Today got a bit messed up. I meant to go out to the house and keep scrubbing today but what with one thing and another it didn’t happen. Instead today has turned into a day of shopping.

Firstly – I have pigments!! I went to Cornelissen’s on Great Russell Street – it’s a wonderful art shop and they keep all sorts of ground pigments, ready for artists – or ambitious renovators 🙂 – to create their own paints. They can also advise which pigments are lime-safe, so I have come away with a small packet of Deep Cadmium Red for painting the front door and my little step for reaching high shelves and a larger packet of Mars Black which will be for the floors. The Mars Black isn’t actually lime-safe – none of the blacks are – but apparently I’m not the first person to be attempting dark grey floors with limewash, and the Mars Black is the pigment most people are buying for this, so hopefully it works! I also got some boiled linseed oil – planning to try out an egg and linseed oil paint for the front-door – slower-drying than some of the others (several days to dry, several weeks to become washable) but ultimately it should wear a bit better than some of the other ones.

This evening we went to Ikea – we now have the bathroom basin and cabinet, some curtains and a step for me to be able to reach high shelves. Djeli’s brother suggested we also consider getting a gazebo for the garden – we had a look at them and it seems like a truly excellent idea. Given that we’re going to be cooking outside for quite a while, it looks like an excellent plan to me. So we’re going to have a think about that one, clear a space in yard and work it out after we’ve moved in.

I’ve also ordered my housewarming present to myself – the Phaidon Book of Tapas – we’re going to Spain shortly after we move and we’re going to be staying in a self-catering apartment there. Last time we went we had terrible trouble finding actual Spanish food, so this time we’re going to make our own. And tapas seemed like a good idea, given our random cooking arrangements for the foreseeable future.

Tomorrow the taps arrive – it’s starting to get exciting now!

PS. And I wrote some notes today!!! First time I’ve managed to compose anything since about March. I’ve been carrying this idea round in my head for the past couple of weeks for how to start the recorder quartet piece I’m writing for Pink Noise – now it’s down on paper and really properly started. Woohoo!