The problem with having a butterfly mind

From the day we heard our planning application was finally approved my life has been hurtling along in a bit of a blur with so many decisions to make that I haven't been able to update this blog or even get on Twitter! However, I've decided to take time out, make a panad and firstly thank all the people who have posted comments and sent e-mails, your support and interest in the redevelopment of Plas y Nant is very much appreciated. Secondly, I thought it was about time I gave you a quick update on where we're at and what we're doing.

Whilst poor old Andrew the Architect has been producing all the tender documents to be sent out to prospective contractors I've been trying to finally finalise the finish specifications for each and every room. I know some of you might now be saying that I've said this before but the problem I have at times is I do get easily distracted. For example, when I have to make a decision about the tiles for the bathrooms I start to picture the finished bathroom, which is fine, and then in my mind I see the toiletries lined up by the washbasins and I think "Oooh, I need to decide which range of toiletries I'm going to pick" and off I go researching away on the internet all the different luxurious ranges that are out there and poor old Andrew is still waiting to hear from me about which tile I'm going for.  

I had this problem when I was building our house in Lincolnshire. David designed the house and once the planning permission came through the project was handed over to me to complete - to say I was daunted at first would be an understatement. We met up with the Building Inspector on site, which at that stage was just an empty field, and talked through a few things like foundations etc and then everybody went off to do their own thing and I was left looking at this empty field wondering where on earth to begin. So, on my way home I called in at a fancy kitchen place and got a quote for a lovely kitchen. When David came home that night he wasn't very impressed with my progress and through my tears I managed to explain that I'd never built a house before and I just didn't know where to start. Now, he hadn't built a house either but he is very good at organising other people to do things so he sat me down and told me to break the project up into small chunks and just concentrate on the most important chunk first, in this case it was to get my foundations dug before installing my kitchen.  For once I followed his advice and the house was successfully built within budget and is still standing. I have broken down the redevelopment of Plas y Nant into chunks, but I do have problems choosing the right chunk to deal with at times.

For a bit of inspiration we're off to the Sleep Event in London in a few weeks. When I asked David if he'd like to go to this his eyes lit up and then I realised he was a bit confused. I pointed out that it wasn't an event to sleep through but a conference and exhibition relating to all things to do with hotel design and development. I applied for our free tickets, our entry badges have arrived and I'm looking forward to seeing the suppliers and hopefully coming away with a few more ideas to transform the place.

Right, I've finished my panad so I'm off to tackle another chunk of the redevelopment of Plas y Nant, just hope I choose the right one.