It's 7:10 am, and Paddy is already at work, fitting sockets and light switches. We'll also need to get him to move two of the downlighters, as they are not properly aligned. We didn't notice it the first night, as we were so excited to have lights, I guess. It's probably not a big job, though it will mean a touch-up on the lovely plastering work. By the way, one lesson learned is that you should mark on the wall the placement of all switches and sockets, or they won't be exactly where you wanted them. Kevin had advised us to do that, and we didn't, thinking that the plan we had given to Paddy would be enough. It's not a big deal, certainly not worth re-doing. Building an extension is a bit like a software project. You learn to compromise on the way, no matter how smoothly it's going.
The cement is now set enough that you can walk on it. It's got plenty more moisture to give out. There was 4 cubic meters of cement poured (6mx4mx20cm approx, that's 4,000 litres, all brought in by wheel barrow!) and, from what I'm told, it's got 40% moisture content at pouring time. I'm not sure of the water content when it's completely set. Is it 0% or more? If it's 0%, there is 1,600 litres of water that needs to get out of it (does it evaporate through the chemical process? I'm not sure of the chemistry of it all). Anyway, it's was warm and very humid in the house when we got back from Aya last night.
We had doors and windows open as much as we could, even in the middle of the night, as we were woken up in the early hours by Willow, who is quite fed up being confined to the front bedroom. I let him in half an hour ago, and found a dead bird in front of our door. It's about a year since he's caught anything, so it's nice to see that he's still a good hunter. A pity about the lovely little sparrow, though.
We still have a fridge and microwave, but our living room will be all ripped up, as the floor is being laid down today. So, our cooking facilities are quite minimal. But we're eating well all the same. On Wednesday night, we had delicious Donegal sausages at Padraig and Mary's, with yummy mash potatoes, peas and apple sauce. At lunchtime yesterday, I had a fry and Brendan had fish and chips near Carrickmackross on the way back from visiting Brendan's dad, who is in great spirit, as always. And last night, we sampled the new Aya in Sandyford Industrial Estate. It's upstairs from the Londis deli, just across from the Beacon Hospital. We had a lovely selection of sushi from the conveyor belt, with a comforting miso soup and a taste of their hot dishes too. It was very tasty, the salmon was fresh, and it felt like good value, at € 2.50 a plate (same price for all plates for July and August!). We had 9 plates in total between the 2 of us, and we felt quite full. I think it was much better value than the sushi place in Dundrum Town Centre. We'll definitely be going back to Aya, maybe at lunchtime today! I had this notion that we would be eating salads and soups during the build, and get nice and trim. As we haven't been to the gym all week, there is no chance of losing weight until the builders are finished!
This is a picture of the lovely plasterwork.
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