Window done!

Erin Mae's first kitchen window is finally back in place, surrounded by a newly painted panel. The one thing still to do is to fit the black gasket that will cover the screws.

It's been an extraordinarily long process, with the need to solve numbers of problems along the way, and sometimes acquire new tools to do so – appropriate drill bits and taps, for example. The last came today – a countersink bit appropriate for aluminium and small enough to get into the channel where the screws sit. Sometimes I faced a problem with deliveries. For eight years we've had all sorts of things sent to the post office in Great Haywood for us to collect. But of late there's been a problem when a package is being delivered by Hermes – something to do with the shop's insurance. Today's Amazon delivery was to come by Hermes, but I didn't know that until I'd placed the order. So I had to go to the Post Office early and negotiate with them to ensure they would accept it when it came.

The painting has gone really well, though a good finish seems much harder to achieve with this red than it has been with green sections. It's encouraged me to think that I could do the whole side. It would be very obvious it was an amateur job, but at least it would be the same shade all the way down.

I now have to complete the work on the window the other side of the kitchen. That will have its own idiosyncrasies, but at least I've acquired some experience in regard to the principal steps.