It’s been 30-somethong years since I visited Stokesay Castle but I love it just the same. One day I will use it as a template for the house I will build… #dreams #homes #nottoostately #pretentionsofgrandeur #castles

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~ The trip home really wasn’t nice though. The rain and the wind was abysmal and the number of idiots on the road, unbelievable.

From the outset, Nick was able to reassure me that David’s original estimate was way out, or should I say, way over. By the end of the day we had a plan and some illustrations of what it will look like, and it will look lovely. The First Collection option is not really an option though, as it would make for awkward comprises in that the size of units isn’t as flexible, but that doesn’t matter because we can afford the Vermont range that we first thought of.

A good day, if mentally tiring, day!

Anyway, we’ve decided for me to see Nick on my own when he comes to visit to do the planning and this means that I can reschedule the appointment to the morning of next Tuesday which is a much, much more positive date. I can now feel that we are making progress…

It being Em’s day off today her Mum and Grannie came for a visit, and a tour of the ‘estate’ and gave some help in unpacking things. With the delivery yesterday of the dresser Emma has been able to reduce the one of the big culprits box-wise – the other being my love of books – in that now there is a place for all the Denby Greenwheat china.

We’ve now settled down with a Chinese from round the corner, some prawn crackers and Toby on Gardener’s World, and we are box-free in the downstairs of the house, well, almost…

Tonight, William made his return from his 10 days at the vets and with him came a cage to keep him rested and behaving himself in. So a little bit less space again, although we can still sit at the table and eat our din-dins whilst talking to William in his cage.

It’s nice to see everyone, and with the weekend closing with a first meal of fish’n’chips and champagne with my parents around the dining table we can feel that we are really making progress in getting our new home into shape.

But we are sensible. We have a list of things to look for, and then regroup in the canteen over tea and cake to add up our potential purchases to make sure we’re not overspending. We’re not, even by going for the expensive but very comfortable Vi-Spring mattress with the Touch of PineOak bed.

Choosing a sofa became a bit more complicated – having to move backwards and forwards across the shop to try and try again, in turn our shortlist of two sofas before finally, definitely, settling on the Indiana range … maybe.

We browsed some new shades for my lamps (they needed to be replaced anyway) and indulged ourselves in some cute new bedside lanterns reduced to half-price before we got to the real indulgence.

If we are to go to Namibia on honeymoon next year then we want to make sure we capture some good photographs of the time there. I’ve also long wanted one of these, and with Grandpa’s money I have the funds, and since he had a love of photography and his own developing it would also be appropriate, and so I visited the camera department, chatted to a very helpful person there, and bought (for both Emma and I) a Nikon D80 DSLR camera with 18-135mm lens. Very nice!

I love my house. Whilst I want to move on, and in with Em, and make a new home, I’m always going to miss my first house I think.

2. Then we went for a walk in the late afternoon sun, down by the Oxfordshire canal at Somerton. It was very nice, and although there were threatening clouds, and rainbows and those sharp contrasts of sun on green fields, dark bluey-purples of clouds, and a rainbow cutting through the sky we didn’t get at all wet on our little walk into a cold wind.

3. On route to the walk we passed by a house for sale in Upper Heyford, an ex-council house set back from the road – admittedly opposite the old US air base – with views all across the Cherwell Valley. Looking it up on rightmove when we got back we discovered it to be (in our opinion) grossly over-priced. Yes, it has the views, but they are only really advantageous from the garden with the master bedroom and lounge facing completely the wrong way, and with a grotty looking conservatory in the way.

4. I made a yummy cauliflower and broccoli cannelloni (minus the (gone off) broccoli) tonight, which was super scrummy. Yumm!

5. It’s clear and starry at the moment. No sign of any storm in the air yet…

This morning I got up, breakfasted (including hot cross buns), nipped into town to deliver a few things to Oxfam and buy some daffodils and then came home and finished cleaning my house – although, doubtless, some would say that I do not clean the house well enough :- Then, around 12ish my parents turned up (with an exciteable Barney dog), and shortly after, Emma, and we all went off to lunch at the pub in Stratton Audley. We got a table by the fire, and enjoyed a nice meal of simple, unfussy but tastey food (my fish pie was delicious) as the locals gathered to watch (either racing at one end of the bar or) Ireland playing Rugby.

Following a rain shower we headed out to have a walk round the village, and then, at 2 o’clock we arrived at the house in Glen Close for our viewing (me for my repeat viewing…). We love it. The decorative order is a little to be desired, but it has so much potential, and the garden has more to offer than I first thought, with three varieties of apples and a cherry tree already its offering just what we want.

Later we go back and talk through the pitfalls and possibilities and decide that if we can get it – that is to say if it is still available when I get an offer on my house then we will be going for it – over a cup of tea^† and chocolate eggs and bunnies. Fingers crossed here.

^†Note to self: when one is making tea for one’s girlfriend and one’s parents, and one lays the tea tray with tea strainer, one should use it instead of inadvertantly pouring out three cups of good tea, one one half cup of tea and one half cup of tea leaves!

It’s kind of necessary I suppose, but I’m not sure if I really like having it paraded in front of me like that. :-

It’s a nice house. I’ve been very happy there…

And you know what, after quickly trawling rightmove there’s quite a bit out there without going to the maximum.