Damp!

Not so cold today, just grey with persistent drizzle. 

I went down first thing to check on the outdoor tree and am happy to report it is still standing. During breakfast I drew up a schedule of things to do for Christmas. Sending things by post means that next week will be busy and then I can have a breather up to Christmas. One of today's jobs was to set up the indoor driftwood tree and put the lights around the window. That began well as I easily found the box with all the sticks for the tree but then the fun and games began. Where had I put the decorations and lights? I checked every cupboard and box around the house until eventually I realised I would have to go up in the loft. This I wasn't keen to do as the builder still hasn't come to put in vents and when I got up there I found it was worse than I had imagined. Although the tarps I'd put over the boxes had stopped the condensation from dripping onto the boxes and instead had let it collect in puddles in the folds of the tarps the whole loft was damp. Mould is already growing on some of the roof timbers and on any wooden items under the tarps. Worse still was finding out that all the cardboard boxes that we had paid the lads to move up there are now damp. Luckily most of the pictures are well wrapped in bubble wrap but there are sketches in some big artists' folders that feel damp on the edges. I can't express how bad I feel about all that. I showed Peter the photos and he has left a message for the builder to contact us asap. Not only did Peter remind him about making sure there was adequate ventillation when they first discussed the job but it has been weeks since the builder came round to see the condensation and promised to put some vents. I know it sounds as if we should just sack this slapdash builder but he is now responsible for cleaning and treating the timbers and getting a dehumidifier up there. Plus getting a builder locally is like hunting for fairy dust or so it seems at the moment.

I located the box labelled 'Christmas decorations' but didn't find what I was looking for. It was only after scouring the house that I wondered if I had more than one box of decorations and sure enough when I went back up and moved more covers I found two more boxes. Clutching the decorations I needed I closed up the loft ladder only to discover later I should have looked for the tiny tree lights and some fun animals as well. It's a bit hard on my back heaving down the 3 part aluminium loft ladder so I'll get Peter to give me a hand tomorrow so that I can complete the tree decorations. This year my red Welsh dragon is taking the highest spot.

Looking back at last year's photos I saw that we had no curtain rail and curtains and we hadn't put up the mirror over the cupboard so that's progress anyway.

In between putting up the decorations I began baking the Christmas biscuits. Two kinds today but they were the easiest ones as they were both variations of my everyday recipe. Crunchy peanut butter and an almond on top for the nut ones and cocoa and chocolate chunks topped with a white chocolate drizzle for the others. Also they were hand rolled into balls which is easier than rolling out with a rolling pin and cutting out shapes which is how the rest of the biscuits will be made.

Peter is hoping for a few tasters which I'm sure I can spare.