Counting down

We have just 10 sleeps to go until the EF girls arrive, and we are busy sorting out their room, as well as redecorating the bathroom and organising lots and lots of S-t-u-f-f!

The YFG has been doing a sterling job with a paintbrush and has painted the walls and glosswork in the bathroom, and is now on to their room.  She's developed a very tidy habit with the paintbrush and I can leave her to it - she's almost a pro!  The bathroom needs the floor washing, but apart from that, it is almost there.  Their room still has to be finished - she has painted one wall but the one with the Mario Brothers mural on it still has to be tackled - we have taken on board several suggestions about covering the acrylic paint and we are going to try them out at the weekend.

All this is being accomplished on quite a restricted budget!  We have bought two pots of magnolia paint from Wilkinson's and a couple of new paintbrushes, but that is about it for the decorating.  As you know, we bought a new-to-us single bed for one of the girls and borrowed one from UJ. I have been given some huge fleece throws for the cost of a small donation to the chapel, and I have bought some new duvets and pillow packs in a half-price offer from Argos.  I have also been offered some bedside lights this week - hopefully the person who offered them will remember to actually give them to me!  I did accept the offer gratefully but I am aware that he said they were in his loft.....I have to take out a huge bookcase from the room and I am hoping that I might get that down tomorrow whilst UJ is here.  Not sure where it will go, yet, but I don't want to get rid of it as it is a floor-to-ceiling one which the FH made from good quality wood.  And I have plenty of books that I can put on it, that's for sure!

The thing about all of this is that we have an eye on the future as well as to the present.  The house will need to be prepped for sale in less than two years' time, so we are regarding some of this as an investment in that process too - some of the walls haven't ever been touched in the 11 years we have been here....about time, I hear you say!