Friday
I awoke to a beautiful sunny frosty morning. Not long after our kitchen fitter arrived followed by his son who is working on the electrical parts of our kitchen refit.
First the electrician investigated the reason for the kitchen ceiling light failure. After investigation it was deemed that ceiling light was faulty and corroded which had led to the fault. It is not surprising when you factor in that the oven extractor fan with its disconnected hose was venting out directly onto that light fitting for several years.
Mr C went to purchase a new light fitting so that it could be fitted today along with the new electrical switches. Our electrical switches and sockets were mismatched because when our previous kitchen was installed, new sockets were installed but the old sockets were not replaced.
Now we have light!
A cupboard door has been fitted so that we can get an idea of what the kitchen will look like when it is complete.
With all that has been going this week I almost forgot it was Friday, the day for my dental appointment. Thankfully something Mr C said triggered a lightbulb moment and I remembered just in time.
We visited mum who was out of bed sitting in her chair. She was partly herself and partly with the voices in her head rather than with us. She had no memory of what happened the day before.
Later we dined in Smithfields restaurant rather than have takeaway Fish & Chips. The food was delicious and the glass of wine went down a treat.
Tags: Chez Nous, Flickr Toys, New Kitchen 2, Smithfields
Thursday
The kitchen is now begining to look more like a kitchen again. We called in briefly to see mum after the fitter had left, she had been in bed all day and although she was pleased to see us she told us to leave.
We dined in the Vineyard Cantonese Restaurant for the first time since the current owners took over. The food was excellent.
Tags: Chez Nous, Flickr Toys, New Kitchen 2, Vineyard Cantonese Restaurant
Wednesday
Our kitchen fitter had a personal commitment in the morning which meant we could return to our normal routine rather than getting up earlier than usual.
Our fitter arrived at lunchtime, complete with a substitute light to work by due to our currently non-working ceiling light. He worked through into the early evening which meant I had to visit mum on my own. She was partly herself today but suffering with the sniffles.
When I arrived home, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new cooker units were now in place. I am looking forward to using them when the time comes.
This evening, we dined in William Withering. It has a lovely friendly atmosphere and you can’t go wrong with a meal and a glass of wine for around £10.
Tags: Chez Nous, Flickr, New Kitchen 2, Weather, William Withering
Tuesday
The kitchen units arrived and were stacked around the house, both inside and out. Shortly afterwards the plumber arrived and worked miracles with the piping under the sink. It now looks much neater than it has ever done before.
Next the wall and floor units were installed ready for the finer tuning. During the afternoon whilst one of the cabinets was being fitted to the wall the ceiling light winked out and refused to work again. This reminded me of ‘the case of the flickering lights’ which occurred several years ago due to a loose connection where a ceiling extractor fan had been fed off a light fitting.
Our kitchen fitter pointed out that the existing fan was not connected to the hose extractor and on closer inspection it looked as if it had never been connected. No wonder we had been having problems with the extractor fan over the years.
We visited mum to see how she was before dining out. Our intention was to go to The William Withering but we flexed the plan at the last minute and went to the Cock Hotel instead because I knew that the festive menu was still available. I chose spicy carrot wellington with all the roast trimmings. It was delicious.
Tags: Chez Nous, Cock Hotel, Dining, Flickr Toys, The Cock Hotel, Wellington
Monday
We had to be up early, although not necessarily bright for and 8pm start.
The kitchen was completely stripped leaving only the electrical appliances, including the cooker which is not part of the new design.
The two-week work schedule and options were discussed. The spaghetti plumbing underneath the sink will be tidied up, the plug sockets will be changed so they are matching and additional wiring is needed due to the make of cooking appliances we have chosen.
We dined in The Sutherland (formerly The White House) which is now part of a small chain, The Grill club. The service and food were excellent.
Tags: Chez Nous, Dining, Flickr Toys, New Kitchen 2, The Grill Club, The Sutherland
Sunday
Just before my mum fell ill and was admitted to hospital we had signed up to having our kitchen revamped starting on 6th January 2025.
Mum being in hospital (and still not home) and Christmas left us rushing around at the last minute to clear the kitchen. We got there just in time.
Those who have known me for a while will know it isn’t that long since our kitchen was refubished. Some aspects of the kitchen did not stand the test of time, needing repairing or replacing which in some cases proved difficult. Reluctantly we came to the conclusion it would be easier to start from scratch again.
The lack of kitchen facilities led to us having lunch in Truffles, Ironbridge before we visited mum. And later we dined in Willow, Southwater.
Tags: Broken, Chez Nous, Flickr Toys, Kitchen, Life, Truffles, Willow
… to walk 1000 miles in 2025
In 2024 I fell short of my 1000 miles by 42.4 miles.
2024 was a challenge for me with my mum being ill on and off throughout the year requiring stays in hospital. In-between her stays in hospital she had many medical appointments. By the end of the year this totalled 4.5 months of days where I was visiting, taxying and accompanying her for her appointments and stays in hospital.
At the beginning of October Mr C created a spreadsheet that helped me to catch up on my mileage. I was doing well until mum was once again admitted to hospital at the end of November. Although she is no longer in hospital, she is still not well enough to return home.
This latest hospital stay led to my mileage to slipping behind again and because of these circumstances beyond my control I am claiming my years walking a success and will complete the last few miles of my 2024 challenge in January.
As always there are highs between the lows which can be seen in my 24 photos (plus one) of the year 2024.
Tags: #walk1000miles, #walk1000miles2025, Challenge, Pledge
