"Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it" Tom Lehrer

 The piano finally made it over from the mainland earlier this year. It needed a day when the boat called twice to give the couriers chance to unload and assemble. Unfortunately the weather changed that day and the boat didn't call back so we had overnight guests.

"If no one ever took risks, Michaelangelo would have painted the Sistine floor" Neil Simon

 I originally bought enough old floorboards to do the whole house. My calcultions were spot on but I didn't allow for wastage. I had enough pieces left for the last room but their average length was about 8-10 inches. So I invested in some engineered flooring and hoped that it wouldn't be too difficult to lay. A bonus is that the floor is smooth enough for Do's ballet practice.

 

"Never look backwards or you'll fall down the stairs" Rudyard Kipling

The final room to be done was the studio. I'd made a start on framing and plasterboarding earlier but I needed a way to get to the upstairs safely, avoiding the collection of trestles and ladders I had been using. So, it was time to plan and fit a staircase. Alex and I worked together on this - 2 heads being better than 1. (These last entries are not necessarily in the order in which the work was done)