70 metres of skirting board and 10,000 flyers

Finally, it seems that the floors are ready. The 3 week saga has seen unexpected decisions, delays and costs, but ultimately has led to us having beautiful natural floorboards, throughout almost the whole building.  During this period the property has not felt like ours at all, as there has been limited access to the rooms, and so many different workmen coming and going. There has been so much equipment everywhere, and sawdust, and piles of wood and rubbish and the most enormous pieces of sandpaper I have ever seen.  Last week I had to take another trip out to Solopark in Pampisford to buy yet more reclaimed floorboards (some of the newly placed ones had been wrecked when we had the radiators replaced...). What a fantastic place! If you're ever looking for any kind of reclaimed period building materials, then Solopark is definitely worth a visit. Warehouses full of chandeliers and magnificent fireplaces and a massive yard filled with ornate statues, roofing tiles and paving. Quite surreal!

With the floor completed this means we can now get on with the painting and decorating. Paul and I have been busy priming 70 metres of floorboards - we are two coats of primer down and have one coat of paint to go. Delicious decaf cappucinos with almond milk from Stir have been getting us through.
 
For the past 3 days I have been at home with a very poorly child,  so I have not been able to get over to the centre to get on with things, and have instead been doing purely computer based work from home. My 9 year old Noah had a very high temperature for about 48 hours, which subsided into a sore throat and copious amounts of mucus. Luckily he already knew the practice of 'jala neti' which is one of the original hatha yoga cleansing practices, whereby you use saline water in a small pot with a spout, to cleanse the nostrils. It is a fantastic practice - easy, safe, effective - and I am beginning to think a lot of children, who spend their childhoods with dribbly noses, would benefit from this. 3 full days of total rest for Noah and he is back now to his normal shenanigans.
 
What with parenting, shopping, household stuff, a full-time job (in Paul's case), visiting elderly parents in care homes, going to view potential pet puppies out in Gamlingay (don't ask...), organising an event night at the Junction (again, Paul), dealing with burst pipes, broken floorboards, scheduling all the different tradesmen to come in and do their part of the work at the necessary time, learning how to use and setting up the booking system, updating the website, setting up the accounting software, buying telephones, acquiring furniture, ordering equipment, liaising with teachers and therapists, responding to emails, and all of the hundreds of other ongoing jobs and tasks related to the yoga centre, we are literally working round the clock.
 
But with the floor done (well, almost - one more layer of oil to put on the groundfloor boards) and the lighting in the main studio finally coming together, it feels as if we are moving into the next phase of the renovation work. Which is quite lucky really as we are opening our doors in 2 weeks!
 
Our flyers and posters have been designed and printed. 10,000 flyers, which we shall be delivering mostly door-to-door throughout the Chesterton area (and beyond if we have the time, energy, will to live, etc...). Also look out for our posters which will be going up all around town on Friday!