I've been here almost six months - and there's still so much to be done to make this place look 'finished', reasonably tidy, my home.  After a week or two of frustration, and being occupied with othe things (eh finishing my novel revising) I lose impetus and retreat into catatonic self-blaming (I exaggerate)...

1 I thought I had found a suitable cleaner - a friendly waitress from Ziggi's, doing it on her day off - but she withdrew at the last moment (no, oh cynics, even before she saw the scale of the problem) There is so much initial cleaning to be done - with sensitivity.  After that, I  just might be able to manage on my own.

2 My builder - so efficient and helpful before - keeps failing to deliver his promise of coming back for a final day's work.  Most of the remaining work is 'handyman' stuff, so I may have to find a suitabe person 'blind' from local e-pages.

3 There are still many, non junk, things I need to get rid of, but not throw away.  I don't want dozens of visitors casing my home when they come ot look at what I've got.  Office stationery, a heavy, decent hi-fi compnent stand, a big desk.  Not much is worth selling on e-bay (again, this is the sort of thing I am bad at doing on my own).  Will I have to give up and take everything to the tip?

4 The flat's (lack of) ventilation.  I'll come back to this some other time.