Tree 2

The monstrosity has been tamed. She'll never be a beauty, but at least she no longer offends the eye quite so much:

Since I had to pay for it, I only had my side of it done: isn't that petty? My punishment is that I'm now rather exposed, and my reward that I have a view, nondescript though it may be:

The balcony floor is all shiny with penetrating sealer, and in the process the boys lost the rest of the tub, because once mixed it sets very fast. Apparently with a bit of thinner the other two tubs will be enough for the whole floor. They did some desultory painting, but Nun's not there and m'neighbour says yesterday they were drunk and lying around on the ground floor doing nothing. They'd also failed to put the glass in the first-floor windows, apparently because the welder forgot watever it was that he forgot.

Nun's switched his phone off; God knows if we'll see him again.

Tree

The new floor looks the way wet cement looks: I walked on it just to claim it, but we'll see when it's dry.

The tree surgeon came to look at the monstrosity. He thought I wanted it felled and said this couldn't be done, but I said no, I just want it given a haircut, and I don't want the city to do it because they'll chop it off at the knees. He promised to check with Kor Tor Mor and come back with an estimate. I said what do you call these nasty fast-growing trees that are barely good enough for the paper mill, he said ton mai yai, I said yes I know, but what do you call these trees, etc.