WOYWW 213 - not my desk but the closest I can get

What a day!  Rachel (KatzElbows) remarked last week that she felt tired just reading my blog.  I am writing this on Tuesday afternoon as I very much doubt if I shall be in any state to put one word after another by tonight.

As you can seem I am in the middle of having my house roof completely replaced - and not before time.  This was something that Geoff and I were well aware needed to be done.  The builders are known to many friends as being good and trustworthy, and I have been waiting since April for them to be free.  The scaffolding arrived at pig-squealing hours last week, which was a real shock to the system.

The actual work on the roof started on Monday morning with the arrival of the skip and the setting up of the chute, and the two of them have worked hard ever since, fuelled by tea, of course.  The dogs are dividing their time between barking at the strange noises and hiding in a dark corner.

The next person to arrive was the pest control man to deal with a large nest of bumble bees in the one corner of the bay, before the roofers had to do that bit.  (The local council will not do anything but rats, unless you are in receipt of every benefit known to man)  I tried bee keepers to see if they could remove the bees safely, but they were not interested.  My next try was Defra, who put me onto the National Bee Unit. A very nice man there told me that they could not be relocated, and I would need to get a pest control company in to do the job.  I was shocked to find out that it is not possible to relocate bumble bees, and they are not protected anyway.  I was also shocked when a huge one escaped the collection bucket and landed on my trouser leg - my heart failure for today.  Apparently, this particular variety are not native bees and have arrived from the continent somehow.  I still feel bad about them being killed off, but my roof will not wait till the autumn when the colony will die anyway. 

I just about managed lunch before realising that the gardener had arrived as well.  He always brings his dog with him, who is very well behaved and so much calmer than my two hooligans.  He was followed swiftly by the delivery of my tablets from the pharmacy - I usually collect them but time is against me this week, not to mention the problem of my Achilles. 

While writing this, I have had so many phone calls, including one from Severn Trent, regarding our sewers.  Instead of running up the roadway, ours all run through our front gardens, and our house is the lowest point on this part of the system, so blocks up with everyone else's "stuff".  As Geoff is no longer here to rod the drains to clear them, I needed to clarify things - Severn Trent have assured me that it is their responsibility, which is good.  

I now have to get ready for my Tuesday visitors.  That also involves shampooing the lounge carpet where dear Gemma was disgustingly sick, no warning!  Then, I shall have to get the alcohol tray ready - and I shall be drinking (probably sloe gin) to hopefully sleep tonight. 

Sorry Julia for gong on a bit this week, but I must just say that I have finally finished with the bulk of the paperwork.  I still have a minor mountain to shred, and six A4 files to archive in case I need them, but I can see most of this desk downstairs.  I still have a number of letters to send out, but they are not urgent, and the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter all the time.  I can give myself permission to take a little time to craft, that is, after my massage and hair do on Thursday.  Yippee!  

If you are still with me, thank you for sparing so much time, and I am sure you are ready to visit lots more interesting crafty spaces, courtesy of Julia at Stamping Ground.  See you all soon. 

PS this link came via Barbara Gray of Clarity Stamps, and while going through it doing my voting, I found there is a section for Best Crafting Blog.  http://mailer.eonic.co.uk/t/r-l-bstlo-jyegjydj-n/

No contest is there, it has to be Julia every time - get voting, folks.

PPS Hope this rain clears up - never mind Wimbledon (although that is great), but I am more concerned with my roof.