A Visitor for the Day

Hi there friends and neighbours. It's Ruby here doing a blog! I thought you might like to know what I've been up to since I last got my paws on the keyboard and did a blog!

Well since I last did that we've had big upheavals in the house. It was decided to have a new kitchen, and to be honest with you, I quite enjoyed it, because everyone of the workmen made a big fuss of me. My favourite one has to be the joiner (Bobby) who fed me with some of his sandwich one day.

That's a picture of Bobby (below) from his Facebook page

The next favourite had to be Seb, the plumber, because he brought his eleven month old beagle called Milly and we had great fun romping round the back garden.

Guess who came and spent the day with me today? (and is coming again on Friday and again on Thursday 30th.) My little friend Raffi. We sat out in the sunshine in the back garden, played with all my toys. I even let Raffi have a tug with my most favourite toy - "Cat", then we went inside and had a rest to cool down. We had a long drink of icy cold water, which was most refreshing.

The Lord and Master took a few photos, so I've put them below, for you to have a look at.

The Lord and Master had a bit of difficulty getting the right shots of Raffi because he tended to come up to the camera lens and sniff it, so I sat with him for one or two, just so he wouldn't go up to the camera lens!

Kitchen Fame is Spreading!

It seems that the Bentley New Kitchen fame is spreading! I've just seen the photos below on a certain Mr. R Doyle's Facebook page.



As he is calling round tomorrow I will be collecting the royalties on these!

Would You Believe It?

We have all the kitchen units fitted, The fridge freezer is up and running, the microwave is in full working order, the gas hobs working and water connected to the sink. The tumble dryer is working sweetly and the washer was working sweetly.The observant among you will have noticed I used the word "was", and with very good reason.

For three or four washes the washing machine has done what has been asked of it, despite an extremely noisy bearing.........

Then on the next wash disaster struck. From somewhere under the washer a large pool of water appeared. This wouldn't have been too bad if the tiles had been fitted on the floor and they had been sealed to the sink unit end.... but they weren't!

Water managed to seep under the facing end panel of the sink unit and slowly soak upwards. Soon what had been a straight symetrically sided panel began to change shape. The water had caused the panel to swell.

I had only just taken a spare panel back two or three days before, and just received a cheque in the post as a refund. Now the thought that sprang to my mind was - I wonder if they still have the panel I returned to Skipton?

A hasty phone call ascertained that it was still in the Skipton branch, so a speedy trip to Skipton to pick up the panel was the next thing on the agenda!

The washer service engineer called today - luckily he had had a cancellation, otherwise we would have been waiting for him until Wednesday at the soonest! A repair was carried out, and once again all is well - well as well as can be expected in the Bentley household at the moment.

I have floor and wall tiles ordered and they should be in stock on the 29th June. So a hasty call to Kevin (our local painter and decorator) and Lady Luck was smiling on me, He had had someone supply him with the wrong keys to a house he was due to decorate, so he couldn't gain access. Two minutes later he was in our kitchen, with suggestions for the colour matching and all things being equal he should be starting painting the walls and new kitchen doors on Thursday!

Bobby, our joiner should be arriving again on Wednesday to make a kitchen table to match the work surfaces, fix skirting boards, hammer a hole in the pantry wall for the vent for the tumble dryer, and various assorted odds and ends. Oh! - and put a new end panel on the sink unit base!

Having moved most of the beakers, cups, saucers, plates, bowls, knives, forks, spoons and some of the food back into the kitchen, we now have this wonderful game called "Hunt the Beakers", with exciting variations such as "Hunt the Breakfast Cereals", "Hunt the Sugar" etc. Breakfast time will never be the same again! 

SAINTS ALIVE!

A change from the kitchen today! [What's that I hear you say? - Thank Goodness!]

I went down to church this afternoon to hear a performance of Saints Alive! a musical by Roger Jones.

The choir comprised people for the local churches and some of the musical directors choir members.

The performance was extremely good, with excellent diction - I could hear every word that was sung.

Saints Alive is written in the modern pop cantata idiom, and basically tells the story of Pentecost.

 The instrumentalists

 Chris Lowe - the narrator

A poster advertising the performance

Doors to the left, doors to the right.......

 You've heard of Diana Dors, Labradors &c. well this is Kitchen Doors!
Along with the new kitchen we decided to have new doors fitted to the pantry and the kitchen/hall door......

Looking down the hall to the new kitchen door

 A glimpse of the new kitchen units

Bifold pantry door to the left, and the new kitchen/hall door to the right

New kitchen door looking down the hall

New bifold pantry door

It's all Taking Shape!

The pace of developments in the Bentley New Kitchen World has really speeded up.

 

Above is the new oven and gas hob fitted.

The new sink and washer fitted. 

The Fridge/Freezer in its housing.

The pan (or plate) drawer with inset cutlery drawer above it.

The new sink with one and a half bowls.



The new gas hob.

Gradually it's all taking shape. We expect the electrician in today to connet the oven and the fridge freezer, then we will have a fully working kitchen!

All that remains now is the wall tiling, the floor tiling, decorating - oh! and two new doors fitting (one between the kitchen and hall, and one between the hall and the lounge). Then some semblence of peace may reign in the Bentley household once more!

Maternity Ward Ten

 I wonder if those of you who are long enough in the tooth remember the weekly soap which used to be on called Emergency Ward Ten? It was one of the forerunners of Casualty and Holby City.

We have had to re-christen Hannah and Ben's home "Maternity Ward Ten" due to the number of multiple births which have taken place there during the last few weeks.

First it was Dolly's turn, and she produced five lovely kittens (which incidentally have all found loving and caring homes)

The it was the turn of Macy, who only yesterday produced seven (YES SEVEN) gorgeous little Shih-Tzu puppies.

Proud Mum with her seven tiny offspring!

One of the puppies (just about one day old), in Hannah's Hand.

Almost There, We're Almost There. How Wonderful, Wonderful.......

To quote the words of one of Andy Williams songs

We now have all the doors (except the one which covers the extractor fan) fitted, and all the knobs fitted except one. The observant of you will have noticed that the wall units on the outside wall have been lowered, so that a certain female can reach the top shelves!

All being well the plumber will be on the doorstep at 08.00 prompt and by the afternoon the Gas Hob, and sinks (yes there is a full sized sink and a half sink!) will be in full working order. The washer should also be in situ and in full working order too!

The radiator will have been moved back to the outside wall and should also be in full working order.

The Fridge/Freezer Unit on the left, and on the right, spaces for the Cooker and Microwave to be fitted.

A fuller view of the units, showing the top cupboards and large pan drawer, (below where the oven will be fitted.) 

The triple wall unit on the outside wall, which has been lowered.

We are also expecting the arrival of a workman to remove and fit new fencing in the back garden, between nos 69 & 71, and also along the back of the garden too.

Knobs and Floor Covering

Not too much to report on the kitchen front today. Handles have been fitted to all the doors, and that's about it.

We went to have a look at floor tiles and wall tiles. Firstly we called at Super Ceramics which is next to the Morrison's Garage in Keighley. There were plenty of tiles (all at full price) but none that really took our fancy - (although there were some fancy tiles at fancy prices!) 

We then went on to Magnet in Skipton, and had a second look at the wall tiles on the display which featured our kitchen, and decided that they would look rather special in our kitchen, so we went ahead and ordered them.

The next consideration was what to put down on the floor, we had considered real wood floorcovering, but realised that we have a dog who tends to slurp when drinking, and the amount of water on the floor would not be conducive to the wooden floor covering staying down without becoming "curved at the edges." We then considered laminated floor covering, but once again the same problem was envisaged!

Speaking to the salesman in Magnet he sugested Ceramic Floor Tiles - no problem here as to how much water is spilt on them! We have also considered some floor covering similar to cushion floor which looks exactly like a genuine wooden floor, but once again is not affected by water spills! The third alternative is Vinolay, which we have ruled out.

Samples of the tiles and cushion floor type coverings have been brought home to match to the colours of the kitchen and the worktops.

So what is it to be.....

 Laminate or wooden floor covering?  (N0!) 

    

Floor Tiles?

Cushion Floor?

I think at the moment the odds are on cushion floor!

Wedding Music Fun!

A bride rang me four days before her wedding service to let me know what hymns and music she had chosen (despite the fact, like all prospective brides, she had a sheet which said "Please return this two weeks before your wedding) and told me she was producing the wedding service sheet herself - always a signal for alarm bells to ring! Then announced that she was having a gospel choir to sing two of the four hymns!

I asked her what her choice of hymns were, and they turned out to be This Little Light of Mine (which is in our Hymns Book, and had completely different words compared to the verses in our hymn book!)  and Oh Happy Day (which isn't in our hymn book!) I asked if the choir were bringing their own accompanist and she didn't know. I explained that we didn't have the music to Oh Happy Day, so if the choir were not bringing their own accompanist she would need to provide the music!

Knowing the style of Gospel choir singing (not exctly as your average church congregation!) I politely suggested that she could have a recipe for chaos here if she was expecting the congregation to join in!

I then asked if I could see a copy of her service sheet , which was e mailed to me.

Oh Dear, Oh Dear Oh Dear!

The hymn "One More Step" had verse one printed correctly (as a four line verse), then verse two appeared to be a six line verse (it was actually the chorus and verse two printed as verse two!)

The second hymn was If I Were A Butterfly - the last line of each verse should read:

"And I just thank you Father for making me, me."

Verses one and two did, but verse three lost the word Father so two syllables missing from this meant it didn't fit to the music!

It wasn't until I arrived to play for the wedding that I discovered that the Gospel Choir did have their own accompaniment!

And there are people who think an organists life is easy...............

Kitchen Installation Day 3

We are now seeing the fruits of Bobby's labours. All the wall and base units have been fixed, and the doors have been fitted to all of them except for the Fridge/Freezer Unit, and Oven /Microwave Unit. The worktops are now fully fitted too!

The wall units, complete with doors, either side of the extractor fan.

 

The Base Units, below the wall units above, and complete with doors and worktops. The hole in the worktop is where the hob will be fitted. 

The base units with doors fitted. The hole in this worktop is where the sink and drainer will be fitted. The gap to the right is for the washer.

The wall units on the exterior wall, with doors fitted, the central unit having display widows, so that all the Bentley silver and crown jewels can be on display!

Of course during all this time Ruby has not been unoccupied. She has made it in her way to oversee all the work in hand, and check that it was carried out to her demanding standards!

She has been spoilt something rotten by Bobby. When he arrived he was eating a sandwich, and Ruby being the crafty soul she is convinced him that she was a poor, starving, undernourished dog. In no time at all Bobby was sharing his sandwich with her!

Later Ben and Hannah called, and it was so hot that Hannah went to buy some ice cream lollies. Once again Ruby put on her "I'm a poor, starving, undernourished dog" act, and got a lick of Ben's ice cream lolly.

Later on in the afternoon, Sarah and Raffi turned up, so there was time for fun and frolics then.

It being a very hot day today, once she had finished she decided to take a well earned rest.

Installation Day 2

Things are moving a pace. Today we saw the installation of all the wall units - seven in all.

To the left is the housing for the fridge/freezer. To the centre is the housing for (reading upwards) a pan drawer, the cooker, the microwave, and two top cupboards. To the right of that is a shelf/cupboard unit.

To the left is the tall unit which will house (reading upwards)  the microwave and two top cupboards.To the right of that is a cupboard wall unit, to the right of that is the extractor fan unit, and to the right of that is another wall cupboard.

This is the triple wall unit on the facing wall. There will be solid doors on the two outer cupboards and a glass door on the central cupboard, (to enable us to display all the family silver!)

A detail of the extractor fan unit and hob light.

Announcing the Safe Arrival of........

I know it sounds like some proud new parent announcing the arrival of their offspring, and to tell you the truth, the "midwives" carried our "offspring" carefully up the path and deposited it safely into its new home!

Today was the day scheduled for the delivery of the new kitchen.

Winlaton Deliveries phoned us yesterday to inform us that the kitchen would be arriving sometime between 12.00 and 16.00. Today they phoned again to confirm that the kitchen was "en route" and it would arrive between 13.00 and 15.00. Exactly on 13.00 a large van pulled up outside our house, and two men began to unload it!

 Believe it or not what you see in the van was the full contents of our kitchen!

This was the new fridge freezer being brought into the house.

All the base units and wall units were also placed in the kitchen, as well as the fridge freezer. The reminder of the kitchen was carefully carried and stacked in the garage, and the amount of packages and parcels suddenly seemed to have grown!

The garage, bulging with kitchen units!

Here are some of the wall units and the fridge freezer stacked in the kitchen.

Base Units, also stacked in the kitchen

Once all the kitchen parts had been safely stowed, there was the job of fixing a new bi fold door on the pantry.

Pantry door, showing it half open

The next job was to fill in the exterior hole where the vent had been fitted for the tumble dryer.

Matching bricks inserted in the external wall (even though these had been unobtainable for more than twenty years!) How? you may well be asking. Well our garden was the brick dump when the houses were built, and they spread soil over the bricks to create a garden. Luckily I dug up in excess of 150 bricks when I came to prepare the garden, and I kept these. My phrase "They might come in handy at some time" was finally justified!!!!!

Now it was time to start fitting the base units.  There are actually six of these, two of which go from floor to ceiling.

 

These are the four units which will eventually have a worktop on top of them, and a hob and sink fitted into them.

Below are the design plans of the new kitchen, to give you an idea of what it will eventually look like. We hope that by Friday the sink and the washer will be fitted in, connected and in full working order!