Glimpse of a new home.

As planned, we travelled to Portsmouth on Sunday, in the hope of finding out a little more about Sarah and Matts new home. Two and a half hours later we arrived to find an empty house, which was exactly what we hoped for. At least there would be a chance to look through windows and see what the back garden is like. Even luckier for Sarah, the neighbours invited her to see inside their house to give more of an idea of what she was moving to. The house looks much the same as the one they live in now except its 3 bedrooms instead of four. Very old fashioned again but a driveway and garage and a better garden for Dillan. It needs some work to make sure he can't get out, but its a much more manageable size. The down side for Sarah is the fact that it isn't a patch where the other wives are, so she is unsure about settling again. After having such a hard time previously, everyone hoped that this posting would be so much better for them both. Neil and myself have tried to point out all the good points and now we just have to sit back, wait and hope.
After looking around the area and finding out what was in the area, we went for a pub lunch ( of course I had a Sunday lunch because of my diet) and decided to go to Gun Wharf Quays.
The car park was amazing! Yes the car park. Each parking bay has a red or green light above so that you can see from a distance which bay is free. As you drive around arrows and signs show you how many bays are available down each aisle and constantly change as the lights are activated by sensors. Brilliant idea. Gun Wharf will be somewhere we visit quite often I would imagine. It's full of outlet shops, bars,restaurants bowling and the cinema. It's lovely. Unfortunately we couldn't stay too long as it was another long drive home, but all in all an enjoyable day. The photos below show Sarahs garden, lights in the car park and Gun Wharf Quays.

Curtains!!

Like so many people, I am now really fed up with our very long winter. I don't think we've had a particularly bad and severe winter but its gone on for such a long time. I cant wait for some sunshine, it always makes me feel better.
We were lucky on our visit to Catterick. Although extremely cold with some odd snow here and there, I managed to get the outside jobs done that were necessary. I had to layer up but after an hour or so of weeding and digging it was surprising how warm I was. It was also good to get some fresh air. Sarah made a start on cleaning her cooker. Neil came on Thursday as it was Easter Holidays and between the three of us we got quite a few jobs finished for Sarah. The worst being washing and ironing curtains. I hate ironing and there were 12 pairs of curtains that needed to be washed ironed and hung ready for the next family. Of course that means that another 12 pairs which are Sarah and Matts own, also need to be washed and ironed for Sarahs next house!!
Since Easter it's been another mixture of weather. Snow, rain and even a little sun all rolled into one week. It's not been a week any different to any others, with the normal household chores and jobs for myself and Auntie Joan. In fact, I would go as far as to say, pretty boring really!
Nicholas has been away to Tenby with friends this week. They all went last year and stayed in a caravan. Each of them enjoyed it except for the cold weather. This time they've pushed the boat out and paid extra for heating. I'm sure it will have been worth every penny! I look forward to him coming home and telling me about his week, even though it always comes out in dribs and drabs over at least another week.
Yesterday, Friday, after telephone call and emails, Sarah recieved news of her and Matts next house. The only details they get is an address, so google maps and street view come in useful. It must be hard not knowing what your home is going to be like until the day your furniture arrives, you're handed the keys and you actually move in, but that's exactly what happens. There's not much Neil and I can do to help settle any of Sarahs worries except take her the three hours to get a glimpse of the house from the outside. So, that's exactly what we are doing tomorrow. Neil of course will drive and I will try to point out the benefits of living in the area, and all of the good points the house has to offer. It's hard when you know nothing about the town let alone the area and you can't go inside the house, but we need to alleviate all of her fears and help to put her mind at rest. After all that's what Mums and Dads are for.