We're back from Stratford again, after a fast visit to confer with two contractors, a flooring guy and a kitchen designer. Very profitable visit, not least because Himself finally saw the house in real life (as opposed to real estate agent's photos) and liked it.

Is there anything sweeter than a contractor's smile when you take the initiative to ask, "Would you like a deposit?" Even better, the flooring guy booked our project to begin the day after we take possession and finish within the following week so we will be in total chaos for as little time as possible.

The basement floor will be a laminate laid on top of Dri-Core, a subfloor material designed to allow the inevitable moisture to collect on the concrete, where it will eventually be re-absorbed, instead of wicking into the floor surface. (Note to file: must buy a dehumidifier. Or perhaps two dehumidifiers.) The three bedrooms that currently have horrid old broadloom will get ash flooring stained to look as much as possible like the oak flooring in the sitting room. The two smaller bedrooms will be offices, and I'm hoping the harder ash will stand up well to swivel chair wheels.

The kitchen guy won my confidence by acknowledging the risk to one's elbows of a kitchen range placed in a tight corner (imagine stirring something thick, like polenta or beef Stroganoff, in a tall pot). He also did not sneer at my desire to maintain my ridiculously large collection of cookware and crockery; I gather that, in his world, it is normal to have two full sets of dishes, two canners, and a fish kettle. This is good.

Himself is already contemplating deck stain and container gardening; his eyes lit right up when he saw the potting shed. The dream of cultivating carrots and potatoes is dying hard, but I think I might have won him over to the competing notion of a rose bed in the sunniest part of the lawn in front of the house.

That said, I believe our immediate future will include hedge clippers and a lawn mower.