200 Days of Summer

This year has been spectacularly warm, right through April and most of May.  Now then, as we perch on the fringe of another seasonal change, there have been no gentle hints of the colder weather to come, nor a gradual decline in degrees Celsius, but rather a sudden shove into frosty days accompanied by the bite that comes with winter, which one can only remedy with gloves and scarves.

Yet last Sunday we were blessed to have enjoyed one last day of beautiful warm weather, perfect for a walk by the river.

The perfect way to end a summery day, steaming Thai Pumpkin Soup with a crisp Caesar Salad, enjoyed with family.

The (Gentle) Art of Wall Busting

With Mrs B's dad recent visit we had the urge *ahem* guts, to tackle the almighty-kitchen-living-room-open-plan-conversion that has been on our minds since we first saw our house. What was initially imagined in my head as being a swing-the-sledgehammer-and-knock-it-down type of activity, was much more painstakingly slow due to the cautiousness and thriftiness of the male help, Mr B and Dad. They decided to try to save as much of the skirting//moulding/gib-board as possible, which isn't a bad idea, in case we need matching moulding elsewhere in one of the other many projects we have in mind.

To give you a bit of background, our kitchen is a rather narrow room, galley style and shares part of a wall with our living/dining. The idea was to bust down the wall that would open into the living/dining room and allow easier access, as we currently have to walk back out into the hallway and around into the living.

Here is the house plan so you can see for yourselves, the wall-that-is-not-to-be is in red:

 View from hallway looking into Lounge...

The men rearranging the kitchen furniture to make room for the demolishing that is to come...

The wall from the kitchen side.

Having said that, there was some minor hammer-busting involved.as you see from the following photo:  

An unpleasant surprise.... must have happened at the same time as our leaky roof drama. Hopefully insurance will cover this too?

 A sweet treat from the night markets to celebrate a step forward. (Top to bottom: banoffee, lemon creme, watermelon creme). Yummo.

It has begun....