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It was sometime in early March, following my Mother’s death at the end of January, that I embarked on the “Great Redecorating Programme”. How high were my hopes to finish this all in 3 months, no problem ! But alas, the best laid plans of Mice and Men…In truth, there were all kinds of contributory reasons that conspired to cause delays.

Due to the incompetence of a Bank, settling my Mother’s rather simple estate became overly complicated and delayed but also, I rather underestimated the scale of the task I had taken on. I admitted this to a friend of mine the other week and he just laughed, he and his wife had decided that a couple of months back ! However and for all that, looked at another way, my original finish date was end May, the ‘overshoot’ is only about 6 weeks which is not the end of the World.

But Experience Gained

Or should that really read “Lessons Relearned” ? As a Project Manager, I have in the past been highly successful in getting things done on time and to budget but the key to that was remaining “emotionally detached”, something that could not apply under these circumstances.

Here I was after some 6 years looking after my Parents in their own home, now tackling the task of making it into “my home” and in the process, unravelling the essentials from the past whilst disposing of the clutter and accumulation of the years. Yes, I can be brutal, I am the man who burnt his Art School portfolio when leaving the marital home on divorce and after a 20 year marriage. Not as a gesture, merely that I had no further use for it and why cart it around with me ?

It is quite amusing really as I have emptied drawers, cupboards and roof spaces and recognised that my Pops who had to deal with all this kind of stuff doing the thing we all do, “park stuff” in places, things we have finished with but are not yet ready to throw away, “ I might need that in the future…” The answer is “No I don’t, get rid of it !” I have no doubt that I in my time will do pretty much the same indeed, already have.

Moving Forward

Although I have reached the point where the main rooms are finished and ready for the Carpet Fitters, it is only a staging post along the way, there is a heck of a lot more work to be done. Between tomorrow when the two back rooms are carpeted and 6 days later when the front room will be done, the lower hallway must be finished.

Beyond that, updating the kitchen – more detail than fundamental. With my two Sons, though to be fair, my eldest one did 90% of the work and very well too. I funded a new fitted kitchen and all this about 10 years ago. The reality is that we got it right both in terms of the design, quality and the execution so that even today whilst tile re-grouting is required and a paintwork refresh, it has stood the test of time.

The downstairs bathroom alas is a different proposition and a ‘patch &mend’ may have to suffice for now until I can find the funds to do what I would really like to do with it and that too applies to the Sun Lounge and the whole of the upstairs. However this brings into focus another thought which concerns the ‘temporary and the permanent’.

The Temporary Fix

In the computer world that I worked in previously and in life generally, I have seen many “Temporary Fixes” that became all too permanent and in doing so, distorted the future. If I take a view of the various areas of my property both internal and external, “given the money”, I know exactly what ‘I would do’ but that is clearly not the current case and should I predicate my life on potential future earnings at coming up for 65, or a possible Lottery win ? Hardly !

I will do no ‘temporary fixes’, I will always do the ‘best that I can’ under the circumstances prevailing at the time and likely, it is this attitude that has delayed matters to date. On the other hand, the delay has also made me re-think earlier intentions and with better outcomes.

In the end, I will ‘fix’ the house within present constraints both physical and financial and if in the end, the financial situation changes so that I can achieve my “ideal vision”, so much the better and will not resent current ‘works’ being undone by future ones.

Time for a break I suspect, this job will likely last some years both internally and outside…