It’s almost exactly nine months since this wonderful house became ours. It finally happened on 6th August after a six-month wait from seeing it for the first time. This shot is the half-done ground floor – you may have seen the start point. The plaster isn’t yet dry but we now have a roaring fire going so we expect it to dry out quickly now.

We keep running our hands over smooth new plaster and going mmmmmmmmmm!!!

Last weekend we came down to see progress on the plastering and we had an email in the week telling us it’s now done. We were so excited when in blistering sunshine (makes a change for a UK Bank Holiday) we set off for Cornwall for a whole week of bliss. I needed it really, I am still in agony from my fall down the stairs earlier this week and the car journey has been excruciating. That’s on top of a sleepless night – too many ghosts popping into my mind and refusing to let me rest.

If I could take you back to last August……

There was a 1970s fireplace built in front of this amazing granite one, we’ve exposed the original and put in a locally made cast iron stove to heat the house. The wiring was dangerous, now there is a complete new electrical system, including electric smoke alarms (so no batteries), network points throughout the upstairs, wall lighting so no ugly exposed electric cable to feed central light pendants and plenty of sockets. In fact, all the wiring is now under the plaster, rather than surface-mounted. The whole of the ground floor has been re-plastered and we have new windows throughout. There are new front and back doors, a new roof and newly lined chimneys so our neighbours are no longer being smoked out every time we light a fire. There was a hideous green carpet that smelled so strongly of urine it’s hard to see how anyone could have lived with it. All that is gone.

We still have ambitious plans – a new bathroom, upstairs plastering, a Rayburn for the cooking and hot water and a new kitchen. It’s already hard to visualise the house as we saw it first last February. We’re determined to make this unloved miner’s cottage into a lovely little piece of heaven on earth.

The nicest thing is it has all been done locally – local craftsmen of all types have helped us to do this so the money has gone into the community here and hopefully that will continue to happen.

Tonight I sit at the kitchen table typing this, having prepared a meal in the kitchen so DM and I are replete and extremely happy and what’s more, we have a full week here to continue the progress.

Tomorrow hopefully our broadband will be installed so no more dial-up - hurrah!!!

Last year we were with Ian C and two years ago, my Mum was dishing up poached eggs on toast and giving me fabulous advice. Shame the person who I was getting advice about turned out to be a complete monster.