Busy bees

It's been a bit of a week really.  We've:

1. Rented a cottage
2. Got the second Planning Permission
3. Found that Atlasta is damp to live in 
4. Visited Grand Designs Live
5. Chosen our Now Not Wooden flooring
6. Ordered a barn.

Now we need a lie down...

Quite by accident (you know how it is, you just look up an empty house online, find it was the result of a bankruptcy, speak to the Manchester agents who want to sell it not rent it then purposely look at others online) we found a cottage nearby to rent. It's cute, it's empty, it's affordable and it's within 2 miles from home. Sorted! We viewed it, which must have been the weirdest viewing the agent had ever dealt with ("Is it damp? No? We'll take it"), signed three tons of paperwork and it's ours to move into when we need.

Cute, huh?  And, more to the point, empty, unfurnished and not damp, so we can shift all our furniture in there and be comfortable while home has seven bells knocked out of it. It also has lovely views out of the bedroom window:

It's near Tintern, our 'new local' pub does a great fish and chips and, rather disconcertingly, has the same wall lights that we have at home. We think we might ask the landlord if he'd like any more...

We didn't actually need to rent anywhere until about January. Or so we thought. But this week we discovered major damp at home, to the extent that I was waking up every day with a headache. To be fair, I had given up the fizzy wine and STILL had the headaches. One dehumidifier later, the fizzy wine is reinstated and (drum roll) no more headaches. Result! And then the boiler broke down. Don the plumber came out on a Sunday to fix it and, whilst we're delighted to have the heating back, the news that although he could replace the pump the motor has only got another month to live isn't so good. So we may be moving sooner than we thought...

Last Sunday evening we also discovered that our second planning permission has been granted. Hooray!! Yes, and on a Sunday. Overtime for Council employees or what? No matter, it means this...

[if the photo looks a little familiar, you're right, I am now repeating old photos]

...can be replaced with something wooden, secure and without holes in the walls. Nice. Today the local agent came along with the chap who is going to fit it. They agreed their lorry will NEVER get round the tight corner on our lane and they may have to lug every component 100 yards from the road. As the fitter was leaving we all walked down to the offending corner and explained which bits we're planning to cut back, at which point he said 'no problem' and we parted happy bunnies. So we've ordered the barn. Delivery should have been possible in 2-3 weeks but the main bloke at the manufacturing plant has been ill so now we're looking at December which is actually fine as the fitter who was free in 2-3 weeks now isn't but he can do December. Christmas in the new barn, anyone?

On Thursday we visited Grand Designs Live at the NEC. We wanted to look at flooring, have a nosey round and get some ideas. We didn't come back with many ideas, but we have found our flooring. We'd been looking at solid wood (which we love but which isn't good with underfloor heating) or engineered wood (like a laminate with a thin strip of solid wood so not the same thing at all and which we don't like but it does work with the underfloor heating). And then we discovered bamboo. We love it!  Sustainable, nice colour, warm to the touch and (best bit) only a third of the cost of either wood solution. HOORAY! Easy to fit too - I think we should do it ourselves, Guy is reserving judgment just yet. To be fair, he has met my 'we can do it ourselves' before and is sensibly very wary.

We're still on the foraging too - this week has been mushrooms, sweet chestnuts, crab apples (for jelly) and blackberries so that I could have a blackberry coulis with my steak. I know, posh or what? Honestly, I'll be asking for a parsnip foam next...

I really should stop watching the Great British Menu...