Weird dreams

I don't often remember my dreams, so it was with some surprise that I remembered two separate ones from last night:

1. The handyman who works for our landlady had come round to check on our radiators (they really are in a shockingly 'not heating the room' way in some parts of the house). After deciding they were hot enough, he ran upstairs and when I followed hime, bored me with his life woes.

2. (The better one) I'd decided to go to a reunion/open day thing at my old secondary school. I was waiting for the bus, unsure which one to catch when several lads from the school appeared at the bus stop. It seemed obvious that I needed to get the same bus number as them, but try as I might every time one pulled up, more students arrived and I was never able to get the (always dilapidated) bus.
Eventually, I succeeded, only on stepping aboard to find myself in a space more like the entrance to an underground station. I shuffled forward to the desk, expecting to buy a ticket but instead finding I had to purchase a coffee. I took the cup and started to pour myself a drink from the (very small) jug before being scolded by the person on the cash desk, telling me not to take so much. I took my coffee round to a sort of breakfast bar place. Shortly afterwards, a young lad from the school leant on the other side and told me liked what I'd done. I was puzzled but looked down to where he indicated and found I was wearing my old school tie. Still puzzled, I asked what exactly he liked about it. Apparently, he liked the way I'd tied it, even though it didn't seem out of the ordinary to me.

Tips from a 'qualified' renovator

It's been a bit quiet round here for a while. We've been busy renovating t'other half's old flat (I signed up for a quick bit of decorating and then discovered it was many weekends of hard labour at the other end of the county... ah well, it must be love).

Here are my tips for the day:

1. Use a mini-roller (with a gloss sleeve) when glossing (but remember to paint in the awkward bits first) - much quicker and much less prone to drips.

2. Use trade paint wherever possible - it's thicker and generally covers whatever surface in just one coat (how else do you think painters get the job done so quickly *and* have time for multiple cups of tea?)

3. New carpets. Don't rip up the old gripper rods (tackless strips to our American cousins) when you take up the old carpet. And if you do, where thick gardening gloves when dealing with putting new ones down. I learnt that one the painful, somewhat bloody way.