Keep your face to the sun and you will never see the shadows – sound advice but what do you do when temperatures plummet and the clouds roll in?

When we started renovating in June we dealt with issues like how to water our scorched grass as the unprecedented heatwave baked the UK.

Days were spent delivering ice filled drinks to the builders and OSB boards for windows served as DIY air-con.

Fast forward a few months and all of a sudden Gritty McGritface is doing the rounds salting the streets and washing the pots in the caravan now feels like taking on an ice bucket challenge.

Everyone else is decorating for Christmas and I'm spending my evenings mixing screed. Dobbies Garden Centres/PA.

placeholder image — Everyone else is decorating for Christmas and I'm spending my evenings mixing screed. Dobbies Garden Centres/PA.

This week I realised I am officially a fair weather renovator and these freezing temperatures do not lend themselves to a house that has no heating downstairs.

I spend evenings in thermals mixing buckets of screed outside and walking downstairs feels like entering the arctic—not in the Winter Wonderland kind of way.

When we’re not DIYing to the wee hours we’re snuggled up in bed with our kids trying to keep warm like something from Charlie and The Chocolate Factory, just missing Grandpa Joe doing a jig in the corner.

And it’s not just the weather that has dampened spirits; there’s been a few other storms on the horizon to navigate.

Reporter Kate Mason is taking on the renovation project of a lifetime

The impending festive season has brought its own challenges and my social media algorithm isn’t helping at all.

I’m being served festive, fun videos of people decorating their perfectly preened homes for Christmas. I would normally be the one prepping for the festive season as early as possible but alas I am spending my evenings stripping wallpaper and mist coating (all set to Christmas songs on the radio so I guess that's the silver lining). I'm determined to get at least one Christmas tree up this year but I have no clue when it will be.

Last year evenings were filled with wreath making classes, festive meet-ups with friends and Christmas shopping sprees. With budgets as they are this year, the stark reality is we need to tighten our already strained belts and frivolous festive fun will have to take a hit this year.

And after keeping the £6,000 quartz worktop dream alive I have finally admitted defeat and accepted that we will have to settle for a short-term, cheaper alternative. Unless Santa has room in his sack for some overpriced quartz that is?

However, after weathering a week of storms it has ended with a warm (literally) fuzzy feeling as the underfloor heating is finally plumbed in. We can only turn it up a couple of degrees each day for the next week to stop the new tiles from cracking, but with each degree of warmth comes a surge of excitement and optimism signaling another step forward in the process of making our house a home.

Keep up to date with all the progress by following @ohgodweboughtavicarage on Instagram.