All Change!

Long time readers will know that our bungalow has been painted green for quite a few years now.  I think we shocked the neighbours when we first did it and we got some peculiar looks.  There was nothing in the road similar as the majority of them  had opted for white or beige.  However, they came to like it.

Well, we decided to change it this year.  At first, with my cancer diagnosis, all thoughts of that went out of the window.  In fact we did not really care what the bungalow looked like as you can imagine.

However, when I was sitting in the garden last, a couple of weeks back now, I could not help but notice the peeling paintwork on the sunlounge and with the garden all planted up for summer it looked worse.   As you know him indoors tackled that and painted the sunlounge inside and out.  That led to all the guttering being done as well.

I then thought back to January when I first decided on a colour change to the outside walls.   I reminded Mike and he said he would not mind tackling it.  We decided to do it in a lighter colour, a more sunny colour.  In a way it was a kind of celebration, a celebration that my treatment was over (apart from the medication).  I know the time for celebration should be when I get the "all clear " so I hope I am not tempting fate.  However, that will be a long time from now so we decided to make it a celebration of my treatment being finished.

Mike brought home some colour charts and I chose the colour.

I asked Mike to take some photos as he went along so you could all have a look.  Here is the first one, you can see the contrast between the new colour which is called "Cornish Cream" and the old green.  You will also see that the new paint was only the first coat.  He has since done the second coat.

Here is another view

Now for two shots of the whole of the front with the first coat of paint in place.

 

Now the second coat has also been done, it looks even better.  Of course we are no longer unique, we are no longer the only green property anywhere in the area.  It was handy in a way as well.  If people needed directions on how to find us we only had to say "well, when you turn into the road you cannot miss us, we are the only green property!"  However, we are very happy with it.  It looks so fresh and bright and shows the plants off much better.  Also it still stands out from the others as the neighbour joined to us is beige and the neighbour on the other side is magnolia.  We have already been complimented on it.

There is still the long side wall to do, the back wall around the kitchen window and the garage at the bottom of the garden which we always paint to match the house.  However, "rain has stopped play" for the time being.  Mike did encounter a couple of showers whilst he was painting the front, but today they are much heavier and rain is forecast for at least the next four days.   So, you-know-who is a bit fed up.  He hates starting a job and then not being able to get on with it.  But a rest will not do him any harm.

It was handy for me as well as we could talk to each other through the open window whilst I was lying down and he was working.

At least we do not have to water the garden whilst we have these heavy showers and this year, sitting in the sun is not appropriate.  However, I will be happy when this breast totally clears (it is much better than it was) and I can go outside and sit in the shade instead of spending lots of time lying down.

I have just finished a fourteen disc talking book and it was great.  I do not know if any of you have heard of the author Christopher Fowler.  I know his work is available in America as well as over here.  He is writing six books about a couple of elderly male detectives named Bryant and May who are in charge of a bureau for mysterious crimes.  The one I listened to was "77 Clocks".  What an inventive mind this writer has.  Full of  unusual murders, twists and turns, always written around the city of London and always bringing history into the plot in some way but with some humour as well and the two detectives are such endearing characters.  I can thoroughly recommend this book either in written or spoken form.  I cannot wait to get the next one in the series which, I believe, is called The White Corridor.  Long time since I have enjoyed an author quite so much.

Wishing you all a happy weekend.