As the rest of the household headed off for two weeks in Tenerife, and our granddaughter off to Tunisia, everyone kept asking us how we were enjoying the peace and quiet and the relaxing atmosphere of the house.

Ha ha little did they know.

Living in a house filled with so many people, you have to take the few opportunities when they are away to get some major jobs done, whilst also taking the chance to entertain friends without the worry of disturbing little ones in bed or them disturbing us running around in just their pants, as they do!

Having had a wall in the dining room, Venetian plastered, we set about  finishing the room off. The radiator was originally on that wall and sat mainly under the dining table. It kept our feet toasty during the cold winter months, but did nothing to warm the rest of the room. So we decided to move the radiator to another wall and change it for an upright one. Excellent idea. But nothings ever easy is it. Obviously the pipes needed moving and with a solid floor it wasn’t going to be straight forward. Fortunately we have a basement to our house, so rather than take the floor up, part of the ceiling came down in the basement. Made life a bit easier for the plumber, but now leaves another room to sort out 😂.

Not satisfied with moving a radiator, there were a few minor repairs and some paint to touch up, we decided the kitchen, dining room and conservatory floors needed sanding and re varnishing. We never do things in small doses! So we hired a sander, and the hubby started in the conservatory. Little did we know, this was going to be the warmest bank holiday weekend in years! Being considerate, he kept the windows closed, so as not to disturb the neighbours and the temperature indoors rose to around 45*! I think he must have sweated out about half a stone in weight. Poor man.

All the while the family kept us updated on the wonderful time they were having, relaxing in the sun.

Back in our world, obviously there was a fair amount of dust produced and after sanding all day Friday & half of Saturday, he had to take a break. Always up for a challenge, the kitchen had to be cleaned, crockery, cutlery, pots and pans being put through the dishwasher, before we started cooking, as the besties were coming to dinner Saturday evening. Amazingly we did it and had a fabulously relaxing evening, catching up and discussing the upcoming holiday we’d booked together.

Sunday being a day of rest, we did just that and caught up with them again attending a bank holiday music festival at their local pub. The sun was shining, the beer was flowing, the music was brilliant and England, against all the odds won the Test Match. A perfect afternoon.

Bank holiday Monday, and with only one day hire left it was back to the grind. Amazingly he managed to finish the bulk of it and we could varnish the conservatory. Half way there, but still the sun kept shining 😓. We were kindly lent an orbital sander to finish the edging, which took another couple of days.

We now had a day and a half to varnish the remaining floor, put the kickboards back under the units, replace the skirting, clean, do some shopping, mow the lawn and get the garden ready as we were hosting a bbq for the wonderful Macmillan lunch team!

And breath …….. Our guests arrived and thankfully the sun continued to shine. With plenty of food and alcoholic beverages flowing, we had a marvellously chilled afternoon, filled with laughter, enjoying the company of some fabulous friends. A mere eight hours after their arrival our guests reluctantly started to drift home and with a glass of wine in hand we sank down into the sofa reflecting on another perfect afternoon.

There were still three days of cleaning dust from around the house and inside kitchen cupboards, before the house would be full again. But the new radiator will hopefully now warm all of the dining room, not just the area under the table, the kitchen hasn’t been so clean for a long time and the floor looks amazing.

We know how to rock and roll when we have the house to ourselves. So as the clan arrived home and usual mayhem resumed, we had achieved most of what we’d planned to do but were looking forward to a well earned rest as we headed off on our own holiday.