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Monday 5 June 2017

THE KITCHEN DIARY BY FIONA CUMMINGS

It’s raining hard and it’s really cold. I have had to put our heating on. Yes, in June. Outside it is 11°, inside, I don’t care, I have short sleeves on and I am so cold, so go and put long sleeves on? I kind of want to believe it’s summer.

I’m so hungry. I haven’t had anything to eat and won’t until six tonight as the men are coming to put our work tops in our kitchen this afternoon and won’t be finished till quarter to four. I pray the plumber will come and fit the sink. I don’t think I can stand the thought of using water from the downstairs bathroom again. I hope he will come because he only lives around the corner, but I have a feeling he won’t.

We bought a new wall light, because ours got broken with the work going on. Sadly, the electrician put it on the wall but the bulb has gone missing. So, does the light work? Not sure. Where has the bulb gone? I don’t know, I know there was a bulb with it as I took it from the box to look then put it back in with care along with the light, but we have a ghost so along with toothpaste, they obviously like bulbs too.

Our Joiner has done a great job, it’s going to be beautiful in there. He suggested that we painted the door, as in the wooden one that leads into the kitchen, but right now, I just want the kitchen finished. I contacted the painter but haven’t heard anything yet. To be honest I still would rather just stain it darker, but our plumber said it would look awful. It needs to be white gloss. All my doors are stained the same colour that is why I am reluctant to paint the kitchen one. Hub is very against it. We are trying to avoid paint work I know you have to get them stained, but not as much as you do when paint is involved. So, we may just go for a darker wood look. Right now, they are really light. The joiner said to paint it white as there shouldn’t be more than three colours in a kitchen. We have cream units and floor and whatever colour I have put on my walls, as well as white windowsill and skirting boards. The door will make it four colours.

Our new door won’t lock. Our lovely Joiner came to fix it today but it’s still broken. He also fitted a new windowsill. It looks great. Our kitchen is almost finished after the work tops and the sink, there are two small jobs to do. Finish off a trim Hub found that was missing, put clips in our glass unit because the company hadn’t sent enough out and then there is all the skirting boards to do in the kitchen and, the conservatory again, because of a bad job that the old builders did of our original job.

I put my brand-new towel out at the weekend. On our posh radiator. Luckily, I went to it today and found it was absolutely soaked. The plumbers Son obviously used it when he removed our sink we were sent for by the kitchen company. It’s out now, and my new towel is in the washing machine. He is the young lad who is a good worker bless him. Let’s hope his Dad doesn’t let the side down tonight? Smile.

Eight weeks tomorrow our work started. It will be totally finished by Thursday. All weekend Hub and I worked again, mainly to get the dirt from our conservatory. My poor sofa was full of not only dust but grit, tiny stones. Everything from planks of wood to tools and what was on the floor was placed on that I am shocked that it has no rips or marks on it. Our conservatory seams so much bigger because we don’t have a huge fridge in it now. As well as doors from cupboards and dishwashers. Well, a, dish washer.

At one time in there was our old fridge, our small freezer, our new tall built in fridge and then the freezer and our new washing machine, dryer, dishwasher and huge cooker. As well as the furniture from the conservatory. Oh, and the bin from the kitchen and a rack oh, gosh, and a tall wide dresser. My goodness, it really will look different now.

Our joiner said that we had plaster on the plastic frames in there, so I cleaned it, I just hope it has come off.

Hub and I tried to find things to put in our cupboards this weekend. My man is strong. Bless him. The boxes he carried downstairs was unreal. It’s kind of daunting when you are blind to have a huge box in your arms and feeling with your foot, where the start of the stairs is? Then trying to find the hole in the wall, the door, when you can’t use your hands? Not to mention what surprise our dogs have left us in toy form at the bottom of the stairs!

Our joiner is making us a cabinet to put our crystal in. It will be good when all that’s away. But let’s get the kitchen totally finished first.

The guys have just called me to let me know they are on their way to fit the work tops so I best go and unlock the gate and doors. They said it will take them two hours. I hope they will saw outside not in my conservatory? Though bless, it is raining.

Still waiting for things that were not in the box from our kitchen supplier. The company we used are called Wren Kitchens. They have a beautiful homely showroom. The meter and greeter are lovely giving you tea coffee juice if you want it and providing entertainment for the kids whilst you spend. But the after care is shocking. You have to be on the phone for ages. The first guy was going to send us a white door for our unit though it is stated clearly cream gloss, it took two weeks for those doors to arrive and the factory is an hour away. On Thursday morning, we requested some shelf pins hooks whatever you call them. They are clear though so don’t stick out a mile once in the cupboard with the glass display windows.
Today is Monday, we are still waiting.
After you are on hold for about half an hour waiting for them to answer and try to order you the correct items. We have had missing brackets, hooks whatever you call them and doors as well as handles. But, we are getting there, though I have aged at least seven years and three and a half months, in the past eight weeks.

Note to oneself. Remember to remove your little finger when closing the fridge door.
My left hand closed the fridge whilst my right hand was in the way. My little finger wasn’t happy. I put some ice on as soon as I did it.

Gosh, we sold our last item. Our old, very old freezer. It’s seven years old. It’s been in the garage for the past six years. Our last house it was in the kitchen but then found its way to the garage when we moved. Oh my. We sold it on eBay and my fear happened when he asked if he could collect it today. I don’t like people coming to the house I don’t know. I looked up his address he lives in a bit of a rough area. So, I was dreading it more. It’s half an hour’s drive from here. The name he has on eBay, is rather well, doesn’t sound like the kind of guy you would want to meet in a dark alley. So, the snob is coming out in me? He is the second English person to have bought our items. The rest have been with a strong accent from various countries. It’s been like the United Nations. But they have all been so lovely, so polite one didn’t speak English at all, but we still managed to communicate. This guy was English, broad speaking and I wasn’t keen. Oh my, the rest of the people said thank you, apart from the person who couldn’t speak English, and they took the items away they went. Heard nothing since so all Okay. This one? Well, I said it was in the garage, I opened the door it was already on wheels to make it easier for him to wheel to his car or whatever he came in. There was no thanks for that, where as other people were so polite and thanked us for making their lives easier. Apart from the one and only other English person who watched our Son carry the item to the car, put it in and didn’t even acknowledge the fact he didn’t need to lift a finger.

Well, the man today rang my bell…. Yep, Bloggets, someone rang my bell didn’t tickle our front door and run. I opened it, he grunted.
“Freezer!””
He wanted to know if it worked. I said yes, we were using it until a couple of days ago. He asked if he could plug it in? I didn’t want him in my garage, so I told him there was an outside plug. He grumbled. Where. I said there and pointed. It was right next to him.

He asked where the button was to fast frees it? I thought heck, what does he want, his dinner cooked for him?

I told him inside at the top were all the buttons. Well, he opened the door, closed it and opened it again.
“Sure, it’s working?””
100%.
“Why is it warm then?””
We defrosted it so you wouldn’t have water everywhere when you put it in your vehicle. Then he said.
“I pushed the fast frees button and it hasn’t frozen, Bloggets, really, we are talking about two and a half minutes by this stage. I said it takes a while for the freezer to frees. Well, he said it needs a clean on the outside, I said yes, it’s been in our garage and we have had workmen so there has been a lot of dust with them coming and going from the garage also the first lot of builders were in there sawing. I mean, seriously, it was clean, jut not immaculate, he was just a grumpy pumpy pants. No way I was getting buckets of hot soapy water out, not for a fiver. That’s what we got for it.

Well, he then went on his grumbling way and half an hour later, I received a text from him. Oh gosh. What now? He wanted to know how old it was? I told him coming up to seven years. I hope I won’t hear again from him. What on earth does he expect for £5? New, it was almost £500

Well since I started to write this, we have had yet more problems. The men came very nice to do our work tops. Forty minutes into the job, there is a problem. Long and short of it is, our joiner has come out thank God, he has as if not we would have to pay a fortune for these guys to come back out and we wouldn’t have got finished today again.

So now my splash back is off again. It scares me as it’s enormous about 3 ft long by almost that in height. Our lovely perfect corner bit has to be cut and they are leaving a line of work top to be stuck down by our joiner as he hasn’t time to wait as he has work to do himself today. Thankfully he will do it on Thursday, but why can’t anything go right? There isn’t one part of this job that has gone smoothly apart from the fact the electrics work. Touch wood.

I did smile when I noticed the guys voice change when he told me he will need a signature. Haha. Pass me that pen young man, I will do a smiley face if you like?

Did I tell you the other night Boy Wonder drew a picture on a box in the kitchen one the workers would be in the next day? So, I joined in and drew some pictures. BW can’t believe my pictures, he thinks it’s so funny that his blind Mum can draw. I drew a flower, a heart and a cat, well, I chickened out with the cat so the poor thing didn’t have features, but hey, you should have seen its tail?

Loads to tell you about BW in a few days. His latest adventures and more.

Meanwhile I shall go for now. I’m weary. Hungry for really really fried onions. But for now, my kitchen Diary continues.








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