It's been quite a while since I was last here and a lot has happened since then. One important thing didn't happen though. After months of legal wrangling over water rights and environmentally correct drainage we were forced to pull out of the purchase of the cottage. We were disappointed and more than a little bit pissed off about the amount of money we had spent on surveys and legal fees but life goes on and we had to sit down and take stock of our situation and what to do next.
Things had moved on with the treatment plan for my meningioma and we knew that the radiotherapy would be finished well before Christmas. We also new that once it started we would be pretty much trapped were we are for around 6 weeks and since all my family are a 6-7 hour drive away it really brought it home to me how isolated we are here. My original intention was to go back to work full time and maybe see if I could carve a career of sorts but the meningioma got in the way of that and as we'd moved to a new area that meant my opportunity to meet people was gone. I had no support network, just my husband and it's not fair to put the whole burden of my condition (I refuse to accept that it's an illness) on him so I tend to bottle things up because there's no-one to talk to. Add to this my parents aren't in great health and my kids are struggling in the recession and the choices narrowed. The final thing that tipped the balance was location. We have problems with anti-social behaviour were we are and really don't know the local area, or anywhere in Scotland, well enough to make an informed choice.
We decided there was only one thing to do. Move back to England, to the area where we have family, friends and a reasonable knowledge of the localities. Conscious of the start date of my treatment we decided to go down for a long weekend to do some house hunting. Using the internet we made a short list of possibles and set up the appointments, then headed down the motorway for a busy weekend.
No 1 was on a very busy road opposite a big pub, so we politely looked round and then immediately crossed it off our list.
No 3 was OK. I can't describe it as any better than that but it just didn't wow us with any possibilities.
No 4 was a nice house, with definite possibilities but on another very busy road, we struggled to park just to view it, so that one was out as well.
No 5 was very nearly the one. Needed lots of work but had possibilities, then we found out that a fair with a potential for trouble was held in a park behind the house regularly. With the trouble we've had where we are that ruled that one out.
No 6 was another nice house but to make it suit us we would have had to knock down walls and that would have been messy, time consuming and it still wouldn't have been what we really wanted.
That brings me back to No 2. In a quiet village, reasonably near to parents, a little further from the kids but close enough and most importantly, the almost perfect layout for us. It was a house we didn't think existed but here it was - and also substantially over budget! We only booked the viewing as a wild card choice and I'd actually hoped I wouldn't like it, ho hum, more thinking to be done.
Well we thought and we added up and we subtracted and we realised that we really couldn't afford it but could try an offer, which would still be a gamble but sometimes you have to do that.
So we did. We put in a low offer, rejected. A higher offer, acceptable with a but. Then a surprise compromise from the seller, which sent us off in to another round of soul searching and counting the pennies after which we were the ones to accept.
We're now two weeks in to the buying process and so far so good. If luck is on our side this time, and I think we deserve it, we'll be done & dusted by mid December and living in our new (to us) home and asking for paint & wallpaper as Christmas presents.
One last thing, probably the most important but I'm still trying to ignore it. My radiotherapy started last Tuesday. So far it's going well. I still have all my hair, my eyelashes are intact and the only thing making me tired is the silly time I have to get up to go to the hospital. I hope it stays that way.
25 October 2009
26 August 2009
Plans? Huh!
We may still have a cottage to buy but it's not gonna happen when we planned. The paperwork that turned up was missing one vital piece and despite our solicitors chasing it as soon as they became aware it still hadn't surfaced by late this afternoon. That leaves us only 3 working days till the end of the month so there is no chance of completing for then.
The new date they are working towards is 11th September. Yeah, I know it's only another 2 weeks but that depends on them finding the missing piece of paper or finding a way round it!
The new date they are working towards is 11th September. Yeah, I know it's only another 2 weeks but that depends on them finding the missing piece of paper or finding a way round it!
20 August 2009
Busy Times
Our dream cottage is moving a little closer to reality.
After a delay of almost a month because the owner didn't have the correct title deeds the paperwork is finally on it's way to our solicitor. Thanks to a specialist legal post service they use here in Scotland it will definitely be with them tomorrow and, amazingly, they think we can still complete on time as long as there are no strange clauses in the contract.
That gives us just 7 working days! Sounds impossible but everyone's finances are in place so it's just a paper trail and as we won't be moving in straight away there's no frantic packing to do.
First job, once we get the keys, will be to assess what we have with all the clutter cleared then work out a programme of works with the aim of moving in before Christmas. There are walls to be stripped and insulated, bathrooms to be moved, a new kitchen to be fitted and complete re-decoration throughout. We may even move the front door if the current (vague) plan comes together. I plan to take lots of before & after pictures and a blog on the progress or lack of! I don't do video so a video diary is not an option.
Oh my, that means I'll be working through NaNo, maybe I can combine the refurbishment with a tale of hidden rooms and unearthed treasures :-) If that wasn't enough we also have a pre-booked weekend away in September and a wedding to go to on 31st October down in England. Busy, busy, busy!
After a delay of almost a month because the owner didn't have the correct title deeds the paperwork is finally on it's way to our solicitor. Thanks to a specialist legal post service they use here in Scotland it will definitely be with them tomorrow and, amazingly, they think we can still complete on time as long as there are no strange clauses in the contract.
That gives us just 7 working days! Sounds impossible but everyone's finances are in place so it's just a paper trail and as we won't be moving in straight away there's no frantic packing to do.
First job, once we get the keys, will be to assess what we have with all the clutter cleared then work out a programme of works with the aim of moving in before Christmas. There are walls to be stripped and insulated, bathrooms to be moved, a new kitchen to be fitted and complete re-decoration throughout. We may even move the front door if the current (vague) plan comes together. I plan to take lots of before & after pictures and a blog on the progress or lack of! I don't do video so a video diary is not an option.
Oh my, that means I'll be working through NaNo, maybe I can combine the refurbishment with a tale of hidden rooms and unearthed treasures :-) If that wasn't enough we also have a pre-booked weekend away in September and a wedding to go to on 31st October down in England. Busy, busy, busy!
17 August 2009
Reflections
It's hard to believe it's been over a year since I wrote anything here. The last time I did my life was full of renewed hope and expectations some of which have been met and exceeded but in other ways I've crashed & burned; I just hope there's a little bit of phoenix somewhere in my genes.
The good bits first.
I found a great writers group. It was difficult at first, so many of the members are established professional writers or very accomplished amateurs, but they made me welcome and I've made some good friends. Better still, working with them has given me the confidence to push my own writing that bit further. I even won a couple of awards! Now I just have to find the confidence to submit something for publication.
The not so good.
I managed to find work, not bad for someone who had been out of the work place for 3 years so had no up to date skills. Unfortunately it didn't last long as it was with a bank in the middle of the financial crisis. I didn't get laid off, I couldn't stand the appalling way they treated their customers or the bullying culture within the organisation; so I left. Stupid I know but morality has always won over common sense with me. I took another job in an office but, just like the bank, they managed through bullying and intimidation. I could have stayed and fought but health problems were being worsened by the working conditions so I gave up another job.
Which brings me to the bad bit.
I have a meningioma, which is a type of brain tumour, but in my case it's wrapped around my optic nerve. A swelling behind my eye was discovered during a routine eye test just 10 days after we arrived in the UK and was eventually diagnosed as a meningioma after 2 MRI scans and consultations with an ophthalmologist and a neurosurgeon.
Fortunately it's benign; probably. Because of the location they can't do a biopsy and removal is impossible so it'll be fractionated radiotherapy sometime very soon to stop it from growing. They can't shrink it though so once the treatment is over I'll be exploring new career options as the damage to my eyesight is irreversible and I can no longer use computers quickly enough for a commercial environment. My sight is still good but my eyes don't work together properly so fast scanning of screens is difficult, as is concentrating on a computer screen for any length of time.
But I'm one of the lucky ones; it could have been so much worse. If we hadn't moved countries it might not have been discovered for years, it's not malignant and the doctors can preserve most of my sight. I'm counting my blessings.
Good things to come.
We're in the process of buying a very old cottage which will take some months to restore but when it's done will give us more space and I will have a study to work in and maybe make those writing dreams come true. It's always good to have a dream.
The good bits first.
I found a great writers group. It was difficult at first, so many of the members are established professional writers or very accomplished amateurs, but they made me welcome and I've made some good friends. Better still, working with them has given me the confidence to push my own writing that bit further. I even won a couple of awards! Now I just have to find the confidence to submit something for publication.
The not so good.
I managed to find work, not bad for someone who had been out of the work place for 3 years so had no up to date skills. Unfortunately it didn't last long as it was with a bank in the middle of the financial crisis. I didn't get laid off, I couldn't stand the appalling way they treated their customers or the bullying culture within the organisation; so I left. Stupid I know but morality has always won over common sense with me. I took another job in an office but, just like the bank, they managed through bullying and intimidation. I could have stayed and fought but health problems were being worsened by the working conditions so I gave up another job.
Which brings me to the bad bit.
I have a meningioma, which is a type of brain tumour, but in my case it's wrapped around my optic nerve. A swelling behind my eye was discovered during a routine eye test just 10 days after we arrived in the UK and was eventually diagnosed as a meningioma after 2 MRI scans and consultations with an ophthalmologist and a neurosurgeon.
Fortunately it's benign; probably. Because of the location they can't do a biopsy and removal is impossible so it'll be fractionated radiotherapy sometime very soon to stop it from growing. They can't shrink it though so once the treatment is over I'll be exploring new career options as the damage to my eyesight is irreversible and I can no longer use computers quickly enough for a commercial environment. My sight is still good but my eyes don't work together properly so fast scanning of screens is difficult, as is concentrating on a computer screen for any length of time.
But I'm one of the lucky ones; it could have been so much worse. If we hadn't moved countries it might not have been discovered for years, it's not malignant and the doctors can preserve most of my sight. I'm counting my blessings.
Good things to come.
We're in the process of buying a very old cottage which will take some months to restore but when it's done will give us more space and I will have a study to work in and maybe make those writing dreams come true. It's always good to have a dream.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)