The Kitchen Complete
21 December
Ross left for his parents' on Tuesday.
We'd finished off our Christmas together by completing our listening to my talking book of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol. It's become a sort of tradition for us to listen to the story together. We didn't manage it last year so it was all the more pleasant to return to it this. For the final hour, we tucked ourselves up in the warmth of the music room, turned the lights down and allowed Geoffrey Palmer's voice to cocoon us.
I have very mixed feelings when Ross departs. As you'd expect me to say, I miss him. The house seems a lot emptier when he's not there. I miss not being able to talk with him or rely on him to do things. In fact, I'm always slightly angry with him when he goes. However, there's also a part of me that is relieved. I like having my space to myself. And I feel a sense of relief that I don't have the responsibility of caring for Ross all of the time. I don't go at it quite so determinedly as I used to but looking after someone with ME is still tiring.
Steve, our fitter, and his helper Ian, a fit young man who turned out to be Steve's brother-in-law and shortly to go into the marines, showed themselves on Monday but did little apart from remove the tiles and take the remaining units from the walls. The real work started on Tuesday.
What did not happen was the arrival of Telewest to give me telecommunications.
When I rang to check they had no notice of my order. It may now happen after
Christmas. 
By Tuesday evening, the kitchen had metamorphosed from the base space above into the state below with the major units in position.
Come the end of Wednesday, the appliances were all in place and fitted. I could have used the hob but I didn't. However, I did make use of the sink. Washing your plates in the bath loses all sense of adventure after the first two days.
And then, by Thursday lunchtime, the doors were fitted, the lighting units added, the waste bin and vegetable racks installed and, barring a few odd details to be sorted in the New year, the job was done. Not only that but magnet men came on Friday and took all the rubbish away, including my horrible old cooker. Big cheers for Magnet.
On Wednesday afternoon, I had received a phone call at work from Colin who is still receiving mail forwarded from London to him. He wanted to pass the mail on and show me his new car so he called round on Thursday evening and became my first guest for whom I could cater properly.
Sort of spicy prawn risotto if you must know. I don't know what it was called. I just threw a few things in a pan. And then Colin and forgot to take his Christmas gift with him so I've got to find a way of seeing him again before Christmas.
The only other small thing to note is that I finally got round to watching Magnolia which is a quite excellent film with amazing ensemble acting drawing together several contrasting and conflicting storylines. I loved it.