More waiting; lots of talking . . .

. . . but not much actually happening, or so it seems.  What we have done is try to get some information about renovations, repairs, maintenance and, naturally, prices.  It all comes down to money.

Following on from the surveyor's report, we thought it prudent to get a proper quote for some of the work which will need to be done almost immediately.  We also made some enquiries about the removal and disposal of asbestos tiles as that is a cost which needs to be factored in to our budget.  We have spoken to a number of companies who have given us various bits of information on different jobs, looked up DIY tasks on YouTube, and read up on the internet.  We have talked over budgets, what jobs we think we will be able to tackle ourselves, what we need to leave to experts.  We have discussed timescales, compromises and realities.  We have made lists, made notes, doodled with to-scale drawings and plans.  We have built the house several times over, but we haven't actually signed the contract yet - we're a little way off that stage, to be fair.  

Our heads are juggling with so many issues that we were in danger of losing sight of the ordinary day-to-day things that we should be taking care of, so today we have tried to get things back into perspective (again!) and pay a little more attention to the business of living.  In doing so we have been able to make a couple of decisions which will hopefully take us forward instead of the endless going round in circles which we seem to have done for the last few days, and which haven't, of course, actually got us anywhere!  I think there is an important lesson to be learned there.

For a brief few minutes, a rainbow brightened up the leaden sky

There's not much let-up in the wet and windy weather yet.  The ground is water-logged - whilst driving to and from a hospital run this morning we were surprised to see just how much surface water there still is running off fields and across roads.  The road drainage system seems to have reached saturation point (pun really not intended) and we passed several storm drains bubbling and overflowing, creating huge puddles stretching across the roads.  Thankfully the localised flooding here is nothing like on the scale that parts of Somerset have been experiencing since Christmas and the new year - judging by the pictures we have seen on the television, the folks there must be having a really miserable time of things.

And finally, the quilt is in one piece :-))  I have found pinning, tacking and hand-stitching very therapeutic - I seem to be able to collect my thoughts better with needle and thread in hand.

Mulling things over

NOTE - Not sure why this ended up in Drafts rather than being published.  Written on Sunday.


The surveyor's report was emailed to us Friday afternoon.  Oh dear, it did not make easy reading.  Seeing all the faults listed in black and white was quite a shock to the system.  Needless to say, we went into a bit of a panic.

Now, having had a day to read it several times again, and give some careful thought to what it contains, we are able to get things into better perspective.  There were, however, a few surprises which we need to seek further guidance on next week.  One step at a time.

Whilst we were sat in the lounge window this afternoon, there was an almighty furore outside - a huge number of jackdaws suddenly flying around in alarm as a sparrowhawk flew through.  It caused a real panic for several minutes.  Later, on a walk into town, we caught sight of the peregrine falcons on the church spire, their feathery 'bloomers' quite visible to aid identification.

Machine quilting finally finished

A quick five minutes of blogging before I collapse into bed.  Time seems to be in short supply at present.

I have finished all the machine quilting on the quilt - yay!!  All those pesky ends are darned in, and I'm now hand quilting hearts.  I'm determined to get this project finished by the end of the month, so I'm using every available minute to do whatever I can.  The end is in sight, and I am so excited at the prospect of seeing the finished result, my first full-sized bed quilt.

N has been a little better today (thank goodness) and we were able to meet up with our friends at lunch.  We all had lots of news to share, and we were so pleased to hear that they, like us, have taken some very positive decisions and steps this year.  Also, they have offered to be a 'working party' in the new house!  We have assured them that all offers will be gratefully received ;-)

I baked bread yesterday, and used Rhonda's recipe for the first time.  I was a little wary, as the recipes I have used previously were in grammes (very precise), and this one was by the cup, which seemed a tad more casual!  However, I have to say the bread is absolutely lovely and I shall definitely use that recipe again.

There was a pair of collared doves in the garden this afternoon; I think they are such pretty birds

Tomorrow we are at the donation centre again - I wonder what goodies will be unearthed from the black bags?

Odd bits of news

N has a cold.  He's not a happy bunny at all.  I have warned him of the consequences should he feel the need to pass it on to me.  I'm off to soak more handkerchiefs.

The surveyor has been to see the new property and we await his report.  Fingers crossed nothing horrendous crops up in it.  And the building society have confirmed they are happy to lend us the (very small) balance we need to buy.  We have been a bit surprised at how quickly things are progressing - the end of February might not be so unlikely after all.  

I've had a blitz on machine quilting today, and I think I must be getting better,  the fabric seemed to flow under the needle far better, and I've finally got the speed balanced with the stitch size.  It's a relief to have made good progress today as there are a few other things beginning to pile up.  I really need to get this quilt finished.

I had a lovely email from an old school friend yesterday which I replied to today.  We've known each other for 50-odd years which seems amazing.  Hopefully we'll get together soon.  Lots of news to catch up on.

No photos - it just seems so busy at the moment.  However, we both think the evenings are pulling out gradually - it was still reasonably light at 16.45 this afternoon; it wasn't so many weeks ago that it was dark by 4 o'clock.  

Papers everywhere

We've spent the past couple of days swamped in paperwork - photocopying documents, gathering information and collating checklists.  It's just as well we've learned to keep records over the years and have a good filing system in place.  This has all been for an appointment with our solicitor today - we were armed with rather more papers than we needed, but we didn't want to be caught out with unexpected questions.  As it was, we had everything required, and were even complimented on our attention to detail!  So that's one more item we can tick off the 'house purchase' list.

We have a surveyor visiting the new property tomorrow.  It will be interested to see what comes up on his report.  Some things we are expecting, but there will probably be one or two surprises we hadn't bargained for.  Those sorts of surprises usually require money to sort out and put right - this project is going to need very careful managing to keep us on track with our budget.  There is a finite amount of funds available to us and we will need to be very careful.  It will be a challenge but one we're both up for.

Another successful day list-wise - everything achieved again, but lots more tasks already on the sheet for tomorrow.  I'm trying really hard to get as much done now before we complete on the new house as I know once that happens time for quilting and other such projects will be limited.  

There was a really heavy frost last night, and a thick fog this morning but by late morning it had all cleared away to another clear blue sky.  A rest from the rain although I think there's probably more on the way.

Accounting for the pennies . . .

Sunset yesterday evening 

We have a well-used saying in our house that if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves.  Having said that, we look very carefully after the pounds, as well!

The prospect of buying another property has certainly made us look very closely at our financial situation.  It is not something we would have undertaken had we not been confident we could afford it.  That being said, we have spent considerable time weighing up our options, and looking at every possible way of financing this move.

I am immensely thankful that N is very money-savvy.  He has, over the years, found the best ways of investing, the best rates available and the best deals on the market.  With his guidance, I have also become far more conscious of making my saving work as hard as possible for me.  Combined with our philosophy of living withing our means, we are now in a position to buy another property without the worry of trying to sell the flat to raise the funds - that flat will go on the market, but not immediately; we need to live somewhere  while we get the new property into a fit state to live in. 

We have already done a lot of research into the likely costs we will incur in order to transfer the property we have under offer into the home we feel it could be.  We are not afraid of hard graft and the challenge of doing as much of the work ourselves as possible is one we relish and look forward to.  But we know that one of the most important aspects of such a renovation is to keep a very close and firm eye on the finances.  We need to account for every penny spent.  Enter the cash book and petty cash tin!

We recognise that we will need to maintain tight reins on the spending, setting budgets and sticking to them.  We know it's important to keep accurate records of where the money goes and what is due next.  We acknowledge that it will be 'fun' running two properties at once, keeping our heads above water whilst we do that.  It is definitely going to be a challenge!

My desire to be more organised is now more important than ever.  Each week I try to get a few more things into order, one or two more things better organised, something decluttered (I'm trying not to think too much about the loft and all it's goodies!!)  I feel so excited by the prospect, yet just very slightly daunted by it as well.  And I think we will need a hefty dose of patience to cope with the inevitable delays involved.  

Snowdrops in the sun on our walk today

I'm sticking very carefully to my daily lists and I'm making really good progress with various tasks and projects.  However, one thing I've found is that there isn't always much time at the end of the day to spend updating my blog, or indeed, browsing other people's blogs!  I think I must be content with achieving jobs to be done and forego time on the internet, just for the moment.  There's a balance to be had.  

Today is N's birthday.  He is, as he has been keen to tell me, now a 'Heinz baby' - you may be able to work out exactly how old he is now ;-O.   We visited the grand-children this morning, and then continued our walk along the front (such a lovely clear day across the water) and eventually ending up at the house we hope will be our new home, before returning to the flat.  All in all, a round trip of about 6 miles.  It was such a lovely walk.  

The quilting continues.  I need to stay really focussed on this project -  I would dearly like it to be complete by the end of the month.  That's pushing it - we have a lot of other things that need our time now - but I think it may be possible.

i had a lovely long chat with my 'little' girl last night, the really good mum-and-daughter sort of natter that is guaranteed to put a big grin on my face.  Lots of news to share.  The quilt is destined for a good home.  

A spring in my step . . .

I seem to have found my 'mojo' again!  I'm fairly buzzing with enthusiasm, energy and general happy feelings.  A very welcome change from the lethargy I was experiencing just a few weeks ago.  I suspect it may have something to do with the prospect of a new house, but I think it's as much to do with the fact that we recognised there was a problem and made the effort to work out what it was, and then do something about it.

Although I didn't make any New Year resolutions as such, a few days ago I did jot down some things that I would like to try to make an effort over this year.  Most of them are tasks or projects that I never seem to get around to finishing - or starting, for that matter.  Constantly being surrounded by half-completed tasks is, I have come to realise, quite depressing.  I know I am going to feel a whole lot better in myself if I deal with some of these, a bit like decluttering accumulated junk - not that these projects are junk, but they've been hanging around, sitting in corners or nagging at the back of my mind for a long time.  Time for action!

Here's the list I came up with:

• finish one project before starting another - I can but hope!
• try at least one new baking recipe a week
• make some Christmas quilts
• knitting and sewing for us - there's a long list of projects that are waiting for completion
• become volunteers
• make the effort to get out and about more
• read from a book list
• make more of an effort over meal-times eg tablecloth; napkins; crockery
• go through clothes, altering/mending where necessary
• make and use a housekeeping journal
• keep on top of emails and texts  - clear out-of-date ones
• treat myself, just occasionally!

So, how am I doing?  Well, we are now volunteering at the donation-centre one morning a week, and really enjoying it.  It provides us with some structure to the week, we meet a nice group of people, and we feel we're doing something constructive and worthwhile.

I'm slowly getting a household journal together, and know that I work particularly well with lists - they keep me focussed, organised and things actually get done.  Having information together in one place makes a lot of sense and I've succeeded in reducing the pile of little notes I used to leave myself, so that feels good, too.

I am concentrating on finishing my daughter's 30th birthday quilt before I start or continue with any other sewing-related projects, although I did have to sneak in a quick alteration to a dress as it needs to go off in the post asap, but it was on the list for today, and it got done so that's very satisfying.

And today I took myself into the kitchen and did some baking.

Last Christmas, N gave me two baking books and I have frequently leafed through the pages, drooling at the lovely photos of yummy-looking cakes and biscuits.  I have decided to just work through one book at a time, start at the beginning and make each recipe in turn.  So today, the first recipe was Stem Gingernuts.  I was organised, having checked the ingredients list in advance so I could buy the extra items I needed.  I had the usual problem of finding baking trays that are small enough to fit in our narrow oven so I had to use an interesting selection of tins to fit all the biscuits on.  However, the biscuits look just like the ones in the photo, and even better, they taste good and gingery!  I've made a few notes in the book alongside the recipe - I reduced the amount of sugar slightly as I always find recipes too sweet, and I managed to get 30 biscuits rather than the 24 suggested - so that will be helpful as and when I make them again.

One of the benefits of working hard through the day, apart from the sense of achievement at getting things done, is that by the time I go to bed I'm that tired I actually sleep.  A definite bonus!


  

A year of birds in the garden

A robin in the garden yesterday

One of the things N and I did quite early on last year was begin keeping a record of all the different birds that visited our garden and the one we look over from our lounge window.  I've been meaning to do an end-of-year total for a few days, but one or two other things have got in the way ;-)

Jackdaw on the shed roof

Anyway, here is the final list for 2013:

• blackbird
• bluetit
• black-headed gull
• blackcap
• common gull
• collared dove
• chaffinch
• dunnock
• great tit
• goldfinch
• greenfinch
• house sparrow
• heron
• jackdaw
• jay
• long-tailed tit
• lesser spotted woodpecker
• magpie
• pied wagtail
• pigeon (feral)
• robin
• rook
• starling
• song thrush
• swift
• sparrowhawk
• wren
• wood pigeon

A wood pigeon in the rain last week

That's a grand total of 28 different species for the year.  It's possible that we missed some others - we obviously didn't spend all our time staring out of the window! - but these are birds that both of us spotted and positively identified.

A starling in it's speckled plumage

We have really enjoyed taking time to sit quietly and watch the local bird life.  it has been interesting to see the fledglings grow into adults, note the changing plumage, and observe that the same birds visit the garden through the year - we've been able to spot individuals by their distinct and recognisable feather markings.  It's exciting to see a new species or to confirm identification from our now well-thumbed bird books.  It's unlikely we would have either had the time or taken the time to do this while we were still working, but we have found it very interesting and rewarding.  To me it is just a small example of the benefits of slowing down and being able to appreciate the simpler things in life.

First year celebrations!

Even on a cold winter's day this fuschia brighten up the garden

On January 14, 2013, I tentatively began typing my first post, venturing into the unknown realms of 'blogdom' and not really sure, to be honest, what I was doing.  By trial and error, reading books and other blogs, learning from mistakes, even asking questions on forums, I have muddled my way through a whole year of blogging.  What started out as uncertainty has developed into a space where I can bring my thoughts together - or sometimes just type very random thoughts and ideas! - and set down our small steps towards simplifying our lives.  Through the blog I have engaged with others around the world, frequently reading and just occasionally commenting.  A 'blogging' highlight of this first year was being mentioned on the Down to Earth blog (thank you, Rhonda, for continued inspiration), and receiving comments on this blog and seeing the page views shoot through the roof was very exciting.  I know  from the stats that one or two people continue to read some of my posts, and that is lovely - do please leave a comment if you have a moment or two; like any blogger, I have come to appreciate the value of a comment.

Leading on from yesterday's post about lists, I excelled myself today - 14 tasks/items (I was clearly optimitistic yesterday evening!) on the list, and no less than 13 have been ticked off :-))   Not sure I shall be able to keep up that level of attainment, but I am certainly going to enjoy the feeling of satisfaction at the moment.

One of those items was to contact the estate agent re the offer we made on the house, which we did.  A couple of hours later they phoned us to tell us that our offer has been accepted - lots of very happy dancing going on, and good reason to open a bottle of bubbly that we were given recently.  We are so excited!  Just think of all the lists I can make ;-D

We both feel so positive about this new phase of our lives that is just starting and I am looking forward to recording our progress here.  

Trying to stay organised

How strange that I should be thinking about lists and getting organised, when that was exactly what i read on Rhonda's Down to Earth blog!  

It's nearly half-way through January (how on earth did that happen?) and I am determined to maintain the 'glass half-full' attitude - full up to the top would be great, but I am realistic ;-)

Actually, so far I feel positive.  Each day I try to set aside a little time to sort paperwork, declutter, file, gather useful info and plan ahead.  I'm forever making notes on scraps of paper - recipes, blogs of interest, craft projects I want to try, simple living ideas etc etc.  Now I know that I need a much more organised system to actually do some of these things instead of simply jotting them down randomly.

Enter the household journal (ah, should have taken photo!)  Last year I downloaded several pages of the Down to Earth journal - daily/weekly/master to-do lists; menu planners; ideas to try; green cleaning recipes - and last week I ran off one or two more that I thought might be helpful.  I have laminated the daily to-do list (so I can wipe it off each day), and have it on a clipboard.  I am trying to get into the habit of using the weekly list to form a framework of appointments, meetings, deadlines, special dates/occasions, onto which I can add projects and/or tasks that are important or need to be completed.  It works if I stay committed to it and not allow myself to become distracted with other unimportant (or time-wasting) things.  I have found I can spend literally hours browsing through blogs, for instance, so I am trying to set myself a time limit if I want to look into something on the net.  I also know, from past experience, that I must make my daily to-do list achievable; there has to be a good chance I will be able to complete at least some of the items on the list.  It is very demoralising to reach the end of the day and find only one or two items from a list of 10 have been ticked off; better to have a realistic list of 6 attainable tasks instead.  It's far more encouraging.

Checking my list for today, I have managed seven out of nine tasks - the library was shut when I went to return my books (that would have made eight ticks), and the mending I need to do is a bit more problematic that I first thought, so I need to give that more time another day.  All in all, I'm pleased that I have achieved several things today, and more importantly, I feel I have put my time to good use.

Now to other things:

We are very hopeful we have bluetits nesting in the nest-box, which is great.  This morning we watched them paying a lot of attention to the box, and were delighted to see one inside while the other was at the hole.  N has a great photo which I must get uploaded.  

We have still not heard anything back from the estate agents re the offer we put in last Monday.  It's quite frustrating and we will call in tomorrow to try to get some clarification as to the situation.

Whilst browsing (time-limited, of course!) the DTE forum recently, I came across an idea by one of the moderators, littleshinigstar, as a way of recording her 'Simple Living Progress'.  I really liked the idea, and I think I will try to use it to chart my faltering steps towards a simpler lifestyle.  So here is my first effort:

My Simple Living Progress week ending 12/1/14

I made a great meal of (this is N's really, he's the chef): whole baked trout with freshly baked malty cob - I made the bread!
I baked - fairy cakes -
I preserved/fermented -
I stockpiled - baked beans on offer!
I handmade/started - I've added 2 borders to the quilt, and I altered a pair of curtains
I repurposed -
I saved money by - using home-made laundry liquid
I sowed seeds -
I harvested -
I tried something new - I'm sure I did, but can't think what!
I read/was inspired by - (not necessarily inspired by, but did manage to read
                                        Agatha Christie - The Mystery of the Blue Train
                                        Kate Atkinson - Case Histories
                                        Simon Brett - Death Under the Dryer
I finally tackled - downloading photos onto hard-drive
I really enjoyed - my son and his fiancee being here


Good grief, what a long post!

A walk to see some muddy pigs!

The absence of posts has been due to spending time with our visitors.  My son and his fiancee returned to the mainland today after a few days seeing friends and family on the island.  It was so lovely to have them with us, and to hear about their new home and of course the plans for the wedding in the summer.  It seems incredible they've been engaged now almost a year =:o

The weather has been surprisingly dry over the weekend so yesterday N and I put our walking boots on for a visit to our favourite pigs at the Abbey.

Glorious clear blue sky and a winter sun with more than a drop of warmth to it made for a lovely walk. 

The views across the Solent - there were quite a few yachts out sailing.

Then onto the Abbey for a spot of pig-visiting!

Mud, glorious mud!

The pigs have had some very splendid new enclosures constructed for them over the autumn/winter, and were making the most of the beautifully muddy conditions all the recent rain has produced.  There were lots of very contented snuffling and snortings going on!  N and I sat on a bench overlooking the pens, and it was so peaceful and tranquil in the sun.  No cost involved at all, and we both felt very much better for some time out.

I spied these wonderful espalliered (if that's the right word!) fruit trees which have been trained against the walls of the old vegetable garden in the Abbey grounds.  Both the branches and the brickwork are covered in lichen.

Against the blue sky, the round masses of mistletoe stand out amongst the bare branches of these trees;

and here, beside the lynch-gate to Binstead Church, there is blossom on the ornamental cherry - in January!

And finally, because the sky was so clear all day, I was able to get a couple of pictures of the sunset.  The white streak to the left is the vapour trail left by a plane destined for foreign climes.

Did I mention some curtains that needed altering?  That kept me busy over the weekend!

Photos between showers

I have learned how to transfer photos from my camera card to the hard-drive and finally onto the blog.  Yay!  I know it's simple, but I'm feeling pleased to have mastered another little technological step.

Now I can share some photos from the past few days.

Puddles everywhere

Typical view through a rainy window

Grey seas and skies along the Esplanade 

Still no trains running.  There's scaffolding at the entrance to the tunnel, and a huge mound of debris piled up, just out of sight.  I hadn't noticed before, but there are two plaques on the tunnel, one giving a date (of construction, I assume) of 1881, and the second states the tunnel is 396 feet in length.  

We've been doing our best to finish up all the Christmas eats and treats - then we can't be tempted any more, right?  The Christmas cake was truly delicious but rather calorific (thank goodness it's only once a year!) so that wasn't a hardship to have with a morning cuppa :-)

Still no news from the estate agents.  We've now convinced ourselves this one has slipped through our fingers. 

Still waiting . . .

We had a tense weekend, hence the lack of posts.  By Monday morning we were both a bit stressed out and headed off to the estate agents again.  Things had moved on, more bids were on the table, and the upshot was that we, along with another interested party were invited to make a 'full and final' offer which was submitted to the vendor for his decision.  And so we are waiting yet again, trying very hard not to get ahead of ourselves.  The property has, we feel, such potential, although that comes with a huge amount of grafting which thankfully doesn't faze us at all.  In fact we both agree it is exactly what we need.  We hope to hear one way or another in the next 48 hours.

After the somewhat tense morning, we were really glad to have the distraction of another shift volunteering at the distribution centre.  I think it has been a real surprise to us, just how much we enjoy it there.  It certainly took our minds off houses, and in a way gave us some much-needed perspective again.  I met up with someone I used to work with many years ago - she has been a volunteer for 15 years and still enjoys the work.  We got stuck in, ripping open black bin bags and sorting the goods.  We got a little way-laid with a wonderful collection of old books, some over 100 years old - N and I are both book-lovers, and these really were quite lovely.  However, alongside these little gems was a lot of, well, rather tatty offerings - some people seem to think charity shops are a way of getting rid of their junk.  We had several bags where it seemed someone had simply emptied a toy box into them; broken toys, chewed and grubby soft toys, half-used activity games, bits missing.  Then again, we came across some really nice items which will hopefully sell well.

Yesterday evening we had the 'flat mates' over for dinner.  We thoroughly enjoyed the company, and again it was a welcome distraction.

Today N has defragged the laptop in the hopes of prolonging it's life.  We've also spent quite a bit of time downloading photos onto the hard-drive - now all I need to do is find out how to transfer them from the hard-drive onto the blog!  

The quilt is making good progress.  Two of the borders are on (the wadding and backing need to be stitched as part of the 'quilt-as-you-go' method) and I'm getting excited that the end is finally in sight.  I've decided to press on with this project and finish it before starting/finishing off another project.  Trying to juggle several things at once wasn't working, so for the present it's simply one thing at a time.

Tomorrow we are expecting guests again - son and soon-to-be DIL are staying for a couple of days, bringing with them some new curtains that need shortening.  It's nice to feel useful :-)

Weather news - more rain, more wind.  Torrential hailstorm, thunder and lightening this morning (quite exciting!).  Not so great for those poor people whose homes have flooded, and who are without power.  Lots of flooding along the south and west coasts of England where the sea has done it's worse.   And across the Atlantic, America seems to be firmly in the grip of extremely cold weather - snow, ice and incredibly low temperatures.  Rather hoping that doesn't head over in our direction.

Waiting . . .

We made an offer this morning which was rejected, and we made an increased offer this afternoon.  

We haven't heard back yet.

We're not very good at playing the waiting game.


Wet, windy and grey yet again.

Volunteering

For a while now, N and I have felt that we should try to put some of our time to better use.  Not that we felt we were wasting time, more that we realised that perhaps we could be of some use elsewhere.  On a visit to the furniture store for our local island hospice, we saw a notice asking for volunteers and decided that this might be the answer - we could make a contribution to our community and use our time in a specific and purposeful way.  We had a call last week to ask us to come along for a trial shift this morning.

The donation and distribution centre is next-door to the furniture store and is a sight to behold!  It is huge, crammed to the rafters with goods.  Here all the donations collected at the various charity shops are brought, sorted and then packed up to be distributed back out again.  On first glance it looks like complete chaos, but there is definite order to what goes on there.  N and I were assigned to the bric-a-brac desk, and our job was to unpack each bag that had been donated, sort through and distribute the contents to the appropriate areas of the centre for further sorting and packing.  Clothes and bedding went to one area, where a group of ladies carefully sorted through each item; china and glass went somewhere else; books, CDs and DVDs to another area.  It was a real eye-opener to see charity shop donations from the 'other side', so to speak.  It seemed that some people used charity bags as a means of getting rid of junk.  Clothing ranged from top branded items still with the shop price tag on through to dirty washing!  Ugh!  When I send clothing to the charity shop I make sure it is all freshly washed and ironed.  We also became aware of safey rules and regulations regarding toys.  It was surprising just how much stuff has to be thrown out because it is not fit or suitable to be sold in the shops.  

Our 3-hour shift went very quickly - as quickly as we were taking black bags from the incoming area and sorting them, more bags were being stacked in their place!  However, we actually really enjoyed getting stuck in and doing something worthwhile.  The other volunteers were very helpful and pointed us in the right direction with our many questions, usually "what do we do with this?"   We're back again on Monday.

We went back to see the house for a second viewing, this time with a builder friend to give us some advice and guidance.  We are doing lots of calculations.  Neither of us wants to make any assumptions - house-buying is inevitably fraught with problems.  One step at a time.

We have had torrential hail-storms several times today; goodness knows where all the rain is coming from, there seems to be no end to it.  And no photos for a few days as there's only so many rainy-days pictures I can take!

A bit of computer house-keeping

I seem to have spent a lot of time today sat at the laptop, moving all my photos onto the new hard-drive, printing off sheets for my home journal, courtesy off the Down to Earth Forum, and then some time this evening doing some much-needed 'housekeeping' of files and folders.  I think I should set some time aside each day to sort my computer files out; they are in a bit of a mess, to say the least.  If I want an uncluttered life, that should be reflected in all aspects and directions.  Besides, I think the laptop is on it's last legs and I don't want to lose important files through laziness.

This morning N and I were delighted to spot a little bluetit checking out the nesting box N built in the autumn.  He had a good inspection, but I suspect he'll need to get 'the missus' to give it the final nod of approval ;-)  We'll keep our eyes on any developments; it would be wonderful to have a family nesting there.

We read online today that the IslandLine trains are still not running, and won't be for some time.  There are about 20 separate problems with the railway line locally, all caused by the recent floods and winds.  It was really windy again yesterday - fences were swaying rather alarmingly, sheds have lost roofing felt, branches and trees continue to fall.  Whilst we've have some pretty bad weather here, thankfully we have not suffered power cuts or homes being flooded out as in other parts of the country.  It has made me appreciate, yet again, how important it is to use our energy  and water prudently.  I think we should all be encouraged to be more mindful of our consumption of gas, electricity and water.

This afternoon we went to see a house that is for sale.  It has potential, but we need to do some sums and find some information before we make any hasty decisions.  But there are definite possibilities.  We will see.

Happy New Year - 2014

Happy New Year to everyone!

N and I saw the New Year in last night, the first time for several years.  We actually went out for a meal at a lovely restaurant/pub called Salvatore's, where we used to be 'regulars' when we worked.  We had dropped in by chance on Sunday, heard about the party and decided to make the effort for New Year's Eve.  And we were glad we did - we had a wonderful meal, surrounded by lots of happy people all having a good time.  We celebrated at midnight with a drop of bubbly.  

We were home by 12.30!  

Today was wet and windy yet again, the ground is becoming waterlogged and there is more flooding - there is so much surface water and several roads were closed.  The very gusty winds meant that several of the ferry services were cancelled or suspended during the day.  It's very rare for all the ferries to be stopped because of bad weather conditions, but days like today do remind us that living on an island does have some disadvantages.

So what have we been doing on this wet and windy start to the year?  With no other plans, we thought we'd spend four hours in the hospital.  N has been complaining of a niggling achey-type pain in his chest, which comes and goes, since some time before Christmas.  He talked about going to the doctor, but it never seemed serious enough, or protracted enough, to bother the surgery but it has clearly been bothering him.  He knows when he's not right, and it's been playing on his mind.  Today the pain was there more persistently and he became sufficiently anxious and concerned to ask to be taken to the walk-in clinic at the hospital.  The staff were very efficient, and he was hooked up an ECG monitor, had a chest x-ray and had blood tests run.  Thankfully, nothing sinister showed up which in itself is a huge relief.  His blood pressure was pretty high to begin with, but it lowered as his anxiety levels decreased.  It appears he has a condition called costochondritis, the symptoms of which can be confused with a possible heart attack.  The only thing to show up was elevated cholesterol levels, and that is something we ought to look into further.  Needless to say, we left the hospital considerably more at ease than when we had arrived, thankful for the NHS and the staff at St Mary's.

Not quite the start to the year we had anticipated, but another reminder, if we needed it, to make the most of each day as we don't know what might be around the corner.

Tomorrow, as they say, is another day, and we have plans!