Moving house (by alaric)

I hate moving house. It's a lot of work, for a start. It's a period during which all your stuff is packed away so you have to make do continually. And you have to tear apart the home you spent years building, while remembering all the fun times you had in the cold, empty, rooms you are carrying boxes out of. It feels a bit like burning your own wedding photos...

...but soon, it will be over, leaving just the mild frustration of living in a home where many of your possessions are still "in a box somewhere", but at least then you're on the upward path of things continually getting better as you unpack things and find them new homes, slowly customising your new space.

I'm looking forward to sorting out my workshop. It's currently just full of things all over the floor. I'm taking a week off of work to recuperate from the moving, and to sort it out. I'm going to pile everything at one end so I can paint the floor and finish painting the wall, then move everything to the nice end so I can finish the floor and walls in the other end. I'm going to set up my desk, my electronics workbench, and my welding bench. I'm going to run Ethernet into the house so I can get network connectivity. I'm going to set up a 12v power distribution system for fun stuff, such as a Raspberry Pi in a box driving an LED matrix display and a USB hard disk (as a Ugarit distributed storage node) and crazy future home automation experiments and LED lighting in the nearby shed (it's hard finding stuff in there in the dark). I'm going to fix the leaky roof and the draughty eaves so it's warmer and dryer in there. I'm going to rebuild my furnace and experiment with casting aluminium bronze. I'm going to build my wife a radio telescope. I'm going to build my wearable computer and continue my project to bring about my own technological singularity. I'm going to make time for myself to turn some of my unrealised ideas into beautiful things.

The Emperors New Cupboard Under The Stairs (by sarah)

We are going to build a cupboard under the stairs so the area where the cupboard is going to be is now referred to as The Cupboard Under The Stairs which was fine until my brother came to vist and pointed out that there was no cupboard under the stairs!

So it has now become known as The Emperors New Cupboard Under The Stairs after the story of the Emperors New Cloths.

New Home (by sarah)

So we have finally achieved the third M = Mortgage which I suppose makes us proper grown-ups or something?

It is not what we had envisioned with the move to Gloucestershire but those plans weren't working anyway and this house seems like it was almost made with us in mind. It is everything we need.

There is a summer house a.k.a Alaric's workshop

A little patch of decking that we can have as a Toddler play area

An area for grass with allotements just round the corner

An attic room that is perfect for an art studio and storage or workshop materials etc...

A lush kitchen with a double oven of the type I've been after for an age with a 'breakfast room' off of it which is perfect for a family dinning room - there is a breakfast bar too!

The 'dining room' is going to be the Library and Music room / study. There is an area just right for having a BBQ in etc... just out side the kitchen.

It needs some work but we were more than happy with the structural reports and Alaric is still going on that we are technically now Lay Rectors. We think we are very lucky as the place cost less than my friends one bedroom flat on the edge of London. Having said that we can only afford it due to a) Alaric's new job and b) the generous loan of a hefty deposit from Alaric's family.

We picked the keys up today and rushed round there but the family was still moving out so we went and got some lunch and then went back - they had left us a lovely card saying they hope we'll be as happy as they've been there 🙂

I did some assessing of where we will be putting the washing machine etc... This feels right unlike our previous move which was all done pretty much with out me. I am hoping we can get things back on track - there is belly dancing within walking distance of the house that is affordable - this is important for my pelvis and mobility so Im very pleased with this. I am hoping to some how fit in the ducks and bees don't think goat will happen now though 🙁

We decided to leave our mark on the place - so here is our rainbow swerl rug that me and Jean made whilst living in the Mill during the flooding episode.

Moving and Stuff (by sarah)

So we have to move and we have been trying to sort it out and get a mortgage and what not which is somehow taking up most of the time we had spare.

But we have found a house we want - my only issue with it is it doesn't have enough grass but it is a garden I myself could maintain without having to wait for Alaric to be free etc... It is double glazed and has central heating - two things that with my health and having a baby again are most important - it was so hard trying to make sure Jeany didn't get too cold here.

There are allotments just round the corner for our veg growing and I can do salad and herbs in pots. There is a workshop in the garden for Al and a fantastic attic room with lots of natural light for my art - plenty of storage and room for children toys!

Obviously we may not get the house still - we have made two offers based on the 20% deposite and how much Al's family had sorted etc... which have been rejected - we are going for a finial offer based on what they say they will take as a minimium. Mortgage brokers seem to think there is no problem with us getting the mortgage though we have been referred by all the banks we've tried for more assessement a we're borderline.

There is no off street parking and there is a derelict building with graffiti and weeds oposite but last time we went to view the house it was being cleaned up as a church hall so I'm not too worried. We drove around the area at different times of day and night - and things seemed ok - kids hanging around drinking fizzy drinks and actually playing on the swings and stuff in the park - there were no needles or condoms in the play area or around either and crime figures seem ok. Prices are low in the area because there used to be a mental hosptail apparently.

If we get this house we will be finially be able to have say the swimming pool out 🙂 I can still have fruit trees in pots and may even be able to sneak in a super coop - though I need to check that the birds would actually be happy with that.

An outside tape - to do stuff with!

We are still hoping to be moved by Christmas. We are hopeful.

(if it falls through I have another house in a our price range book marked which I'm hoping wont be sold until after we have things all sorted - just incase!)

Being Demanding (by sarah)

I'm afraid that after last year of a single fan heater and the gas fire in the office and an exploding solid fuel fire and frozen water pipes I have been a bit militant this year. The year before we used the gas parabolics but I ended up rejecting them for rooms with a hyper small child plus they were only supposed to be tempory - Alaric thought his big gas heater could replace them.

The new fire works woderfully but it is still not enough to heat the whole house in the snow. Now Alaric doesn't feel the cold like I do so I stole his thermometer to prove how cold it gets - I then checked what acceptable work place temperatures. I have since obtained a large roll of bubble wrap and demanded it be put up on the windows - there are still a few upatairs that need doing.

I have also broken the covernant and bought - oil filled radiators (well actually mum and dad loaned me some money for some and I moaned at Alaric until he bought a third and then without even consulting him I have perchased a forth). These are making a suprising difference to the over all temperature of the house - as in I can actually do some things in the morning.

Of course Alaric got me the heated blanket and stuff last year which has been brilliant and my hot pads.

I am being militant for Jeany and Alaric as well as me and baby (who is due end of Jan so there could still be snow). I know he's trying to do whats right for his family - we're still working our way out of debt ect... so fuel budget was specifucally calculated and he's worried radiators will hike our electricity bill drastically and that we wont be able to pay it and be cut off and then have no way to work or cook etc.. He is not being some big troll being mean - which is what some people have suggested.

But I think on this one I have to do whats safest for my family and that includes him - I don't want him hurt again like last year and I suppose I am just being more militant about the house due to pregnancy - though it's in a worse state than ever as I just can't tidy very well 🙁

This post is being written one handed due to wrist acting up - which means crutches are a no go except for vital things and my main craft and writing are out as well which sucks.

I am aware that Alaric is struggling at the moment with work (still being up till stupid o'clock and being tired all the time) and I feel bad for putting this extra worry on him - but radiators just plug in and give heat and are easy. Part of it is - talking to Barbara and her friends I started to think it was me over reacting about the cold. But I have been talking to other mothers - and my conclusion is that I am right - my child/children need warmth - apart from the fact that I can't move at all if I get too cold.

What I'm hoping is that with my overdraft paid off as of yesterday - I can use my money and family allowance to pay any excess electricity costs. Leaving the fuel budget for the wood and the gas heater.