Mama Ciel (even bigger)

Mama Ciel's stomach has just ballooned in the last week or two.



No it's not a disease it's just chinese cups. "Cups velly gooo"

The small garden challenge

The back garden is coming along, helped by the spring rain.

The office

The floor came out nicely even though the polyurethane stuff was nasty to work with.



A provisional office has been set up until I get a feel for the space. Then I'll get custom made desks and some furniture.



Finally... balustrades.



A nice moody afternoon viewed from the balcony.

Mama Ciel

Boasting a healthy stomach.

Kitchen confidential

Before...



After... A punctured water pipe and emergency plumbers made it a rough ride but in the end its all worth it. Now we need some tiles...



Now if we can just get that dishwasher going...

Waiting for a back garden

Two Zimbabwean guys helped to clear all the cement and rubble from the back.



Johnson, former shop clerk in Harare.



Obvious (yes, its obviously his name) was a driver. Both now do hard labour to survive.



At, a plasterer from the neighbourhood, sculps plant troughs.



A great job but now everythings a cement mess again.

Be kind... Rewind

The builder agreed (we had kept some of his money) to replace the floor and stairs. Sounds simple? Both were particularly painful processes, but more so the stairs as that involved the original third party builders.



Jy maak n gamors!! Shoveling the cement in for the new effort.



Most of the floor looked great with some bits in the middle a bit crumbly. I fixed it with a bonding key and cement wash but now theres nasty marks on the floor so the clear sealer is not an option anymore?



The new and improved stairs. The risers and treads are now much better, although we had to come out a bit in front. Also everything is a bit rounded off, hopefully making bone crunching falls a bit less likely.