Catch up

I've got to the point where I am struggling with it all: winter, recurrence of old shoulder injuries [both sides, of course; how could it be otherwise?], and a general feeling of being totally overwhelmed/running-to-stand-still.

We've actually decided to take Christmas and New Year as holiday, as there is no hope of us managing to decorate in time for us to move in to the house, and we are both really tired (and I'm pretty fed up).

So, I'm catching up with blogging, in the hope that in the new year I will go back to updating more regularly whenever any progress happens.  Here goes:

• Saturday, 22 November: We visited Benchmarx as it was the last day of their sale.  Jason had recommended their kitchens, and said it would be a good reduction.  We met with Dan, the kitchen planner, and he had priced up a kitchen from the CAD drawing/list of what we wanted we'd gone through with Howden's [not sure how Jason achieved that; not sure I want to know].  We went to the house to be met by an absence of (some) trees, and the presence of radiators in every room.  Three conifers nearest the front door had fallen victim to Adam's chainsaw - yay!
  

Snippets

Found lurking in the drafts folder:

• We've seen several hornets at the house, but at least the ones here in England don't seem to want to follow me around like the ones I've met in France!  So glad, as those are scary beasties, and my last encounter with a stinging insect made my arm swell even before removing the bee, and it immediately became infected.  I'd hate to find out how I respond to a hornet sting.

Monday, 17 November

Richard, the plumber, is at the house; plumbing has started - that feels like another big milestone passed.

I may be able to exhale.

Sunday, 16 November

I was becoming very stressed about the sugar-soaping going so slowly [and, more probably, the tiredness/head-full-of-too-many-things feelings], as we were hoping to decorate behind the radiators [per Richard (the plumber)'s advice].  But if we can't manage to do that we can always take the radiators off the walls again, even if that means getting him back for a "re-tune" [balance?] after we've finished, and nothing absolutely has to happen before we move in, other than Richard providing us with a bath or shower, one sink or basin, and a source of hot water.

As we have decided to bite the bullet, and have sent off an immense cheque to British Gas, we suspect we have another few weeks leeway on the hot water front, at least.

We've lived in one room before whilst I've been decorating [and during the seemingly-endless floor stripping/finishing at Leander Road (for a while the sofa was on it's side in the kitchen)], and it's entirely do-able; and that was living in small flats.  With a whole house, we could do a floor at a time, and still be perfectly comfortable.  I think the lack of sleep caused by trying to work out what-happens-next at 4am has skewed my perspectives.  I know we're just going to keep plugging away at it until it's done!

Saturday, 15 November

We met Dave, the window fitter, at the house, and he replaced the broken double-glazing unit that we'd forgotten to mention when we saw him on his first (measuring-up) visit [we'd remembered the two windows that needed replacing, and the broken hinges on three windows, the front door lock mechanism not working, the second French window with the key broken in the lock, and the missing letterbox cover (we want to keep draughts to a minimum)].

We'd got quite used to the boarded-up window, so it was quite odd having a view again.

And most importantly...

We've got our stream back!

I'm hoping that this means it is a stream, and it's here to stay...

[Not just a ditch, with water only when the world at large becomes too soggy.]

Wet, wet, wet!

It's been extremely wet, and David must have got really fed up with all the muddy footprints we keep tracking through the house, so the first thing he did when we got there this morning was to pour a trug of water over the concrete and scrub it with a stiff brush.  I looks a lot better, and as he's put down some cardboard [we haven't any door mats yet], we're hopeful to keep the worst of the muck outside.

The moisture has brought out a bumper crop of toadstools; I think I'm going to love it here!

Continuing our theme of water, water, everywhere, we unboxed the steam cleaner and the wallpaper stripping head that we'd bought, and started to strip the paper off the lounge walls.  I was pulling off the plasticky outer covering, and David used the steamer to soften and remove the paper inner layer that remained stuck to the walls.  Another big thanks for the right tools; our scrapers are brilliant - so much so that David suggested buying another pair so that we can each have a large and a small one.  Totally agree; sometimes one is better than the other for a task, but it's great to have a choice.

Removed the fireplace

We called at B&Q on the way to meet Steve at the house - Maidstone branch no longer sell Henry vacuum cleaners, so we then went via Ashford and bought a Bertie - like a Henry, but not as good.

The Henry has a winding handle to retract the cord, and a "turbo" button to increase the suction; oh well, if we don't take to the Bertie, we will have to upgrade...  It's a real shame, as we found our Henry [as he lives in France, should he be a Henri?] perfect, and didn't think it needed fewer functions!

We were just unloading the car when Steve arrived - perfect timing - and he ran us through various instructions and bits of information, and gave us what seems like a lot of paperwork, but I suspect is just the right amount according to the latest rules & regulations.  He's done a brilliant job, and it is SO nice to be able to just flick a switch and wander round, rather than finding the torch.

Fiat lux!

A bitty day, but good

I drove to the house to meet with Nick from the Staplehurst stove shop, and because Steve had finished working his magic on Monday, I was met with floorboards back in place, sockets, and pendant light fittings everywhere instead of holes & wires!

A huge thanks to him for pressing on and getting it finished.   And I like the new outside lights, so that's one worry off my mind.

Pampered powder puff pooch passes on posing properly!

Great little guard - a foo dog?

This was in response to being asked to sit nicely

Really, Parker?  That's not going to win any prizes!

Looking hang dog?  Is that really your best smile?

He does have eyes!

Still not getting that 'sitting nicely' perfected

Nanosecond delay turns portrait into profile

Pretending to be a frog?

Kitchen

Jake sent the CAD images from Saturday:

Here's hoping we can afford that one when the quote comes in!

Sunday, 2 November

Without any kitchen-designing to stop us working, we managed to spend more time at the house today, and achieved a fair amount; I started off with more sapling/bramble chopping [in case you haven't worked it out yet, that's going to be a recurring theme for quite some time to come!  I reckon there's probably up to four acres of scrub where the former occupant sold the wood, and then did nothing after the trees were felled - I'm trimming saplings that are up to ~15' tall (at a guess; they're well over twice my height), and all the undergrowth that accompanies neglected land].

David sawed up the remaining willow into more manageable logs, and dragged them away from the conifer so that Adam and Colin can work safely and easily.

I was doing quite well with my clearing, and David with the last section of "lawn" to be strimmed when rain stopped play.

Saturday, 1 November

Yesterday was a day of kitchen design: we made a last minute decision to go to Howden's Joinery to see if we could get a kitchen on the last day of their sale, but realised that it's going to need more thinking about what we want than one day would allow us.

Jason met us there, and Jake was really helpful; we've got a couple of decisions to make, and then Jake can email us the proposed layout and (more painfully) quotation.  We love CAD packages!

Jason very kindly let us have a look at the kitchen he installed at their house; the little extra touches he's added really lift the finish from nice to designer level.  He'd run a router around the edge of the worktop, and that's a fantastic detail, as we're the end panels he made to match.  I'm sure he will do a great job for us, too.

British Gas quotation came in...

OUCH!

[Mulling alternatives...]

Flying visit

We went to the house to meet with Adam, and managed a quick chat with Steve before he arrived.  Steve has fitted a lot of sockets and some lights switches - it's really looking closer to habitable than it has since we bought the place.

Adam came with Colin [who I imagine is going to be a whole bundle of trouble; he's got a hint of Bob Hoskins about him, so I'm hoping he will be fun!].  They both agreed the work is straightforward, added more branches overhanging the road to the quote Adam is off to prepare this evening [so it's not going to get any cheaper, but I would hate to think anyone could be hurt if we don't do our best to keep the boundary trees safe].  Hopefully, they will be back in three to four weeks (although it sounds more like four), and that will radically change the aspect of the garden; can't wait!

I carried on chopping down brambles: making a side access from where I'm working to the bonfire site, to save me carrying trees north to head south again, and David had a small bonfire so that when I break through I'm not met with a wall of brambles I've previously dealt with.

A successful couple of hours.

Keeping on keeping on

David finished removing all the radiators, and has decided to leave the ground floor piping until Richard has cut into the floor where he needs to; we're hoping he has the right tools/knows what he's doing, and will leave much less damage than if we try to pry up the tongue-and-groove boards ourselves.

We had a surprise visit [well, it was a surprise to me! I suspect my husband and his mother had arranged in advance that she come along, bearing lunch yumminesses...] from my mother-in-law.  She really likes the project, and the woodland took her "back" to a childhood home [same for me; growing up around trees seems to leave a magical, lasting impression].

Fingers crossed that the next time she visits it will be a warmer, more comfortable experience!

Latest...

We went to B&Q again on the way to the house - Steve is at the point where he's going to need outside lights, and we hadn't made any decisions; still haven't, but I think we're getting closer...

As for the stoves, we really like the Dovre 250, and called at the Staplehurst stove shop again to check about the finish on their display model: it was "matt" black [in reality a graphite or stove "black" colour, and totally unlike the matt and the black finish of another stove we've seen (that we didn't like; too matt, too black - I love burnished cast iron, and stove black is a close second)].  We pushed the guy to put us into the diary for a site visit, and they're booked for November 7th.  We're hoping they will come up with a quote fairly quickly after that...

One more tiny step forward, but every step counts.

Results!

And some not-results...

We went to the house via B&Q, looking for lights, a steam cleaner that we hoped could have a wallpaper stripper attachment, and an angle grinder.

I'm a bit ambivalent about the lights, so took a load of photos and will have a look in the Screwfix catalogue and the one Steve gave us...  I'm not sure what I want, but I've seen a lot I don't!

More progress

We got to the house, and Steve was there already - brilliant surprise!

He's getting on well, and had another really helpful suggestion: a few days ago he suggested having a spot light as well as the outside lights, and today he said we could have a spot with PIR sensor inbuilt, rather than a separate sensor (as we had been planning when it was just going to supply the existing outside lights).  It will give us a better response when someone comes up the drive, and we will separately turn on the lights that are already there.

We finally got around to discussing exactly how we want the kitchen layout [and so the electrics], and I think we'll be OK with that?

The 'proof of the pudding' will be in how it works for us in practice; it's difficult knowing how to arrange things without ever having lived in the house, so fingers crossed we've got it there or thereabouts.

Stoves...

We went to Staplehurst and met a very helpful chap in our quest for a stove we like the look of; we seem to be veering back towards a Dovre - he said they are much more efficient that the Franco-Belge, and the 5kW one was bigger, which we want.  If we have a large hearth, as we are inclined to, it will look more balanced, we think.

Then we headed off to Sandgate to see a Newman Stoven - the shop didn't have one, but had a similar model, and the chap there was very keen about the Charnwood range.  Not so sure about a steel body?  We know from experience that the cast iron ones heat up beautifully, and retain the heat overnight (whereas we have steel radiators and that start to cool down the moment the heating is turned off).  But his suggestion to look on YouTube to see demonstrations of the Stoven's cooking drawer appeals greatly; who knows, that could be "the one"?

Hm, more pondering...

The we had half an afternoon at the house: David was strimming behind the row of conifers nearest the gate, as we are hoping Adam/his assistant will take down a couple of those first, and then do all the shredding into the woods behind where the conifers currently are.  We're hoping to create an area of "hard"-standing that would add another place to turn cars/park vans, and if there were chippings left over I would like to make pathways between the trees.

I was back on my hands and knees chopping into brambles.

Every time we spend an hour or two hacking at the undergrowth, the garden starts to look more like a garden and appears larger, so even half an afternoon where the light is failing is a help!

Wednesday, 15 October

We celebrated ten years of owning our house in France [and so driving-to-garden], by...

Driving-to-garden!

Just in a different country than usually, natch.

Thursday, 9 October

We crammed in a visit to the house before heading off to France for a weekend.

David finally managed to nail down the arboriculturist to a visit, so Tim Laddiman came along about 11.30, giving us time to answer some of Steve's questions first.  I'm becoming increasingly confident with Steve as time goes by, and seeing his work-in-progress is bolstering that sense of all-being-ok with each visit; I am delighted - I've hated having to post about shoddy workmanship, so it makes me really happy that I'm not having to do that again.

Tim was really helpful, friendly, knowledgeable, and full of advice.  Because we already knew we wanted to remove the conifers, he asked how we would like to be advised - we wanted a letter for the insurance, should there be any problems, and to know whether to take them down all in one go or in stages.  He also did a walk-around to look at the trees nearest the boundaries.

Flying visit

We went to meet Norma for another stove quote - the weather was so yucky that we just went there, met with her and came home.  She seemed to have a very good grasp of what was needed, so I'm hopeful she will recommend something suitable, and hoping her prices will be reasonable.

Sadly, the A229 was pants from the Wheatsheaf onwards, so it took longer than it would have done, but we've been out less than two and a half hours; much better than our 36 hour round trips to France for a meeting, so it's all good!

Kittens stop play!

After an abortive wait for the roofer [why no courtesy call to tell us he wasn't coming?  If we weren't going to be there, he'd have been miffed, I suspect, if we couldn't be bothered to tell him, no?  Well, we travelled 20 miles to meet him.  NOT a good first impression.], we gave up and went to the garden centre in Bethersden to see if we could find a longer-handled pair of shears - success: their choice was the best we have seen so far, so we got some.

But not until I'd hacked into a nest of kittens [thankfully, I didn't hack into any kittens; I dread to think what would have happened if David had been clearing that part with the strimmer...] when I was clearing the brambles behind the other garage; I am trying to make it easier on Adam to fell our conifers, and creating access to the trunks seems like a good start.

Bucketful of kitties; before I put them back

De-starling-ing the roof void

Roof void, home to starlings...  But not for much longer, we hope!

Wiring diagram done

Phew, that feels better!

It really wasn't difficult at all, transferring the markings to a bigger, clean, sheet because we'd spent so much time on site working it out.  I was glad I'd left it a few days, given it time to coalesce in my subconscious (or wherever it is that things work themselves out whilst we are sleeping); it meant I was ready to concentrate with a 'clean slate' mind, rather than feeling like a frantic little hamster on a wheel, running to catch up.

Plan for today

• Sort out the wiring diagram
• Clean up the electrical fittings that can be re-used
• Upload my photos to Flickr, so that the weekend's batch won't overwhelm me
• Sort through my BTMail inbox, now that BT has finally seen fit to make it available [assuming, of course, that it stays "up" for longer than the ten minutes it allowed me on Monday], and reply to people's kind responses to our "we have bought a new home" emails; they must think me so rude
• Go for a walk to clear my head!

Wednesday, 1 October

We got to the house about quarter-to-eight yesterday morning to meet Richard, the plumber, at 8am.

Sadly, it's another "ouch" to the pocket; the leak upstairs wasn't a faulty joint, but a dodgy section of piping [apparently there was a problem with supplies, once we started importing them, of batches not being cleaned (internally) and they developed pinholes at frequent points along the length], and all the other bits of exposed tubing show signs of corrosion, too...

Last day of our 'holiday'

We've had a great week and a half, and today was another gorgeous day where we achieved a lot; really glad we decided to stay home & tackle the garden at Brookside, rather than heading to France - we'd only have been fretting, I suspect.  A change is as good as a rest, so they say, and it's all undergone quite a change.

We carried on hacking at the undergrowth [overgrowth?].  I resumed pulling out the brambles by the fallen limbs of the conifer nearest the outbuilding, whilst David strimmed [strum?] the edge between 'lawn' and brambles; it's easier to remove the prickly bits if they're not tangled up in the long grass.

I was enjoying the heady smell of 2-stroke mix - which took me back to the last time I lived in a place with a 'proper' garden, and helped Dad out by mowing the lawns/orchard [so about 30 years!] - when the pull-cord to start the machine went phut [or maybe splat, who knows?].

Happy Wedding Anniversary!

We so nearly managed to celebrate a wedding anniversary living in an "our" home [as opposed to David's or my home]; at least we spent time at Brookside on the day.

It's only taken us twelve years!

This year I won the "who, if anyone, will remember the anniversary" competition; I remembered yesterday, and would have snuck some fizz in the fridge had there been an open box.  As it was, I didn't want to rummage around in his wine rack, so made him a celebratory Post-It note, and caught him out that way.

It's a good job we care more about being married than presents or cards; we're both pretty rubbish about remembering some day over a decade ago.

Enjoying a celebratory pork pie!

We enjoyed a picnic on our cercle manoir, and shortly we will be having a glass of champagne (or two).  I can tell he still loves me: he brought me a cauliflower stalk to munch on whilst I am updating the blog.

Electrics, Day 3

David started the day off well: he asked British Gas if there was gas in our road [there is] and they are investigating and sending a price for connecting us to the grid and installing a meter.  They have also arranged a site inspection to quote for a boiler.

We had called in at Wards in Headcorn earlier in the week, hoping to see Emma (and say 'thank you' to her for all her efforts in trying to find us a house), but she wasn't there so we left the message with her colleague.  We were trundling through Headcorn today, and there were loads of green balloons outside the office (which definitely drew the eye), and I thought I saw Emma outside in a lurid green t-shirt, so I persuaded David to turn round; if it was her, I really wanted to say thanks in person...

Electrics, Day 2

We spent another seven hours at the house, working out what lights & power sockets we should have where...

Subject to the fact that we can't afford to do what I feel would be right; we're trying to come to the best compromises we can.

It is 'breaking our heads', but we feel we are making real progress...  It's an immense challenge to guess how we'd live in the house when we have barely spent more than a couple of hours there, but we've been 'playing house' with a stepladder acting the role of 'sofa', and a trug as coffee table; well, you can probably guess the rest.

You might not have guessed that we were holding a standard lamp up to the ceiling to simulate ceiling lights, but putting it on the coolbox is surprisingly effective.

Whatever we manage, there will be good points and mistakes, but I think we both know that, and short of knocking through solid masonry walls and changing the shape of the rooms, we can't make it as good as it could/should be.

With an unlimited budget, we would change the stairs, and make a proper utility room and gain a shower room as well.  As it is, we are likely to change the downstairs bathroom into shower/laundry room, with a freezer for good measure.

We will make it a really nice home, and knowing it is now safe feels like a huge burden has been lifted...  Although I did have a panic when we could smell burning!

Someone else's turn for the bonfire, I suspect.

Rain stops play...

Before it even starts.  We woke to rain & sogginess; not nice for bonfires or strimming/kneeling in long grass hoiking out brambles, so we did the various bits that needed doing in Maidstone and headed to the house for an afternoon's wrangling with the electrical plans.

In a way, the weather did us a huge favour: whilst it has been so good, we've really felt the need to press on with the exterior work, but with Steve suddenly available two weeks earlier, now the wiring drawings take precedence.

We got to the house about 1pm, and Steve was there dropping off his revised estimate; he's totally OK about re-using the salvageable items already in situ, and has priced for the cheapest 'contractor' standard fittings throughout, which has helped.  Any reclaimed socket/switch we can use will bring the bill down a little more each time.

First day of autumn

And, boy, did it feel like it this morning; very nippy for those of us still dressed for summer [i.e. same clothes to travel in as yesterday].  Having changed into my work clothes at the house, I spent at least half an hour wearing my gardening coat zipped up to the neck, and then another 40 minutes or so with my sweatshirt on; the rest of the week we have been in t-shirts when working, and only once put on another layer as we stopped for lunch

Monday, 22 September - Yay!

Steve came; that's not the yay...

I'm not sure how I'm going to be able to work with that bloke: I know he's come highly recommended, and can start immediately [which is setting off my hinkiness meter], but he does not shut up.  Sorry, that doesn't do it justice: the bloke DOES NOT STOP TALKING!

Cream-crackered...

But happy.

Not about UKPN, obviously...

But about the progress we are making on the garden and outdoors generally.

I cleared the brambles from the side of the lawn at the front of the house whilst David chopped up the last few trees I'd felled last night; I was too tired, and they were too big to move as they were, so I just left them clogging up where I was creating a space for the bonfire.  He finished that and we swapped places.  [We were still (stupidly) hoping that UK Power Networks wouldn't let us down again; fat chance - electrics remain dangerous, and we're paying more rent on a place because we can't move into a house we own.  Not chuffed.]

Steve came...

[Ouch!]

UK Power Networks didn't...

Friday, 19 September

UK Power were another no-show!

Allegedly, they will now come tomorrow and Sunday; we shall see...

I honestly believed that they were taking that sort of thing seriously, but it seems not.  Steve, who is coming tomorrow (to possibly horrify us with his estimate and, hopefully, fix us up with some power), told us of another property with an unsafe supply: they did make it safe fairly quickly, but then left the house without power for 17 days after - what's that all about?!

Thursday, 18 September

We went to Brookside to wait for UK Power Networks to come and make safe the electricity supply.

We called at Wyevale in Willesborough on the way, as I'd asked them to put aside the only extends-to-4m handle we have seen recently.  [We also picked up a small, vicious-looking bow saw, for me to carry on my tree chopping (we hoped that it would prove even better than my pruning saw, which it did).]  So I had another bash at the valleys on the roof.  I completely cleared the lead-flashed one, but there are bits of broken tile and mortar in the other one that I couldn't get past the two slipped tiles.  The 4m length is just long enough.  When we got home, the "other" end for my Wolf tool was waiting [a single hook a bit like a plough share], so that was the project for Friday; see if the narrower end would coax the debris past the blockage.

More tidying, lots of bleach

We bought a larger step-ladder, and a Wolf Garten extending tool handle and, after much debate, went for the 3m rather than 4m one [mainly because it was marked down to £20, the only one marked down].  Willesborough had hardly any of the interchangeable attachments, so we went to Ham Street.  The trip to the second garden centre found us an end that would be suitable for poking the rubbish in the valleys on the roof.

I'd seen an aerator tool, that I thought would be perfect, but we'd been buying an armful of stuff that day so I didn't buy it...  Now when I wanted one, neither Wyevale had one in stock.

The cultiweeder was pretty good, but where there were a couple of slipped tiles [another thing to ask Paul to have a look at, or maybe a roofer (there were a couple of lumps or render among the detritus, so I'm not sure about the integrity of the valley on that side)] the spikes got caught a couple of times.  The mini-hoe bit was excellent, though, for dislodging some of the more rooted weeds.

If we have to get a roofer out, I might ask him to price for re-doing the tiled valley - it was much harder to clean, and more clogged, than the one lined with lead flashing.  I got a full trug from the tile valley, and about two-thirds from the other one.

Asbestos, I laugh in your face!

We thought the asbestos would be our biggest worry - there is a section of guttering and a [broken] downspout that are asbestos...

I also found what I suspect is the rest of the asbestos guttering that had been replaced in the newly-accessible side part [annexe? (yay to hacking my way to that!)] of the garage...  And various bits of gutter and soffit board in among the 'flower bed' I was clearing.  I had been wondering why they didn't replace the whole gutter when they did the other three quarters, but talking with Steve (vide infra) later it's all dropped into place - the main electricity supply comes in on a bracket that is attached to the fascia board just under (and touching) the old gutter; I'm guessing it's that?

We will have to deal with it at some point, but everyone agrees for now that left completely untouched, it's causing no harm.  So, apart from clearing the guttering and taping together the downspout, we're going to 'let sleeping dragons lie'.

Martin's Septic Tank Advice

Martin, from MTS [which, having talked with him, we've decided stands for "Martin Trucks Sh*t"] ran through his Top Tips for not backing-up your septic tank:

• The usual for all lavatories: no sanitary products, no nappies, no wipes [and note to my friend's neighbours, the Moore family, who shared their tank: all of the above, plus no loaves of bread, no toys (soldiers especially), still no nappies (despite repeated requests)] - just normal behaviour;
• Use only liquid washing "powder" [the powder can form a concrete-like crust, as well as clogging up your washing machine], and do a very hot cycle (as hot as it goes) every couple of weeks - we do a hot wash for towels/sheets/tea towels anyway, but will have to buy liquid detergent;
• Bleach is OK in moderation - now I'm much less house proud, I can do that, too!;
• When it starts draining slowly/backing up, time to call MTS - noted;
• Keep an eye on the soakaway once the tank is filled [and fingers crossed that that works fine...]

So nothing revolutionary, but from the tales he was telling us it sounds as though some people really do need a detailed instruction manual on how to use a toilet!

[I suspect when you're on a septic tank and have to pay for MTS to deal with problems caused by individuals in your household, you get tough pretty quickly, and it's only the big utility companies who have to repeatedly get those guys in to clear blockages in the sewers... *Shudder* ]

Something bit me!

Or possibly several somethings?

It looks as though it (they?) got trapped under my t-shirt, and tried to chew their way out?

It certainly feels that way!

Toadstools

Water, water, everywhere...

Or not!

Having named this blog : "Our Life by the Stream", I went for a wander in the woods yesterday [and lowered my blood-pressure about ten points, I think] and actually made it to the far end of the land...

Because the stream has dried up, I could step across easily.  I was expecting to get as far as the stream and no further.  I'm hopeful this is just a blip because the summer has been mostly dry, but suspect it's not really a stream and just a run-off during wet weather...

All ponds on our land are also dried up [although a couple I could see on the neighbours properties had water, so maybe digging them out would be worth it?].

Oh, well.

Tabula rasa

The house and garden really are a "project" - we might be able to keep the bathrooms/sanitary ware [depending on whether I can get it clean (enough)], but everything else is going to have to be stripped back - we are just hacking back everything in the garden, and pretty much the same will happen in the house.  The wallpaper is falling off the walls in the "library" [we don't need a third reception room, but my books sure do need somewhere to 'live'], and there's only a sink in the kitchen [mounted on 2x2 legs, and a bit of worktop resting on the draining board (and more 2x2)], and some what look like 1950s cabinets.

It's going to be a start-from-scratch/blank slate job, and it's going to be exciting!

We met Paul and Claire there the weekend before completing; they had the contract to remove the last of the fly-tipping [a load of tree cuttings].  We're always mystified how people can cart a van-load of stuff into the countryside and then dump it, when all councils will take domestic refuse at the tip amenity waste facility.  You've got to load & unload, you've clearly got a vehicle, both are free, so why not do it properly?

Oh, well, some people are weird.

"Cercle manoir"

We've got a "cercle manoir" in England before we've got one in France.

Hiding, under a branch & weeds

 [Despite owning one in France eight years, we still haven't found time to install it - perhaps next trip?]

Moved to its site, March 2010

And the one in England seems to have a pump for a fountain?

Delivered, September 2006

OK, so we've got to get the Leylandii branch off it before we can see the whole thing, but it's there.

Finally!

We've made a move back to our roots, and bought our "dream" home Kent.

Both David and I grew up in the countryside [he in Kent, I in Shropshire/Staffordshire], and we've been plotting our "escape to the country" for an embarrassing number on years now...

And we're finally here!

Well, we're not there, yet; the house is not currently habitable, so we're still in rented accommodation in Maidstone, but we're got the keys and have started taming the outside.  We've been slashing brambles, thistles, overgrown grass, overgrown conifers, and saplings that have grown where the wildflower meadow should be.  You can now walk all around the house, and there's a path to the septic tank and another to the designated dumping ground [we've just piled up all the cuttings to deal with later], and we can get from the gate to the garage.

David's organising the emptying of the septic tank, and we have the water board coming on Wednesday to turn on the water, so we'll be a step closer then.

I feel I can start to exhale at last.

And listening to the wood pigeons, crickets and dragonflies buzzing round hunting, it felt like coming home.

What more could we ask for?