A great start to my mini-break

Given the glorious weather earlier this week, I decided to take a half day today and work from home in the morning. Gleefully, therefore, I set my alarm for 7.45 instead of 7.05 and prepared to sleep in. No such luck. At 7.20, the delicate thump of workman's boots and loud Dutch voices could be heard on the staircase that runs past the back of our bedroom. After 4 months of staggering inactivity -- too wet, too cold, too much like hard work -- the builders had finally decided to take down the scaffolding that's adorned our rear wall.

I grumpily got out of bed, sleep long abandoned, fed/walked the puppies, made some orange and poppyseed muffins, and fired up the old computer. Then I heard the sound of this being erected outside the house!



They needed it to take the dismantled scaffolding and removed, rotting beams over the building given the lack of rear access (phnar, phnar). Of course, they didn't bother taking the rubbish away with them, and most likely the council won't pick it up tomorrow morning either as it's not ordinary household waste but will fine us instead for littering.



Never mind: Maybe someone will find sacks of mouldy wood appealing on Queen's Day and haul them off on the back of their back. And at least it has brightened up considerably since I took these snaps -- meaning that my afternoon off will be spent outside, instead of cooped up over a laptop.