Far be it for me to lay blame of course.......

Now Bethan is very much her mothers daughter.

Fiery, passionate, definately someone whose wrath is to be avoided..

With the holiday rapidly abating it was time to do the job she had been set in the first week clear out her room so daddy and her could get in there and fit some wardrobes.

Design of the project had of course been handled by management who took me off to IKEA with a store card and a lot of room in the Plugeot a while back having made measurements, calculations and checked the online catalogue to see exactly what was needed. .

So eventually, the first unit was ready to go together and I wondered at the instructions and logicality as we tried to put the thing together by standing it up with just the one side on then connecting the other side too it.

This didn't go too well in a splintering crash and lots of bits of chipboard on the floor sort of a way.

This was not good in a tearful daughter sort of way and so plan B was invented.

It was sort of Ok as we noticed that in the heat of construction daddy had made two left sides anyway....

So anyway the thing took shape on the floor this time with lots of brackets added to give the damn thing a bit of structural integrity and rigidity (with mental notes to bracket it into the walls in ways that would make it stronger than the house itself..)

So anyway, at last it was complete with Branwen and Gwion summoned we tried to lift it into position. This was the point where Taliesin noticed a minor detail.
one that explained why IKEA said stand one side up then attach the other, It was so damned tall that, assembled on the floor it could not be stood up without jamming against the ceiling.

I could see another tearful daughter moment coming as ever practical Taliesin suggested an on it's side wardrobe.

Thing was, I could not see how these bits of chipboard could be made string enough to be assembled on their side, so we set about redesign.

It was a matter of equipping Bethan with the hearth kit off the fire engine. Taking out the joist saw and setting to.

This was not of course the sole drama of the day. This morning the pipe from our water pipes were spewing water everywhere presumably a pipe was solid close to the house and the pump pressure made the pipe let go.

Closing the gate valve and switching off the pump calmed that down, but of course this afternoon the temperature dropped and our water stopped flowing.

Luckily we have plenty of fire engine water jacks and had put lots to one side filled with grey water a few weeks back.

We will struggle for drinking water but at least we can use the toilet.

One last task: make sure we can get out tomorrow so up the drive went the Xantia to sit next to the road, in case the drive was impassible. Management thought that it might be a help to take Taliesin with her, in case she got stuck. Good idea I thought.

Then I looked out of the window and noticed the MD, as the car took off up the drive, she was in the passenger seat.

Were her knuckles really as white as the snow, again....

R