Kisses to the Kyriakides xxxx

A new week begins and it is a crucial day for our lovely neighbours because today their son has a major operation.  We will wait to hear from them which we know they will do when they are ready - we are just sending them lots of positive thoughts and love, them and their family.  Big kisses across the miles from our house to theirs.

We are awaiting a delivery of tongue and groove for panelling the guest bedroom which we want to do before Michelle arrives on Friday - it is due this morning whilst I am at art.

I am busy working on my picture of the artichoke.  I will not be at art next week because Michelle will be here and she is only here for six days and I have offered to accompany her on her house-hunting expeditions.

I think I must be about two thirds of the way through this picture which means that I need so start thinking about what my next project is going to be.  Looking at the works I have done so far I think my expertise lies in flowers or plants so that is where I will start my search!!

I love my Monday mornings with Sheila and Klaus and I am thrilled that later on this week we will be taking them out for lunch to celebrate their anniversary.  They have plumped for Fish and Chips down at Coral Bay so that is what we are going to be doing - it is my way of thanking Sheila for use of her artist materials and Klaus for feeding me practically every Monday.

On that subject today we had a really interesting lunch which had been inspired by something which Klaus had seen on a recent episode of MasterChef.

We had eggy-bread sandwiches using corn bread which were filled with a sort of posh 'bubble and squeak'.  There was a mushroom accompaniment and crispy bacon which had been coated in maple syrup on the TV programme but as Klaus didn't have any he used zuckerruben sirup which was delicious.  Klaus said it was made from turnip but after googling it, it would appear it is made from sugar beet so no wonder it was a close substitute for maple syrup.

You have to take your hat off to Klaus he is a whizz in the kitchen and his recipes have encouraged me to eat things which otherwise I might not have done.   Today was a case in point as the filling of the sandwiches included spinach which I normally avoid because it normally has a 'metallic' flavour.  None of that today - it was actually quite delicious although I am not sure I would eat spinach again except when Klaus has cooked it.

I had a little trip to the cemetery - all was good but then Mum would have gone there yesterday so nothing should have happened in the interim.

Whilst I was at Art John text to say that the wood had been delivered so he had been getting things prepared so we could start on the bedroom.

We had found some blown plaster in a couple of places which we think may have been there a while because once the loose plaster was removed there was no indication of any damp behind nevertheless we wanted to deal with it before we did anything else which meant removing all the loose stuff and then painting on several coats of sealant.  In the past we have had a problem where areas like this have been sealed and then 'patched' with filler and then there seems to have been a reaction between the wall and the patching filler so we decided to treat the patches and then leave them unfilled because they are ultimately to be covered over by the tongue and groove.

My first job was to tap off the blown plaster and then clean up before putting on the sealant, leaving it to dry and then reapplying.   Whilst this was all drying we worked on the opposite walls.  We had decided to do these walls because they do not require a complete run of tongue and groove as there is a fitted wardrobe on one side and a door on the other so they should take less time to complete and they were two of the walls with the dodgy plaster.

So here is the first run that we did and it took longer than we had estimated so with that in mind we decided we were right to limit the work this week to this wall and the opposite one and then we can do the two long ones after Michelle has gone home.  Initially we were just going to put the wood up but we had some suitable paint so that will be my job tomorrow.

We managed to get two runs done but were knackered so decided to stop at that point - there is just a short run the other side of the bedroom door that needs doing but this has an electrical socket so that needs some special attention but is first to be tackled tomorrow.

There is to be a piece of wood put on the top of the tongue and groove to finish it off and then a piece put at the bottom to neaten that edge.  The wood will then be given a wash with some magnolia paint to lighten the overall effect - it may need a second coat in due course by I quite like to be able to see the grain of the wood coming through.

It was hot and sticky work.  It had been a hot and sticky day and we finished off with a hot but not sticky curry before collapsing into a snotty heap.

We have an appointment in Polis tomorrow morning but want to get the other short run up before we go so that when we get back I can just get on with the painting.  I quite like painting so I am happy to do it whilst John is sorting something else.