So close and yet so far...

We were so full of optimism earlier in the week, but now we're not so sure.

Monday's site meeting was a very positive affair. Mr Other Architect was there instead of Mr Architect (who has chosen this crucial point in the project to bugger off to Turkey), but did a good job. Mr Builder was in good spirits and seemed confident that all would go well this week and we would indeed be moving back in.

Sneak visits through the week have shown little real progress. The kitchen still crawls forward, the bathroom looks untouched and the dining room cabinets simply will not be done in time. Mr Granite is a pain in the arse, and Mr Builder has to go up there nearly every day to try and get a firm date out of them for fitting our kitchen worktop.

And on Tuesday we hit another problem. Mr Builder fitted the cooker extractor hood only to find it was directly beneath the steel girder spanning the house, so nothing could vent through it. He came up with a dodgy sounding option of having a second extractor fixed to the vertical wall face above the kitchen. No thanks. We reached a compromise yesterday with the lovely brushed steel chimney being replaced by a built in cupboard to allow a flexible hose to bypass the girder. I'm sure it will look OK (Rachel has seen a mock-up).

At least the floor is now finished, and the washing machine is in place. It made the journey ahead of the rest of our furniture, accompanied by Rachel's parents. The idea was to get it plumbed in by the builders before we get back, and also to allow them to construct the built-in cupboard in the bathroom which is directly over its new home.

Enough for now. We'll be visiting the site again today with our dear friend Deb, who was in on th very first discussions about what we could do with our house when it didn't sell. Should be an eye opener for her!