Tuesday 10 November 2015

A winter project done and dusted - literally!

I mentioned last time that one of our "winter projects" was to reorganise Danny's hobby room and the study. Well, Danny was so keen to make a start on it that we haven't waited for the winter!  Before I knew where we were, Danny had worked out what materials he needed and we did a tour of local DIY-type stores to round it all up! Over the few years that we've used these rooms, they have become rather untidy and I'm almost - but not quite - too embarrassed to show you these 'before' photos...

The truth is that we never really had enough room for all the books we have and while we both know we could probably get rid of some of them, neither of us can quite bring ourselves to do so.  So the study had ended up like this.....


Danny's hobby room, while not exactly tidy, also had too much in it and not enough work space for him to work on his models.  In particular, there are times when he wants to work on more than one model and the original layout of the room made that nearly impossible.  This is what it looked like before he started to reorganise it....


Danny started off, in the study, by emptying and removing the chest of drawers and then unloading the bookcase.  Our friends, Dave and Donna, then helped Danny to move the bookcase round to the wall vacated by the chest of drawers - even without books it was far too heavy for him to move on his own and I'm afraid I cannot even think of doing something like that now! (If ever I could!)  Danny then put up shelves to house his magazine collections and the rest of the books that had been hanging around "homeless". The contents of the drawers are now in dedicated plastic tubs.  They are either photographs (which took quite a while to repack as it was just too tempting not to look through them!) or needlework, craft and knitting supplies.

So this is what the study looks like now....


Having done this, Danny was then in a position to build a new work area, with appropriate lighting above, in his hobby room.  Although we consider this job now done, it's probably more likely a work in progress because it's only going to be by using it that Danny will find out if the new layout needs tweaking at all.  

This is the new layout of the two hobby areas......



And this is where he uses the computer and does all his flight simulation....


If you look carefully at the first two photos, you'll see that Danny does have two models on the go. On the original work area is the London bus and on the new worktop, he has started another replica VW Beetle, this time it's his son, Paul's car.  Here is a closer picture of it, with the shell newly painted........


So that's one project out of the way!



Health Update 
With no scans or doctors' visits until I see the oncologist next week, there's not much to say.  I have been having my blood pressure checked twice a week and it's much higher than normal.  This is another side effect of the drug and we shall see if it means being put on more tablets!  My appetite - and along with it my weight - have decreased.  Never in my life have I experienced such a loss of appetite! I am suffering with terrible nausea and sometimes I simply can't face cooking, never mind eating.  Talk about cancer being life-changing!  These are things I never could have envisaged.  All I can do, is eat whatever I can, whenever I can.  


And finally.....
I'm going to leave you with this lovely photo of our Finn.  Although we've been having some wonderful sunny, warm days, the evenings are often quite chilly and we usually have the wood burner going in the evenings.  We do plan on looking for a nice hearth rug and we think Finn might be suggesting that it wouldn't be a bad idea!


Until next time, then, à bientôt!





5 comments:

  1. I have to agree with you about books,so hard to get rid of and we also have too many. As for your health you sound like it is a bit of a battle at the moment especially where food is concerned. I have a friend in Perth who is having a massive struggle at the moment but he was given 6 months a year ago! Sadly with him it has spread, hopefully yours is getting smaller. Take care and look after yourself. Diane

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well done Danny. Do hope your nausea decreases (nothing worse) and your appetite increases. Stay positive. x

    ReplyDelete
  3. Well done. Your work looks great, but more importantly gives you easier access to your possessions and for Danny to work.
    Here's hoping that your nausea will subside and your appetite return. Best wishes.

    ReplyDelete
  4. So entertaining. I would love to be able to write like you do. Love

    ReplyDelete
  5. Great room transformations and its very therapeutic having a good tidy up. Sorry to hear you're not feeling tip top, hope the potential new tablets will help.

    ReplyDelete