Getting Back into the Swing

As I'm sure you will appreciate it has been a busy five or so weeks for us, but now we are moved in, making a house a home and back at work we are starting to get back into the swing of things and bedding into the new routine.

The commute as we had expected is hardly any different time wise to what we had before but it is considerably more mileage. Our previous commute was 6 miles each way whereas we are now at 15 miles each way, but the type of roads means that we are getting more MPG from the car so fuel costs shouldn't be that much more overall and to counteract the extra fuel all of our car insurances have come down considerably for the move.

This weekend we will be heading across to the marina to start getting some work done on Naughty-Cal. We really do need to get her back in the water now before we lose too much of this summer ashore!

Bedding Down

We are getting there with the bedrooms now. The little bedroom is almost finished it just needs a blind putting up at the window. 

This room is a nice little chill out space with the opportunity to sleep a couple of guests if needs be. 

The main guest bedroom is also now finished and our master bedroom is finished.

Sydney loves the bed settee. I think he has claimed it as his own.

A Difficult Erection

We have been struggling with a difficult erection today. A large wardrobe for the master bedroom. Six hours of our lives that we will never get back!

The Grass Is Greener

Sydney had a nice surprise yesterday. The landscapers came round to lay our turf. So we went out and left them too it.

We went for a lovely walk along the Chesterfield Canal from Shireoaks to The Woodhouse Inn for a couple of drinks and then walked back to the car.

When we got home the dust bowl we had left of a garden was now lush and green. Sydney loved it.

Unfortunately we now have to keep him off it for a couple of weeks to let it establish. Mother nature seems to be giving us a helping hand as it looks set to rain for the next few days which will be ideal for the grass to settle in and saves us having to water it morning and evening.

Making A House A Home

We have had another busy day of unpacking boxes and starting to turn a house into a home. We have got the first room finished which is the second bedroom and it looks just right.

Tomorrow we are tackling the third smaller bedroom which is currently housing some boxes and shelves. We figured if we get the shelves on the walls we can then unpack the boxes and the room will then look more acceptable. The sofa bed that is going in there arrives next week so we should have that room finished as well shortly. 

The next big job is going to be assembling our new wardrobe in the master bedroom. That we are not looking forward too!

We Are In

We are now all in our new home. The move yesterday went as smoothly as the rest of the process did. By 9am our belongings were in the back of a van and driving away.

We got the keys at midday and started the unpacking process. By 1pm the van was unloaded and we were starting to reassemble the important furniture. The bed, the dining table, the TV etc. 

We had a brilliant first night watching films as loud as we like with a few beers. 

Sydney loves his new house and has already settled in nicely. 

Today we have been and had a big shop to restock the cupboards and fridge and we are now putting together a few more bits and pieces and unpacking yet more boxes. It is feeling and looking more like a home now.

It is a shame the garden isn't finished yet. It is being turfed next week when the rain starts!

A Year On

Yesterday was a year to the day that we picked up Sydney and he became part of our family. Things have changed a lot for the little dog over the past 12 months but he has transformed into a lovely friendly little dog and more importantly he is now a fit and healthy little dog.

Repotting

It was a last tidy up in the garden today. We have repotted most of the house plants into decent pots we have rescued from the garden.

We are running out of jobs to do now. 

One Last Look

We have been to Gateford todayforone last look at the new house prior to moving in on Thursday.

We took Sydney for a good long walk around the fields before heading to the sales office to find out what the procedure will be on Thursday.

Then it was off to our new local just to double check it is going to suit us and Sydney. Syd seems to approve.

Tomorrow we have a last few bits to package up ready for the move and then that is all we can do until Thursday morning. 

Hair Cut

Sydney has had his moving house hair cut today. He looks very smart.

I have been across to the new house this afternoon for the new home tour with the salesman and the site manager. It was more to point out the important safety features than anything.

All is now set for completion as planned next Thursday.

Out of Our Hands

With all of the paperwork signed and returned to the solicitors the rest of this house move is now out of our hands. There is nothing more we can do and we are in the hands of others to make things progress from here. It is all fingers and toes crossed now for smooth sailing in the final stages of the purchase.

We confirmed with the removals men yesterday and the date is now booked in their diary. We are well on the way to changing all of our services over and today I will arrange for the postal forwarding service to be set up.

Tonight we have the people who have bought our old house coming round for another look around. As of yet we don't know who has bought it, the estate agents can't tell us anything as it isn't us who are selling it! I wonder who it is.

Almost There

We have almost finished the packing at home so today we decided to take a few bits across to the boat which were taking up room in the boot of the car.

While we were there Sydney met up with his best buddy Jack. And we decided on the way home to call in and check on progress with the new house. We had a good chat with the salesman and booked in for our new home tour with the site foreman on Thursday. 

After that we took Sydney for a good long walk in his new local woods and then called for a dinnertime drink in our new local.

Extended Stay

Naughty-Cal has had her stay ashore extended until the end of June. This should hopefully give us plenty of time to move home and get settled in and also get Cal ready for the water.

We should still have plenty of summer left to enjoy.

Packing Up

With the impending house move just two weeks away we have had to start packing up our belongings. Our house is completely upside down and the wrong way around at the minute with boxes and bubble wrap everywhere, much to Sydney' disgust.

He has taken a real dislike to the bubble wrap. No sure what he thinks it is but he really does not like the large roll of it that we have in the house at the moment!

We are taking this opportunity to have a good dejunk as we really don't want to be taking stuff we won't use to the new house so we have a skip coming tomorrow that we will hopefully fill over the weekend. It will mostly be stuff from the garden and garage that ends up in the skip we reckon but we will also take the chance to go through every inch of the house and get rid of what we no longer need or want so that we can have a fresh start in our brand new home.

Making Plans

Since we got the all clear from the mortgage company yesterday we have been busy making plans of what we need to order, how we are going to pack our belongings away, what we need for the new house and many other things on top. It is going to be a busy two weeks ahead that is for sure if we are going to hit our target dates.

Today I thought I would share just a few pictures of our soon to be new home.

A very bad picture of the site layout showing the lake and green spaces.

Sydney checking out the plans

My new kitchen diner. Not quite finished yet but almost there.

Im sure I can make lots of dirty pots on this hob.

The hallway complete with downstairs loo.

The master bedroom complete with en-suite.

The house bathed in sunlight on a sunny day. The front is south facing so will get the sun all day long.

A lovely sunny level garden which is Sydney proof with high walls around the majority of it and just a fence panel behind the garage separating our garden from next doors and a gate between the garage and the house.

Moving Quickly

Things have been moving on very quickly on the house front. Our current home is on the market via the developer and the viewings are flooding in. It is proving very popular with first time buyers.

Our mortgage offer came through this morning so now we are only waiting in the solicitors doing their thing and we have an anticipated completion date of Thursday 18th April.