change is as good as a rest

Big news - life is ever changing and full of surprises!

We are moving house... back down south or at least its little way down nearer Leeds and family and to a house which we think hopefully is as nice as the one we are leaving... its a hard act to follow but somehow it feels right and while its come right out of the blue -it feels ok (ish)...

We will be very sad to leave the sea and our lovely community who made us so welcome, good neighbors, trees and rooks all the things that have made living here so special (sheep eating your plants - ducks sabotaging your sunflowers) but the new house appears to have several advantages, which hopefully will make up for these losses.

The new property is marginally bigger, it has a small 'garden room' and a large utility space freeing up the kitchen. There's a reasonably sized private sun catching outside space - may be even room  for the summerhouse. There is also a garage.  Its at the end of a small lane so nobody walks past or looks in and it opens onto fields and a farm... its in a small village just outside of Darlington.. its a little bit quirky, The whole set up is a bit like where we are now..10 mins of the A1... houses, farm and big house.. no amenities just post box and bus stop slightly nearer civilization but still out of the way... no sea view but open land all around and not far from the river. Just over an hour to family which is the main rationale for moving - our grand children are growing so quick... and as close to Newcastle and observatory as we are now so Dr Fred can continue all his work..  Another advantage...there a Boyes in Darlo and Barnard castle so it just gets better every time I think about it!!

our new (rather misty) view from the front of the house

It has all happened very quick and very unexpectedly last week I was rescuing paving slabs to build the summerhouse on the paddock - no intention of moving.. but there was always a niggle..... and then pretty much out of nowhere - a chance find... my head is reeling but I'm excited and ready to get organised although god only knows how its a good job i.m a minimalist.....

So this last week has been a completely new experience for me.. I have never moved house 'properly ' before - I didn't really leave home until I was over 50 and then I moved slowly a bit at a time living in two houses part time.  when we finally made the move to where we are now - again we did it a bit piecemeal - one big van load and then over the next 5 years bringing stuff as and when I found it on visits back to my other house (which I rent out).

Its a bit of a shock to be honest ha ha... the realisation of how much stuff we have accumulated and starting to pack it all up is a mammoth task even from such a wee cottage as we have....... emptying the walls in my studio is quite sad but I can envisage all my bits and pieces finding a new home in a new space and all will be well.

I may be very busy for a few weeks so postings may be erratic - internet stuff has to be sorted all those pesky things that require attention when moving.. watch this space....