In early December my cousin had a lot on her plate: she & I had settled on my moving into her Dad’s place sometime in 2023; she already had some ideas on what the house needed tackled first (the bathroom? the kitchen? the front hall/front room?); she was organizing Uncle Ian’s funeral for later in the month; plus job, family, etc. . Oh, and the run up to Christmas.
The funeral was to be on a Monday with the reception at Ian’s house; I would stay at his next door neighbour’s house; and Viv’s family, arriving via car and plane, would stay in Ian’s or at her mother-in-law’s. Late Friday afternoon Viv got a call from her daughter: they had just arrived at Ian’s, pipes had burst, and the kitchen ceiling had caved in. The family moved into overdrive and within a half hour had turned off the water, found a plumber, found a restaurant that could host the reception, and found a B&B that could take eight adults and two dogs. Heroes.
After the funeral the family put on their crappiest clothes, gathered up bin bags, mops, and brooms, and arrived to find that the living room ceiling had now caved and the front hall ceiling was bowing. The spent two days cleaning up, and then the planning began.
The renovation order had been decided for them – instead of a new bathroom, the first order of business was combining the kitchen & dining room into a large eat-in kitchen, and combining the front room and front hall into one large sitting room. I really did NOT see how this was going to happen before I arrived in May, but my cousin can make things happen. She found an amazing contractor who has done great work, and on the first of May, I will be walking into a lovely new place!
There’s still lots to do, so I won’t be idle – more on that to come.