Right, I’m a day late. But it’s been a year (and a day) since we made the big move back to East Yorkshire. To village life. To family.
I went for a run this morning – no need to drive to the canal like I used to – I can run a perfect 5k route straight from the house. While I was being advised to Work Bitch by Britney, I was looking around and thinking about how much our lives have changed in the last year.
We’re a lot more relaxed about babyproofing this time around. Not that we don’t want Jude to be any less safe than Scarlett, obviously, but we know what was worthwhile from doing it all last time around.
Everything dangerous is clearly out of reach. There are a lot of extra cupboards in this house that we didn’t have in the last house, which is handy. They even left us a lockable medicine cabinet. Plug covers are contentious… we bought them last time, and then threw them away after reading that they actually make the plug live, so we haven’t got those again.
I like walking. It’s probably borne from the need, because I learned how to drive a bit later than most, but I’d rather walk to the shop than jump in the car. Unfortunately – and I’ve mentioned this before – that’s one thing we’ve had to sacrifice to live here – there’s no shop.
In fact, other than houses and farms, there are only two other buildings in this village – the village hall and the church next door.
If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you may remember that we put our house up for sale a year ago. Just over a year ago, actually. I looked up the date.
Our house is up for sale! I’m sad, nervous and excited in equal measure. It’s the house we nagged and nagged Barratts to reduce until they gave in, and it’s the house we struggled with mortgage payments for three tough years to pay until we were out of our insane fixed rate.
It’s the house we fell in love with because of the bedroom at the top with all the light. The one where we went to the showhouse six times with different groups of people before they’d even accepted an offer. It’s the kitchen project that we needed at a difficult time in our lives.
This is the house where we brought Scarlett after she was born. This was where she had her first bath. Her first bedroom. The garden was where she had her first unaided steps. Continue reading
Well, I can’t say that I did much for the Jubilee, sadly, but never mind. I watched part of the boat pageant and learnt a new word: flotilla. They used it every two minutes until it has eventually become a part of my vocabulary. We also watched the concert and was very confused – firstly, why didn’t they let Rolf Harris finish his song? Know your audience! Secondly, did Stevie Wonder think it was the Queen’s birthday? I’m surprised nobody had informed him why he was there. We also watched part of yesterday’s service, but mostly to see what Kate was wearing.
Apart from that, we have done no DIY (surprise, surprise!). I’m off for the rest of the week, so if I can bear lifting a paintbrush, I may have a look at the skirting boards. We have attended a first birthday party (happy birthday, Finley!), seen Prometheus (2/5, don’t bother, just watch Alien again, it was better), had pizza TWICE at Pizza Express (eek!), and seen Dirty Dancing (the musical) at the theatre with the girls, which was such a laugh!
I’ve also been awarded the extraordinary honour of being my friend Charlie’s chief bridesmaid, so need to get my thinking cap on for that once they’ve set a date…
Karen from Well I Guess This Is Growing Up, who I’ve mentioned before, has very kindly nominated me for a Liebster Blog award. I’m unclear as to what this actually means, but I think it means that she likes it, and no award’s actually won by anyone. If anyone does know, please tell me!
Anyway, these are the rules, as listed by Karen…
So here goes…
1. Thank you Karen! You’re pretty!
2. http://welliguessthisisgrowingup.wordpress.com/
3.
http://adetailedhouse.com/
This blog collates fabulous photos of other people’s homes. No need for an explanation why, but I especially liked the posts about colourful kitchens!
http://lesleycarter.wordpress.com/
I found this blog because Lesley’s liked a few posts of mine, so I thought I’d take a wander over there. It’s a travel blog in the main, but has lots of different sections, so check it out. I’m in the midst of writing a guest submission about our honeymoon in Sri Lanka and the Maldives – watch this space.
http://www.littlebirdfashion.com
This is a fashion blog. I actually saw Jen speak at a CIM event last year, which rekindled my interest in blogs. I did keep one when I studied abroad, but that has long since been deleted, so thanks to Jen for bringing me back!
http://www.scrappingmojo.blogspot.co.uk/
This is written by a friend of mine, Jules (I’ve mentioned her hallway before). It’s about scrapbooking, which I don’t do, but even so, it’s worth looking at for cute pics of her gorgeous dog, Mojo!
http://jthornburghartistry.com/
This is another DIY blog I’ve enjoyed. Again, I found them because they liked a few of my posts.