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Sunday, March 04, 2012

Living in Chaos - Kate Walker

I'm having to time everything - blogs, emails, etc  - very carefully these days. I need to make sure that I actually have  an electricity supply connected and usable so that I can use my computer and contact people. I also need to make sure that there isn't brick dust flying around, getting into everything and so much noise filling the house  that I can't think straight.

Why is  this?

Well, we're having  work done on the house. Improvements - or, they will be improvements when the work is finished. Right now it's chaos and pretty hellish.  We've had a wall between a small  kitchen and an even smaller utility room knocked down to make one big, light, dining kitchen (at least that's the plan!) . And we (or rather the builders) have  extended that  so that it opens on to the garden.  It's going to be wonderful, light and airy, when it's finished - but it isn't like that now. Right now,  it's dirty - and cold, there hasn't been any heating for ten days!  We never know when the electricity will be turned off, when we will have water to wash or cook.  It's not been a lot of fun but we've  managed so far. We've organised a system which means we're up and showered  early, before the builders arrive in the morning, I have a small heater in my office so I can work, and we're cooking everything in the microwave - and washing up in the bathroom sink!

We were doing OK last week. The weather has been kind to us. It was mild,  clear, even sunny for a couple of days, so it wasn't too uncomfortable at all. But today the weather has changed completely - goinf g from early spring back to late winter with a vengeance! The skies darkened, the rain started to fall - and grow colder  - and now there's freezing sleet swirling  outside.  If it stays like this it's going to be a  chilly and difficult week.

I'm almost tempted to wish that I'd never started this - to say no, stoip - please! I want to go back to how it was. Or I want to run away and leave it all behind me. But as my husband keeps saying to me - or I keep saying to him the rest of the time - it will be worth it when it's done! Next week they start  rebuilding the kitchen. New cupboards  and worktops,  the new cooker and hob will be delivered and installed. We'll actually be able to cook meals!  And at the same time the new boiler and radiators will be put in - and at last we'll be warm again. I can't wait.

It was just this weekend when  the cold and miserable weather made me feel  that I couldn't cope with this any longer that I realised how much like the emotional journey of a romance novel this has all been.  We started out knowing things had to change and  planning how  it would be in the future.  There were disagreements and debates,   some things didn't work out as we planned. We never expected that the old boiler would have to be taken out quite so early, making everything so much more difficult than we'd thought. We've been up and down, taking two steps forward, one step back just like in the stories of my heroes and heroines.  And then  this weekend it  felt like that notorious Black Moment when everything seemed as bad as it could get.

So now I'm ready to look forward to that Happy Ever After  Ending when it's all finished and lovely!

The trouble is  - they're starting on the bathroom after that!

Kate’s latest novel The Devil and Miss Jones is out this week  in Mills & Boon Modern Romance and will be released in Harlequin Presents Extra in April.  She also has a reprint of her  Bedded By The Greek Billionaire  in  the 3 in 1 By  Request - His Suitable Bride. You can find out all her latest news on her Web site or her blog.

15 comments:

Sharon Archer said...

Argh! Kate! Renovations! One of my least favourite things! I'll put up with a lot to avoid them! Our bathroom needs a make over badly - we have the most awful wall paper in there and the grout in the tiles in the shower - UGH! The wall paper has a sort of gold foil so when you turn on the light it's... dazzling (and not in a good way!) The sink and bath are yellow! (sigh)

Anyway, I'm sure your end result will be worth the struggle!

I love the sound of The Devil and Miss Jones!

:)
Sharon

Leni said...

Whenever work is being done on the house it drives me up the wall. You have to keep telling yourself that it will look better and be more efficient. The problem is remembering :)

Michelle Bledsoe said...

I so hate to have my routine messed up. I love the finished product of renovations, but not the process to get there. I am so impatient that I want the builders to be magicians and just wave a wand and have it done right then...LOL Unrealistic I know.
Good luck though.

Kaelee said...

Hi Kate ~ I'm sorry your weather is turning bad. Ours is as well. We are getting up to 30cm of snow over night and on Monday. I won't have a newly renovated kitchen to look forward to just a lot of shoveling as my husband's back is bad right at this moment.

The new room sounds like it will be wonderful once it's finished.

Mary Preston said...

The good thing about Black Moments is that they do pass. The weather here in QLD has been abysmal of late. There is a soft, weak sun this afternoon, so I opened the house up wide to get some drying, fresh air in.

Kate Walker said...

Sorry everyone - I haven't been able to get to my desk, or use the computer since I posted yesterday - I warned you it was chaos. So now I'm trying to catch again!

Kate Walker said...

Hi Sharon - it's our own fault for deciding to get everything done in one go - kitchen, new heating, bathroom . . . they tell me that the bathroom will just be a 3 day job so if I only had that to worry about I think I'd be OK. I just keep telling myself how lovely it's all going to look when it's done . . .

Kate Walker said...

Hi Leni - nice to see you here. You've got it just right - my DH and I keep saying exactly that - and we keep having to remind ourselves - everyday!

Kate Walker said...

Oh Michelle if you ever find that magic wand, do let me know. Though I do think that having gone through the dirt and the disturbance and - like you I hate to have my routine messed up - then we're going to appreciate the finished result all the more at the end. I hope so anyway

Kate Walker said...

Kaelee - we were lucky - the snow turned to sleet, miserable and cold, but luckily it went overnight, and today was bright and clear - cold but dry. I hope you didn't get as much snow as you feared and that you didn't have to do all that shovelling

Kate Walker said...

Mary - you're right about those Black Moments - they do come to an end and there's the Hapy ending as a result. I heard about the dreadful weather in QLD - it sounded horrible. I do hope you're not too badly afected and everyone you care about is safe - and dry!

Pat Cochran said...

We mention the occasional change we would
like to make in our 40 y/o old home, but
we are not brave enough yet to begin the
work!

Good luck with the renovations and your
upcoming releases! Looking forward to
reading them!

Pat Cochran

Di said...

Hang in there Kate! Two years ago I had a bump out addition put on to get a new & larger kitchen & TV room. It was supposed to start in September, but ground wasn't broken til mid December. So the back of the house was virtually open thru part of a NJ winter. Had a Microwave & fridge in the living room, house heat was cranking to try to compensate which made the bedroom extra warm. But now I love it & the aggravation fades.

Kate Walker said...

Hi Pat - this was a sort of now or never moment. We had lived with the small kitchen/utility for 20 years and had talked and talked - it was time for action. I know I'm going to be so pleased when it's all done . . . but it's taking a long time to get there. Still, at least the new central heating is almost finished and we might even be warm by the weekend!

Kate Walker said...

Hello Di - your renovations sound very much like the sort of thing we're having done - and in winter too! But we have been lucky with the weather most of the time. Fridge and microwave - check! But ours are in the hallway - I just wonder what we would have done when we didn't have a microwave!