You expect there to be lots of tradies about when your bathroom is being renovated, but there don’t seem to have been any fewer since. That means a lot of Anzac biscuits from the catering department (me).

After we moved back home, the painter (a woman) came to finish the last coat of paint. Her daughter had been ill, so the finishing was delayed by a few days. Then the tiler came to finish the grouting and sealing. A man from a demolition yard came to take away old timber. The builder came to do last minute fixing and the clearing of anything left behind. The new toilet roll holder has since become a bit loose, so he may be back.

The following Thursday, the Blind Care Company tradesman came to fix the blinds Felix had chewed. Fortunately he was able to fix the broken cords in situ and it was a quick job. The next day, ChimChim came to sweep the chimney and do some repairs. Last night there was a tremendous crash in the firebox and things (the baffle?) seem to have descended, so the chimney tradesman will be back to fix the damage.

Last Tuesday, the Rural Water Services tradesman (and owner) came to clean the roofs, solar panels and guttering. He had to stop work after doing the garage roof because the wind became too strong to be safe and rain had made the roof slippery. I’m still waiting for him to come back and finish the job.

Today, the plumber came back to install the Extract Fan Exhaust in the roof to duct steam from the shower. I think the electrician is coming to finish off the fan connection. I also had an email from the bathroom project manager to say that the tilers need to epoxy grout the shower tiles, so they will be making a time soon.

I think that’s all… but maybe I should include the AA (Automobile Association) man who came to open my car last Monday when the keys were locked inside. That is not meant to happen with these new whizzy-bang remote keys, but it did. I was at a friend’s at the time who, fortunately, also belongs to the AA as my card and phone were locked inside the car with my keys. We were intrigued by his solution to the problem – not quite the coat hanger we were imagining, but close.

I think most of the other jobs that need doing around the place I can manage myself, like controlling ants, stacking firewood and pruning the long shoots from the top of the apple tree.

It’s a great time of year.

The builder has completed his final check and clean up and kindly installed the ‘concertina’ shaving mirror for me. I’ve had it for ages, hoping that it would fit somewhere in the new bathroom. It seems to match the art deco look.

The garage has been cleared so I can put my car in there again. Everything (minus clutter) has been put back in the hallway. We can now enjoy the rimu panelling without an over-abundance of coats, hats, bags and other accumulated stuff, much of which has been given away to op shops.

You’d never know that the umbrella stand has suffered two major breaks. The first was in the earthquakes and the second was caused by me knocking it over. The entire bottom of it dropped off. I repaired it with Gorilla glue and clear tape.

A bit of fun adds some quirkiness and character to the new bathroom which I find quite clinical after the warmth of the wood panelling in the old bathroom. These two, Maurice and Mabel, were bought at a Wellington market years ago and needed a bit of refreshing with my paints before I hung them on the wall. Mabel’s leg broke in one of the earthquakes and is rather roughly glued on as bits of plaster had crumbled away. She’s looking a little sunburnt after the paint repair, but her nail polish has been refreshed!

And there’s the sweet little cupie doll in an old-fashioned bathing suit on top of the wall cabinet. They all sort of go with the art deco look of the bathroom (which is finished, by the way).

Max is free-standing and I’m afraid he’ll fall on the unforgiving tiles and damage something, so he remains on the threshold.

Then there’s the swimming dog and the tiny bear in a bath the size of a walnut shell… Hmm, bear in, dog out. That’ll do.

The garden is full of spring flowers – and now the house is too. I picked some hyacinths which were falling over in their pot outside. Then I picked some forsythia, ‘snowball’ blossoms, grape hyacinths, little irises, and forget-me-nots for the kitchen window sill. I knew Mum would enjoy them as she made her breakfast.

Mum was given flowers at church on Sunday morning – “celebrating the senses through which we engage with Creation”.

And on the front porch this morning I found a gift of flowers from the marvellous woman who managed the bathroom renovation. I think she’s the one who deserves the flowers. Perhaps it’s an apology for the last-minute delays? The tiler finishes tomorrow (fingers crossed).

It’s 25 days since the bathroom renovation began. Today, we have an operational toilet and the painting has been completed.

For some reason (I seem to have lost the ability to hold details in my mind) the rimu door and roof access architraves could not be reused and were replaced with pine. The painter and I decided, on the hoof, to paint them the same colour as the walls and ceiling rather than staining them to look like rimu. I’m happy with that choice – and there is an example of it in the kitchen.

The door and the ceiling access cover will be the original rimu.

Mum and I are at home for one night, but at least we have a toilet! The hotel was fully booked when I tried to extend our stay – maybe people are in town for the Word Festival. Then we will be back at the hotel for a few days, after which, if everything goes to plan, the bathroom will be ready.

A friend recently said she likes to ask her sister’s opinion when she has a decision to make. “Give me an opinion so I can ignore it,” she says. I don’t have to ignore my sister-in-law’s opinions as she helps me to choose what to do with my bathroom.

A builder is waiting for decisions to be made. I’m waiting for a bathroom designer to come up with plans. In the meantime, I have to choose tiles, shower, toilet, basin and cabinet. Aaarrgghh! I asked for help.

My sister-in-law suggested an app which helps you put together ideas. This led to hours of searching and looking at endless designs. Helpful, and fun, but to a point: the point at which you see bathrooms in your dreams!

I love my wee bathroom (178×222) which was last altered in 1993, but an ominous crack in the tiles, which travels from the end of the bath to the wall opposite, shows that all is not well underneath. Then Mum broke her hip, so it made sense to not only repair the underfloor, but to put in a walk-in shower.

The bathroom has original features such as wooden (precious rimu) dado panelling and a corner wall-mounted cabinet. We considered painting the panelling, but wouldn’t you have to paint the door and the window frame too? I can’t picture it fitting with the rest of the house. I also remember the months it took to scrape away layers of paint after I bought the house in the mid 1980s. When the kitchen was renovated in 2015 I left the wooden dado panelling there, and two walls of original built-in cabinetry and other original features. The bathroom is a cheerful room which fills with sunshine in the morning. Admittedly, the cabinet added in 1993 is too big for the space and the terracotta tiles are a bit too orange…

It’s not easy finding tiles which fit a 1930s house with humble expectations. Yesterday, we went from tile outlet to tile outlet till we were cross-eyed. Having samples to look at at home (my sister-in-law’s idea) made a huge difference to the selection process. The tile we thought was ‘the one’ turned out to have phallus shapes all over it when you saw it in situ. Imagine walking over that every day. Once you’d seen it, you’d never not see it. However, that was the tile which turned our thinking from blue to soft green. We found another with a more subtle flower and diamond pattern and, thankfully, it is available locally.

We’re thinking the tiles will cover the floor, including the base of the walk-in tiled shower, with white or off-white subway tiles on the walls. The shower and toilet (currently behind the door) will switch places. A new, smaller cabinet will be chosen, possibly ‘floating’ to make the space seem larger, and I’m thinking a vessel basin (the jargon I’m learning!) will add a tiny bit of wow.

It’s great to have the first decisions made. Thank you, sister-in-law!