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An insight into the things in life that make me smile

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Finally… we moved

April 12, 2018 by Penny 1 Comment

Finally, finally, finally the waiting was over. This whole house buying process has made me realise that I’m no where near as patient as I always thought I was. From an admin point of view, I had absolutely everything in place for us to be able to buy this house, but for a while I felt so utterly helpless as other things (out of my control) held us up.

The day that our solicitor phoned to say that we’d finally exchanged I’m not sure that I actually believed him. We’d been ready and waiting for a week – even with our deposit money sat in the solicitor’s bank account – yet there always seemed to be some reason why it couldn’t yet happen. Then when it did I didn’t really know where to start.

There was quite simply so much to do. We had a week between exchange and completion, but luckily were planning to have a long overlap with our rented flat, meaning that we at least had time to clear that properly and clean it before handing back the keys, rather than having to rush. Moving house requires quite a bit of organising, as does juggling kids during the process. There were vans to hire, things to move, a storage unit to clear, plus all the general admin that goes with it. Utilities companies to talk to, address to change, things to organise. Lists, lists, lists.

It meant that the week between the two went in a complete blur and to be honest I’m not sure I really remember any of it properly.

We’ve now been home owners for three weeks. And whilst I’m still looking at a pile of boxes filling up my living room, I do at least feel like I have a proper home again.

So much of my efforts have gone into making sure the kids feel at home and have bedrooms that were ready for them and as a result of that I’m still living with all may clothes in a suitcase, but at least they’re in a suitcase in my own bedroom. One day soon I  keep promising myself that I’ll sort them out, but in a way they seem so irrelevant compared to everything else.

The house itself has turned out to be an utter delight and everything that we hoped for. Despite having been empty for so long it hasn’t really taken long to make the place warm and homely again. We were also incredibly relieved to discover that (nearly) everything in here actually works. With the previous owner no longer around to ask, it was all a bit of an unknown when we bought the house, and we were slightly concerned that we’d end up having to fork out for a new boiler soon after moving, but a quick service (from a lovely local man that we were lucky enough to have recommended to us) has shown that it’s working perfectly and should last us for years yet.

I constantly feel like I’ve still got tonnes to do and at times it can feel incredibly frustrating that things aren’t happening sooner – especially when it’s things that I’m waiting for others to do for me – but I need to keep reminding myself that there’s no mad panic to get it all done instantly, even if I want to. The only person setting deadlines is myself.

The kids have been with me for a fair chunk of the Easter school holidays so far and so my efforts have been concentrated on them, but now they’ve gone to their dad’s until they go back to school it’s time for me to get organised and try to get everything else finished off so I can properly crack on with life again. So much seems to feel in limbo at a time like this and I’d discovered that I’m someone who finds that limbo position difficult and quite frustrating.

I’m also keen to try and get some balance back in my life again. The last nine months have been treading water and making do. I feel like now we’ve properly moved on and can actually live life to the full once more. It’s amazing the things that I’ve missed over the last few months. Simple things like having a home for my possessions, being able to open a cook book and have space to properly make a family meal from it and having time (and space) to craft again.

Expect this blog to be my happy place once again. Somewhere where I can share all the things that make me smile. I’m expecting it to feature a fair bit of crochet, lots of news of what we’re getting up to at home, and also a fair bit of tea drinking. You have been warned!

 

Filed Under: Life, Moving house, New house

The waiting…

March 9, 2018 by Penny Leave a Comment

I’m sat here today unable to concentrate on anything. Every time my phone pings I jump in the hope that it’s a message or email from either the estate agent or our solicitor. I am literally on the edge of my seat and getting nothing done as a result.

I’m someone who likes to be in control and get things done. When a job needs doing I crack on and do it. No faffing around. But, I’m utterly useless when things are out of my control. And that’s exactly where things are now.

We’re in the middle of the house buying process. Our offer was accepted, our mortgage is arrange and we have the deposit all in place. The searches have all come back without any problems and even the full building survey failed to tell us anything that we didn’t know already.  The property is empty. We’re in rented accommodation. It’s a probate sale and there’s no chain.

It should all be straightforward from here. But it isn’t. And right now there is absolutely nothing I can do about it.

I am desperate to move. Utterly desperate. This flat is far too small for all of us and I’m simply sick and tired of tripping over stuff when ever I try to move in here. I want to be able to give my kids a bedroom each again. I’ve had enough of paying money for storage for most of my furniture and boxes of stuff and I really, really want to be reunited with some of my possessions, that I haven’t seen for months.

Emotionally I’m also ready to move on. Staying here was only supposed to be temporary and I need to move to the next chapter or my life. Of my new family life.

The school Easter holidays are fast approaching and we need to have more space by then. Need to. I’ve told everyone that. The estate agent and our solicitor. There’s just one person that I have no control over and that’s the vendor’s solicitor. And that’s where the whole process seems to be stuck at the moment.

I can see no reason for any legal hold up. Nor can our solicitor. The estate agent can see no reason for any logistical hold up, and he says neither can the vendors. We’ve signed all the contracts and other paperwork and our deposit is already with our solicitor.

Waiting.

That’s all I feel I can do at the moment. Wait. Patiently.

The problem is that I’ve discovered I’m not very good at being patient.

I want to crack on and do things. I want a definite moving date in the diary so I can pack boxes, plan electricians and get quotes for replacement windows. I want to get in there and start cleaning and decorating. I want to start exploring the house and garden and start making plans for what we want to do with them. I want to move.

But all I can do is wait And hope that it won’t be for much longer.

Filed Under: Moving house, New house Tagged With: buying a house, home, house buying process, moving house

A clean slate

March 5, 2018 by Penny 1 Comment

This is a slightly harder post to write than I imagined it to be. I can’t really put the last year into words, but the one thing that I know I have to do, is find a new blogging home. I’m not Mrs C any more and so it seemed wrong to write about being someone that I wasn’t.

Despite everything that has happened, there are so many good things in life right now and I want to document and share them. I want to write about the new family home that I’m hoping to move to soon. I want to share photographs of all the crafting I’m doing, and all the projects I’m planning for our new home. I want to share my excitement about moving to the countryside and everything that entails. I want to write about the footpaths we discover and the places we find to share a flask of tea in. I just want to write about being me again.

I’m hoping that this new blog is exactly where I’m going to do that. Over the last couple of years, necessity has meant that Being Mrs C became something to help me earn a living. I want to go back to blogging for me. So what I’ve done is split up where I’m going to be online with what I think a professional would call “a portfolio of sites”. I’ll be jumping between them somewhat, but Penny Blogs is going to be the place where I stick to being me. To writing about the things I love and my life. I’m sure I’ll be linking out to the other sites when it is appropriate to do so, especially when posts there are about vintage finds or travel adventures. But here I’m going to keep it personal. No planned reviews or sponsored posts (they’ll be elsewhere).

Back to Being Penny. Drinking tea, reading, a spot of crochet and writing about what makes me smile.

Filed Under: Life

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