Mission accomplished

I have gone from feeling utterly useless at the beginning of this week, to being quite productive and chipper, and now I feel generally grumpy with the world. Last week was exhausting, but we achieved (most of) what we set out to do. G's house is looking sparkly and lovely top to bottom. Bad weather and lack of time meant we didn't manage to do much to the exterior of the property, but that's more a job for the spring.

Inside looks great. Each room has had a good scrub, remedial renovation and a fresh coat of paint. Mum and Dad were amazing. Dad for his technical prowess, boxing-in capabilities and ability to polyfiller like a pro. Mum was exceptional. She worked hard cleaning, prepping and painting, cooked us lovely food, was full of good ideas and generally kept us going. What a motivator. I don't think we would have finished without her. She also cleared the back yard and made it look like a lovely little garden - even though it was snowing - and she polished the beam running through the downstairs rooms with antique wax and touched up the metal work leaving it looking like a splendid period feature. I would have overlooked all that stuff, but she made a real difference.

I think she enjoyed having us close by and being able to pop in the car and drive over whenever she felt like it. I certainly enjoyed living there for the week. I grew quite attached to the place the more blood, sweat and tears that went into the work. Who knows, maybe we'll end up there at some point in the future. Anyway, plenty of people came to look round while we were working on the place and a nice young couple put down a deposit last week. Job done.

My shoulder has been very sore since we got back, but a good rub with ibuprofen gel and a couple of good sleeps on a proper mattress seems to have sorted it out. And ceasing all the repetitive rollering/paint brush action must have helped a little… I do feel very run down though. I have developed sore red patches under my eyes - almost eczema-like - and have a lumpy spot on my cheek that has failed to come to a head but also refuses to budge. I did live off chips and chocolate last week though, so it's not really surprising. Back on the healthy living plan this week. Well. Soon perhaps :-)