In need of a cool breeze

Something very strange has happened here in London...something unseen for two years....something we never thought would happen again..summer has arrived! The hot weather and lots of sun means that the house has gotten really sticky and uncomfortable, especially upstairs. Guess that whole heat rising thing is true. We have a really bulky, but very effective portable airconditioner in our bedroom, but I've been on a quest for something to use in the kitchen/living room. Main criteria were that it was sleek, portable and not ugly! Currently love the retro styling of these fans and the copper is really different.

Of course fans are also a great way to beat the heat outside or where ever you are. Hand fans are the classic accessory that is still a great purchase what else can you slip into your purse that will instantly make you the envy of all your overheated fellow commuters?

7 weeks to go!

I counted this week and we only have 7 weeks to go till the builders arrive! Exciting and terrifying at the same time. So this weekend has been glorious sunshine with no clouds and hot hot weather which makes me very happy. Despite this I am doing what I'm always doing....scrambling around the backyard while hubby is destroying something trying to make sense of chaos. Seriously if the idea of blood and guts didn't make me queasy I'd be right there in the ER sorting stuff out!

Adventure of the weekend (this is a big thing for guys judging by the awed expressions on two of our friends we had over for dinner tonight) was the pneumatic demolition "drill". It's kind of like a jackhammer and some psychotic torture instrument. It's great at chewing through concrete though. So we spent most of the day pulling up the path and trying to break up the hard packed backyard. Tomorrow for day two of DEMOLITION SOUTH LONDON will be going after the support posts that used to hold up the decking. Here's how it looked this afternoon.

Good news though. I convinced hubby that we should just pay for a professional to redo the fence. Phew! Now to just get everything else done....Anyone got a Motrin?

Happy 4th of July

Two posts in one day what is the world coming to? Well just a quick one to say Happy 4th of July and a very Happy Birthday to my lovely Sister-In-Law! As is only fitting for a great holiday and a birthday a cake is in order. Here's a real beauty I did recently that got rave reviews. A layered swirl cheesecake of alternating layers of lemon curd and raspberry curd. Beautiful and tasty!

Recipe supplied upon request.

Backyard destruction

Well I'm going to make this short because hubby is off on trip 2 of 3 to the tip and I have to look helpful when he's back. I've got some finished pictures of the shelves avec les livres as you may say if you are French. It looks so nice and I'm really pleased. Here is the finished product!

The other big news is the backyard. After getting multiple builders quotes we were SHOCKED to find out how much it would cost to pay someone to redo the paving, fence etc in our little backyard. So the ever practical hubby decided that there was definitely some stuff we could do ourselves....cue me with a shovel a mountain of gravel and lots of rubble sacks....oh and a hammer, hand saw and whatever else was needed.  I learned a few things from this: 1) gravel is the devil's own playtoy (it's heavy, dirty and we have tons of it), 2) decking should not be put in a damp corner that never gets the sun...it rots...badly and 3) we're insane. Enough of that here's how it looks in progress:

PS. We also have wild blackberries growing in our backyard so super excited when those are ready!

The Backyard Calleth

Well after long last not only has summer arrived, but the backyard has been cleaned out as well. Mostly done because of a heated BBQ celebration to commemorate the USA v. England World Cup match it is much appreciated much the less. Here's how it is looking!

Oh and we have put some shelves up in the kitchen that are now roughly 99% done. Here's are a few in process pictures. Despite all my doubts about them crowding the kitchen we've had rave reviews and I can't wait to fill them with all of our books!

The Kitchen Shelves

I forgot to take some partially done pictures of the new shelves we're putting up in the kitchen, but here are some shots of them 85% done. We've got adjustable bookcase strips for part of it so we can move the shelves around to accommodate our rapidly growing book collection. The only part we need to put on are the architrave that will go on the vertical and horizontal edge to add a decorative touch and hide all the structural work. Can't believe this only took two weeks!

The Great Builder Dilemma

Well despite our best attempts to get this sorted out for weeks hubby and I have been subject to "The Great Builder Dilemma". We were originally planning on using the same builder who did all of the earlier work on the house (kitchen and bathroom), but with the bathroom having major problems due to not being completed correctly we have been on a quest to find a new one.

I can honestly say that there is nothing more annoying and time consuming than finding a builder. Not only do you have to find one that you are comfortable with, but you have to go over what you want done with each prospective and then wait an age for them to come back with a quote. Afterall this is someone you have to leave alone in your house with tools capable of mass destruction and all your worldly goods. Findig a builder is like using a dating service to find someone you want to marry without dating. Talk about stressful.

Luckily, we only had three options and one of them was out of the running right away for treating me like a small minded woman who doesn't know a RSJ from a flitch. I've steamed off wallpaper that was more engaging than him. Anyways we are now down to two options and they are:
Colin - English guy running a one man band who has been used before by our next door neighbors
Jack - Polish guy with a large company able to supply a whole crew to do the work. Brought loads of references with him and is going to arrange for us to see one of his current sites.

We're leaning towards Colin because our friends have been really happy with him, but that all depends on price. Even though we haven't picked our builder one thing is certain it's going to be a while until we knock down the first wall.