Number 16 – rented :-)

So, we took the keys and all relevant certificates for gas and electrics etc for both 16 and 4 to the letting agent on Monday morning.  He came round on Monday afternoon to check them out, took photos of number 16 (since it was finished), got them on the internet on Mnday night.  The first viewing was on Tuesday evening but was a none starter since the couple were already in a two bed on the estate and realised that the bedrooms were smaller in the 3 bed than their existing 2 (we are aware of the size differential given that we have one of each of these houses ourselves).  A second viewer saw the property on Wednesday lunchtime and almost immediately placed a holding deposit and paid his application fees – result.  The letting agent then had to cancel on the other 2 or 3 intereste parties…. 🙂

So we are pretty pleased that we managed to get it rented as quickly as we did – a total testament to the hard work that we put in 🙂

So, we carry on with number 4 – we had hoped to be finished by the end of today, but alas this is not to be 🙁

The upstairs is complete excepting a couple of windowsills and the gloss work on the staircase woodwork.

The downstairs emulsion is done in the hall and the lounge so there is just the kitchen and toilet to do.  Then, we need to jump onto the gloss work and clean the kitchen out.  There are a couple of other remedial things that we need to sort but they are pretty small items that should be pretty easy to sort out.

We did the garden today and the Ossett window cleaner has kindly cleaned up the windows and sorted the guttering etc – the home next door has issues on their roof which may well cause us problems downstream.  Basically the cement under their tiles has pretty much all come out and has slipped down the gulley into our guttering – so we may well end up with damp issues – we will be keeping our eye on it – there is no evidence of damp at this time.

Parents Evening at school

For BOTH boys as well – our FIRST ever parents evening.

Obviously we had no idea what to expect although we did need to understand why we received a letter with Oliver’s bag a week or so ago advising us that he was due to move up to the next room and thus be a part of the nursery rather than pre-nursery. sadly we did wonder if it was purely a numbers game given the school’s looming closure. When we sat down with Laura, it was obvious that this question did not need to be asked – while WE know Oliver a smart boy, it seems that he has blitzed the list of things for his age group and is already working on the next group up. Not bad given he is only there for two days a week :-).

Then onto Elliot – he received a glowing report from Mrs Forge as we chatted for about 20 minutes about his progress within the school. basically everything is improving at good rates including interaction with the other children – although this is not improving as rapidly as the other areas. It seems (as we already knew) that confidence is the key to Elliot – he needs giving confidence all the way along and he thrives from it – seemingly needing acknowledgement along all sorts of activities each day keeps him motivated to get on. The teachers are working on him understanding that he does not always need that acknowledgement in order to progress with certain tasks, and through the group play activities he is coming out of his shell slowly more and more as each week passes. It seems that many of his fellow pupils see Elliot is the tall boy who does not speak, yet others challenge that thought by simply stating that you just need t talk to Elliot about a subject that he likes – such as LEGO or Pirates of the Caribbean. The point here is that while many of the children have perhaps given up trying to speak with / play with Elliot, many have not and enjoy time with him – all we can ask for.

So, the overall picture? We have two well proportioned (well excepting their size 🙂 ) little boys who are progressing well in school and are striving to learn more along their unique journeys.

So, our first parents evening at school seems to be a complete success and our boys are in great shape for the next stages in their education and life 🙂

Happy Days…

Number 16 as good as ready :-)

We have almost completed number 16 – yay !

The first floor is 100% complete, and the ground floor is about 95%. We have just got to get some wood filler for the lounge laminate gaps by the door frames etc, put down some grass seed to help the garden mature, put up the house number on the door, ensure all light bulbs are in working order and get some small stones for the back garden just to tidy it up a little. Lastly there are some paint marks on the floor as you enter the house that we need to remove as they are a little unsightly and are therefore needing to disappear 🙂

All the work gear is now in number 4 awaiting the start in the morning 🙂 No rest for the wicked …

On the plus side we are just 2 weeks from the Florida holiday – MEGA YAY !!!

Fuse 22 is out of the DB9

… and WOW what a nice difference it makes to low revs ROAR !! 🙂

Simon also tried to get access to the side light bulbs yesterday to replace them with nice little LED items – having raised the car off the floor, removed the access panel in the front wheel arch, it became clear that there was NO WAY that he was going to reach the bulb 🙁 Basically, the wheel arch trim / plastic would need removing and then he would be able to gain access to the front of the headlight unit from below.  As a consequence he decided that this was not a task to be attacked without proper skills 🙂 so he put it all back together and left the job for another day / skilled individual.

The remote controlled Fuse 22 relay arrived this morning so it has now been fitted- basically if Simon desires loud exhaust at low speed / revs, just press the button on the remote control and hey presto 🙂 Want silence again? Just press the button again – job’s a good ‘un 🙂

Olly still unwell :-(

Poor Olly did not sleep particularly well last night, and so remains drugged up on Calpol and Ibuprofen to the relevant allowed guide amounts.  It is just about keeping his fever under control 🙁

Fingers crossed that this fever subsides quickly and hence normal service may be resumed 🙂