Of sunshine and surveys

A distinct lack of posts this week, I've been completely bogged down with the proposed house purchase which has become fraught with complications, surveys are turning up way too many 'nasties' and the list of things that need to be done to the property is growing daily.  Quotes have finally started to come in and we are now having to face some very stark financial realities.  We have spent hours, day and night (!) going over figures, trying to make the books balance.  Mental exhaustion has hit us both.  One minute we're definitely pulling out, the next, we've talked ourselves back into the purchase.  Yesterday we visited the property again and all the rain we have had over the last six or seven weeks has taken its toll - there are areas of damp and black mould in every room.  It was incredibly depressing.  Yes, it can be fixed and we know what is causing almost all of it, but it comes at a financial cost and we're the ones who will have to foot the bill.  

We have done some serious thinking and decisions have been made.  

However, on a much brighter note, the weather has really taken a turn for the better.  The sun has actually shone this week, the rain has been occasional rather than continual, and it's been more of a breeze than a gale, so really we've had a lot to smile about and be thankful for.  And today when I put the washing out, the first daffodil of Spring had bloomed.

The bluetits have been in and out of the nestbox several times (obviously it has passed Building Control, and nothing untoward came up on it's survey!), although we haven't seen any nesting material being taken in yet.

The photo is a little blurred as my little camera is right at the maximum zoom

We have followed the curling at the Winter Olympics - Team GB finishing with a bronze medal for the Ladies, and silver for the Men.  As a nation we have apparently become obsessed with the sport, and particularly the 'sweeping' of the ice the make the stones go faster and in the required direction.  We have to have something to raise our spirits after all this horrible weather!

To take my mind off the roller-coaster of moving/not moving I have dug out some fabric and got sewing.  Last autumn N bought himself some very brightly coloured cotton and asked if he could please have another short-sleeved shirt made.

He won't get lost in this shirt!

I grabbed the pattern and set to.  The instructions seem to have disappeared but it's a relatively straight-forward shirt and so far it has gone together without much problem.  And it has had the desired effect of making me think about something other than blown plaster, loft insulation and guttering!  Thank goodness for needle and thread.