So.....

... ..  I was at work on Thursday with just quarter of an hour to go and feeling very stressed with our new wonderful, fantastic we-can-do-anything-except-print-out-your-document printer when the estate agent phoned to say because our buyers are expecting a baby soon is there any possibility that instead of completing end-February or beginning of March could we actually bring that forward to end-January?!!!!  As a woman I am well versed in the art of compromise but to bring the end date forward 6 weeks is rather pushing it a little don't you think?  I felt my blood pressure rocket way up high.

After discussing it with the Best Beloved we have said the earliest we can do it is mid-February which sounds fine until you work out just how little time we will have to sort out alternative accommodation.  We have made the decision to sell but then move into rented accommodation for six months in this area before moving up Cumbria thereby giving No 3 Son time to finish his first year on this course at college.

So yesterday said son and I started to pack.  I've been saving the boxes that paper comes in from work as they make ideal small packing cases for all my decorative china plates and jugs, and we took all the pictures off the walls.  Everywhere looks so bare now but I am pleased we have made a start.

 

(Sorry I forgot to take a photo of the bare walls but I think you can imagine what they look like.)

 

Today we started ringing around all the local estate agents trying to find rented properties.  I admit this is an area I do not have much experience of but it was a considerably harder than I thought.  Yes there seem to be lots of places available but when you try and get one that will be in the right area for us to get to work or college the number reduces drastically.  Even harder is finding one that will accept pets.  The conversation tends to go like this:

Me:  Hello, we have sold our house and are due to complete in mid-February and wish to rent for 6 months.

Agent:  Oh yes madam where are you looking to rent and what is your budget?

Me:  Well actually I have been looking online and seen this particular property of yours.  Is it still available?

Agent:  Yes madam.

Me:  I would love to come and see it but can I just check a point that I could not see mentioned in the details.  Are pets allowed?

Agent:  hesitatingly Perhaps.  How many and what pets do you have?

Me:  Two dogs and three cats but they are all house trained.

Agent:  No.  I'm sorry madam - one might be acceptable but not five.

Me:  Even if we pay for professional cleaners to come in at the end of the term?

Agent:  We would expect that but not even then.

So there you go, the choice narrows even further.  I can see the next few weeks are going to be very, very stressful. 

On a brighter note, did you see the moon last night?  I took my new camera (courtesy of the Best Beloved) up to the upper bedroom to try and get a clear view.  My eye could see a tree silhouetted but I don't know how to get that in a photo yet.  I could have done with Catherine Drea instructing me.

I love looking at the moon although stars tend to frighten me a bit.  It stems back to when I was a child and imagined the stars all being a box, ie the universe, but then worried what was outside the box.  It's all a bit too big for my mind.

Some years ago I walked past a gallery in Bath and hanging on the back wall was a painting by Helen Garrett.  I stood outside looking through the window for ages and that night I saw the picture in my dreams, and the next morning I could still see it.  At lunch time I went back to the gallery all the while repeating in my head "£150 or £200, £150 or £200" as the price I could afford to pay.  I looked at the other paintings being exhibited but kept going back to this one.  After a sensitive wait the gallery assistant approached and I tried to quietly enquire as to the price.......and then tried to keep my face relaxed when she told me it was 5 times what I had said myself...but by that stage mentally the picture was already mine.  So I bought it and since that day it has hung on the wall above my bed and I still absolutely love it.  It's called "At a small hour of the night" and I apologise for the slight blurriness - I was trying to balance on the bed!



I imagine myself having been on a long walk in the countryside and now I am heading up the path back home to light the candles, have hot buttered crumpets and a cup of tea in front of an open fire.  The moon is casting just enough light to show me the way...

and the last smidgeon of sunset can be seen sinking over the hilltop.

I think I'll go and put the kettle on.

Philippa xx

Rain, rain go away.....

Thanks to the jet stream we have been having some really awful weather.  From the tip of Cornwall, right up the western coast of the UK everyone has been getting soaked.  High winds, high tides and lots and lots of rain.  My heart goes out to all those that had their Christmas and New Year ruined because of these freak weather conditions.

Yesterday I went out with my camera and took a few snaps of some of the local floods.

These are taken in the Melksham area of Wiltshire where the River Avon has burst its banks:

And these are the same river but taken from the A350 at Beanacre:

These fields are right by one of the busiest roads in Wiltshire and are allowed to flood in the hope of saving Bath which is a few miles further down the river - it didn't work this year.  We have had so much rain the fields were already sodden and could not cope with any more.

Beyond Bath is Bristol and because of the high winds and high tides pushing water up the River Severn when these waters met the River Avon even Bristol flooded.

(On the plus side - we are going to look Oop Noarth at the end of the week for a new home.  At least we will be able to see those liable to flooding!)

Philippa xx

Simplifying and Thrifting.....

......are two of my intentions for this year.  In common with many others Christmas saw me spend far too much money and put a lot of that spend on my credit card.  There was a time when I refused to have such a piece of plastic and indeed my father who was my bank manager (yes seriously he was a bank manager) brought me up to only spend the money that was in my bank account.  When I did get such a card I deliberately chose one that had a picture of a pig on it to make me question my reasons for using it, however, when that one expired I didn't get to choose a similar picture and only got sent a plain one.

I have set myself the target of clearing the card before we relocate Oop Noarth (the Best Beloved corrected my previous spelling).  I hope thereafter to demonstrate a greater restraint in its use.

When I was a lot younger and money was very much in short supply I used to keep a notebook/ledger of every penny I spent and budgeted for every bill.  I may not have had much left over at the end of each week but I never went hungry, failed to pay a bill or even was at risk of losing my home...and I always had all the money I needed for Christmas.  How is it that I have got so lazy and lax just because money is not quite so tight?  I think it is about time I gave myself a good talking to and got back into line.  As part of my thrifting intention I am going to rein in my frivolous spending and buy more in line with what I need rather than what I would like.

Christmas is over now, the tree is undecorated and packed away, and the mantelpiece is dusted.  I spent a very happy hour or so cutting up the Christmas cards and making them into next Christmas gift tags.  I've thought about doing this for years but never seem to get around to it and end up just throwing away the cards.  But I decided this would be a good thrifting exercise and a great way to use yet more of the red and white string I bought last spring.

Now all I have got to do is make sure I put them away with the wrapping paper so they don't get lost and I end up buying brand new ones again.

Philippa xx