Renovating - part II

After two weeks of hard work I do believe we're getting somewhere. We removed all the carpet and wallpaper, the walls we're plastered this week and the kitchen was delivered today. Race against the clock, because in order for the kitchen to be put in, all the plumbing, electrics, water and plastering had to be done first. But thanks to Jodie, my mom and my dad we got it done just in time.
I suppose it would be appropriate for me to go on rambling here, but as in so many cases the pics speak for themselves. Behold!








And some "all in" shots to finish it off :)

Friends from abroad!

This week 2 Swedes came to honor us with a visit! It's always great to get friends over for a visit, and this was no different. The first time I met ~J and D was during an Innebandy game in Uppsala last year, when we came over for our mutual friend Joris' dissertation. I got my ass kicked of course, but it was lot's of fun. So I'd only really seen them one day before this week.
Now getting your ass kicked in innebandy (I did score! Ok, one goal only.) is no reason to invite people over for a visit you might think. Congratulate them with their victory, and never see them again. Instead, we kept in frequent touch via Facebook, resulting in some hardcore and competitive online game playing. In one of these games, I forgot which, I lost a beer to ~J. There you go, a reason to come over and collect!
They stayed with us for about a week, and it really was great fun! Unfortunately we were quite busy working in the new house, so we didn't have as much time for day trips as we would have liked, but hey. They went their own way "discovering" our little country while we stripped the house.


Laptop nerds:


In the evenings we had a BBQ, some dinners, shopping trips to the local "ICA" in search of zoute drop and cheese, killed mosquitoes, enjoyed dead Paul, went to the cinema, exchanges movies, etc. Great fun guys, please come back any time!

Just goes to show you, online social media are not per definition as superficial as some cynics may want us to believe. Give it a try, and you might just get some good friends out of it. ;)

Let the renovating begin!

So we got the keys to the new house this week....exciting!
We've been looking for a new place for som time now. with some extra space, maybe a garden. And then we stumbled upon this house:

Extra space, a large garden and even a garage. Excellent! But there are a few things left to do. Ok....maybe a lot of things. a little list to give you an idea:
New floors everywhere. New ceilings everywhere. Remove kitchen wall. New kitchen. New electrical installation. New heating pipes. New drainage. You know, the usual.
So this week we got started! We hired a contractor to do the heavy work, out with the kitchen wall. We de-wallpapered (yes, that's a word) most of the walls.
I have a few more days of work ahead of me, and then: 4 weeks off! And I think we might need that time...:P Scheduled for this week: new electrical installation and drainage in the kitchen! I made a few pictures to give you an idea.

Now if some of you feel the sudden urge to come over and help out: don't hesitate! ;)

Before:

After:

Now there is one slight problem.....the weather. Contrary to what some of you think, i can't actually influence the weather. And it's hot. Just too damn hot! Temperatures between 30 and 35 degrees are no exeption anymore. This is what the car said yesterday:


34°? You've gotta be kidding me. I don't live in this "cold and rainy" country for fun. Get it through your head: lil' ol' me doesn't agree with heat very well.
Try renovation a house in those kind of temperatures. Not pretty. We have some more tropical (Tmax ≥ 30°) days coming up I'm afraid. But relief might come after Wednesday. Fingers crossed!