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I covered over the 2-color floor with left over kitchen ceiling paint in a double coat - to make it look smarter - and be easier to clean, as this one is moppable! That brings us up to the close of April and start of May. On the 3rd day, I finished the coffee lounge.

The above pile of stuff had to be thrown out, placed in the tools alcove, or otherwise dealt with - that would leave the room ready to furnish and inhabit - as a coffee lounge.

The above are the two carpets and shower curtain to add to the room....but first a quick detour as I filled up the washing up liquid squirters...again, more lava lamp colors!

Above you can see that I have now laid the spare spare room carpet piece as a mat in the tools alcove. Below you can see I have put bags under the boots to keep the white floor white. I know muddy paw prints and wet laundry sloshings will color it, but....not yet!

I began to fill the tools alcove...

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Here is the first of the 2018 crops - one stick of rhubarb! It, along with another stick, were harvested in the middle two weeks of April, mine being an early variety, generally ready to pluck the first sticks from late March or early April onward.

This view taking in the scene between my two compost tubs shows how well my garlic and shallots are growing this season! Additionally, you can witness the gooseberry leafing, and blackcurrant and raspberries also beginning to shoot out for the coming season.

The empty bed comprising the main part of this next picture is for my corn - I haven't planted it yet, its still in pots in the poly tunnel and yet to surface, which hopefully it will, ready for transplantation in May or June.

You can also view my 3 raised beds - the old strawberry one to the left, the new half one to be shared with nasturtiums in the front and the regular one that will be on its last season before a turn out to the rear right. Also in sight is a netted area for peas, beans and salad crops - to ensure pigeons don't munch MY food! Towards the camera of the netted area you might just make out 6-7 small curly plants - those are my chickpeas!

HERE is the link to a video I made in the poly tunnel in the middle of May 2018 - showing the crops in situ.  It shows the tomatoes, lettuce, chilies, etc that I currently have left to grow in the tunnel, after taking the Brussels sprouts, a few tomatoes, most of the butternuts and all the chickpeas down to plant out at the allotment.

Middle of May and I took three pictures down the plot while taking scraps and coffee grounds down to the compost. It was too wet to dig right away - so I would have to wait a few hours to carry down a half dozen tomato seedlings to plant or do any weeding. This first shot shows the chickpeas, celeriac, and Brussels sprouts plants.

In the second shot, you look across over the butternut and corn area to the prolific strawberry bed - with a nothing-came-up carrot/turnip bed in front and beyond to my red onions. In my final shot, you can see my next-to above pic bed of tomato, rainbow chard and kale planted the day before the photograph was taken - already 2-3 of the tomatoes have been munched, sigh. Then there are 4 garlic/oniony things that I left to grow for seed as an experiment in a patch of land to be filled with tomatoes as soon as the soil dries enough to allow me to take them down - hmm, one more hour perhaps?

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My painting supplies will of course be removed before I furnish the coffee lounge and the tools alcove was all that remained to be done as April ran down into its last 2 days.

I emptied the tools out with the painting supplies and began - the horrid tear-jerking job of washing stained dirt engrained black hole-riddled walls, lashings of cobwebs, and bright pink brickery...

The shelf came off easily and is in good nick - that is one good thing! A quick wipe over and its perfect. not so the walls....UGH! I polyfilled, waited, polyfilled, waited, then on the final day of the month one final polyfill had those ghastly stained holes filled sufficiently to paint - it doesn't have to be perfect, as it will be curtained off and contain tools, not be seen, thankfully.

I began, shortly after coffee with my best friend. It was raining, and likely to do so all day - so I figured I would undercoat the tools alcove. I used up all the mauvey purpley pink paint first. I then began to use the last of the color called 'cookie dough' - but, it was runny liquid and I had an idea. Why not paint the strip of floor between the doorway into the kitchen and back door?

This strip gets filthy, as I use it daily carrying armloads of wet laundry outside and coming in with muddy gum boots - but I thought the former ugly cement might look better with spare paint, and spare paint I would have!

I didn't quite have enough, and ended the strip with a little green from my son's bedroom walls. The look was nice - and I am wondering if I should rip out the lino and paint the rest of the floor....but I didn't - yet.

April ended and I had used up the last of 3-4 cans of paint in the tools alcove - which I remind everyone will NOT be on show - I just didn't want ugly black stained holes, even for tools.