Looking up

Tivoli and I went to the house first thing so she could see the spaces her tile layouts need to fit and for us to talk through the anomalies and uncertainties. One of the builders was already there rendering the walls (see above and the explanation here). When we said why we were there he said he was also the tiler. What good fortune! 

Additional excitement: the staircase was in place and usable. No bannister, no balusters, and covered in slippery plastic, but I walked upstairs for the first time for months (in between times I've become impressively adept at climbing ladders but that's a skill I'm happy to put behind me).

We did some measuring, some head-scratching then went to the cafe on the corner for Tivoli to do some drawing.

So as to be certain not to slip, I'd come down the staircase on my bum, not realising quite how much render had dropped onto the plastic covering, so I was a bit embarrassed at how much render-dust I was shedding in the cafe. I asked the staff to give me a dustpan and brush so I could clear up but they kindly laughed at me and told me not to worry.

Back to the house to talk a bit more to the tiler... 

then through next-door's house and over the garden wall to my tile pallet to remind Tivoli of the exact colours/designs of the tiles we bought together a while back and to show her the ones I've bought since...

and back to the tiler, who had very kindly waited for us to stop nattering with the neighbours. He says he loves challenging tile layouts and showed us some pictures of some he's done. Hugely reassuring. My fairly simple one may not be interesting for him but will be well within his capabilities. He says he always does dry layouts so we agreed that I will take time off work when the time comes and we can discuss together.