Sun, Dec 31

Today, New Year's Eve, we took it easy. No photos for Dawn today. Instead, we did a few things around the house and relaxed. Brady called Dawn mid afternoon. The two talk every weekend, just as Paul and his dad used to when we were living in Florida.

Then we watched the film Sense and Sensibility. Paul had bought the DVD for Dawn last July, but we had to wait to get a DVD player before watching it.

Dawn then had to endure the rest of the day fighting to stay awake, as Paul insisted that the two of them stay awake until midnight to do 'First Footing'. You'll have to wait until the new posting to read all about that.

Sat, Dec 30

Today we drove up to Holloway again, making it the third time in the last eight days. This time it was to pick Paul's dad and brother up and then grab some pie and mash at Manze's in Chapel Street. The we all dropped into Sainsbury so we could pick up a few groceries.

Back at home Dawn again spent a good four plus hours putting photos into albums. At least she is now into the UK batch. Although she still has hundreds to do before she is anywhere near catching up.

Fri, Dec 29

Well the last three days went pretty quietly compared to the mayhem leading up to Christmas and our little accident with the brick on Boxing Day.

On Wednesday we made our way into town to have a wander around and look in the shops. Paul picked up a woolly sweater for £9.99, before we had lunch at the Woolpack. Then it was grocery shopping at Morrisons in Welwyn Garden City. Later back at home Paul edited the Christmas photos so we could get them on our Yahoo website and order copies for the photo albums.

Which brings us nicely to Thursday. Again it was a day spent at home with Tiny. Dawn, for her sins however, spent the best part of it (six hours) putting photos that had been taken back in February and March (at Clearwater Beach and Michaela's birthday party) into albums. She hardly even made a dent in the workload, as she hasn't even touched the ten months of photos that Paul has taken since arriving back in England.

Friday morning Paul visited his doctor to get the results of the tests to check out his liver. The good news is that they showed that all is well, and that he doesn't need to worry about having a fatty liver. The bad news was that he still has high blood pressure. So the doctor doubled his daily dosage and has asked to see him again in a month.

Dawn, on the other hand, attacked the Christmas decorations. Well, she started to take them down, that is. By the end of the day she had taken down the main tree in the living room and all the ornaments and stuff down that was on the ground floor.

Boxing Day (Tues, Dec 26)

The day after Christmas in England is a bank holiday called Boxing Day. History is obscure as to where the name came from. One opinion is that in the Middle Ages employees who had to work on Christmas Day were given a box with a gift on the following day when they left for home. Another opinion is that it relates to the money boxes collected for the poor at churches which were opened on this day and contents distributed.

Anyway, with everything closed today, Paul and Dawn decided to chill out for the day. However, the tranquility was disturbed when they heard a crashing noise from upstairs. On reviewing all the rooms and finding no damage, they checked outside, where they found a brick had fallen from the chimney stack, bounced on their roof and crashed into their kitchen roof. Fortunately, only a couple of tiles were broken on the two roofs. However, needless to say, they could have done without this hassle (and expense).

Once they were able to sit down and relax (and after a second helping of Christmas dinner and dessert), they watched the movie "Jaws." As hard as it may be to believe, Paul read the book over 30 years ago but never ever saw the blockbuster movie.

Christmas Day (evening)

After the two hour round trip to Holloway, Paul and Dawn (plus Tiny) needed to relax and enjoy the rest of Christmas Day. However, first there were a few more phone calls to be made. First Dawn called her mother Brady and Jim (who were celebrating Christmas at Edisto Beach, SC). Paul then called his brother David and and sister-in-law Rita (who live in Dublin, Ireland). Finally, after several attempts Dawn got hold of her sister Kelly (who lives in St. Augustine, FL).

With all the festivities over with and their batteries running low, Paul and Dawn chilled out watching a couple of recordings of "You've Been Framed" (like America's Funniest Videos). Tiny was stretched out the ottoman.

Christmas Day (afternoon)

On arriving back at the house, Paul heated some sausage rolls to snack on while everyone waited for the main meal.

Once Paul had the meal under control, his dad and brother George delved into their Christmas stockings to find some chocolates, satsumas and nuts . Of course, everyone needed to have a glass of Baileys to help pass the time.

When dinner was dished up, everyone thoroughly enjoyed the turkey, roast potatoes, honey- flavoured roasted parsnips, Brussel sprouts with bacon bits, carrots and the home-made stuffing, and home-made gravy. Again, alcohol helped celebrate the moment as eveyone shared a bottle of white wine.

Paul's dad and George then opened the gifts Paul and Dawn had got them (digital radio, DVD player and Allman Brothers CD), and Paul and Dawn opened the boxes of chocolates and Salt and Pepper grinders they'd received in return. Then it was time for dessert, which was Christmas pudding, mince pies and whipped cream. Watching the diet was definitely not on the agenda today.

With the sun setting, and with bellies crying out for a break from the food Paul and Dawn then drove Paul's dad and brother George home. On arriving at their flat Paul gave his dad a Christmas hug. One gift he truly appreciated, and something no money could buy.

Christmas Day (morning)

The day started with Tiny enjoying Christmas morning for the first time in three years. She went through her Christmas stocking smelling each mouse and toy one by one before tearing one with catnip in to bits, leaving the catnip all over the carpet.

Paul and Dawn then opened their Christmas presents alternating between each other to watch the other one's reaction to their wrapped gift. Dawn received several books and CDs, plus a pair of earrings and sweater from Paul. Paul too received several books, plus some slippers and a housecoat and an IPOD docking station. The two also got some books and CDs and some sheets and pillow cases from Brady and Jim, and some cash from Paul's dad and brother George.

Paul then made some Eggs Benedict for breakfast before preparing the veggies for dinner while Dawn vacuumed up the catnip.

Paul's brother Phillip phoned with his Christmas greetings before Paul and Dawn headed over to Holloway to collect Paul's dad and brother George and bring them back to the Hertford so they could all share some Christmas dinner.

Sun, Dec 24

The Whites started the day by watching the second half of the 2006 Strictly Come Dancing final, where cricketer Mark Ramprakash beat rugby player Matt Dawson. Paul and Dawn had only started watching the show halfway through the season, but really enjoyed it once they got hooked.

Paul then got stuck into the food for the festive day. First he cooked the turkey, before making some home-made stuffing using Cumberland sausages and some gravy with the turkey juices.

Tonight Dawn called Lee and Barbara and Shelia Neal to wish them all a Merry Christmas.

Sat, Dec 23

Almost there. This morning Paul got out early to do some shopping. However, it was not without having a panic first. He drove to Welwyn Garden City to pick up a turkey and some other food stuffs from the local Morrisons grocery store. Only they didn't have any fresh turkeys. The only ones available were for those who had placed orders. Thankfully Paul was able to get one when he drove back to Hertford and dropped into the Tesco grocery store, where he also picked up the rest of the perishables that would be on the plate come Christmas Day.

Back at the house, Paul then made some meat loaf with leeks and minced meat that tasted just excellent. Paul and Dawn felt they needed to get some beef in before the turkey feast.

Paul and Dawn then watched, as part of their Christmas tradition, their favourite movie, LOVE ACTUALLY. They then watched the first half of the Strictly Come Dancing finale before calling it a day.

Fri, Dec 22

Today would have been Paul's parents 55th wedding anniversary. And, although Paul's mum is no longer with us, it was still a special day for Paul. It was the first time in eight years that he was able to go to the cemetery with his dad to lay some flowers on her grave on their anniversary. Paul and Dawn drove to Holloway to collect Paul's dad and brother George before heading to the cemetery in Finchley.

Again, southern England was fog bound, which added atmosphere to the graveyard images. All four paid their respects before heading to the Gatehouse for a quick lunch. The meal was Dad's treat this time, while George bought the drinks.

Thur, Dec 21

Today we woke up again to the thick fog that had been hanging over southern England. You may have seen in the news that hundreds of flights from Heathrow airport had been cancelled, making it a nightmare for people trying to get home for Christmas.

Anyway, the fog didn't stop us from getting out in the car and having a ride over to Harlow to grab some more bits and pieces for Christmas. While we were there, we stopped in Oretago and enjoyed some Tapas for lunch.

Wed, Dec 20

Well, Dawn has finished work for this year. Today was her last day until January 3rd, and to say that she is looking forward to her nice long break is an understatement. However, the last couple of days never went by without incident.

On Monday, the plumber came back to replace the shower pump that caused the leak Friday. The good news is that we can now enjoy a nice hot shower again. The bad news is that the whole shower problem cost us close to £400, and that does not include the cost of repairing the living room ceiling.

On Tuesday, Paul dropped into our local hospital in Hertford to get a blood test. His last one showed that he has a fatty liver, and the doctor wanted to check it out again. We're sure that getting this done over Christmas will not improve the reading! He goes back to his doctor Friday week for his results.

When Dawn got home from work today, and after she enjoyed a nice dinner cooked while she was on the way home, she called Margaret Kerr (Jim's mother) to wish her a Merry Christmas.

Sun, Dec 17

This weekend we just chilled out and got ourselves a little bit better prepared for Christmas. On Saturday we had a ride into town to do some shopping and grab a bite to eat in the Woolpack pub. Then when we got home Paul put our Christmas cards up on the chimney breast, while Dawn put the miniature oraments on the three foot Christmas tree that Brady and Jim gave us last year. This tree will be on the dresser in our bedroom so that we can keep in the festive spirit 24/7.

On Sunday Dawn wrapped up the presents that she had picked up for Paul (with Tiny in attendance, of course). We then sat down and enjoyed the film Polar Express, before watching a recording of the Royal Variety Performance.

Fri, Dec 15

Where do we start? This morning Paul drove over to Harlow (about 25 minutes drive) for his 4th job interview. However, after being kept 20 minutes because the Finance Director was late in for work, he was informed that his CV was too system-related, and that he was too senior for the role they had. Oh well.

This afternoon Dawn attended her official company Christmas dinner. Well, she did for about 45 minutes. Although Dawn had no real intentions of staying very long, she made her exit a little sooner that she had planned because the event was turning into a farce. In a nutshell, the dinner was actually a drink-a-thon. The guest list of around 170 each received tickets for 5 free alcoholic drinks. The food that should have been served buffet-style ended up being finger food served on a platter where the waiters bumped shoulders with the guests there was so little room. The lighting was almost nonexistent; it took several minutes to acclimatize one's eyes to the dimness on the room. And finally, the room all this was happening in was down two levels to the subterranean London. A fire hazard if ever there was one.

Anyway, Dawn met Paul at a local Costa coffee shop before we made our way to Islington to grab an early dinner. Our first shock of the evening was when we visited the building where Paul worked for 17 years before we immigrated to Florida. The old warehouse that had been offices for the best part of Paul's working life was now a three-level open-planned arts store (photo above). Paul felt strange to say the least walking around the art supplies where there had been for many years office desks, filing cabinets and partition walls.

We then found a Mexican restaurant, Desperados, for dinner. However, the food was far from what we would regard as authentic Mexican. It was barely Tex-Mex. All we will say is that the cheese nachos were cheese-flavoured Doritos covered with cheese, guacamole, sour cream and jalapenos. Worst of all were the pictures in the men's toilet wall. Paul would have preferred graffiti that you could choose to ignore than a full length mural of women in various sexual positions with skeletons.

Our day never ended there, though. About 8.30pm Paul noticed that we had a leak coming from our living room ceiling. Well, Tiny really noticed it, as water hit her on her back and freaked her out. Anyway, we called out an emergency plumber who found that the shower pump in our bedroom closet was and had been leaking for quite a long time. The plumber removed the guilty culprit and left shortly after midnight. This means that we will be washing in the sink until we get a new shower pump. Hopefully on Monday!

Thur, Dec 14

Thursday arrived with still no feedback from Paul's interview on Monday. However, he did received a phonecall from a company in Harlow that he had a applied for a job nearly a month ago. They said they'd like to see him and scheduled an interview for Friday morning.

This afternoon Paul drove up Holloway and spent a couple of hours with his dad again. Paul's dad got his laptop out and looked at a magazine and discussed the pros and cons relating to many of the portables on the market. Paul then made his way home where he prepared some battered fish with cheese-scalloped potatoes for dinner before picking Dawn up from Hertford North Station.

After dinner, Paul then watched Spurs beat Dinamo Bucherest on television 3-1 while Dawn wrote out and addressed all the UK-mailed Christmas cards.

Mon, Dec 11

This morning Paul dropped Dawn off at Hertford North station before heading over to Watford for his job interiew. The drive took over an hour and a half because the directions he got off Mapquest were wrong. Luckily he had given himself plenty of time to get there, so he still got there in time for the interview. He felt the interview went well. However, he was not too keen on the 50 mile roundtrip drive. They said they would give Paul a couple of days to think about it, and that they would be in touch with the agency themselves with their feedback.

Sun, Dec 10

Saturday we headed out to the Angel Islington so we could have some pie and mash for lunch before popping up to see Dad and George for a couple of hours. Then on the way home we stopped on the A10 just south of Cheshunt to pick up a Christmas tree. When we got home Dawn then pulled out the 3 foot tree Brady and Jim gave us last Christmas and put it up in our bedroom on the dresser, and hung a wreath on the front door. She did add a string of lights to the small tree, but still needs to add the ornaments. Then we officially started our Christmas celebrations by watching our Christmas Vacation DVD with Chevy Chase.

To be honest, we have already started the Christmas thing as Dawn has already gone through the first batch of party mix that she made at Thanksgiving. Paul did a second batch this week, before he did a batch of Smarties mix for Dad and George. We call it Smarties mix because Paul substituted Smarties for chocolate M&Ms. They look and taste the same.

Sunday Dawn got stuck into hanging the lights and ornaments on the 6' 6" Christmas tree and getting out all the rest of the festive stuff. By the end of the day she had put a nativity scene (plus some Santas) on the mantle piece, some Santas and festive bears on top of the bookshelves, and other ornaments (including a miniature tree) on some window sills.

Fri, Dec 8

Dawn had booked today as a vacation day (nothing to do with the Christmas lunch/dinner yesterday), so we made the most of the opportunity and headed to the Galleria shopping centre in Hatfied to do some Christmas shopping. For the first hour Paul checked out the ground floor stores, whilst Dawn checked out those on the first floor. We then had a quick lunch at Bella Italia, before swapping floors. It proved fairly productive, as we only need to get each other one more gift each and some stocking stuffers.

One point of interest to our readers back in America. Check out the photo above. Yes, you've read it correctly. It does say TKMaxx. It's Britain's version of the outlet store you're all familiar with.

On the work front, Paul got another couple of calls from the recruiter who has been busy this week looking for work for him. The first was to ask his permission to put him forward for a vacancy in Welwyn Garden City (about 15 minutes drive), and the second was to let him know that he had an inteview on Monday for the job in Watford. Paul also received a letter when he got home informing him that he had been turned down for the job he had an interview for last Friday in Stevenage.

Thur, Dec 7

Today Paul recieved another phone call from a recruiter asking whether he was interested in her putting his CV forward for an accounts manager vacancy at a company in Watford (about an hour's drive). Paul again said he would give it a shot.

Dawn, on the otherhand, had a Christmas lunch-come-dinner at The Zetter in London. One of her bosses wanted to say "Thank you" to his team. It's just unfortunate that he only decided to include Dawn at the eleventh hour when she reminded him that he needed to make sure ALL his team knew of the event. As for the dinner, let's just say that Dawn had steak (not the traditional turkey and stuffing), and that Paul met her at Hertford North station when she got back.

Wed, Dec 6

This morning Paul picked up an edition of the Hatfied and Welwyn Times after he had dropped Dawn off at the station and found another job worth applying for. So as soon as he finished reading the advert he typed out a letter of introduction and printed out a copy of his CV and drove to Stevenage to hand the envelope containing the documents in by hand.

Later in the day he got a call from a recruiter asking whether he was interested in an accounts role in Ware (about 15 minutes drive) from where we live. Paul said give it a go, he has nothing to lose.

Mon, Dec 4

This morning Paul dropped in to see his doctor and after a very brief discussion received a prescription for blood pressure pills. The 24 hour monitor that Paul had on a few weeks ago indicated that his average blood pressure was too high, and that it was safer if they tried to control it with medication. Paul also has to get a blood test done the week before Christmas to check that his liver is okay.

Sun, Dec 3

We've had a quite weekend for a change. On Saturday we went into town to get our haircuts at "A Head of Time", before returning home so Paul could watch the Arsenal/Spurs football match on Sky. Needless to say, Paul was not overjoyed with the result of that game.

Today, we spent the day, well Dawn did mostly, doing the household chores before relaxing a little. Brady then called for her weekly chat with Dawn.

Fri, Dec 1

Yesterday morning Paul mailed a job application to City University, and emailed his CV to a company in Stevenage in response to their advert in the Welwyn & Hatfield Times before heading out for a ride over to Holloway to see his dad and brother. Well, believe it or not, within 40 minutes of sending the email, Paul got a call on his cell phone asking him he was available for an interview. Needless to say Paul agreed and made an appointment for this morning.

As with the interview in Waltham Cross, Paul left the meeting without any real positive feelings. It's strange for Paul to be sitting on the opposite side of the table being interviewed for a change, having been on the other side for so many years. He feels confident in the interviews, but can't really read the faces of those doing the interviews. You just never know.

Anyway, yesterday Paul did some window shopping at Nags Head in Holloway before dropping in to see his dad for a few hours.

Tues, Nov 28

Good news at last. We can report some activity regarding Paul's job seach. Yesterday he received a phone call from a national food supplier asking him if he was able to attend an interview. This morning he made his way to Waltham Cross and gave it his best shot. Unfortunately, Paul left feeling that it had not gone as well as he had hoped. But, you never know. They said they would definately be in touch, so we'll fill you all in when we know more news.

After his first interview in three months of searching, he then dropped in to Enfield and did a little shopping before returning home to Tiny.

Sat, Nov 25

Today Dawn drove us to the Morrisons store in Welwyn Garden City so that we could do some grocery shopping, and also give Dawn some much-needed driving practice. Then we had a ride into town to take a couple of CDs back to our local library, pick up some Christmas lights for the Christmas tree, and grab a pub lunch. When we got home we took the time to show Tiny how much she means to us. Check out the picture above. Is she happy or what?

Fri, Nov 24

Today we both woke up feeling very full after all the food we ate yesterday. However, it did not stop Dawn tucking into some grits and bacon for breakfast, a turkey and cranberry sauce sandwich for lunch, and some leftovers from yesterday for dinner. She even had the time to make some of her much-loved party mix. However, she had to resort to using malt-flavoured chex and sugary Cheerios, instead of her usual boxes of wheat and corn chex and plain Cheerios. At least with all the flavourings she adds, it'll still taste okay.

Oh yea, Paul also made a trip down to our local Post Office to mail out our American Christmas cards. We guessed that seeing as it took three weeks for our birthday card to reach Dawn's sister last month, we needed to give it an extra week to allow for the extra Christmas volume.

Thur, Nov 23

We woke up before Thanksgiving day arrived today. That's because we woke up at 4.30am London time, which is 30 minutes before midnight Eastern time. Anyway, we had to get up early so Paul could get the turkey in the oven and prepare some filo pastry for dessert. Once the turkey was cooked, he drove over to Holloway to pick up his dad and brother to bring them to our house to share our Thanksgiving meal with us. Dad and George gave us a bottle of wine and some chocolates to help us celebrate.

As for the meal, we had turkey, dressing, broccoli casserole, mashed sweet potato, rice, giblet gravy, and cranberry sauce. Once we'd given this time to go down, we had a filo pastry shell with some raspberries and blueberries drizzled in a forest fruit sauce and vanilla ice cream.

As it takes around two hours for the return trip to Dad's flat, and because Paul would have to contend with the rush hour traffic, Dawn also went on the ride back to Holloway. This time it took less than an hour to get there, and over an hour and a half to get back.

We then settled down and watched "The 40 Year Old Virgin" before settling to watch the Cowboys against the Bucs at 9.30pm our time. With both of us feeling tired, we decided to tape the second half and watch the rest of the game in the morning. As expected, Dallas kicked Tampa's butt and ran out 38-10 winners.

Wed, Nov 22

On Monday Paul met with two recruiters at a local McDonald's restaurant to discuss his job search. They seemed optimistic about his chances and said they would contact two companies that they had in mind. However, as of the end of the week Paul still had no interviews lined up. Paul then had a ride over to Harlow to return a mantle piece for the fireplace that was no good to B&Q, and to check out some stuff at Curry's and Comet (electrical appliance stores). When he got home he then made some cornbread for our Thanksgiving meal. He had to use yellow cornmeal, flour, etc. because we can't get cornbread mix here (easily).

Today, Paul spent some time preparing some more food for our Thanksgiving meal. He made the dressing and broccoli casserole, both of which are Dawn's favourites and she just couldn't wait to get tucked into them both. Best of all though is that she is off work both Thursday and Friday.

Sun, Nov 19

Well we certainly got a lot done this weekend for Christmas. Paul completed the Christmas letter, and Dawn wrote out and addressed all the cards that we'll be sending to the US. We'll worry about the UK stuff in a week or two. In between we went into town again and had lunch at the Woolpack and visited the library. Dawn also spent some time on the telephone with her mum and her sister, Kelly. Best of all, we had our first fire at our new home. Tiny got a little jealous though, because we seemed to be paying the fire more attention than her. This was just because we needed to get the thing going!

Thur, Nov 16

With Paul feeling a lot better after his stomach aches from the juice drinks, he had a ride up to Holloway again today to see his dad. Once again they chatted about the same old stuff as usual. This time his brother George was there for a little while before leaving to go on a work appointment.

Wed, Nov 15

The last two days saw Paul attempt to refrain from eating solid foods and stick to juices made from fruit and vegetables. Tuesday went fine. He did himself some mint tea and some lemon and mint tea in between three juices. He was even able to make Dawn some nice sage and onion-coated pork with a jacket potato. However, Wednesday didn't go to plan. He had a tea in the morning, as he did on Tuesday, and then a juice after dropping Dawn off at the station. However, by mid morning his stomach was hurting and he was feeling nauseated. He had already had a headache for the previous twelve hours. At that point he called it a day and went back on solids. Luckily he felt fine by the end of the day.

Mon, Nov 13

Back to work again. Dawn again was out the house from 7.10am until 6.30pm and laboured with her two and half hours of commuting. Needless to say, with all the time she's spending on trains, she has been going through books quicker than she ever has. Paul on the other hand was able to complete the radiator cover for the box room at last. He was really pleased with this project, as he made it all from scatch and it wasn't one of those prefab units. It's amazing just how much that room has changed since we moved in. It's just a shame that we still have the rest of the house to do.

Sun, Nov 12

The time seems to be flying by. Yet another week has gone by and we're another week closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas.

On Saturday we had a walk into town. Dawn joined the library and we did some shopping in the local shops, including picking up all our Christmas cards for everyone. We'd really like to get our American ones in the mail the weekend after Thanksgiving to make sure they arrive on time.

Back at the house Paul searched for more job opportunities online and applied for about a dozen in and around the Hertford area.

On Sunday we just chilled out and watched some television. Paul was especially happy to see his football team, Tottenham Hotspur, beat last season's league champions, Chelsea, live on Sky television.

Fri, Nov 10

Today Paul had a ride up to Holloway on his own to spend a couple of hours with his dad. On the way he called into B&Q to sort out more problems with stuff he needed and also Comet where he picked up a juicer. Paul's dad seemed to enjoy the company. They talked about the family, cameras, Christmas, and of course the health of Paul and two of his older brothers, David and Phillip. David has recently had heart surgery and Philip has had a stroke. Perhaps it's no wonder Paul is paying so much attention to his blood pressure issues!

Thu, Nov 9

The last three days have all been about aggravation. On Tuesday Paul drove down to B&Q at Enfield to pick up stuff for the radiator cover he was going to make for the box room. We had been calling it the closet room, but have now decided to call it the box room, as it's where Tiny's box is and where we have now put all the Christmas boxes after Paul put together an eight-cubed shelf on top of the laundry basket/suitcase cover.

On Wednesday, Paul popped into the doctor to get a 24 hour blood pressure monitor fitted. We expected it to be a wrist watch-size device. Instead it looked like a bus conductor's money pouch connected to an arm band that ran around the back of his neck. Worst of all was that the damn thing would go off every 15 minues during the day, and every hour at night. The noise from the pump was annoying enough. However, Paul had the arm band squeezing the life out of his arm every quarter of an hour. Needless to say, little got done on Wednesday.

On Thursday morning Paul took the contraption back to the doctors and then got stuck into his list of tasks again. He partly completed the radiator cover and put more shelves up in the box room. He also ran out to Morrisons to get the week's groceries and picked up some fish and chips for dinner when he collected Dawn from the station.

Mon, Nov 6

Dawn was back to work today after 5 days out of the office. We know that two of those were the weekend, but we can tell you that to Dawn those 5 days meant the world. She needed a break.

As for Paul, he finally completed the enclosure he was building over the top of the stairs in the closet room. He also had a ride into town to pick up a parcel from the Post Office, and spent the rest of the time with Tiny who was having withdrawal feelings after the last few days.

Sun, Nov 5

I think Dawn is completely fed up with November the 5th. Back in 1605, there was a plot to blow up the Houses of Parliament. However, the seventeenth century terrorists were captured before the buildings and King went up in smoke. And, since then, bonfires have been lit to celebrate the safety of the King. Over the years fireworks have been added to the tradition. Well, for the last 3 nights fireworks have been going off from dusk until very late. On Saturday night some even after midnight. Dawn was not happy.

Anyway, that aside, we spent the weekend at the house and kept Tiny company. Needless to say, she will be a very unhappy camper come Monday. Paul did however pop out to the Post Office down the bottom of the road to pick up the newspaper and also went on the treadmill as usual.

Fri, Nov 3

We have now enjoyed three days together. Or what I should say is that Dawn has enjoyed three days off work. Yesterday we had a ride into town and did some shopping before Paul went to see his doctor for the results of his blood tests. The good news is that his cholesterol wasn't a problem. However, he has high blood pressure still (160/100), and his liver function tests showed some problems. The doctor said the liver problem was called a "fatty liver". But if he loses some weight, cuts out the fats, and evercises, then that should be okay. As for the blood pressure, he needs to go back to get a 24 monitoring device fitted.

On Friday we went to Jollye's in Crews Hill to get litter and food for Tiny before having a ride up to Holloway to spend a couple of hours the Paul's dad and brother George. Paul's dad got out some old photos for us to look at. Then on the way back we stopped at Morrisons in Enfield to do some grocery shopping. Once that was out of the way Dawn took the plunge and jumped behind the steering wheel.

Yes, you read correctly. Dawn drove the car home to Hertford from Enfield. It was the first time she had driven a car in all the time she's been in England. And, that includes the two and half years she was here between 1996 and 1999. Paul will also be the first to say she did a great job, and didn't have one problem coping with the seven roundabouts and mini-roundabouts along the way.

Wed, Nov 1 (10th Anniversary)

Today we celebrated the tenth anniversary of the first time they met at the top of the Empire State Building in New York. We exchanged cards, as normal, but had decided against a gift as we had plenty of other things on our plate at the moment. However, we were not going to let the day go by unceramoniously. We had a ride up to Cambridge and wondered around the old college town.

We were both in awe of the place. Firstly, the architecture is out of this world with gothic towers and old ornate buildings. We just loved the King's College Chapel, and the Bridge of Sighs over the River Cam. We had a pizza and soup for lunch at Don Pasquale and then made our way home before it got too late.

Then this evening we had a ride into town and had an anniversary meal in the Salisbury Arms Hotel, which dates back in some shape or form nearly 600 years. The food was great, so it was a nice way to bring our special day to a close.

Tues, Oct 31

Halloween again and we had some trick or treaters call at the house tonight. In fact, it was the first time that Paul ever had any come to the door living here in England. Luckily he picked up some sweets at the store earlier in the day; otherwise it would have been a little embarrassing.

Paul also spent the last two days sorting out some shelving for our second bedroom and closet room. He made several trips to B&Q to pick up some cubed shelving. It's a long story, but in a nutshell one box didn't have any screws, and another had wrong shelving. However, he got there in the end and it was worth it. He finally unpacked the last two boxes from Florida.

Sun, Oct 29

We spent the weekend in Hertford for a change. On Saturday, we went to our hairdressers, A Head Of Time, as we needed our hair cut. Paul called earlier in the week to bring the appointment forward as our hair was getting long. We usually go every 5 weeks, but couldn't wait this long this time. This time, however, our hairdresser cut both our hair really short, so we should have no problem waiting 5 weeks. Then we had lunch at the White Hart before heading home to spend the rest of the weekend with Tiny. Just for the record, as with Thursday and Friday, Paul went on the treadmill both Saturday and Sunday. So he is getting there.

Fri, Oct 27

Today Dawn took a day off from work so she could have a long weekend, and also accompany Paul on his visit to see his dad and brother George. The two of us got to their flat about 11.30am and then took them to the Gatehouse in Highgate for lunch. We enjoyed a good chat but couldn't stay too long as we needed to pop into Morrisons on the way home to do some grocery shopping.

Thu, Oct 26

Today Paul finally oiled the treadmill, and got back on his exercise program. He only did 45 minutes (about 6km). But in fairness to him, it was the first time he had been on the machine since he did the 10K race on the 1st of the month. Needless to say, he ached afterwards.

Wed, Oct 25

Once again Dawn has been travelling back and forth between Hertford North and Old Street every day to go to work, while Paul stays back in Hertford to do things around the house and look for work. He has applied for several jobs over the last few weeks, but nothing has turned up at the moment. So for now, he has been concentrating on the closet room. As he has already painted the walls (five times), he has started to put up some shelving and box in the top of the stairs. Above is the new cover for our suitcases. We'll show you the stair cover once that's finished.

Sat, Oct 21

Today we had a ride into Central London. We caught the train at Hertford North, before jumping on the tube to Covent Garden to do some early Christmas shopping. Then we walked over Waterloo Bridge to meet up with Cathy Eberhart at Auberge for lunch. Cathy, who we know from Schiller, was in London for a few days from Florida on business. It was good to see her again, not to mention the opportunity to enjoy some mussels.

Fri, Oct 20

Today Paul had a ride up to the Hertford County Hospital for a blood test. All he had to do was hand in his doctor’s request, roll up his sleeve, wait for the blood to be extracted and then leave. No insurance details or payment required. It wasn’t all plain sailing for him though. He had a ride over to B&Q at Welwyn Garden City, but couldn’t pick up the wood he wanted for the closet room as they didn’t have the machinery to cut it for him. Now he has to make a special trip to B&Q at Enfield to get the wood cut there. If you’re wondering why we need the wood cut, it's because it would be too long to fit in our car.

Wed, Oct 18

Paul had a ride up to his dad’s flat today and picked him and brother George up and met Dawn at Chapel Street Market for lunch. We feasted on some much enjoyed pie and mash at Manzes before Dawn headed back to work. Paul then headed back to Hertford (after dropping his dad and brother at home) so he could see his doctor. His blood pressure was 158 over 99. But, Dr Pratt said that it wasn’t high enough to need medication. However, he did ask Paul to get his cholesterol and blood sugar level checked. Dr Pratt would then check it again when he got the results.

Tues, Oct 17

Today Paul had a ride up to Welwyn Garden City to do some grocery shopping at Morrisons, and pick up some one-coat paint for the closet room. However, the highlight of today was a visit from our very own Dick Van Dyke. Yes, we had a chimney sweep call by to check out our chimney and give us the go ahead to have a real fire once it gets cold enough. Unfortunately, Mary Poppins didn’t pay us a visit, however seeing as we were only charged £25, we couldn’t really complain.

Mon, Oct 16

Paul was finally feeling a little better after his cold and was able to get back to painting the closet room. However, even after the third and fourth coats of paint, he could still see the dark purple paint and brown-plastered walls seeping through. Paul consequently decided to get some one-coat paint to try and finish the job.

Sun, Oct 15

Our plans Saturday revolved around the plans of our plumber, who as you will know we have been waiting for a while to sort out our radiator problem. Dawn decided to wait indoors to do some housework, while Paul had a ride into town to do some shopping at the local street market, and pick up a fluffy mat for Tiny. As for the plumber, he arrived after lunch and within an hour had unblocked the airlock in our radiators and got our boiler working. Best of all was that he only charged us £75 for the last two visits. Now we have the comfort of setting the heat for the mornings when we wake up and at night before going to bed. Admittedly, it is not too cold at the moment, but we know that the temperatures will plummet soon. As for Sunday, we just had a day of rest. We stayed at home all day and just enjoyed a film on TV.

Fri, Oct 13

After dropping Dawn off at the station, Paul drove the car to PNG in Enfield for a service. He left the car at the dealership and had a walk down to Enfield Town for a cup of coffee and walk around Waterstones bookstore before collecting the car a couple of hours later. He was pleased to hear that it had a clean bill of health, although it still cost us the best part of £270. In the evening, our new five-drawer dresser was delivered. However, as it had only just been finished that day, it still reeked of varnish and polish, so we had to put it into the spare bedroom.

Thu, Oct 12

Today Paul spent the best part of the day on the road attending interviews with employment agencies. His first appointment was with Hays in St Albans, which is a 25 mile round trip. However, the worst part was that the agent had given Paul their old address, so he turned up at an antique store instead. That didn’t bode well. Then this afternoon he had a 40 mile round trip to Bishop’s Stortford for an appointment at Dove. And just like earlier in the day, Paul had a job and a half finding the place as the office was hidden away on the second floor of a redeveloped Victorian mill. Both agencies said they had a couple of jobs that they would put his name forward for. So we’ll have to wait and see what happens.

Mon, Oct 9

Our first autumn back in London and we’ve both gone down with a cold. Dawn probably picked hers up at work last week, which blew up yesterday. So, feeling like crap, Dawn decided to have a day off work to avoid spreading the germs. Instead we had a ride over to the Howard Centre in Welwyn Garden City to pick up an electric radiator. With no heat in the house, we were both feeling like crap and needed some much needed warmth. Needless to say, within an hour of getting home, the house was a lot warmer than it had been for several weeks.

Sun, Oct 8

Today we had a ride up to Welwyn Garden City to do some grocery shopping and pick up some food for the new freezer at Morrisons, and then to B&Q to pick up some household stuff. When we got home, Paul put the treadmill together in the shed so he can start back on his training schedule.

Sat, Oct 7

First we took Tiny to Chestnut Vet in town. As it was first come first serve, we tried to get in early. However, plenty of other people had the same idea, so we ended up waiting about an hour. The good news was that once we saw the vet, we were able to pick up six months' supply of Tiny’s flea treatment which (with the vet visit) came to just £25. We’d been paying $70 for the flea treatment alone when we were in Florida.

Then Paul went on his own to pick Dad and George up and brought them back to the house. Dawn stayed with Tiny as she had some housework she wanted to catch up on. We then had some fish and chips for lunch before getting stuck into moving the treadmill from the spare bedroom, and the upright freezer from the living room to the shed. The freezer was a piece of cake. However, Paul had to pick up a couple of strapped-clamps for the treadmill as it kept on opening up every time we tried to move it. We got it done in the end though.

Fri, Oct 6

The builders finally completed the work on the shed. Even better was that Paul finally found the switch that turned on the electricity out to the shed. All week we had wondered why it wasn’t working. It turned out we had turned it off by accident by knocking a switch just inside the back door. At least it means that we’ll be able to use the freezer at the weekend. Paul also started painting the walls in the closet room. In fact, he put down two coats of white paint and it hardly made a difference. The purple walls were so dark that it will probably need a couple more coats at least.

Tues, Oct 3

The builders finally arrived and started removing the asbestos roof from the shed at the bottom of the garden, in order to replace it with a felt-covered wooden roof. They will also replace the door and broken windows, seal the walls, and screed the floor. We’ll then be able to move the freezer out there (which is at the moment still crated up and standing in the living room), as well as the treadmill (from the upstairs spare bedroom). Today Paul also had a walk into town, not only to stretch his legs again, but also to return the NHS forms to the doctor's office.

Mon, Oct 2

After Paul's efforts at Hatfield House yesterday, he decided to walk into town so that he could get some exercise and try and prevent his legs from getting too stiff. First he called into Castlegate Surgery (next to the Castle) to register both of us with the doctor. Then he popped into Chestnut Vet on Fore Street to enquire about registering Tiny. Finally, he popped into a local electrical store where he picked up a DVD player which can play both US and UK style DVDs.

Sun, Oct 1

Today was the day that Paul had been fearing for weeks, the day he was going to run the Hatfield House 10k charity race. We picked Paul's Dad and brother George up and got to Hatfield for the 6.2 mile run a little early to avoid all the traffic and parking problems. Unfortunately, thanks to a problem on the M25, his wait was even longer as the race started about 10-15 minutes late.

As for Paul's run, it went a lot better than any of us expected. He started at the back of the field of 1400 runners, so Dawn could get a photo of her athlete of a husband. However, by the halfway stage, he had overtaken half of the field to get into the leading third of the runners. On his back he had a sign to commemorate his Mum and Dawn's dad, both of whom we lost to cancer. After he completed the race, he couldn't help but feel inspired by reading all the commemorations for countless friends, parents and grandparents on the backs of all the other participants.

Paul completed the run in 62 minutes 22 seconds - a good ten to fifteen minutes better than he thought it would take. However, best of all was that he raised £80 ($150) for Cancer Research. Again, we'd like to thank everyone who made a donation. By the way, you can still make a donation by clicking on the Sponsor Paul link. It will be available for another couple of weeks.

After the run we stopped at Highgate for lunch. Our regular haunt, The Gatehouse, didn't have any tables open, so we popped next door to a noodle bar called Dim T. The food was excellent. Even Paul's dad loved the food.

Sat, Sept 30

Today our plumber finally popped in and was able to look at our air lock. However, as we had an 11am appointment, he only had time to locate the problem, alleviate part of the problem and turn the boiler on. He plans to come back later this coming week to finish the work. Dawn can't wait as she so much wants to put the heater on for when she wakes up in the morning.

As for our 11am appointment, we headed into town to get our hair cut at a local hairdresser. This was the third place we had been to since we arrived back home in March. Hopefully, now that we're here, we can stay with this one. It's amazing how much we miss being able to depend on Mary Beth at Hairdooz in Dunedin!

Fri, Sept 29

Yesterday, between Paul's trips to and from train stations, he also found time to strip the wallpaper from the small bedroom upstairs. However, even this didn't go without a little drama. First he found a power cable being held down by masking tape underneath some wallpaper. Then we had all the electric sockets trip after water Paul was using to dampen the wallpaper got into one of the bedroom sockets. Luckily for us, it didn't take long to dry out and he had the electricity back on before picking Dawn up at the station.

Oh yea, the bracket holding the curtain snapped, so the curtain came down, and the hook holding the net curtain also came out of the wall. So today Paul had a ride over to B&Q (like Home Depot) to pick up some hooks to fix the net curtains, brackets to re-hang the window curtains, and for Dawn a new lampshade for the landing because the one that was there was too bright. It's a long story.

Thur, Sept 28

Today did not go as planned. Although, like the saying goes, all's well that ends well. Paul dropped Dawn off at the station early this morning, so she caught an earlier train than usual. However, after that the schedule went up the wall. Within 10 minutes of leaving Hertford, and after arriving at Cuffley (the next station), the train came to a halt and stayed there for a while because there was a power line down further along the track. A little while later the train moved to Crewes Hill so that the train behind could pull into Cuffley. However, Dawn's arrival in London was no where in sight. To cut the story short, after Dawn had called Paul to tell him about her luck, Paul drove to Crewes Hill station to pick her up and drive her to work. However, in order to avoid the £8 ($15) congestion charge, Dawn suggested that he drop her off at a local tube station instead where she could use her train ticket. He did this instead. Dawn finally arrived at work around 11am, which was nearly 4 hours after she had left home. Luckily, the track was open for the homebound journey, and with her bosses allowing her to leave early, she got home half an hour earlier than usual.

Wed, 27th Sept

Today was Paul's dad's 79th birthday, and Paul was so pleased to have been able to spend some time with as the last time he spent with his dad on his birthday was 1998. Paul had a ride up to his dad's flat and with his other brother's George and Philip took him up to the Gatehouse in Highgate for lunch. Paul also gave his Dad a gift card from WH Smith from the two of us. He already has countless odds and ends around the flat and didn't need another ornament to dust.

Tues, Sept 26

Yesterday Paul went out for a long run in preparation for his race on Sunday and pulled a calf muscle. He had tried to take it easy by alternating walking and jogging, but must have overdone it.

Today Paul headed into town and registered at a few employment agencies. He hasn't been able to get fully into looking for work until we sort out the shed, the plumber, get a doctor sorted, and car serviced. Oh yea, he also had a ride up to Welwyn Garden City to get some grocery shopping done. He was blown away by the scenic route he took. It's GREAT living out in the country. Check out the photo above.

Sun, Sept 24

We spent the weekend at home this weekend, seeing as Paul had been to see his Dad on Friday. This gave us a chance to do some local shopping and allowed Dawn to spend some time with Tiny.

On Saturday we popped into town and placed an order for a five-drawer pine dresser for our bedroom. The handmade furniture will be delivered in a few weeks, but at least we got a discount for a cash deal. We picked up some fruit and veg on a street stall, before popping into the Marks & Spencer food hall to pick up a sandwich for lunch.

On Sunday we spent the day at home doing things around the house. It was so nice to take it easy for a change. Not to mention Tiny loved having us both around all day.

Fri, Sept 22

On Wednesday Paul grabbed a broom, dustpan and brush and attacked the cobwebs and vines in the shed. It took him a couple of hours to get rid of all the crap in the shed, but it was worth it. By the time he had finished, it looked ten times better. All we need to do now is replace the roof and windows, add a door and seal the cracks and the shed will be ready for our upright freezer and treadmill. In fact, we even called a builder and placed an order with him to get the work done for us.

On Friday Paul went to Wood Green Shopping Centre with his dad and George to get some net curtains for the windows at the front of the house, a platform valance for our bedroom, and some other odds and ends. While there, the 3 of them had fish and chips at Pearson's (department store).

Tues, Sept 19

Yesterday Paul ripped out the wooden door frame on our shed at the bottom of our garden and finally got the old chest freezer out. Then he had a ride into town to pick up an antique wall mirror that we had seen shopping in town at the weekend.

Today he loaded the freezer into the boot of our Astra and dropped it off at one of the two local recycle centres we have within driving distance of the house.

Sun, Sept 17

Today was the ninth anniversary of Paul's mum's burial. As his dad always goes to the cemetary this day, we picked him and George up and had a ride up there with them. Then we dropped into The Gatehouse pub in Highgate for a roast dinner for lunch before heading back to the Paul's dad's flat for a little while.

Sat, Sept 16

Dawn was relieved to see the weekend, after the last three days at work. Ironically, it’s not the train journey that is getting to her. It’s all the crap she has to deal with once she gets to work.

Today we had a ride into town and picked up some fruit and vegetables from the street market. We also dropped into Castle Hall where we had a walk around an antique fair. He had hoped to pick up a dresser for our bedroom at one of the street stalls. However, just our luck the guy who runs the stall wasn’t out this weekend. We also did a little grocery shopping in Waitrose before grabbing lunch at Café Rouge. Then it was back home to continue with unpacking our many boxes. The good news is that we have now opened 45 of the 47 we arrived at the house with. The bad news is that we now have framed photos and paintings of all sizes that we need to hang. This in itself will be a challenge, as we’re not sure we have enough space to hang them.

We ended today with Dawn spending the best part of an hour on the phone with her sister Kelly, and with Paul spending the best part of half an hour on the phone with his brother Phil.

Fri, Sept 15

Again Paul dropped Dawn off at Hertford North, with Dawn catching an even earlier train into work. Back at the house Paul met a couple of guys from a construction company to get a quote on repairing the shed. However, their recommendation was to tear it down and replace it with a new wooden shed. We’ll see what the other quote comes back at before deciding on that one.

Dawn’s journey home tonight was the best so far. Not only did she enjoy the rolling fields, farms and animals, but she was even able to see our house as the train pulled into Hertford.

Thu, Sept 14

Again Paul dropped Dawn off at the station. However, this time Dawn caught an earlier train that originated at Hertford North, which not only meant that it was almost empty, but that Dawn was able to pick a window seat so she could enjoy the scenery on the way to work.

Paul continued to organize the mess that we call our prized belongings, got on the phone to try and arrange a second quote for repairing our shed, and to arrange for a plumber to look at our boiler and radiators. Paul also took some time out to do some exercise on the treadmill. This time he was able to complete 10km (partly walking). This is the same distance he will be doing in just over two weeks for cancer research charity. In the afternoon we had an electrician come round and replace our old fuse-board with a new one. After the electrician left, Paul picked Dawn up from the station again and prepared dinner. He then settled down in front of the television to watch Spurs.

Wed, Sept 13

This morning Paul dropped Dawn off at Hertford North so she could catch her train into work. Unfortunately for Dawn, the train she chose to get was already packed like sardines when it arrived, so her extra long journey was not as comfortable as she had hoped.

Paul, on the other hand, spent the best part of the day unpacking countless boxes full of photos, photo albums, books, bears, ornaments, and paperwork. Needless to say, he found it totalling depressing as he had no idea where all the stuff was going to go. He even had to make another trip to a recycle center to get rid of all the empty cardboard boxes and newspaper. We also had a handyman come round and look at our garden shed so he can give us a quote to replace the roof, windows and door.

Dawn had a better journey home, as she had a seat by the window on the ride back and was able to enjoy the awesome view of the countryside as farms and fields with horses and cows passed her by before Paul picked her up from the station again.

Tues, Sept 12

Dawn’s last day before she returns to work. IKEA delivered the bookcases from yesterday, which meant Paul had his work cut out completing the 4 chairs he still had to put together, plus the two six-foot tall bookcases. We did pop out for a bit to drop off some recycle stuff at one of our two local recycle sites. On the way home we dropped into town and had a cup of coffee in Café Nero after doing some window shopping.

Mon, Sept 11

Today we had another ride over to IKEA to pick out some bookcases for our countless photo albums. However, we needed tall ones that wouldn't fit in the car, so we had to arrange for them to be delivered. Then it was on to the B&Q (like a Home Depot) to pick up some household stuff. We definitely needed something to store our recycables, as the bin we have will be just about big enough for the newspapers alone. We also dropped into our local grocery store, Tesco, to pick up some odds and ends.

Sun, Sept 10

At last a day of rest (somewhat). Paul popped down to the local newsagent to pick up the Sunday Times for Dawn before we chilled out for the day. Paul finally got to try out his treadmill before loading the car with a load of crap that we need to take to the recycle centre, and unpacking some more boxes while Dawn did even more cleaning. However, we did find the time to sit down and watch the film Notting Hill on television (along with the Falcons win over the Panthers LIVE) before Dawn’s mum Brady called.

Sat, Sept 9

We finally had a day to rest a little, or so we thought. First Paul had a ride into town to pick up some fruit and veg at the street market before getting stuck into putting the table and chairs together. However, halfway through the table, he found that one of the pieces didn’t have enough holes for him to bolt it together to the leg. This meant he had to make a special trip back to Enfield to get a replacement part. While there, he also dropped into Argos to pick up a couple of telephones. Back home, Paul then completed putting the table together before putting 2 chairs together while he watched his team Spurs play Manchester United live on television. After which we were able to finally enjoy our first meal seated at a table rather than sitting on the floor.

Fri, Sept 8

After our big day yesterday, Paul prepared some mushrooms and bacon in milk for breakfast before we got stuck into unpacking some of our boxes. However, before that could really get moving, Dawn continued with some much needed cleaning. We forgot to mention Dawn had already spent over two hours yesterday cleaning, too. While all this was going on, we had BT arrive to connect our telephone line and broadband connection, and a satellite guy to install our satellite dish and connect it to our Sky+ box. Our dining table and chairs also arrived, although Paul will have to put them together tomorrow. After lunch Paul had a ride up to the cemetery on his own to visit his mum’s grave as she had passed away 9 years ago today. He then popped up to see his dad for a little while. Dawn, on the other hand, continued to clean the house and unpack some of the boxes, while Tiny continued to play on the stairs. She certainly loves running up and down them.

Thu, Sep 7 - MOVING DAY

Our moving day was finally here. Paul drove to the house and waited for our washer-dryer and bed to be delivered, while Dawn waited at the house for the movers to come and collect the few pieces of furniture we were taking with us, plus the 47 boxes we had packed up, most of which had been wrapped since February before we left Florida. At the house, though, Paul had to call out the plumber again because the wall that was damaged on Monday when Paul hit the pipe under the floor board was still wet. The plumber arrived within the hour, fixed the leak a second time, then blamed the carpet guy for loosening his joint when he laid the carpet. A disagreement followed which resulted in the plumber telling Paul he would take the £100 deposit Paul had paid for next week’s job in compensation for his time. Paul protested to no avail.

Shortly after midday our bed arrived from Bensons, so Paul could drive back to the flat in Winchmore Hill to collect Dawn and Tiny for the final trip to our new house. However, he still had to take down our satellite dish and make a couple of trips to the recycle plant to get rid of two car loads of crap. When we arrived at the house, Tiny checked out every inch of the house and seemed to feel at home immediately. She especially loved the stairs. As for our first meal in our new home, Paul picked up some Chinese from the Sun Light take-out in town.

Wed, Sep 6

Today John Lewis delivered the replacement fridge that we are pleased to report fit perfectly in the gap under the counter. Then Paul’s treadmill arrived. Two guys set it up in the second bedroom, which once decorated will become an exercise/spare bedroom. Shortly after that the furniture from IKEA arrived. Paul then spent a good hour or so fitting the legs and covering the chairs and fitted cushions. He then drove up to Tescos (grocery store) to get the ingredients he needed for Friday’s breakfast. Shortly after 4pm the electrician arrived to check out the cabling in the shed at the bottom of the back yard. He said that it was all in order and only really needed to be moved once we had replaced the roof. The flooded light fitting in the main bedroom was a different kettle of fish, though. When he took the fitting down it was still full of water. Worse though was that the fuse in the fuse-board hadn’t tripped when the water hit the live wires. Paul decided there and then it was better to be safe than sorry and arranged for the electrician to replace the whole fuse box.

Tue, Sept 5

Today Paul went to IKEA and ordered a 3-seater sofa and single seat chair to be delivered on Wednesday, and picked up an ottoman. Then it was back to our house in Hertford to wait for the carpet guy and electrician. As promised, it didn’t take too long to lay the carpet in the room that will be a storage room. Paul hooked up our Sky+ box to the old satellite dish and that worked. He then called a couple of telephone numbers in the Thomson directory to find an electrician to come and check out the flooded light fitting in the bedroom that sizzled each time he turned the electricity back on upstairs.

One other interesting thing to note happened today. Paul got a call from the MD of the company he quit last Monday to discuss the contents of his resignation letter. This proved interesting all round as the MD was unaware of several issues that Paul raised. Even more interesting was that the MD asked why the Operations Director had not called Paul in the previous 8 days to question the allegations that he had referred to in his notice letter.

Oh yea, Paul enjoyed some fish and chips from his favourite fish and chip shop in Enfield, too.

Mon, Sept 4

Now this is getting ridiculous. This morning Paul drove to our house in Hertford early so he could fix some floorboards before the guy from Carpetright arrived to lay our carpet. Unfortunately, while nailing down a loose floorboard, he also hit a hidden radiator pipe resulting in water seeping downstairs into the entrance hall. Luckily Paul was able to stem the waterflow by using a screw that had come out of the door handle that locked him in the same room last week.

Paul made several phone calls to plumbers out of the Thomson Directory before finding someone who would come out within the hour. But, with a half-hourly rate of £45, it wasn't going to be a cheap fix. At least the plumber drained all our radiators and then replaced the damaged part of the pipe.

Meanwhile, the guy arrived to lay the carpet. However, because the floorboards were damp in the small room, he suggested coming back Tuesday to finish the job.

But the drama didn't end there. While all this was going on, the water tank in the loft overflowed when the plumber turned the water mains back on to refill the radiators. Not, however, before the water came through the bedroom ceiling, started dripping on the new carpet and causing the ceiling light fitting to start to crackle.

This wasn't the worst of it. The plumber could not refill the radiators because there was a blockage somewhere in the system and now has to come back next week to resolve that problem. And the cost of that will run between £300 and £1000.

Things could be worse.

Sun, Sept 3

Today we took things a little easier than we had the last few days. We picked Paul's dad and brother George up and took them to see our house in Hertford, before popping into town where Paul's dad bought us dinner at the White Hart. The roast beef meal was excellent, but the dessert left a bad taste in Dawn's mouth. She ordered the cheesecake that came covered with figs and pear. However, much to Dawn's horror, it arrived warm and tasted more like a quiche with not even a sign of cream cheese. We'll definately be back there for a meal in future. However, Dawn will probably go for the caramel-covered apple crumble instead next time.

Sat, Sept 2

Yes, you've guessed it. Paul was back at the house again today. However, today Dawn went too, as we had plenty of work to do. First, though, we dropped into Carpet Right in Waltham Abbey to look at some carpet for the bedrooms. We left there 30 minutes later having picked out some silver carpet for the two smaller rooms, and a green carpet for the main bedroom.

At the house, Dawn got stuck into cleaning the kitchen cupboards, while Paul again attacked the wall closet in the main bedroom. This time he was successful in getting the remainder of the wood up that had been glued to the floorboards. He also removed the carpet from the second bedroom. Which is a good job seeing as we've got the new carpet scheduled to be laid on Monday.

Fri, Sept 1

Again Paul had a ride up to our house in Hertford. However, after the trauma of the last few days, things finally went a little more to plan. First he tore up the carpet in the main bedroom. Then he tore INTO one of the fitted wall closets. As we feared, the panelling afixed inside the closet was GLUED to the wall, ceiling and floor. This means that Paul will have fun over the next day or so filling holes. He still needs to pull up some of the wood battens that had been glued to the floor boards. But, as he only had a claw hammer, he had to buy a crowbar and chisel at Homebase. That should hopefully make completing that part of the job a little easier.

Thur, Aug 31

Does the drama never end? Paul drove to the house for 7am to wait for John Lewis to deliver some appliances, and started pulling up the old carpet, stripping wallpaper off the walls, and tearing out a fitted cupboard. However, within 20 minutes of arriving at the house, he locked himself in one of the bedrooms. He had closed the door so he could get the carpet up, and found that the door would not open. So at 7.30am Paul climbed out of the first floor (second floor - if you’re American) and jumped into the front yard. Then when the appliances arrived, the guys from John Lewis could not get the old freezer out from the shed at the bottom of the garden, or get the new one in. What made this even worse was that Paul was told the shed roof was asbestos. Then, if that was not enough, the guys could not get the old washing machine disconnected because the plastic taps on the water pipes would not close off. Luckily one of them used some ingenuity and got around the problem. Next, they couldn’t get the old fridge out because the power lead was connected under the back of the base cupboards. And, just to round the whole day off, once they did get the fridge disconnected, we found that the new one was too big to fit the space!!

Wed, Aug 30

Today we finally closed on our house. But the drama continued. After being told we could collect our keys at 9am, we were informed that we would have to wait until later in the day because the money had not been received by the seller’s lawyers. In fact, our lawyers said that we had until the end of the day. This was not good, as we had a haircut appointment in Winchmore Hill at 4pm, and Paul had a dentist appointment after that. Fortunately we got the call dead on noon to say we could collect the keys and that the house was ours. Even then there was another surprise. The sellers left behind the fridge, freezer, washing machine and dishwasher. We know that she was being thoughtful. However, we had our own appliances being delivered in the morning.