So where have I been lately?

Those of you kind enough to follow my ramblings so far will no doubt have noticed my prolonged absence.

Well, it's been an interesting few months. Having very nearly finished creating our beautiful dream house, it began to dawn on us that it really was too big and too difficult to manage. With regret, we decided it was time to move on. We were somewhat caught on the hop when some buyers turned up in early summer and the deal was done.

We therefore had several hectic weeks of trying to find a new house, negotiating furiously once we did, and at the same time struggling with the logistical problem of packing up a vast 300m2 house and squeezing what we could into the very much smaller new house.

An added complication was that the new house wasn't immediately habitable, so we took a rented house for a couple of months. Therefore, the packing up involved deciding whether things should go to the rental, to the new house, or into storage at a barn belonging to some very kind friends who agreed to help us out.

Sorting all this out while still keeping an eye on the normal daily business and household tasks proved quite a challenge, but we got there in the end.

So now we have a whole new wreck to tackle. Details of the first stage will be with you soon. Meantime, nostalgically, here is how the first big project ended up.