28th January 2010

Starry Towers sofa project...the Starry Towers sofa was purchased in 1989 if memory serves me right, I'm refusing to, can't bear to, part with my dearly beloved sofa.  At this stage I see no point in ditching it for another, for if I were to buy a new one, it would look exactly like a new one of this one. It has been repaired in the past.  The Dad took a hammer and nails to it years ago, to mend and bolster up bits of the wooden frame which had snapped.  But recently, when I'm lying on my side watching a movie, it's feeling a bit hard under my bony hip.  Hence I'd been murmuring bout how The Fiancé could perhaps take a look and have a stab at improving the sofa situation.  Today we headed out in The Jag to find the tools and materials required.  The Fiancé is now the proud owner of a new DIY toy, and a lethal weapon should he chose to employ it in such a manner, a Stanley TR150HL Sharp-Shooter Heavy Duty Staple Gun, and he's loving it.  I kinda love it too, though I haven't even picked it up.  It's enough for me to think about Lethal Weapon 3.  In the shop I told the assistant at the check-out...it's a Mel Gibson movie, he said, I don't know what movie your talking about, I told him YES YOU DO!  It's Mel as police man, crazy guy, he made 3 or 4 of them.  I gave him a few more reminders, he was still looking blank...but as I was walking away he called out...your right, I remember and the movie...it's Lethal Weapon 3. Back home, The Fiancé opened the packaging and loaded the staples, I could see the devil in his eyes.  I pleaded he didn't give in to his mischievous urges, but he fired a staple in the kitchen, though I warned him it would ping all around the room.  He did it, it pinged.  I found it, as I was binning it, he picked up my can of Pepsi Max and fired a staple into that at close range.  He was beaming.  Thankfully he pulled himself together after that and put away his inner wee boy.  Off he went, armed to the teeth, and set about the sofa-job. While we were out at Homebase we also got a foam chair-bed for £40, the blue one, though we could've got the pink, the colour didn't matter, we weren't after the 'chair' or the 'bed', we just needed the foam.  The Fiancé ripped out the two large foam pieces and sliced them each into two.  He then placed pieces of foam carefully into the three separate sections of the sofa base and stapled them down...with attitude.  What a difference, The Starry Towers Sofa is all plumped up and solid.  Where before, it was all sinking and hard, it's all sturdy and comfortable.  The Fiancé can add upholstery to his long list of skills.

27th January 2010

Winter weather structural damage error...seems what we thought was winter damage to Starry Towers isn't new damage after all.  I can't fathom how we never saw it before, we did spend a lot of time looking up at the building from all angles when it was having the paint job.  But thanks to the paint job I have photographic evidence that the 'damage' was there prior to the painting and therefore, also prior to the winter weather.  The first picture shows the piece of concrete under the guttering as it is today, and the second picture taken just before the paint job started on 16th September 2009. Today the surveyor went up a ladder, took photographs and pointed out that the painter had actually painted under and into the cracks.  On the good side, the surveyor says it's solid and his assessment didn't cost us anything.  I just can't believe we hadn't noticed it before.

19th January 2010

Winter weather structural damage...the snow has budged now and here at Starry Towers we've took stock of the after-effects.  Starry Towers has suffered major structural damage this winter.  I've lived at Starry Towers since January 1990, prior to Winter 09/10, no major structural damage.  This winter must've been the worst weather since for ages and ages.  Starry Towers has suffered weather damage, and it's not the only house on Main Street to be licking it's winter wounds.  There's buildings with guttering being held on with string, another has guttering propped up with a wooden pole, and others with missing guttering.  Up in Braehead The Parent's old cottage had copious amounts of melt-water entering their kitchen via the area above the window.  Here at Starry Towers the same thing happened in the kitchen extension, but only for a short while one evening.  I'm sure all over the country there are insurance claims zooming in after the extra punishing snowfall and deep-freeze conditions we've had these last few weeks in the UK. Our issue with major structural damage is a slab of cement looking stuff at the gable-end of Starry Towers, just below the guttering.  From the ground it looks like an accident waiting to happen.  It looks like an approximately one metre long section has been dislodged from the main structure of the  building, and it's either going to sit there for years or it's going to fall off.  We aren't going up to look closer, imagine being up there on a big long ladder having a poke around, the 'bit' falls off...head injury followed by fall off ladder, followed by more injuries, maybe even...your dead.  We're also running past as we go round the side of the building, a sensible precaution. While we were up The Centre we nipped into The Dunfermline to enquire re our Buildings Insurance, armed with a copy of The Brochure I phoned them when we got back home.  Ben took the details and we await their people getting back to our people within the next 24 hours.

7th January 2010

Still Snowy Dechmont...the snow ain't budging

3rd January 2010

Snowy Dechmont...this has been a great winter for the snow, we've had about three weeks of the white stuff now.

23rd September 2009

The Outside Paint Job Day 7...All done.  I'm free!  The Fiancé says Martin's to leave the chim-chiminee as he may cause further damage to some precarious slates round the base.  The Fiancé will see to that area later.  He's done a good job, charged much less than most would and we're all happy with the outcome, a shiny bright Starry Towers.

22nd September 2009

The Outside Paint Job Day 6...Martin here bright and early, weather a bit dodgy, raining on and off, but Martin trooped on like a wet, dry, wet, dry trooper.  He's painting the walls of the Starry Towers neighbours, the far side and back, but as you can see in the first photo the entire Starry Towers and the front of the neighbours has had it's two coats.  He has done some of the guttering on Starry Towers too.  It's all looking very good, apart from that chim-chiminee.  I broached the subject with Martin today, told him three different people have said he'd missed a bit.  He agreed it does look out of place, but says The Fiancé told him to leave the chimney due to some repair being required, and he doesn't have ladders that would take him to the chimney.  I think I did hear The Fiancé say something about the roof slates, maybe it is the case, I'll run it by The Fiancé later (he's still in Dutch Land).  By the end of today all Starry Towers guttering is finished.  Martin says tomorrow will be the last day, weather permitting.  No sign of neighbours bearing cash.

21st September 2009

The Outside Paint Job Day 5...I was up at 8.50 to give Martin access.  He was here and away again before I looked out.  Was drying my hair when The Boy answered the door then called upstairs Martin was finished for the day cos it's raining.  He's got the back and side guttering done, and there's bits of dry paint flakes off his dust sheets all over the paving I brushed clean yesterday.  No photos today, it's just a bit of guttering painted black and it's raining, don't want to get water in my Canon G10.

20th September 2009

The Outside Paint Job Day off...I brushed up the monoblock areas so any paint spots would be more evident.  There's paint marks on the paving.  Of course I'm perturbed bout this and need to find out the best way to remove these.  I'll ask Martin tomorrow, though I don't think he'll have the answer, when I mentioned it previously he said just leave them, when they're dry they'll just lift off, they don't.  Many of them are smears, smears don't lift or brush off, silly Martin. Three people so far, The Fiancé (in email from Dutch Land), The Dad and The Neighbour Across Road Guy (NARG), have remarked bout the chimney not being painted.  Martin hasn't indicated his plans for the chimney so far, so I'll have to mention it to him tomorrow.  As NARG said, the chimney does look a bit sad being left out.  NARG came over to tell me how great Starry Towers is looking, which was sweet of him, Starry Towers - apart from the chimney that is.  Is Martin going to risk his life up a ladder then up another ladder?  Watch this space.

19th September 2009

The Outside Paint Job Day 4...the work goes on.  It's a rainy day though and he only did 3 hours.

18th September 2009

The Outside Paint Job Day 3...wall painting finished at Starry Towers, just the guttering to do, and Martin moved onto the neighbours.  He may have moved on, but I feel he's still with me, because he is.  His stuff is all over Starry Towers, his paint spraying machine gadget is still burning Starry Towers electricity and the cable of said machine is still snaking it's way from the Starry Towers back door, I can't lock up, I can't leave the house and I have to get up early every day.  Well obviously this doesn't suit me, not at all.  I've been glued to the house for three days, if he thinks I'm going to happily be glued for the next 2 or 3...Miss-Take.  I went round to talk bout it and he suggests I charge the neighbours an extra £10 to pay for my electricity, that went down like a led balloon, next suggestion, he could bring the extension cable and take my electricity through a window so I can lock the door and go out all I want.  Thanks for that Martin.  Starry Towers has a list of security rules as long as the new tallest man in the world's arm, leaving windows open is on it and non-surprisingly, isn't permitted.  With The Mum and Second Cousin Diane's assistance I discovered that next door downstairs neighbour is away on holiday with the owner of the flat.  Being ingenious, there should be a way round this, the owner owns a 24/7 business in the village, so a member of staff from there could come round and give access to the property, saving me from having to rise early and stay in all day.  But the staff there weren't very helpful, I give up.  I've come up with the idea of popping his cable through the letterbox, which means I can lock up the house, but I'll still have to get up early Saturday and Monday to open the gates and shed, and with the gates and shed open I can't go anywhere anyway.  Well, at least I'll be able to lock up to go upstairs for periods of longer than 2 minutes, yay...I'll be able to get the ironing done. He's missed a bit.  I pointed it out, as you do, he fixed it.

17th September 2009

The Outside Paint Job Day 2...Martin arrived back and got on with the job, working on again till past 7pm.  I know it's a racist cliché that eastern Europeans are either extremely diligent hard workers with good manners or low-life crooks who'd prostitute their own mothers, but I'm getting the idea that Martin's a hard working type.  By end of Day 2 the back and side have two coats and the front it's first coat.  As Martin says, "it's beautiful, like a new house".  I'm getting really bored with The Outside Paint Job, nothing against Martin, absolutely not, it's just such a tediously long and restricting job.  Restricting for me, I'm stuck at base camp, and what with The Fiancé being away at work, I'm the only person available to give Martin access to electricity to power his paint sprayer machine thingy, The Boy's at school all day long, I'm on my own, and getting a wee bit bored.  Even just going upstairs to do the ironing, the downstairs doors need locking in case some opportunist thief walks in and robs us, so I really feel confined to the ground floor while doors stand open.  Another issue, and again this isn't personal, but Martin is effectively a stranger to me, so I can't go far.  My instincts tell me he's totally trustworthy, I'm sure he is, but you just can't take these things for granted.  Also, the side gates and the shed have to remain unlocked, we never leave home in those circumstances.  And Martin has to ask me questions every now and then, what to do with different items attached to the walls, the answer is either remove it and paint the wall below, or that has to stay, paint round it. An even bigger issue is the back door has to remain slightly open to allow the paint spray gadget to be plugged into the national grid, that combined with the fact that Martin makes use of toileting facilities, quite often actually, means I can't even nip to the shop or go upstairs for longer than 2 minutes.  Once The Boy gets home from school he minds the lower floor to allow me to nip to the shop. I think we've got just one more day together, tomorrow will be second coat for the front and hopefully the guttering will be all done too.  Martin will move onto the other half of the building, and I won't be supplying the electricity for that.  One wee problem I'm foreseeing may become an issue for Martin is national grid access when he moves on.  The girl upstairs works Monday to Friday, so she's a no-show, the lady downstairs hasn't been seen since Martin started spraying.  Hmmmm, it shouldn't be my problem, it shouldn't be up to me to pay for the electricity to paint the neighbours walls and if I have to stay indoors for another three days so the neighbours can get painted, that's just not a happening deal.  We've been the movers and shakers on this one, we negotiated, organised, arranged, are sorting out the bill payment, ensuring Martin is paid and I'm the only contact point Martin has on the job so far.  But I'm damned if I'll wander around the ground floor aimlessly for another 3 days so that the neighbours get painted and Martin gets electricity, I like him well enough, but I don't like him that much.  The neighbours should be grateful that we took the organisation out of their hands, it's getting done and all they need to do is pay for their fair share, a quarter each, and we pay the other half.  I've noticed Martin ran into a few logistics problems.  I mean, good worker he is and thorough job he's doing, and price wise it's very good, but he has raised some of his 'issues' with me, I respond by acting like a wall to bounce his thoughts off, a caring concerned wall, I nod, I quietly tut, I grimace, I mime compassion and sympathy as required, I think I even managed the appearance of empathy on a few occasions.  The one thing I do not do is contribute in any intelligent, problem-solving, meaningful way to the conversation.  I do not suggest any bright ideas.  He's the person providing the service for which we are paying and have already agreed the terms, I'm not about to get all Mother Theresa on him. From the evening prior to Day 1, when he came over and announced his long term weather forecast and how, at short notice, he'd arranged with another client to delay their interior job to take advantage of weather and do our exterior job first, the obtaining of paint seems to have been a problem.  We weren't expecting him for another couple of weeks.  When he came over that evening he asked for The Fiancé, when I told him The Fiancé was away at work, he briefly mimed 'huge disappointment' then asked me when I was expecting The Fiancé home, when I told him 2 weeks, he asked me what The Fiancé had told me of their agreement on the buying the paint, had The Fiancé agreed to give him money up front to buy the paint?  I was on the case, I told him no, The Fiancé had told me they'd agreed we wouldn't pay a penny till the job was done, which is a common enough arrangement between vendors and customers.  He then told me he usually gets his paint from Keyline Builders Merchants.  Stands to reason that's going to be a bit cheaper than Homebase or Focus.  He tells me the paint has to be ordered at Keyline, and at this change of weather conditions/his plans and short notice, Keyline can't provide till Monday.  So both days he's been here he's told me how he had to find paint before he came to Starry Towers, how he had to travel to many different West Lothian DIY stores, how expensive the paint was, all this shaking of his head and his downcast eyes.  Marcel Marceau could've taken lessons.  I let him bounce his disgruntled ball off my listening and faux-bothered wall. I have to regard Martin as a business man...and I will...we are purchasing his service, he shouldn't bring his problems to me, just bloody paint Starry Towers and leave me alone, that's what we're paying for. I will continue to attempt to discuss all the relevant information with the absent downstairs neighbour and I will do my utmost to ensure that Martin has access to power from a neighbour, and I will definitely pay him the full amount on completion of the job, but it's all becoming a bit tiring, I want to be free of Martin and Outside Paint Job restrictions.  When Martin moves onto the other half, which I'm guessing, I'm going to either go out or stay in bed and refuse to answer the door.  Is that so bad?  Then sue me.

16th September 2009

The Outside Paint Job Day 1...The Painter Man, or Martin as his friends and family call him, arrived after tracking down a supplier who could provide the paint today at a decent price, turned out to be Focus in Bathgate.  'Before' pictures obtained as Martin set up his equipment.  He started with a spot of careful painting by hand around the back door area, then the spray machine came out, that covers the ground fast.  He reckons he'll be here till the end of next week.  First coat applied to the back and side so far.  We've discussed the details and the down-pipes will be same colour as the house, while the guttering will be black.  Also the long awaited Titan coal bunker finally arrived at Starry Towers.

15th September 2009

The lawn...look at those curves.  That precise edging, the perfect soil, neat, spot on, just right, very very nice.  The new grass at the edges next to the paving is growing like an extremely fast growing thing.  I think I'll spread the remaining grass seed over the rest of the lawn tomorrow, may as well use the seed and give the lawn a freshen up.  I think the Outside Paint Job will start tomorrow.

10th September 2009

The Outside Paint Job...starts in a couple weeks, watch this space.  Today The Fiancé got into a rather fetching safety harness and mended small holes in the Starry Towers roughcast in preparation for the paint

9th September 2009

The Garden...took hours of work, but the front garden has had all it's soil sorted and improved by hand, my hands.  The grass seeds I sewed at the back are growing well too.  The 2nd photograph shows that biggish patch after I planted the seeds, then the 6th picture shows it with the grass growing nicely...that bit nearest the camera.  I also filled the gaps all round the paving edges.  There's a couple pictures of Zeus and Erik, the Starry Towers rowan trees.

28th August 2009

The Garden...progressing nicely, very very nicely.  Lots of hard work from me, with The Fiancé keeping me company, which is good of him (she says sarcastically), no I'm joking, it's best this way, he knows nothing of gardening, but helps with the heavy lifting, perfect.  And it is nice to have the company while I create my garden dream.  Pots have been sorted out in the back garden, and each placed in exactly the right spot.  Out front I got all the new plants put out, it's shaping up very nicely.  It needs more flowers, but it'll be early next year before I get the roses, and I'll pick up other stuff when I see things I like.  I'm definitely keeping it to the red, blue and purple colour scheme.  I'm especially pleased with The Starry Towers Dianthus Rock Corner, placed the 6 Dianthus around The Starry Towers Rock.  That rock's been with me for years, I single-handedly dug it out of the front garden way back in the mists of time, which basically means, so long ago I can't remember how long ago.  So it's got sentimental value and it stays as a land mark, looks really good surrounded with the Dianthus, will be a small pink corner in a sea of red, blue and purple.  The new bit of front garden's shaping up so well it's going to make the old bit of front garden pale into the shade, I've decided to get started on upgrading that side in the near future.

The back garden's looking really good with just a little bit more to do, more of pots and deciding on where they will go.

25th August 2009

The Garden...sudden summer weather surprised us here at Starry Towers in Sunny Dechmont and I jumped at the opportunity to get some gardening done these last two days.  I've been sewing grass seed.  Our lawn, which is out in the back garden, between Patio 2 (the patio at the back door/French doors) and Patio 3 (the patio area with the new Starry Towers garden furniture) needed brought up to meet the paving, by an inch or two, or three or four, here and there.  So I've been sieving soil by hand from the overloaded front new bit where the workies dumped a load of top-soil, and filling in the gaps, sewing grass seed then pressing them down without the aid of a proper garden roller thingy.  There was also the small area that previously contained Crocosmia Lucifer, which has a beautiful red flower reminiscent of Satan's tongue as I imagine Satan's tongue to be, if he existed, but it was getting outrageous, and too much work.  I dug them out before The Starry Towers Garden Job commenced and appreciated the Crocosmia-free visual space.  So I spent a while ridding that area of stones and laid down grass seed there too. I got the three new planters filled, with the wall-climbing cuttings I took before I killed off the wall-climbing plants in preparation for The Garden Job.  It near broke my heart to rip them plants off the east wall, but it had to be done to let the workies get the paving job done.  Every cutting took root, so I was spoiled for choice filling the planters.  The plants put in pots from the front garden and taken up to The Parents are back, so I've started preparing the new bit of front garden ready to plant them out again.  I reckon I'll need a few new rose bushes, they will be red and purple, and I bought new red and purple tulip bulbs.  It's a load of work, and I only got half it done today. You can see the lovely Starry Towers garden furniture on Patio 3 in the pics below.  I haven't finished sorting the plants, herbs and trees in pots for the patio areas yet so some of them are lying around on the grass, they won't be staying there.  I got a few new pots the other day, and a few of my best big pots will be empty and ready for use, when I get stuff moved into the front bit again. The hedge at the front of the garden is to be extended along to the start of the paved drive area.  I took cuttings of the big shrubs that got binned from the front garden during The Garden Job, and bout 9 of the 12 are still green and fresh, I can only assume they've rooted, are alive and well and hankering after a bigger space to thrive and grow huge.  I'll give some of them that opportunity, but can't accommodate them all, and can't bring myself to kill any of them either, got my thinking cap on bout them, maybe give them to friends in need of hedging, or pot them, not sure yet.  Maybe The Parents would want some.  The three large Holly bushes that are at present in pots, returned from The Parents, they seem to have thrived while on their jolly holidays.  All berries and fresh lightest green new leaf growth and the older leafs are darker, deeper, richer, glossier, shinier.  I think the difference was being away from under the more dominant larger shrubs they used to live beside.  I'm not sure yet what to do with them, leave them as potted-up statement plants or put them in the new front bit.  If I put them in the new front bit I won't be using them as hedging, having learnt that they don't like being in the shade next to them more aggressive hedging shrubs, so if they go out front, they'll be given their own space.  I'll have to research how big a Holly grows, don't want them turning into full-size trees. The victims of all this are my hydrangeas, three of them from the front garden went into giant pots and up to The Parents, but The Mum has noted they've become a bit too woody and flower-sparse, which, cough cough, may just, maybe, might have been, could've perhaps been my own fault, I just knew I was a bit too secateurs happy last year.  I think I over-pruned.  I've given permission to bin them, so they didn't return from The Parents.  Luckily I've got maybe 5 or 6 cuttings from them that have come on well in the last year, I'll move the babies into the front.  They will live on in remembrance of the parent plants that have received The Mum Death Sentence.

14th August 2009

The Garden Job Day 7...job done.  Next the side door needs taken out and replaced with a big window.  Watch this space.

13th August 2009

The Garden Job Day 6...dusty out there, shut all Starry Towers doors and windows.  They're also working on the steps on the patio at the back door/French doors and finishing off edges.

12th August 2009 The Garden Job Day 5...when I looked out this morning, wow, it's like someone had rolled out a big brick patterned carpet from the pavement right up the side of the house.  The work continued through rain and shine, but mostly rain.  By end of play they'd got loads done.

11th August 2009

The Garden Job Day 4...not a lot new to report on today, other than a lot of Starry Towers Red Sand on top of The Starry Towers Rocks.

10th August 2009

The Garden Job Day 3...Men Back At Work.  Mostly rainy today, but the troops were trooping, like erm, wet troopers.  The Starry Towers Rocks, whatever they're really called, were scooped and barrowed to all the necessary areas before being squashed down firm by a boy with a Bomag BP 8/34 plate compactor, oh yes, I know my gadgets, as more edging paving stones were put in place.  I got a look at the colour choice.  Racing past the reds/browns, I went predictably for the darkest available.  The Boss had advised the general rule is people pick a colour to match their roof.  Luckily The Starry Towers Roof is slate, so the darkest grey stones will not only be aesthetically pleasing to me, but also to the general public.  The first block picture shows the blocks wet, I've brought a couple in to the cosy Starry Towers Kitchen, when they dry I'll put up another picture.

That second block pic is the now dry blocks.  End of play, the suns out and looks like they've got all the Starry Towers Rocks in situ and pressed down with that Bomag.

8th August 2009

The Garden Job Day Off...and only one thing happened.  A man delivered two lorry loads of small rocks and dumped them out front.  Starry Towers Rocks.  Bin day on Monday, wondering how to get the blue and brown bins from the grass area in the back garden, over the edging stones, down the big drop, round the side of the house and over a mountain of Starry Towers Rocks...I'm thinking the bins will have to stay full till next bin day.

7th August 2009

The Garden Job Day 2...and the guys were hard at it for a few hours before I emerged from The Starry Towers Boudoir.  Not much to see today after the dramatic differences of yesterday, and a quiet day cos there wasn't so much breaking things going on.  There was more digging, a lot of the edging stones have been cemented in place in the back garden, and the front tarmac has been dug out. The Boy left to go to the PO announcing there was another challenge for him, heap of dirt where there used to be a drive, but there's a path of sorts up the middle.  Got a look at The Starry Towers drainage system, wonder if there's a smell.

6th August 2009

The Garden Job  Day 1...Work begins at 07.15, well nearly.  The machines arrived, I could hear them from my bed.  They disappeared, then returned.  I spoke to The Boss at 09.30, he explaining they'd be bout 90 mins finishing off a job at Linlithgow.  I enquired if they'd be comfortable with me taking photos, but that I wouldn't show their faces, The Boss said no probs with that and I could show their faces.  Work started for real at 11.00, first I knew was thundering noise as the side staircase started being demolished.  Teenager snoozes on oblivious.

I had to go down to Broxburn in the afternoon, I returned to find work moving along at cracking pace.  Men out front filling a lorry load, The Boss says will probably be another 4 of them lorry loads to go.  I zoomed through the house, thinking to go out the back door and up the side to take a pic from that angle, nearly broke a leg, the back patio is gone, they've been busy.

Near the end of the working day The Boy was asking will they leave the digger?  Then asked, will they leave the keys?  Yep on the digger, definitely no on the keys.  He's a trier.  End of Day 1 and the guys have gone home, they worked like troopers all day long, was non-stop apart from dinner break.

Mr Bridger: Does he really NEED all this equipment? 'Camp' Freddie: He SAYS he does...

4th August 2009

Here at Starry Towers the paving work starts Thursday, 6th August.  The garden has been slowly demolished as required in preparation.

The old shed went to Gorgeous Biker Chick up near Aberdoom.  She'd got her eye on it on a recent visit, and The Fiancé being the gent he is, when he was on his way to Aberdoom Airport to go to work, he took the van and dropped the shed off at The GBC Farm.  The extra space freed up by disposing of the old shed makes quite a remarkable difference, the now shed-empty slabbed area shown in the fourth picture will be monoblocked, by far a more attractive option and providing a patio area for summertime BBQs, seating and table.  That new patio will be referred to as Patio 3 once it's gorgeous.  Come afternoon and evening the sun is on that part of the Starry Towers estate.  Cleared of the many pots usually in situ to disguise it's very ugly concreteness, the old patio really shows itself up as a monstrosity of ancient broken cracked and flaky nastiness, as seen in picture 5.  It'll soon be gone, along with the useful but painful to view, old coal bunker.  Forever after that patio area will be known as Patio 2. The tarmac side path, shown in the second photo is an accident waiting to happen, I'm only surprised that no one broke a leg walking up there, it's uneven and more and more of the edge breaks away with each passing frosty winter, even the moss takes it's toll helping to weaken it as time passes.

The front garden is all ready, the empty space by the now bare far wall (photo 1) was previously full of flowers, and a holly shrub has gone from that space marked by a white bucket in the last picture above.  The bucket placed there by The Dad to prevent unsuspecting postmen etc from falling down and suing, inspires me to sing 'There's a bucket in my hole' every time I see it.  In the background of the last picture you can just make out The Jag in the neighbour's drive across the street.

It's not all grey and barren today at Starry Towers.

24th June 2009

The work starts on the garden at the end of July/beginning of August.  The side stairs will be removed and there'll be a load of paving, paths, drive and three patio areas.

old garden                                           new garden

9th June 2009

A while back The Boy and I lived in a rather gorgeous ground floor apartment in Sunny Dechmont.  My home was DIY'd by me and The Parents...till it had become a wonderful Totally Starry space.  All laminate flooring, stripped of wallpaper (including that horrible lumpy 3-D anaglypta stuff), some walls had to be de-artexed, leaving all smooth flat painted walls, skimmed and sanded by me, new pine interior doors, skirting etc, all chrome light switches, pine, glass, chrome and leather furniture.  Real working fireplace, gas central heating, double glazed throughout, patio doors to main bedroom, front and back doors and gardens, new IKEA kitchen, gorgeous loo/shower room, all large white tiles and chrome,  designed by me.  Was very nice.

It looked much like this...

Then The Fiancé came along, my place was quickly too small for the three of us, but I didn't want to move.  I wanted to stay in Sunny Dechmont, our lives are in Dechmont, The Boy is settled here, I love my garden and the apartment, it's mine, I'd made it this way.  But, on the other hand, I knew we needed a bigger place.  In dream land the perfect solution would be if the guy who lived above us would sell us his apartment and move out.  But what were the chances of that happening in a timely fashion?  Surely we hoped for too much? But that's exactly what happened.  Just a matter of 2 or 3 weeks after we initially approached him and ignited the spark of a potential idea, if yer ever considering selling up we'd appreciate if you gave us the chance to make you an offer.  That's the way it played out. We're very happily living in the big two storey Starry Towers now, and in the process of converting the two apartments into one house. There's been a few changes so far, currently Starry Towers is a work in progress.  I can envisage the future Starry Towers, I know exactly how it will be and I'll update this page with the conversion as it happens. The first floor is all wallpaper, old painted wood, brass light switches and carpets, and a slightly different layout to our ground floor.  The ground floor has a more modern extension on the back which gives it a larger kitchen, more cupboards and hallway and a back door, and the loo's been moved, upstairs is a small galley kitchen off the living room. Soon as the upper floor was ours, The Fiancé knocked a huge hole in a wall.  He constructed a temporary staircase to give easy access to the upper floor, drilled out some concrete steps, then with The Dad's help constructed some more concrete steps

The next thing The Fiancé did was build The Bike Shed on the bit of back garden land we gained with the upper flat.

Crashes a big hole in a wall, then builds a shed...arghhhhh!...man at work, and I lurve it. To keep me happy the next job was ripping out the upstairs kitchen and installing my wardrobe units in my new walk-in wardrobe.  The wardrobe room still has a load to do to it, plastering, new lighting,  painting, it needs the perfect full length mirror and a set of black glass drawers I've got my eye on, but it's usable and keeps all my stuff in one place.  There's a working freezer in there too, which is handy for the extra freezer capacity but it can't stay there for ever.  No space in Starry's walk-in glamour room for anything as necessary as a freezer.

There's a few major works to be done before we can get down to painting and putting my black glass chandelier up in the bedroom.  The gas central heating  is to be made into one instead of two separate supplies, same goes for the electricity.  We'll need a new bigger boiler to cope with that.  The upstairs bathroom is to be redesigned and refitted to match the downstairs one.  I want all the wallpaper gone, the walls made smooth, skirting boards and doors renewed in pine, the carpets are for the bin, to be replaced by laminate flooring and rugs.  And I think the upstairs fire has to go, to be replaced by a massive wall mounted flat TV.

The first thing that will be done is the garden.  There's external stairs at the side of the building that have to go and the side door is being replaced with a window.  Once the side stairs are gone we're having the entire garden, front, side and back redesigned with a load of monoblock.  There will still be a piece of lawn at the back and areas where I'll have my flowers.  There'll be three patio areas, one at the back door/patio doors area, a BBQ patio area in the back garden and a patio at the front door along under the living-room window, cos in the summer that's a real suntrap, when the front garden is properly walled off it will be private enough to have garden furniture there for relaxing on.  I've been led to believe the stairs/window/monoblocking is going to happen in the very near future.