The floor upstairs is finished and Eli has the first coat of colour on the bedrooms and study, more to come today.

But the kitchen had another unpleasant surprise for me: major filth under and around the stove, and years of grunge on the sides. Back I went to Home Depot, this time for a bucket and scrubber, and cleaners with serious grease-lifting capability. Also rubber gloves, on account of wanting to keep the skin attached to my hands.

The sellers of the house had signed a contract promising to hand it over in “broom clean” condition. That usually means hiring a team of professional scrub artists and inspecting the property when it is declared ready. Obviously, that step was missed completely — and the cobwebs on the bannisters and light fixtures should have told me as much.

All my life I have believed in “what goes around comes around”. After painstakingly scrubbing down before vacating every home I have ever occupied, is it too much to ask that others would do as much for me? Colour me irked.