Currently traveling
  • Jane Wilkinson

cambridge

An open-ended adventure by Jane Read more
  • Last seen 💤
    Today

    Things I love about my house

    March 27, 2018 in England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Having a dishwasher :) 😀
    Having an oven that turns itself off when my food is cooked
    Having space in my kitchen cupboards
    Having rail hooks in the kitchen
    Being able to see all the way through the house from the loo!
    My blue bedroom :)

    Today I signed up with the docs
    No house stuff (went into work to say hi to colleagues before I go back)
    Read more

  • Disaster

    March 26, 2018 in England ⋅ ☀️ 1 °C

    Today I can hear traffic in back bedroom too. :( Not good.
    Decide not to spend any more on improvements (eg sofas, paint). Just focus on airbnb.

    Clean loo (so much dust behind loo - inch thick no joke) and the green chrome is no chrome coloured again, and the floor tiles clean.
    Unpack rest of bathroom stuff. Chuck some makeup and a pile of nail varnishes.
    Put some silcone in shower door.
    Still to do in bathroom: ceiling, gaps, mirror (these things can wait)

    Spend the rest of the day til 3pmdoing admin. Virgin media account set up, council tax dd, gas and electricity with Bulb, water bills, request water meter.

    April bills will be:
    Council tax £116
    Electricity & Gas £40
    Water £39.61 (pending water meter)
    Virgin phone £10
    Virgin media £49 - thereafter £29
    Tv licence £29.40 thereafter ££12.25

    Total £286

    Go into town to ask about floor. Theres oiled and laquered - think mine is oiled. So have to be careful what products I use. Bought a spray mop, and a tea caddy and took back some b&q stuff.
    Read more

  • Cake and ebike

    March 25, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Wendy comes over for a cup of tea and I bake a cake.
    Buy an e bike (£270)
    Unwrap dolls house, put door on cupboard
    Ordered new plugs for bath and sink
    Went round to neighbours to see how they have decorated. Very cottagy, nice. Lighter floor, brick fireplace
    They are also airbnbing. £80 per night for whole house.
    Didnt buy door curtain, took curtain off door - looks cleaner.
    Read more

  • Catching the train

    March 24, 2018 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Off into Cambridge to meet Emma for lunch.
    Takes 6mins to get to station incl buying a ticket. This is lucky as the train I plan to get is cancelled so im in time for the earlier one.
    However train is packed! So have to stand.
    Then train wheel falls off! Everyone looks v nervous!

    Cleaned shower which was filthy. Now sparkling and looking better. Also fixed shower doir so you can now actually open it to clean!
    Cleaned chandeliers which now also look sparkly and pretty.

    Looked at duck egg blue sofas at ikea. Farrow and ball for some room inspiration.

    Put some more pictures up

    Tomorrow will get a white curtain and white blind for the door and window.

    Think I should have painted the ceiling before all this!
    Read more

  • Garden

    March 22, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Rotorvator was too tricky, so we have weed killered instead. Then will rake and sow wildflower everywhere until I have decided what to do.
    Put blind up in bedroom - looks nice
    Spent too long by lounge window - traffic noise awful.Read more

  • Tv & back yard

    March 21, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Woke up at the crack of dawn 5am! Wrote some emails for work and ready to go for 7.
    Made another attempt to get drawers up the stairs. Decided to put themin lounge instead.
    Nice sunny day
    Yard gets sun til about 10.30 which is nice.
    All of Garden seems to get sun all day.
    Rotavator coming
    Cleared clematis and tidied back yard.
    Mum steam polished kitchen floor.
    Bought rake
    Virgin came to install tv and broadband.
    Read more

  • Mum comes to help

    March 20, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 6 °C

    Whilst waiting for mum I:
    Collect the rest of the boxes that go straight in the garage - except the dolls house (these include three suitcases of stuff from mums loft with all my childhood stuff in, golf clubs and skis).
    Clean bathroom ceiling and pkug sockets
    Take off some of the border of the window screen.

    Mum arrives and puts blinds up, puts rug down and we light a fire. All now cosy. But traffic still bothering me - particularly as you cant have earplugs in when in company!
    Get tv out ready for tomorrow.
    Read more

  • Tv, broadband, insurance, food, bed2

    March 19, 2018 in England ⋅ ☀️ 3 °C

    Sorted out tv and broadband with virgin. Only took about 3 hrs! £30 for tv and broadband fibre, plus £10 pm for new phone contract so saving £10. Hopefully it all works!

    Changed insurance from letting to living. £180 but then they also gave £50 coop voucher! And £144 refund on previous insurance- plus this will also cover my phone and tablet etc and electric bike when i get one.

    Sat in lounge to sort all this. Traffic not too bad but felt a bit frazzled after so retreated to back bedroom for peace and quiet!!

    Also sorted front bedroom. Though still need new bedframe.

    Another valuation - pocock and Shaw- they reckon house has not lost value - put on for 315!! Hmm - they parking and shed v attractive (which is what swung me too I guess). Also he thinks new door will make huge difference.

    Off shopping now for lots of food.
    Read more

  • Lounge, car, garden room.

    March 17, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 0 °C

    Unpacked a few more boxes in the lounge, cleaned white cupboard, folded up boxes, transferred stuff I don't need into solid boxes for garage.
    It's snowing.
    Finally unpacked car.
    Researched secondary glazing.
    Kitchen now up and running, seem to be a few boxes missing they may be in the garage..
    Cleaned bathroom cupboard.
    Managed to sit in lounge without earplugs, think the snow may be muffling the sound, so with secondary glazing and new door should be ok.
    Nikki's for dinner. Did French homework with Bella, and shared collie stories.
    Read more

  • Furniture arrives - 10 hr day!

    March 15, 2018 in England ⋅ ☁️ 8 °C

    Meet removal van at 9am at the storage place in Littleport.
    Takes them 30mins to empty unit and fill van! (Leave behind some stuff that don't need in house, will sort that out later)
    Van emptied into house by 11.30 - what a lot of stuff.
    Chest of drawers and divan bed base don't fit up the stairs!
    Feels like a student house :(
    Dishwasher fittings don't work.
    Decide I don't like the white walls

    So I:
    am
    1) b&q for new fittings (turns out I just need to chop the end off what I have, and secure with butterfly clip - seems ok, fingers crossed.
    2) sit in car and look for houses to buy in Worcestershire (the traffic noise is driving me crazy)
    3) put radio on loudly to try and drown out traffic (doesn't really work).
    4) take divan bed to tip (via emmaus who don't want it)
    5) look at emmaus for wooden double bed frames (they don't have any)

    pm
    6) re-arrange furniture.
    7) unpack some kitchen stuff
    8) spend whole afternoon trying to put bed together (4 hrs!!) then realise should have slept on mattress on floor until wooden bed frame as I'm going to have to dismantle it all again!

    I opt for the smaller back bedroom as it's the only room in the house where you can't hear the TRAFFIC. And can actually hear bird song.
    Finish at 7.30pm exhausted after putting bed together and trying to find duvet, bed sheets, pillows etc. Which weren't labelled and current bed sheets hidden amongst old stuff I never use! House now a complete tip!

    Dinner in bedroom to get break from traffic.
    8pm - traffic seems to have eased off a bit.

    To do:
    1) paint inside of cupboard with wipeable paint.
    2) call someone to fix extractor hood
    3) clean stone floor
    4) clean wood floor
    5) clear up outside (gravel, broken flower pots, fence broken, chop back climber)
    6) go to paint shop to discuss what colour for lounge walls
    7) decide what to do about sofas - does it matter that they don't match
    8) remove shelf in bedroom
    9) decide what colour to paint bedroom

    Thoughts:
    I have
    - open plan lounge diner
    - room for two sofas
    - wood floor
    - nice bathroom
    - old doors
    - large master bedroom and a spare
    - fireplace

    But
    - traffic so annoying can't stay in master bedroom or lounge!
    - very little light, and I like to sit and look out at garden (in the sun) and relax - I can't do this.
    Read more

  • Diy - 5hrs

    March 14, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 11 °C

    Late start as bit hungover from last night
    10am arrive at house and meet handy man to discuss quote for removing wood chip, plastering.
    12pm Tucker Gardner arrive to value house. Around 290k - 295k therefore potential loss of £15k
    1pm Tesco for porridge and sandwiches

    2.30 Have headache so head back to Toms, to relax and watch Fargo.
    6.30pm back at house, put out bins to save place for removal van.
    7.30 clean under sink, drawer and cupboards. Clean extractor fan, and put up railing
    Read more

  • Diy - 7hrs

    March 13, 2018 in England ⋅ ⛅ 8 °C

    Paid back deposit, and paid weeks rent to tenants. Easy.
    Off to Starbucks for coffee and porridge
    - phoned 2 estate agents for valuations
    - looked for other houses to rent (Cant stand the noise of the traffic), booked appointment.
    Arrive at house about 10am

    So I
    1. Tackle the first cupboard, buy some off cut wood for 50p that is white and wipeable, and makes a bottom for the cupboard, paint anything in the cupboard white that needs painting.
    2. Remove dud light bulbs (3); and replace low watt ones in lounge
    3. Clean the rails and buy proper chrome hooks
    4. Clean underside of cupboards (takes a while!!)
    5. Clean window in lounge by road (frame never been cleaned??)
    6. Wince at traffic
    7. Clean sockets, radiator, skirting
    Have lunch at Wrestlers, Pad Thai

    Head back to Toms about 6.30. Make curry, drink wine, chat with Tom.
    Read more

  • Back to Cambridge - 2.5hrs

    March 12, 2018 in England ⋅ ☁️ 9 °C

    Staying at Toms for 3 nights and 3 days whilst I wait for the furniture to be delivered.
    Load up car in the morning and drive to Camb. Leave at 12 after helping mum put blinds. Bye bye doggy!
    Arrive at Station Road at 3pm. Elysia meets me and hands over keys. We have a nice chat.

    I inspect the house and discover:
    a) The traffic is VERY noisy.
    b) The kitchen looks like it has been assembled out of left overs by someone who doesn't care, for someone who doesn't care
    I) far left cupboard has no bottom (i.e. The bottom is the stone floor), is very dirty and half lemon yellow half something else. The shelf doesn't go all the way to back or all the way to the front, and looks like it's a bit of a wooden box?
    Ii) there should be a drawer at the bottom of the cupboard, but it's collapsed and wedged in somehow
    Iii) the rails underneath the shelving, and up the underside of the shelving are FILTHY, greasy and dusty, and the hooks are made out of bent wire. One light bulb doesn't work and it takes ages to work out how to get them out.
    IV) the extractor hood above the oven is bust, makes a loud whirring noise, and also hasn't been cleaned for 10 years so is thick with yellow grease. Gross.
    V) the insides of the cupboards aren't painted, and the none of the shelves go to the front. The outsides also need several more coats of paint.
    Vi) the stone floor is filthy - need some stone floor cleaner.
    Vii) some of the cupboards don't hang straight.
    Viii only one drawer
    C) all the sockets in every room are filthy and covered with paint and dirt.

    5.30 ish head to Toms, via Tesco. Cook curry. Do some bits and bobs online. Knackered. Bed.

    Still to do:
    1. Paint inside of far cupboard with wipeable kitchen paint.
    2. Stone floor cleaner
    3. Wood floor cleaner
    4.
    Read more

    Trip start
    March 12, 2018