I think by now, it's pretty clear I like things in my home to be neat and tidy. Or as ordered as it can be with a hoarding husband, 3 small children and 2 demented cats.
Now recently when Husband and I were stuck down with the equivalent of the ebola virus, we spent alot of time lying on our bed talking weakly about our plans for the future; providing we survived this life threatening illness
Initially the plan was to replace our kitchen cupboards, as our present ones are either falling off or held together with masking tape.
So we duly asked someone, called *Fred, to give us a quote.
Fred was affable and measured it all up. He said he'd be in touch within a week with a quote. We never heard from Fred again. When we phoned his business a week later we heard they had gone into receivership. Bad news indeed for Fred. Sad news for us.
Next phonecall was to a company a friend recommended. We later discovered she'd accidentally given us the name of the company she hadn't ended up using, but by then it didn't matter.
So *Ivanka arrived wielding a clipboard, killer stilettos and an accent that reminded me of my mother in law. She barely glanced at our kitchen, insisting instead we take her on a guided tour of our home. We dutifully did so, and both of us listened in silence as she berated us for the shoddy planning of the home. Never mind we weren't the original owners. My husband seemed as cowed by her accent as I was.
Ivanka point blank refused to even draw up plans for our kitchen as it was "unacceptable" for her to be associated with this work apparently.
We decided that having Ivanka do anything with us would be a bit stressful. The plans were duly shelved.
But there was no doubting she had planted a seed, that maybe if we were going to redo the kitchen we should do it properly.
So one night, I tweeted in desperation about the sorry state of my home and a friend recommended a lady called Felicia (which is her real name)
I phoned her and we chatted at length.
Husband and I worked out a P.L.A.N about what we wanted to do with the kitchen.
Having had our fingers burnt a few times now we were apprehensive to say the least about meeting her. We needn't have been.
We were both enchanted with her.
Felicia is a tiny powerhouse.
She listened carefully and made suggestions.
While the plans involve a bit more than changing the kitchen cupboards, I am excited about what is in store for our little house.
The inevitable mess and chaos we'll be living in a few weeks time?
That's a whole other post.
*Fred, not his real name
*Ivanka, not her real name
