I have got almost all of a floor.
I am pleased about this, not as pleased as I might have been if I had all of a floor, but still pretty pleased. Mark is going to put the last bits in tonight when he comes back from work, and we will be starting to look a bit tidier.
It is amazing how much stuff lives on a floor. You do not notice this until it needs to be moved and put somewhere else, but take it from me, there is a very lot of it.
I tidied up some of the finished bits today and put things back on them. We are still shunting the dressers about regularly, and so they have had to be empty. This made Mark laugh yesterday when he realised just how much stuff I have got secretly hoarded in them.
This is not only because of bat flu, but mostly because in the general way of things I am always worried that the world will end and I will have to make half a bag of coffee last for ten years until somebody walks to Brazil to get some more. This paranoia was not exactly helped by the all-round supermarket sweep that everybody did with the advent of bat flu, when all supermarket shelves were emptied overnight.
Or no. Actually it has been massively helped, and is now firmly holding the reins of the shopping budget. Mark wondered yesterday if we were planning to live on icing sugar for a week or two some day, mixed in with tea bags for extra flavour.
I do not care. It is horrible to start making a birthday cake and then remember that you do not have any icing sugar, and as for running out of tea, it is unthinkable
Also I know perfectly well that we are staring down the barrel of a grim winter, in which all Christmas and New Year celebrations are going to be stamped out by the secret police, after which we will have to survive through January, February and March by trying to extort money from the non-existent tourists.
Usually we save up cash as well as groceries for this eventuality, but obviously have not been able to this year.
We will probably just live on icing sugar.
I did not help my own anxious cause this morning by going shopping. It was not for icing sugar, but was interesting shopping, because I went to the little antique shop in the village.
I want a lamp for the corner of our new living room, and a coffee table which is small enough to fit in the middle without us needing to climb over it to get to the sofa.
I thought of the antique shop whilst I was in the post office, and so went to have a look.
It is a nice antique shop. It is not a second hand shop, but sells proper antiques, ancient things with stories to tell, some of which the lady in charge relayed to me, since was the only customer. It is tiny and overcrowded with fragile-looking treasures, and there were all sorts of things that I liked the look of very much.
Regrettably I had no need of most of them, having nowhere to put ornate ormolu clocks or waist-high Chinese vases, but I occupied a joyous half an hour gazing raptly at treasures, and trying not to touch.
I found it very hard to resist a beautiful oil lamp. It was of the sort that hangs over a dining table and had sturdy-looking chains to enable it to be raised or lowered at need. There was a clock that first chimed, and then played a little tune, which I longed to take home. Probably we would get used to it quickly so that it would not be annoying at four in the morning.
It had little people dancing to the music on the front. You could not possibly not love it.
There were chandeliers and ear rings and whatnots and a wonderful, wonderful table, like the sort of three-tier cake stand that I bought from the gypsies, with round table tops all the way up its stem.
I did not buy anything today, because of not having any money, but I saw lots of things that I probably would buy, if only the Peppers won the lottery. I even think I might go back and see if they will accept instalments on some beautiful lamps with glass shades shaped like flowers.
I went home inspired to fill the house anew with clutter.
I can hardly wait until the floor is down.
