough to take the weight of the new fitting. We gave up, reconciled to cleaning our teeth by torchlight for the fourth night while we tried to figure out what to do.
A second set of drill holes and a good dollop of "No More Nails" later and the new fitting is up in place. We have light in the bathroom tonight!
However, we don't have the new printer up and running yet. The new kitchen tap is still in its box. We now have the aftermath of the bathroom light saga to sort out, as well as the remnants of the big loft clear out. Feels like we have moved one step forward and two steps back this week. Ah well, there's always next week.....I hope that replacing the kitchen tap goes a bit more smoothly!
At least it has provided a distraction from thinking about Steve's next assessment, now less than three weeks away. Just have to keep ourselves occupied.....
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