New Gate

The new gate was chosen from a catalogue. The basic shape, the colour, but we weren't convinced by the look as a whole. Mr Kelly did a very dangerous thing. He brought out another book full of add-ons for gates: finials, arrows, fleurs de lys, cherubs, you name it, in all shapes and sizes. Anyone who knows me knows I could have obsessed about this for days. Yet a decision was made quickly, not least because both Henny and I immediately went for the same conical spearheads.

Although ordered ages ago, the gate was one of the last things to be delivered. "Still waiting on your points," said Mr Kelly with a slightly raised eyebrow. There's a lovely feeling of security now that it's in place. And the little points were worth the wait.

Tiling begins

Here's one for Elina who wanted to see every tile being laid. I'm normally not one for diagonal tiling, but in a house where no angle is true, it's much more forgiving. You also get a sweep between the two rooms, hopefully giving the illusion of space. Henny says, try as she might, the colour in the pictures just isn't right; in real life it's warmer and prettier. But you can see, we opted for the lavande.

Insider trading

My tip to friends was to buy shares in a glass brick manufacturer before the order went in for my house. Sorry folks, now it's too late. Signed, sealed, delivered, all 128 of them.

Small Surprise

A little balustrade was required on the tower window to be totally legal, to keep us from tumbling out. Mr Kelly showed various standard options from a style sheet. Noses were promptly turned up, which Mr Kelly has come to expect. This is my 2nd house with him; he's gotten to know my tastes. He'd figure something out that resembled the existing balconies. I didn't know quite what to expect, but I think the result is sweet. New shutters have been delivered, paint colour yet to be determined. The house is finally looking less trailer-like.

Subtle Differences

We had a site meeting in the pouring rain on Monday. We told Mr Kelly how much we liked the new zinc gutter on the front of the house. We were thinking of doing the same at the back. Today when Henny watered the plants, bingo, it had already been done. Whether it was in the budget or not! But it's so much prettier than the former plastic, and we can admire it more often from this vantage point, it's surely worth it.

Another difference, the scaffolding on the tower is gone. The last job was to remove the rusty old bracket that used to hold the electrics supply. You can see this has now been re-routed to the front of the house. Dealing with EDF on this matter was a protracted nightmare, so I'm sure Mr Kelly's delighted it's behind us. We have an up-to-date legal supply now too.