Monday 11th May - plans, plans,

 

Here it is!

This is what we are hoping to achieve; an extension right across the back of our house, creating a new kitchen and a small living space where we can sit to eat at a small table, or relax in comfortable chairs looking out at the garden.

I've coloured the new part a pinky beige so you can see it. Nothing is to scale, but the extension goes out about 10 feet.

The old kitchen, which I've coloured blue, will have a generous section partitioned off, with a sliding door to save space. This is to become a level access walk-in shower, with grab rails and a folding seat, and also a loo and a hand basin. The boiler, with the washing machine underneath can stay where they are, outside the new shower room. The other side of the room can be shelves, cupboards,  drawers, whatever.

We want to have level access through the existing house, into the extension and on through to the new patio, and a ramp down to the left into the garden, for when mobility becomes more of an issue for me.

In other words, we want to 'future proof' our house. We've seen several families suddenly find themselves in the position where illness, disability, mobility has over-taken them, and their adaptations couldn't keep pace with the progression of the illness. And we've seen other families, where one partner gas been diagnosed with a progressive disease, whose early planning and home alterations made all the difference to how they could continue to live happily in their home.

We both felt that this was our chance to adapt our house to make my life, and therefore our lives, more comfortable for longer. Eventually, if necessary, the 'old' dining room could become a downstairs bedroom if I can no longer manage the stairs! 

I'm so excited, especially about a new kitchen!

I've never chosen a kitchen before; this one was here when we moved in nearly 45 years ago, and I doubt it was new then. We've been able to think about howe we cook, and how we use the space, and plan accordingly. The best thing about this is that the new kitchen will be installed before the old one is ripped out, so won't have weeks, or even months, of total chaos in that department.

Now we wait, for the drawings to be given the go-ahead, the drains to be surveyed, and a zillion other details to be slotted into their place in the plan.

....

Walking; the forecast promised rain. Oh. So we drove to a huge undercover garden centre we've visited before, and I used a whole oxygen bottle up walking round, eying up the plants, closely examining a large patio shelter/shade, and giving our full attention to the delights on offer in the food market. We chose exotic snacks (no, not chocolate ants, nothing quite that bizarre, but Thai Tom Yum flavoured bites - definitely yum) and speciality biscuits and some tempting sausage rolls for supper - also good.

So I reckon I dd do a walk today, just not to the post box and back.