Although we exchanged in March, until the keys are within my hand I will not actually believe that this is going to be our home. It has been tricky to secure, a battle to exchange prior to auction, difficulties with the contract, the deposit, completion date... pretty much everything really!
The house itself was lived in until last year when, bless her, the previous owner passed away. She did remarkably well to survive as long as she did in Aberhosan though, all things considered. The heating system is yet to be deemed safe, there is damp throughout, possible problems with the woodwork and no kitchen to speak of. The house seems to be held together by several (thousand) layers of wall paper and paint, which all need to be carefully stripped away in order to see what state the walls are in!
I have added some photos so that you can see what I mean.
Feel free to gasp *sharp intake of breath* or laugh!
Our bedroom!
the "kitchen"I am no DIY or renovation expert. I have helped with some small aspects on WRM's previous projects and undertaken some jobs with tentative inexperience. I am therefore completely in the hands (somewhat reluctantly) of WRM.....
Now this is a situation which poses some difficulty for me, for a couple of reasons.
I am not very good at being told what to do, surprising I know, however in this situation despite the outward appearance of open discussion and cohesive decision making, due to my complete incompetence in this area I will actually have to listen to WRM and accept that he knows a lot more about this than me and rely upon his opinion and advice. This is not normally something which I can easily do. I hate to be wrong, especially when WRM is proven to be right.
I also like to write lists. It could be considered a compulsion. I am always quite tempted to add 'write list' before I start with the real items which I feel the need to list. I think I actually enjoy the list making and planning much more than the execution of the task, I enjoy working out the minor details a few times before I start something (I have already arranged the seating plan for our wedding... we have not set a date yet!). Now having discussed what needs to be undertaken at Aberhosan, in some detail with WRM I feel that his completely opposing attitude, and I quote, 'lets just see how it goes' and 'we won't know exactly what needs to be done until we start' make me feel nervous at best, out of control at worst! Kevin McCloud and Sarah Beanie would be aghast at this lack of definitive schedule, something I am quick to point out each time we watch a re-run of Grand Designs! (Lets not even begin to mention the discussions regarding the budget!)
In most situations this would prove tricky, but with the added pressure that we have to move out of our rented house by the end of July and that our 2 pre-school children have to live safely in this house, warm, dry and fed, means that we must finish their rooms, a downstairs living space, basic kitchen and bathroom... in 4 weeks from completion.
So if you don't see me on Twitter (@Towy_Totty), Facebook or this blog for the month of July, Aberhosan is likely to be the reason. More to the point if you do see me then feel free to point out that I should be busy doing something more productive!
Now if you will excuse me I have some more rooms to sort out and boxes to pack while the children are asleep. Lets not even get onto the hoarded rubbish which WRM will insist we take with us.... again..... that's a whole new blog post! Broken hairdryer from the 70's anyone?
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