Today the builders came back and finished off my new laundry. This job was started on the 26^th January. They assured me it would take 2 weeks. By Alice Springs standards this is a great job. My friend’s new kitchen took 8 months.

Of course, now the laundry is done, I’m starting to get the renovating bug, again. This is a disease that infects me periodically, usually bought on by too much idle time on my hands, which means I start watching shows on the Lifestyle Channel like Changing Rooms, and Renovation Rescue.

This would probably not be so bad if I wasn't surrounded by people who feed my renovation fantasies by saying “why don’t you…?”, or “you know what would look really cool?”, followed by some hideously expensive suggestion that invariably involves even more gadgets I don’t need.

Firstborn, who has lots of ideas about decorating and only a two bedroom apartment to put them into practice — is particularly bad for this. She eggs me on, I’m sure, just to see what her grand ideas will look like, without any of the worry of what it cost or whether it was a good idea or not.

So, whilst admiring our last little bit of wood panelling as it was nailed into place, we got talking about the next project. Or rather, Firstborn and the builders were discussing it. I was just nodding and saying OK to everything than involved appliances.

Among the many things my design committee decided were “must have” items in my new kitchen were an internet fridge (you know, the one’s with a flat screen TV in the door) and refrigerated wine cellar, because for some reason, everyone thinks I’m a wino. Just because I have lots of wine in the house, as I frequently point out, it doesn't make me a wino. If I was a wino, the wine rack would empty occasionally, wouldn’t it, ergo... I wouldn’t have lots of wine in the house?

Anyway, I let them rattle on because they were having so much fun. Truth is, I’ll get the kitchen done when I have the time. Between proofreading Medalon, Treason Keep and Harshini, finishing the Gods of Amyrantha and the next two books in the Tide Lords series, the line edit of The Immortal Prince, which is due back any day, working at Tangenteyre Council and going to Tennant Creek every month, I figure that’s about Christmas 2038…

Word count: 57,968