Well, prompted - and shamed - by The Landlady into doing a bit of blogging again I will now record for posterity that today was the day that we instructed the estate agents to sell the house. So is this finally the end of the beginning of the dream?
Since we planned this 4 years and 19 days ago house prices have dropped and interest rates have halved so all my spreadsheets are out of the window. It will be much harder to pay the bills than we imagined but then neither of us have jobs now and are unlikely to work again (don’t really want to anyway) and to stay here will be even more expensive. What we need is a quick sale so we can get some money in the bank to earn interest to supplement our income.
We are now in the hands of the gods. If we can get a quick sale then I shall be on a plane to Stornoway before the ink is dry on the offer to sort out somewhere to rent for the first year or so. So much has changed in the last three months that we now have to try alternate plans. Sandy and I had originally planned to take the camper up to Lewis and live in it for a few weeks until we found somewhere to rent but we can’t do that now as Sandy’s mum couldn’t cope on her own for that sort of time.
Hopefully soon we’ll turn our minds to the logistics of getting two van loads of ’stuff’, plus a car, a camper and an 87 year old lady up to The Western Isles. I’ve had a quick tot up and the total mileage is a few hundred miles more than driving to Venice and back!
I’ve often wondered why people start blogs and then don’t keep them up to date. After all, how difficult can it be to write a few words every day? Now I understand.
I thought that changing this blog for a while to record my DIY efforts would give me plenty to write about and would be a nice record of everything we have done to get the house looking spick and span ready to be snapped up by the first viewer. There is plenty to write about but, somehow, it just doesn’t get written. The decorating/refurbishment is coming along and plenty has been done but much more remains, nowhere near halfway yet. Every so often I think to myself ‘I’ll do something on the blog tonight’ but at the end of the day I simply can’t be bothered to sit in front of the computer and type. I’d much rather just go to bed.
It certainty hasn’t helped that I’ve not felt well for several weeks and this past week have had a pain in my chest and get pretty exhausted pretty quickly. The doctor seems to think it’s just indigestion but I’ve managed to have an ECG which seems to show everything is normal with my heart. Good or bad? Well, if I’m not going to have a heart attack soon that’s good, but then what the hell is this pain in my chest and tiredness that stops me wanting to crack on with all the work that needs to be done? It sure ain’t indigestion.
I’ve come to the conclusion that blogging is much like dieting. It’s not particularly difficult, there’s no reason not to do it and it really doesn’t take a great deal of effort. Just like dieting though it starts off with all good intentions and reaches a point - never worked out why - where it all becomes too much effort and is abandoned (but it always stays in the back of the mind for when times are better). It just becomes easier to eat what you like and not try to think up words to put on the blog. Maybe I’ve got too many other things to think about and there is a limit to what my brain can cope with.
So, blogging is sort of on the back burner and I’m getting fatter. Might write about the forthcoming ‘Grand Tour’ though which is only a few weeks away now. Really should do that.
Yet another hot day but not quite so bad as yesterday as there was a bit of a breeze.
Still knackered from yesterday but started on the kitchen door and got on well until various problems arose because the door was slightly warped. You wouldn’t belive the hassle I had to make it fit and it’s still not right. Fited rain strips to both back doors and undercoated them. Got to try and get the door to fit better tomorrow and, hopefully, start on the gloss.
The most ridiculously hot day so far. Managed to do the door to the extension but was so exhausted that I gave up in the afternoon and watched Andy Murray at Wimbledon instead.
Went to B&Q in the evening and when we came out at 8pm the temperature was still 30° C (86°F). Doesn’t look like the back of the house is going to be finished this week as planned.
Nothing done so far today. Had to go to the Job Centre to sign on - not as demeaning as I though it might be. They actually want me to look for work though!
It is unbelievably hot and oppressive here with rain all afternoon so no progress on the back. Wanted to do the doors but they need cutting to size and I can’t do that in the rain. To much sorting needed to start inside so began packing a few things from the kitchen that we won’t need in the next six months. Even just doing that and the washing up the sweat was dripping off me. It’s got to be about 80F with really high humidity. Horrible.
Had photos done for passports. Pressure washer and more stuff from Tool Station has arrived.
