Where I disappeared to

I went back up to Nottingham on 5th July to sort out FIL's garden. My Dad had offered to help. It was decided that I would tackle the inside instead so I spent the week making things more manageable in the kitchen, chucking nearly 2 years worth of newspaper, and making a start on decorating the front room. I have bruises, now fading, on my knees from gripping the stepladder so hard. I'm not really a ladder person but the ceilings are quite high, it being an older house.

A couple of years ago FIL had some work done by a charity/agency. They sorted out the damp-proof layer, fitted new windows to the front of the house, modernised the electrics and found that for all these years there'd been no earth for the house, and put in a new boiler for his central heating. Unfortunately their attention to detail and finish on the plaster front was pretty dire. So eventually we'll have to get the walls reskimmed.

I did the best I could in the time available but I really need to spend a few continuous weeks up there (and a few thousand in money - fat chance at the moment) to do a proper job. FIL has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and the amount of dust I'd have to kick up wouldn't do him any good. Hopefully a solution will pop into my head before 14th August when I go back up to finish off the front room and take stock on the next job.