In the beginning

So it is I live in a house that's a mess, that is crazy and needs a lot of love. A couple of weeks ago my family came to stay. I love this house but it made me feel panicky. Embarrassed by its crumbling walls I wanted them to see what I could see but all of a sudden I could only see the bad. They went round like everyone does, listing the work that needs to be done, looking concerned and offering advice. EEK! There is so much to do and so much for us to learn. Aggggh its too much and I'm always going to live in a crumbling house that smells funny and is full of holes. It made me all upset to think that people wouldn't want to come and stay.

A few days later Natalie (who lives with us) returned from a trip in Austria. It was amazing to list all the things that had changed over the last 3 weeks. Small things but lots...

1. The old sofas and junk had gone from the living room and bathroom
2. The bathroom had shelves, an unusual dresser and a toilet roll holder!
3. The kitchen had a new shelf in the cupboard so I can organise to my hearts content
4. There is a new rug on the kitchen floor
5. Ikea provided us with an awesome kitchen trolley on wheels
6. All my decorations in the bedroom are complete
7. The whole place was finally hoovered 
8. We had a glorious bootsale and made £80
9. All of my junk is put away and not hanging around downstairs
10. I made up a chest to store bin bags

OK this is all quite mundane but the real purpose of this blog is to preserve my sanity. To keep a check on all the things we do rather than look at how much there is left to do. To keep track and monitor the progress. To picture before and after. To check back and see how far we've come.

Then hopefully people will return and I will catch more of their excitement too, recognising wallpapers and flooring from the past, marvelling at the fireplaces, envious of the view.