I know, it's just a ceiling...

but I am really thrilled with it!

Progress has been a bit slow over the last couple of weeks. Not because the builders haven't turned up - they've been doing 10 hour days - but because progress has all been of the tedious prepping, filling and sanding variety. I sneaked up this evening to have a look and I'm quite encouraged, even though as you can see from the pictures they're still prepping the walls for painting, and only a thin coat of emulsion has gone up. Even that's transformed it in my view - farewell and good riddance muddy green ( sorry Farrow and Ball - it was great at the time but the flirtation's over - it's back to pure brilliant white for me!) It's so lovely to look up at my new smooth white crack -free ceiling with the new-but-authentic fibrous plaster cornice. My husband hasn't even looked upstairs for a fortnight, and he's away at the moment, but I am hoping the sight of it all coming together will make him realise it's all been worth it. The old saggy and craggy ceiling with the giant 'oh my God is that structural?' crack and the porridgy textured lining paper is ( almost) a distant memory.

I like the new shower room too. As yet ungrouted, and the splashback will go in as soon as I've bought some more mosaic tiles, but I love the way it makes the best use of what is, let's face it, an absolutely miniscule space. They've even squeezed an airing cupbard in for me by putting doors on the existing shelves.

Dawid reckons they should be finished this week, which will be great, as we're heartily sick of sleeping in the study with all our furniture piled up around us. I daren't let our much put-upon cleaner come in here as it's so disgusting, but the kids, with their unerring instinct for reliving 2007, have found a great game of crawling under the bed and emerging covered in dustballs!