Our first Saturday here was busy, busy, busy. We continued with unpacking and getting things in place. We had a man come out in the morning to change all the locks. There was nothing wrong with them but we wanted it done for our own peace of mind so that we would know that no one except for us has keys.
It took him quite a while to do. The previous people never used the front door and in fact we discovered that it would only open a few inches due to a curtain rail they had up. Simon had to take that down.
We made numerous trips to the local dump with all the empty boxes. Simon had fun attempting to put up our pictures. You know we have a ton of them. In fact that job still isn't totally finished. The problem was the walls here are solid. In the past if I wanted a picture hung Simon would just get a hammer and bang in a nail. That is not happening here! You need a drill with masonry bits! He broke several drill bits and had to buy more. There was much bad language as several pictures took over an hour each to get done!
Here are some of them. Please note we will be redecorating! Blue stripy walls do not do it for us! Nor do our pictures look good. We will probably go for a pale cream. Please do not even mention that bright yellow picture rail! What were the previous people thinking?
On Sunday we did more of the same but also had a trip to the local Tesco to stock up on food. Coralie and John called in to see us with the boys which was a welcome break from all the unpacking. On Monday Saskia came to help us. I think she just wanted to see the new house and couldn't wait until Christmas! It was lovely to see her although she had to go back the following day. She did make us a lovely cheesecake. You can see her here cooking on my new cooker.
Oh the cooker..... now that was a saga! I had ordered a lovely dual fuel cooker. I wanted dual fuel as they say they are the best. Of course we had to get a gas man and an electrician to install it. That was when the trouble started. It seems that we do not have the right kind of wiring for an electric cooker! Really. They need heavy duty wiring or something. so....... the electrician went to look at the fuse box and it seems we don’t have the right kind of fuse box either despite it being a modern one. He could do it all of course but it would be a days work and a whole lot of wiring as the fuse box is at the front of the house and the kitchen is at the back. He estimated it would cost about £800! Well there was no way on earth that I was prepared to pay that just so I could have dual fuel.
Fortunately the company I had ordered from have a no questions asked free refund policy in the first ten days so we decided that it was best to return it to them and order a gas cooker. They do the exact same model in gas. However I didn't have their details or telephone number and of course we had no internet or phone! What a pain. Saskia and I ended up going to Sam and Lisa's house to use their internet and telephone. Even that was a right pain as I forgot to take my glasses with me and so couldn't read anything. Saskia had to do it for me.
The actual company is Appliances Online and I can't recommend them enough. If you are in the UK or Ireland and need any domestic appliances then use this firm. Their prices are cheaper than all the big stores and their service is exceptional. They even have free delivery.
I spoke to a lovely lady who arranged for the dual fuel cooker to be collected the next day and a gas one to be delivered at the same time. I even got a refund as the gas one was cheaper. The gas man came and fitted it the day after it was delivered and I am really pleased with it.
Another little problem that required the services of a “tradesman was the TV aerial Once we got the TVs set up we realised that they didn't work as we didn't have the right aerial! The previous people only used Sky and we have recently given up our Sky subscription as we weren't making good use of it. So we had to spend another small fortune on having a new digital aerial fitted. Honestly we have done nothing but spend since we got here.
At least things were getting sorted though and order was coming out of the chaos. On The 23rd we went out and done a big Christmas food shop and picked up our turkey from the farm. Christmas Eve Saskia was back with us again which was really nice and although we were not have a tree or decorations Saskia did string up some tinsel which made the place look much more festive. We also had our Snowman out.
On Christmas Eve after dinner we went out for a walk around the local neighbourhood. We had some cards to post for our immediate neighbours and we also wanted to get some photos of the local decorations. There were about 15 houses that had amazing decorations. Unfortunately the photos don't show them that well.
Christmas day was lovely. My sister and her husband came in the morning so there were 5 of us for Christmas dinner, the smallest number we have ever had. Then all of the family came over mid afternoon and we had a lovely present opening session and a lovely evening buffet. Simon and I had agreed on no presents for each other this year but he got me a new watch which is designed especially to take the beads and charms from my Pandora bracelet. It's lovely.
Boxing day was quiet. Just Simon and I. Everyone else had gone to Verity and Steve’s house in Cambridge. We didn't go as it would have meant leaving the dogs for too long. Saskia came back that evening but we had to take her to the station the following day as she had to get back to work. She did of course return again a few days later for her birthday.
That was a nice day. Everyone except for me went out for a nice long walk in the woods. I stayed at home with the dogs who couldn't go because Coralie was taking Barclay. I was also waiting for BT to phone me back.
We had a meal of spaghetti bolognese which was served in 2 sittings! This house is not big enough to seat the entire family at the same time for a hot meal! Saskia was helped with the present opening by Ellie, Evan and Flynn. Those 3 do enjoy family birthdays!!! Saskia went home the same day.
New Year was just as we like it....the 2 of us alone together having a nice quiet time. Plus, it really was quiet. No stupid fire works. Bliss. We went out for a bike ride in the afternoon and it was nice to explore a bit. Of course as soon as the New Year was over Simon was back at school. The holidays just flew by. He is finding the new journey to school OK so far. It takes 35 -40 minutes which is the longest commute he has ever had to do. At least he can look forward to dropping to a 4 day week in 6 months time.
I spent last week just getting used to being in this new house on my own. I am getting back into my daily routine which is helping it feel more like home. I am looking forward to starting new projects which will include curtain making. I need to think about colours and probably paint the walls first. We have ordered a new suite of furniture but that won't arrive until around the end of February. We desperately need new carpet in there as the existing one is dreadfully faded which makes it look dirty. It is also blue! I have a carpet fitter coming to measure this afternoon so hopefully we can get that ordered. We have chosen what we want but aren't sure if we should just do the living room or if we should do the halls, stairs and landings too. Depends a bit on the total cost.
So, there you have it; you now know most of what we were doing over the last few weeks. It was hectic and chaotic but I do believe that it was, and will be, worth all the hassle. This is the right place for us to be. I just can't wait to get it all how we want it.
No comments:
Post a Comment