Finally Settled, Sort Of…

It has been five months to the day since we got the keys to the new house

And about three weeks ago, we unpacked the final remaining box. 

It has continued to be an interesting experience. Since we moved in:

  1. We have had to give the house a deep clean as it was clear that the carpets was covered in dog hair and smelled of dog urine from the previous tenants pet.
  2. The fence fell down at the back of the house during a storm. 
  3. The paint above the shower that had already started peeling got much worse, and began hanging off in a large chunk exposing bare plaster.
  4. The toilet broke.
  5. The boiler broke.

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And So It’s March…

You know where you suddenly look up and there’s a realisation of being present for the first time in what seems like forever? 

That happened to me last week. I woke up, checked my phone and realised that it was 7.00am, The Bloke had gone to work, it was light outside and suddenly it was the second week in March. I know that there was a February at some point, but I don’t seem to have fully acknowledged it.

It has been over two months since we moved house and things have been interesting. 

We finally have a sofa that was delivered yesterday (seriously, UK residents DO NOT order from SCS), and up until that point The Bloke and I had spent a considerable amount of time since January slumped on an air mattress on the floor of the living room. Getting on and off that thing resulted in a fit of giggles on more than one occasion, particularly when my 67 year old mother visited and sat on it. The actual sitting part wasn’t too bad, it was more watching her attempt to get back up again in a manner that Buster Keaton would be proud of. 

Comedy gold at its finest. 

Mum has visited on several occasions since the start of the New Year. A few days after we moved, we had tickets to see a Rat Pack concert that we had booked last year, so once she had had the tour of the new place, we went and stayed in a hotel in the city – there were boxes everywhere and nowhere for her to sleep, so it made more sense to go and stay close to the venue. It was nice walking through the Mailbox and the canal at night with all the lights – one of my favourite places in Birmingham.

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A New Year, A New Home

There’s nothing like moving house to remind me that I have the upper body strength of a toddler and I’m insanely unfit. 

Brace yourself. This is a long one. 

The Bloke and I moved house at the beginning of January. It’s been a long time (I think about eight years!) since our last move and not one that we had planned on – our landlord suddenly suggested late last year that he was thinking of selling the house, leaving us in the precarious position of potentially being given notice and needing to find somewhere new in a very short amount of time, in an area that is very much in demand. We decided to take ownership of the situation and found somewhere ourselves, and struck lucky with a beautiful property not far away. 

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Twixmas Packing

I’ve seen the term ‘Twixmas’ thrown around a lot over the last week. Apparently meaning the period between Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve, it has represented a feeling of nothingness – Christmas is over, many are off work (or at least, have had a few days off) and it’s often a time of relaxing and recovering from the festivities before preparing for the start of a new year.

My ‘Twixmas’ usually involves a little bit of work, lots of sleeping, eating snacks and watching movies. This year, however, we’re up to our eyeballs in boxes, packing tape and bubble wrap. 

Because we’re moving house. Next week. 

Great. 

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