Yes, we can now reveal that Pheebs and I have a little person in development! The expected due date is the 22nd June 2012 and is going to come round before we know it. That actually means we’ve got to get the major parts of the house work complete by then as I don’t think we’ll have much energy to start with to be doing little person duties and DIY! As I type this we’re at the 16 week mark and this scan really bought home the fact that we’re going to be parents shortly…..gulp. I think I’d better by a DIY manual for babies as we’re both going to need it!

It’s taken quite a while to get the dining room sorted over the last year but I think we’re pretty much there in terms of construction. Pheebs and I have now painted the doors and cabinets as well as getting the glass shelves and doors installed. The glass was supplied from AK Glass Glazing in Basingstoke who were extremely helpful in getting the right panes and shelves cut to size. I still need to tidy the doors and drawers up as they’re still catching a little bit and the drawers are a little bit tempermental when opening/closing but at least they can be used. It does make a huge difference now in the room with the feature wall being green instead of brown and the new dining room table also is a nice finishing touch to the room. Right, next onto the rest of the house……

Just spent a nice long weekend at the The Cormorant Hotel in Fowey, Cornwall with Pheebs. This is actually the hotel in which we got engaged at so it was quite nice to return to the scene of the crime so to speak. The view from any hotel room, the food and wine quality were just as good as I remembered. We even returned back to the Lost Gardens of Heligan which whilst is still a magical place, wasn’t quite as vibrant as it was in spring. Still, it was a very pleasant weekend away with my wife.

Having spent some more time on the dining room cabinet project, I’ve made some progress in finally getting the doors glued together and attached via hinges to the cabinets themselves. It’s certainly been tricky as the cabinets aren’t exactly contracted with 90 degree angles! That’s mainly due to the alcoves also not being straight and true. This is unfortunately the price to pay for old houses but never the less they still look good and have much more character than modern houses. I also managed to sort out getting the drawers fitted and all the door knobs on. Just need to fill & sand the woodwork down and then get the shelves and door glass sorted before we can think about painting!

With some help from John (my father-in-law), we’ve managed to fit a new window in the kitchen roof. The reason for this is that we’re going to block up the back door in preparation for a new kitchen which will allow us more space and light in the current space we’ve got. Big thanks to John for his advice and assistance!

Finally got round to sorting out the alcove shelves in our bedroom which Phoebe has been waiting for a while. It was slightly challanging due to manhandling the 40mm MDF I was using which I’d also used downstairs for the dining room cabinets! The shelves were attached to the alcoves using mini battons via a channel chased in the shelf edge. This gives the impression of a floating shelf…..just need to prime and paint…..

Using some left over wood, I constructed a simple potting bench to go into our new allotment greenhouse. Hopefully it’ll get some use next year when we start getting the crop ready for planting in the spring.

I’ve now managed to finish erecting the other fence panel in our back yard which looks much better than the corrugated iron panel one before. Michael (Next Door Neighbour) and I also managed to fit their new fence panel as well, so we both have some additional privacy and a nice looking fence!

Just spent a really good weekend with Pheeb’s family at the Rose Barn in Oxford which managed to cater for all 12 of us. During the weekend we visited Cogges Manor Farm and had an enjoyable time attempting to avoid getting soaked by the falling rain! We also got a chance to visit Birdland and had some fun looking at the various birds kept there. I think the highlight were the Penguins, who spent a vast amount of time swimming and waiting for their next feed!