Leaving City Life Behind

Greetings, I left my readers 3 weeks ago just as the drywalling work had started. Prior to that, what with the amount of Roxul Sound and Comfort insulation I had been gradually putting into the internal walls and ceiling joists, the inside of the house had begun to look distinctly like a dark green padded cell in a lunatic asylum! Thankfully, as anticipated, the effect of the drywalling rapidly brought about a quantum change and at long last a feel that the inside of the house is now turning from a mere building frame into a home. At approximately 3,600 sq ft of living space plus the mechanical room and a 30 feet deep by 26 feet wide (780 sq ft) garage, drywalling is no small task, further complicated by three high gables, two of which require scaffolding, plus the work to cut and shape the drywall to join the ridge beams, rafters and tongue and groove (T&G) roof, but Bill McGonegal's team have worked diligently and made excellent progress. At the end of the working day th...

As I announced in my last update on 9th February, following my previous month in UK focused on family matters, I returned to BC for three weeks and then decided, what with weather constraints and a general desire to just take a decent break and refresh, to put the build on hold and plan for some time away.  Initially that was a flight back to London on the 11th February for a week to catch up with a few friends on the south coast in and either side of Portsmouth as I had been unable to do that on my previous visit for said family reasons, and also managed a couple of days up to visit my Mother, then I flew onto the Sultanate of Oman for 18+ days for one of my 3-4 yearly revisits that have habitually followed my 2005-2008 RN loan service time there. Oman proved a very welcome and restful break, pleasant winter sun and daytime temperatures of 24-28C, while catching up with both expat and Omani friends who continue to make me feel most welcome whenever I revisit.  While there are...