Category: moving house

No time to do blokey Friday

I’m writing this having just taken my first ever Christmas cake out of the oven and with J running round blowing up boxes with a bicycle pump and littlest fastened into the high chair (they’ve just eaten).

This is my cake!

It isn’t perfect, but it’s good enough! (I have made fruit cake before), just never done the keeping and feeding with sherry before. We will take it with us next Friday and decorate it there.

We’ve had the okay to collect the cottage keys next Friday now. The big shed is packed, we are getting there! It is amazing how many of other people’s belongings I’ve found whilst sorting through our stuff. Sorry if you’re one of the ones to whom they belong! Word of advice, don’t lend me books unless you’re very good at reminding me or don’t mind a wait of a few years. 😂

We’re off out tonight with friends, then having an early Christmas Day/dinner tomorrow afternoon with my folks. All this saying goodbye is fun but strange! (Thank you for it though!)

Sink on a log (Mk 2)

A little bit more about us and where we are moving to.

The cottage we are moving to has intact stone walls and wooden framed windows, it has floors, it has a roof which seems to be in pretty good condition. It has a basin with taps and a functioning toilet in the bathroom (No bath yet). There is a basin with taps in the kitchen. There is a water supply. There are two burners to provide heat, one in the living room and one in the kitchen area and there are some radiators in the house which heat up when the stove in the kitchen area is running.

We don’t have any central heating in our current home, warming it with fires when required so radiators are a luxury.

There is also electricity in the cottage, which does need checking out but it is there! We don’t have a phone line there yet but there is good mobile phone reception.

There is a small kitchen area with a Belfast sink. All I really need apart from that is a table, cooker and a bit of storage, then jobs a good un, at least to start with. We lived for quite a while at our current address with no kitchen at all, not even a proper sink. It wasn’t easy, but it was liveable. See below:

This was our very lovely and functional sink on a log, although there is actually no sink on looking. There is a funnel. We survived. Chris is very handy.

Also, when I first purchased our current house there was no heating, just two gas fires which got condemned soon after moving in and there were aluminium framed windows. It was cold in the winter. Very cold. We just layered up in bed, had halogen heaters, at some point got a log burner put in and got on with life. We’re tough, me and my daughter. We now have insulation, two wood burners and double glazing – it’s a lot nicer (it has to be admitted).

Chris and I are under no illusions that our new life will be easy, but we will be fine and I think we will enjoy it. I and I think Chris are not made to never take risks or have hardship. We think it is worth it and we will always, always make sure we look after our kids.

for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. (2 Timothy 1:7)

The above is where we are coming from I think. God is also our dream giver and our provider. However! If anyone has any tips on how to make the cottage homey until our stuff arrives, feel free to share. We will be taking all our camping things with us (including pots and pans), air mattresses, bedding, wool blankets, warm clothes, cooker, baby bath, towels etc etc. We will have a better idea closer to the time on when the removals company will be getting to us.

Chris has also purchased something called an eco fan, which you put on top of your stove. The warmth from the stove generates electricity, causing the fan to turn which circulates the warm air around the room and house. Our house has seemed a lot warmer since using it.

onwards!!!

We Have Exchanged!

We have exchanged contracts this afternoon and completion is agreed. Such good news. No going back now!

It’s been a funny day, full of all sorts of emotions including joy and laughter but also tears and kicking and screaming (and that’s just me haha), we’ve started soaking the fruit for a Christmas cake (my first one I’ve ever made).

Good old Mary Berry. J is very interested in it. He likes cooking and baking.

I’ve also been looking into simpler ways of cleaning the house and clothes, washing up, shampoo etc. As in using household products like vinegar, lemon juice and bicarbonate. Also, traditional soap flakes and Epsom salts for various things. I’m not that genned up yet but I will be. It really interests me. One reason is that we will have a septic tank which we want to look after (which is new to us), but also, I seem to be getting more allergy prone with an itchy mouth and nose quite frequently, so want to go back to basics. I’m terrible when dust is disturbed, so have to damp dust and need to do it a bit more frequently! I also want to try to reduce the amount of plastics we use and live more frugally.

Chris finishes work tomorrow, then we’re out for a meal with our church community group. Then Chris’s eldest is coming for the weekend, which we are looking forward to. I’ve spoken to my eldest today, who is still in LA at the moment and it was lovely. Bittersweet in some ways because when she gets back we will have gone, but we’re not that far away and her dad and my family still live locally.

onwards and upwards!

Everything seems to be working out at exactly the right times. #inGodwetrust

Gods promises never fail and one promise is that he will never leave us nor forsake us. (Deuteronomy 31:6 and Hebrews 13:5). That is why I trust Him with what we do and where we go. God is in charge and wherever we go we trust ourselves to Him.

Bye for now.

Cathy

So this morning…

…Chris has realised he finishes work in a week because of holidays owed…so the move to Ireland is getting more real as each day passes. The bad point at the moment is that our English buyer has not yet confirmed the completion date or exchanged…so that is making me nervous. (Prayer would be gratefully received) All the paperwork has gone off quite a while ago, so I don’t really understand what is taking so long…and why it has not yet happened. I keep asking but am not having much joy. We have decided we are going on the 7th, everything is booked, but it would be so nice to just get the ends tidied up and sorted, the end of one chapter and the start of the next… I realise I gave the impression it was all wrapped up, but I sort of presumed it was……hopefully it is….sorry for the presumption…(but we are moving on the 7th). Moving house is stressful!

23 days to go…

Which one is it?

So we’re feeling slightly confused this afternoon, we’ve realised (or we think we’ve realised) that there is a Ballinaglera and a Ballinagleragh, both look as though they are in Leitrim. We “think” ours is the Ballinaglera, (by Lough Allen) that is how it has been spelt so far, but Google maps seems to think it is Ballinagleragh! But I think that’s wrong. Then, on further googling, there are descriptions of the place which have both spellings! aaargh, help! (I find it amusing but confusing). If anyone can enlighten us that would be great! I’m sure it will become clear at some point. I thought we were quite close to the border (closer than we are) because I googled the distance to Enniskillen (which is in the north) – sorry edit! to Kesh, Enniskillen, and suddenly thought Chris could work there because it wasn’t as far away as I thought. Turns out it was about 27 miles away, not 14 as I’d thought, so probably no good, although still fairly close.

It is interesting this moving lark! Especially moving to a different country!

24 days to go!

 

 

Four weeks to go!

Yes folks, all being well, four weeks today and we will be in Ireland. It’s a strange feeling, I’m full of excitement and am really looking forward to doing this together as a family but also have lots of other feelings whirling around inside me. It’s difficult to describe.

Nerves for one, I suppose. Will we be welcomed? What will they think of us? Will the kids be ok? Especially J as it probably isn’t long until he will be at school there (I’ll really miss him). Will everyone we’re leaving here be ok? Lots of things really. I think the answer is, we will be fine. Everything will be fine. In fact, much more than fine. We have Jesus, so even when things are not fine, they also are – topsy turvy I know!

Practically, we’ve seriously started packing now and have boxes everywhere.

Our three year old – J says he “just wants to get there now” (cute) and I have started making lists of companies and people we need to inform. It is surprisingly long. It also feels strange because for the utility bills, I actually need to cancel the accounts because we aren’t staying in the UK.

The process also feels quite freeing though, as I have a list which I am going through and cancelling services and payments off. With each cancellation there is a big line that goes through the company name. Really need to keep things simple in the future…

There’s still lots I need to look into, such as bank accounts, national insurance payments, getting our cars checked out once there and the plates changed, whether we can keep our mobile contracts or not. I think probably not, but we will see (it’s on the list) and we also need to look into medical care (I think we have to apply for a card once there, but I need to look at it again).

Plenty to keep us occupied anyway!

The ferry journey is booked now too and Chris has given his notice in at work, so here’s praying that it all goes smoothly!

This week has been good, I’ve tried to make some room for fun/time with the children. I sometimes get so wrapped up in what’s going on that I feel like I don’t play with them enough. So we’ve had some fun. Going out, Throwing the ball for the dog, walking, getting the bus, running round, baking, talking. I find it really difficult to be present sometimes because my mind gets sooo full. But I’m trying to practice just being with them (I mean with no distractions) and enjoying it for at least part of each day. Thank you God for our children!

Right! So!

where to begin?! Get to the point I suppose. Well we are completing on the seventh of December on our house and hopefully moving straight to Ireland.

We’ve signed the contracts on both houses and arranged a removals firm for two days before completion (it can take between 7 and 28 days to get your stuff!) this is because there are usually multiple house moves on the same lorry and they travel around dropping each persons belongings off in turn. We will know more about how long it is likely to be nearer to the time.

So we will have to take a few things with us, like air beds, travel cot, bedding, thankfully we are taking the trailer which has most of our camping stuff in it, so we will have some cutlery, plates etc and the camping cooker if necessary. Oh yes, and warm clothes.

We are moving (in December) to a cottage on a field that thankfully has running water (but no hot unless the fire is running) and Chris needs to check that out before we use it. It currently has no shower or bath, no cooker, no kitchen really haha, wooden framed glass windows, damp…! But it does have a roof and walls and 2 fires and 3 radiators (providing the back boiler is ok), a toilet and sink and a Belfast sink in the kitchen. It should be a real first for us! Camping in December! We are really looking forward to it.

We need to book the ferry now, and then carry on boxing up and letting whoever we need to know we’re moving. I have a long list… I do like lists though, you can scroll a line through what you’ve done – very satisfying!

Hope

but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles,
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

(Isaiah 40:31)

…when I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God whose word I praise, In God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me?

(Psalm 56:3-4)

There are so many more words in the bible about hope. real hope is Jesus. In who he is, what he’s done and does, and just him really. Hope is so much more than what we see, what we plan, what we wish for.

Hope is the big picture. Why are we here? What is our purpose? What are we? Who are we? What happens when this life ends? I was reading John 6 this morning and this shot out at me:

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast  out. 

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has  given me, but raise it up on the last day. 

For this is the will of my Father, that everyone looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on  the last day.”

(emphasis all mine)

Now that’s hope…If you come to Jesus, he will never cast you out, you will have new life with him and not only new life but eternal life…this is what you were made for….

I need to go now, it’s getting increasingly hard to do these posts whilst the babies are up..due to the youngest climbing on me and trying to either tap the keyboard or sit on it. 😀 and also the oldest has just come downstairs and told me I need to wipe his wee off the floor of the bathroom..!(tmi?)

We have someone from a removals company coming round on Monday to assess how much stuff we have and quote us a price for moving…things are moving slowly!…

 

 

 

It’s a busy time at the moment…and uncertain…but exciting!

Update on the move so far because we keep being asked. We sold our house subject to contract back in June, but have not yet exchanged, we have now sent the signed forms off so exchange of contracts can take place.

We are buying a cottage in Leitrim in Ireland (all being well) which needs a little work, but is liveable, which also has 3 acres of land with it. Our Irish solicitors are brilliant and are keeping us up to date well, they have asked the sellers a few questions and are currently waiting for answers. It is pretty certain we will be moving, we have paid the deposit and had an engineer’s report.

In order to buy a house in Ireland (it is Southern Ireland), we need PPS numbers, (personal public service numbers) and these should be coming either this week or next. An absolutely lovely lady rang me this week from Ireland just to check the details. She was very friendly and said she was originally from the area in which we are buying and seemed really pleased when I said we were moving there.

Another question we keep being asked is about work/jobs. The answer to that is, no, we don’t currently have jobs waiting there for us. We have subscribed to various sites which advertise jobs in the areas we would be fairly close to. To those who may worry because we haven’t got work waiting – don’t worry, we will be fine. Chris is an extremely hard worker, who will work hard at absolutely anything he does and has been in constant work for years and if necessary I would get part time work to subsidise us, but that will probably not be necessary. I do intend to be at home with the children as long as it is possible.

The last commonly asked question is schools – yes there are schools nearby, as far as I am aware there is a little village primary school about four miles away. It is also legal to home school in Ireland if it became necessary or we decided to do that. Unlike here, education is only compulsory from the age of six in Ireland, but apparently most children do go from the age of four/five.

We are really looking forward to moving but whilst we are still here we are trying to make the most of the time left. We have been going out as a family at weekends, talking together more, spending more quality time together really, making good use as far as possible of  our time here. We went to a place called Magna on Saturday. It was so good, J (our 3 year old) and Chris were absolutely enthralled and there is a really good playground there too, which we went to afterwards. It’s also good, because if you pay full price once, you can then get in for a year for free afterwards. We also belong to the National Trust so we have been making the most of being members, getting out to various places as a family.

I’ve also met an old friend today at a local playgroup at the Baptist Church Hall, it was great! There were also two ladies there who looked after my daughter when she went to the after school club maybe about 17 years ago and another fella called John who is part of the Baptist Church who may have taught her at school (I only realised this after he left, I never got a chance to ask him). It was a very friendly, relaxed group and we all enjoyed it. J doesn’t always like indoor groups but he seemed to quite enjoy this one.

Chris and I are also actually going out!!! tomorrow!!! It is our wedding anniversary so we are celebrating God’s goodness in our lives and each other. Five years! It doesn’t actually feel like five years, even though we have packed it full. I loved our wedding, it was a good, good day. God was in it completely and utterly. Thank you Lord Jesus.

wedding 018

 

 

 

 

 

 

I’m going to miss this..

Ive been bed sharing with my littlest since he was born really. The main reason was it was a lot easier to get sleep, he could feed without disturbing us both too much and it seemed very natural. It’s been lovely.

However, we are feeling the time has come to re introduce him to his cot. I think it is anyway (I keep changing my mind). So I am meant to be starting this tonight. So I am trying to prepare myself for a couple of weeks of very disturbed nights and some crying. He is such a happy, cuddly little thing, I’m really hoping this doesn’t change. Plus, I really will miss him next to me. He really doesn’t like the cot, even if I put him in so I can get dressed, he cries.

One of the reasons we want to do it now is at the moment we have a single bed alongside ours, but in the new house we may not be able to do this, so it only seems fair to re introduce the cot now. He is also still feeding a lot at night. I know there’s very mixed views on this, whether it’s right or whether it’s wrong…when you google about sleep there is loads of conflicting advice.

I did a version of controlled crying with J, but I don’t think I can face that again, so I’m going to try a gentler approach, which may take longer but I will be happier with. Having said that, J does sleep really well so I guess it did work. This time, I’m just going to play it by ear. Literally…the baby has a very loud cry…

So I may be sleep deprived for a bit.. forgive me if I’m emotional. I get very emotional when I’m tired…