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Friday 21 October 2011

O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay ..........................................

This morning our solicitor phoned to say that we should be able to exchange TODAY and complete next Friday (28th), he would phone to let us know when it had all happened.

So we waited ............................. and waited .................................. and decided to do a bit of shopping - taking the mobile with us so that we could be contacted. 5 oclock came and went, we had resigned ourselves to a further delay.

Got home and there, on the answer machine, was a message from our solicitor - WE'VE EXCHANGED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can't believe he didn't even bother to talk to us (actually I can), as he had specifically asked for our mobile number.

Anyway enough of moaning about him, get on with the packing - we've got to be out by lunchtime next Friday.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

I shouldn't have got excited!!!

After agreeing, yesterday, on an exchange date of yesterday/today and a completion date of  Thursday 27th we got a phone call from our solicitor, this morning, asking if the completion date could be brought forward to the 26th. We agreed, as we still thought we were going to exchange today.

However ................................... this afternoon we learnt that our buyer's buyer can't exchange until Friday which means that our exchange would be delayed until Friday or even Monday!!!! But they still want to complete on the 26th.

Taking us back to the dilema of a very short period between exchange and completion........................ there's alot of stuff that shouldn't be done until after exchange - but we're doing it anyway. But there's also so much that really can't be done until after exchange - boring things that would cost us money if it all fell through.

Our solicitor is now trying to negotiate an earlier exchange/a later completion - we spoke to him at 3.00pm, of course we haven't heard from him since.

I'm quickly losing the will to live ...................................

Monday 17 October 2011

Don't know whether to get excited but .........................................

7.00 Monday evening and we've just had a phone call from our buyers. They said their solicitors were nightmares, not answering emails, not chasing up references, not keeping them informed - sounds very familiar. So they were contacting us directly - would we be willing to exchange and complete next Thursday (27th)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WOW, WOW, WOW ............................ but hang on, completing and exchanging on the same day? Not a good idea - it could still all collapse on the day. Brett said we weren't happy to do that; so she's going to talk to her solicitor and see if we can exchange tomorrow!!!

WE COULD BE EXCHANGING TOMORROW!!!!!! She said she'd ring us once she had spoken to her solicitor.

We've got SO much to do now. No more moaning that I'm bored!

How exciting.

Saturday 15 October 2011

Still waiting ................................................

Our poor estate agent must be getting sick and tired of hearing ................. "Hi Tracey, it's Sandra from Pentwyn Farm ............................"; I phone her weekly (bi-weekly?) to preserve my sanity.

So today (actually it was yesterday, Friday, when I wrote this post) she phoned both solicitors for me (of course my one wasn't in the office!!); however, our buyer's solicitor says they're waiting on their buyer's ............................... of their second house!!! Apparently the London flat was completed weeks ago (so our solicitor got that right!) BUT, unbeknown to us (or apparently our solicitor), they had another property they were selling and this is the one that has been holding up our sale. Their solicitor says she thinks we will be able to talk dates next week with a view to completing at the end of the month. The really worrying thing is that we know nothing about these buyers (didn't even know they existed!), do they have a property to sell? How long is this chain? This is SOoooo stressful!
Meantime we've been packing; our kitchen look horrid - the dresser and glazed cupboard are now in storage. And all my pretty possessions are packed up. It doesn't feel like home anymore!


It doesn't look like this anymore!!

Brett is forcing me to put all my glass in cardboard boxes and I'm petrified it's all going to be broken when I unpack it - I wanted it pack in wooden crates with wooden divisions holding it all stable, he says that would be too heavy and bubble wrap and cardboard will be fine ..................................... oh I do hope he's right!

Tuesday 11 October 2011

I don't believe it!!!

We thought the final hurdle was over last week when our buyers had their mortgage offer, once this happened, according to our solicitor, we could start talking dates.

.............................. after hearing nothing (as usual) I phoned our estate agent to see if she could find out if there was any news. Both lots of solicitors were unobtainable (really?) but she managed to talk to our buyers and they assure her everything was going along fine - in fact their buyers are signing their mortgage agreement tomorrow morning????? Excuse me?? Our solicitor's last email to us stated (and I quote) "..............I've now found out that their London property has already completed", so why are their buyer only just signing mortgage agreements?

Of course we haven't managed to talk to our solicitor. Fingers crossed our estate agent's optimism is well founded.

Sunday 2 October 2011

What fabulous weather!!

We had a fantastic time in Devon and Cornwall; we only had five days because Brett had to come back to watch the rugby on Saturday morning - I suggested we stayed down there and he went to a pub to watch it, but he said he didn't fancy sitting in a pub at 8.00 in the morning.

We found some lovely places to camp (we joined the Caravan Club so that we could book into CLs, cheapish very basic sites). We stayed on ..............................
a farm with hundreds of free range pigs

.................  a smallholding with chickens and ducks, a farm that was next door to a dual carriageway (very noisy) but only 1/4 mile from the beach - we had to cross the dual carriageway, walk through an industrial estate and cross over a railway line to get there!!

We ate fish and chips in Padstow from Rick Stein's fish and chip shop, they were very nice but quite expensive £15.50. We went to Port Issac and saw the house where Doc Martin is film - we could tell which house it was by all the people taking photos of it, we've never watched it.

Of course we also visited quite a few galleries ................................................

Jo Downs, Launston
Cornish Pilchards

She does some lovely work with copper foil inclusions. I was given a tour of her studio, she's got some massive kilns!!

Julia Mills, Mousehole
Barrel of Fish

Some lovely etching on this glass (she uses etching cream not an acid bath).

Art Space, St Ives; they had several pieces by Petrouschka Sura-Field, unfortunately I couldn't find a very good photo of her work.

She had created real depth and 3D to her panels by painting on several sheets of glass and then fusing them together, couldn't tell whether the colour was from enamels or frit.

Driftwood Gallery, Padstow; Brett and I both were impressed with paintings by Anthony Amos in Bitumen and Oils.
Ploughing




When we got back on Friday afternoon I phoned the estate agent ............................................ she says our buyers have received the structural survey and they said there were no suprises - which is great. She also said that the mortgage company said that they should be getting their offer on Monday!!!!!! Don't want to get excited yet, watch this space ........................

Sunday 25 September 2011

Still decorating .............................

I wasn't happy with the white plastic shelves - well they were white AND plastic!! So I've painted them (using one of the greens from the kitchen) and lined the back with the reverse side of the paper I put on the cupboards. Brett says there's enough pink in the van now.


I think they looks much better; and I really like the canisters on them, which I didn't need but, bought because I wanted them!

The weather forecast for this coming week is looking good; so we've decided to go off in the van for a few days to Devon and Cornwall. We've worked out how to access our phone messages so can rush back if the solicitor has any news - not very hopeful though, it's really dragging on, it's over thirteen weeks since we accepted their offer. And our solicitor is crap - haven't heard from him for over a month (despite sending two emails), in fact he's probably on holiday again!

Wednesday 21 September 2011

So whilst we wait, I decorate .......................................................

If and when we complete our plan is to travel around Europe in our campervan. We would have loved to have bought a vintage van but, as neither of us are mechanics, opted for a brand new Peugeot Compass Avantgarde. The interior is so beige ...... bland ....... boring ........ neutral ....... I suggested painting the cupboards - I thought they would look so much better in a matt green, but Brett said "no"! I can do anything as long as it's not permanent - as this might reduce the value should we need to sell the van.

So can I :
Paint the walls             - NO
Wallpaper the walls     - NO
Recover the seats         - NO, but I can add cushions
Change the curtains     - NO
Change carpets            - YES!
Accessorise                    - YES, as long as it's light (weight not colour) which, a lot of the time, means plastic.

This means I have to use my imagination.

I found this fabulous double sided wrapping paper in the kitchen shop in Llandeilo, by Nina Campbell, rather expensive at £2.75 a sheet.


I'm inserting it into the recesses of the cupboard doors - looking better.


I love my new tea towels from Wilkinson, I think they look very Cath Kidston like (but a lot cheaper!).


Still looking beige, but getting better, think I'll look for more cushions, and I have got a couple of throws I bought (one pink, one green) which will help. I wonder if I could sneak in some bunting?!!


I love my pink kettle which I bought off ebay, unfortunately it's not as big as I would like - only does two mugs of tea.


And these canisters from BHS (half price) work well with my shabby chic theme.


Brett and I have been discussing what we would do if this sale fell through (fingers, toes and eyes crossed it doesn't); we're thinking if it were to happen there's no way we'd be selling again before next summer so to keep ourselves from going mad we'd need a project ................................ we're contemplating selling the campervan (then I'd be pleased that I didn't do anything permanent to reduce it's value) buying an ordinary van (and it wouldn't have to be boring white) then spend the winter converting it into a campervan. We could customise it specifically for us - a full size fridge would be at the top of the list! ................................... it's fun to dream.

Thursday 15 September 2011

NOoooooooo!!!

So we have waited patiently for 2 weeks for our buyers to get their mortgage offer and today we had a phone call .................................................. from a surveyor - our buyers NOW want a structural survey!! Which will mean another two week (if we're lucky) delay.

It's turning into a nightmare.....................

Wednesday 31 August 2011

WE'RE IN SPAIN !!!

15th Feb

 Stayed overnight outside Joanna’s house; yes, she did offer us a bed inside but as we wanted to leave early in the morning (and she had a sofa blocking the hallway, but that’s another story!) we decided it would be easier to sleep in the van.



Our ferry departed at 11.00 a.m. and we had to be at the harbour at least 45 minutes prior to this. So we decided to leave Joanna’s at 6.00 a.m.; it’s a 40 minute drive from Southampton to Portsmouth but we were determined not to miss the ferry, we arrived by 7.00 a.m. and we weren’t the first in the queue! In fact the ferry left 45 minutes late as there was an accident on the A34 and several of the passengers hadn’t arrived by 11.00. We overheard one man saying that because of the delay he had had to drive at 85 miles/hour (bet he wished he’d left at 6.00!!).

The ferry was HUGE, 9 storeys with several restaurants, a cinema, swimming pool, and shop etc.

In one of the restaurants there was a rather interesting glass screen – a light box made from 2 sheets of glass about 8” apart; both sheets had very deep sand blasted roses, on both sides of the glass (float glass about ½“ thick), quite simple but effective.


In the corridor there was more glass art; three pieces in a row, all very similar, consisting of a large fused and slumped glass sheet, about 15” square, sandwiched between this and the top layer was a ceramic layer that looked a bit like wood bark (9 – 10” square, I couldn’t get at this layer to have a feel!), and the top layer was again fused glass (like the first layer, it appeared to have sandblasting internally, but there was no bubbling on the outside – the top and back was smooth); it was very simple but again quite effective. I appreciated that both pieces were made from float glass.

 It was quite calm on the boat, at first ....................... so we promenaded around the decks several times, had breakfast and lunch, had a shower (which was remarkably good considering it was on a boat), read our kindles (thank you Steph!), I did some sketching (as we were passing Isle of Wight) ..................... and then, as we left the shelter of Britain the sea got a little bit rougher, and then a lot rougher; as you walked you looked drunk! Then Brett started to feel sick; so we went to the shop to buy something to help him; we asked the lady, in the shop, if she had anything for seasickness and she directed us to these bracelets, so Brett says “Do they work?” and she says “Of course not Sir!!” whoops! In the end he got a pill from the information desk, but the only thing that helped was lying down, which was a bummer as I wanted my dinner! 

Thursday 16th: By morning the sea had calmed and Brett was better. We decided that once we landed we wouldn’t drive too far, as we needed to get used to driving on the right. We chose an aire (free/cheap camp site) that was about 20 minutes from the harbour, keyed the coordinates into the Sat Nav and started driving (Brett was driving), we went on motorways, through towns and villages and finally we were driving towards the mountains with Brett muttering “I was sure it was nearer than this” in the end the road started to get really narrow and we stopped to look at the map – we were about 50 miles from where we wanted to be! In the end we realised it was because the Sat Nav wasn’t formatted the same as the book we were using!!! Talk about a ‘baptism of fire’, Brett drove very competently there and back! And now he’s quite confident, I haven’t had a go yet. 

The aire was in a very strange place; there was a safari park with elephants, buffalo, antelopes all roaming free – it looked like something out of Jurassic Park, and the elephants were all red as they’d been rolling in the mud. Unfortunately the village was more or less shut up for the winter, everything looked very unkempt and sorry for itself.

So we moved on to another aire that was in a slightly busier village. So far we haven’t found any shops to buy milk or groceries (stupid Sat Nav said the nearest place was, 40 miles away, in the opposite direction to where we want to go tomorrow – hope she’s wrong!).