Nearly Done

It's not been the most comfortable of weeks in fact it's been, and still is, decidedly uncomfortable. There's only one bathroom in this house and, since Monday morning, there's been nothing in it except a loo. Washing and toothbrushing has to be in the kitchen sink. Bathing and showering are impossible so it's been a strip-wash with a wet flannel - ye-e-e-e-uch!

Of course, just to make things worse, my body has had to get in on the act. In the early hours of Tuesday morning I woke up shivering under my duvet and no way could I get warm. After 2 miserable, teeth-chattering hours, during which I staggered out of bed to put my dressing gown on and flopped back under the duvet to carry on shivering, the fever broke and I started to sweat. Remember, there's no shower in the bathroom so it was a wipe down in the kitchen. Then I coughed and up came bloody phlegm. No, I'm not swearing, it really was bloody phlegm. This happened 2 or 3 more times until 10.30 when I rang my doctor's surgery and managed to get an appointment with one of the new young doctors who have replaced my now-retired GP friend - but not until this morning. Meanwhile I coughed up the odd gobbet of bloody phlegm and had Nik convinced I was soon to throw off this mortal coil despite my reassurances that it can happen with a chest infection.

I've seen the new young doctor today. He's a very nice young man, not that much older than my grandson. Anyway He gave me a strong antibiotic and he and I both hope it will clear up in a week, but see him again if it doesn't, and then God alone knows what to do next but he's sure to think of something.

So, I've had Dave and Laura, the plumbers, coming every day at 9 and getting on with the bathroom. They clean up after themselves very well, every night, but the dust is everywhere. Now this dust, combined, I suspect, with the fumes from the tile adhesive, has played merry hell with my infected chest. I've remained downstairs during the day but in the evenings any trip upstairs has me gasping for breath and feeling distinctly off balance.

Anyway, to date we have the new loo installed (it has a soft-close lid that can't bang down, I like it), the shower-bath is in place but not plumbed in, the walls are almost completely tiled and grouted and the floor tiles are in place. There's still no sink, no shower or shower screen and no taps but you can see how it's going to look and it's going to look fabulous.

Their work has gone on with just one minor hitch and that wasn't their fault. We have this cat, Maddie. She's a big cat with big paws and huge eyes - and she's a wimp. Other cats come into her territory and laugh because she is too much of a scaredy-cat to stop them, even when they're only half her size. However, she has just as much curiosity as any other cat and on Tuesday morning she went into the bathroom 5 minutes before the plumbers arrived to start work. There was an interesting gap in the floorboards so she went down for a quick inspection tour.

The plumbers came in and started work, unaware that Maddie was beneath their feet until Dave had to move another board and saw her. She shot into the corner - under the floor - and stayed there. No amount of coaxing could get her out so they had to start work, lots of hammering, sawing and drilling. At about Noon Laura, the lady plumber, came down and said they needed to put the boards back and did I think I might be able to get her out now? I suggested they go for their lunch as she might come out if it was quiet and they weren't there.

After 20 minutes of calling Maddie from downstairs every so often I went upstairs to see for myself. I had decided that if she didn't come out it would have to be a poking-with-a-stick job. I got into the bathroom, gasping and wheezing, and staggered around a bit. Suddenly a head popped up, very cautiously, near my feet. I didn't move - I barely could anyway - and gradually the head was followed by a very dusty, smudgy body and tail. I grabbed her and, holding her firmly under my arm like a set of bagpipes, marched (or, at least, wobbled) downstairs. Since then she has been spending most of her days in the garden, except that this morning she got under my folded-back duvet for a few hours.

The bathroom is due to be finished by tomorrow evening. Our Laura has bagsied the first bath/shower but I will be a close second. I will then go to bed feeling clean. Oh, that will be so good.