Cheery's country living adventure

Karmacat

That looks good and strong, Cheery, that's great progress.

Cheery_Daff

Thanks 😊 It does feel like progress! 

Excitement this morning when I dragged my newly-fixed bike (the big one, not the little Brompton) out for a bike ride. First time I've been out on the roads for years - certainly since we moved here. I normally drive to the old railway trails but decided to just pootle around the lanes this morning.

I arranged to meet Mr Cheery at the cafe so I didn't have to cycle up the big hill at the end 😂 It took me an hour longer than I planned - 3 hours to do 17 miles 😮😂 But I've not cycled 17 miles at all for probably about 5 years so still an achievement 😁

Currently recovering in the cafe, on my second pot of tea, and not planning anything too energetic for the evening 😁

Cheery_Daff

Quite a rollercoaster of a day today. Exhausted after bike ride, and Beaky is going quite downhill quite quickly, so we're preparing ourselves that tomorrow's trip to the vets might be one way 😕 

In more cheerful news though we have made more progress on the chicken run, and we might have found our new second hand kitchen. The units are pretty much exactly the right size and what we were looking for. The granite is lovely (although we may well end up buying new worktops, not decided yet). 

The seller is paying for dismantling, so cost of kitchen and getting it here would be about £1500. Considering one kitchen firm wanted to charge £3500 and the other £4500 for something similar I'm happy with that, even if we do end up with new worktops. Going to ring the kitchen removal people tomorrow and check they can shift it - the seller can store it for a few days though if they can't do it straight away. 

So hopefully by tomorrow that might be another thing ticked off the list. 

Tired now 😕

beanielou

All coming together 

ElmoR

What other people said - take some time for yourself Cheery

It's that season in the academic cycle when we have been running on empty and the stress you store earlier in the year has a chance to ambush you.

@Chiglepig idea of using the land for Brookside-type shenanigans sounds appealing. Space for more?

xxx

rtandon27

ElmoR said:

...@Chiglepig idea of using the land for Brookside-type shenanigans sounds appealing. Space for more? ...

I have an extra 3 to add for fertilizer - I think I'm now up to 5 on my list of those fit for worm food🤣🤣🤣 (Last week was particularly trying!)

Cheery_Daff

Crikey people! 😮😮 When we moved friends suggested we set up some kind of green burial ground - but I think they were suggesting of the legal variety 😮

That said, we do have 11 acres, and most of it isn't visible from the house, so if you were out there I wouldn't necessarily be able to see what you were doing... 

Made £6.48 on the Happy Wheel this morning, total of £49 in June which is not much but then I've not been doing it much this month so it's fine. 

Also spoke to kitchen removals people - £750 to move the kitchen (which is pretty much what we guessed) and they can do it with a couple of days notice, which is great.

It's being removed next Monday, so hopefully we could arrange to shift within a couple of days - gives us a week or so to clear space in the garage this end too. 

Just need to agree now. Never quite sure what order to do things in when buying second hand. Do we pay now and hope it's intact after removal?? Or wait for photos after removal and hope nobody else bought in the meantime??

Baileys_Babe

Would it be possible to put down a deposit now to secure it and pay the remainder when you receive either the kitchen or the photos?

I would have thought it would be worth discussing with the vendor.

Cheery_Daff

Indeed BB - I've just sent her a message saying I'd like to have a chat on the phone. Much easier to hash these things out in a conversation sometimes. Deposit sounds like a good idea - then there's the potential for a discount if anything breaks as it's being taken out! The removal company do professionally dismantle kitchens as well, but they charge about £500 (probably more than her fitter) and it might leave her without a kitchen for longer. I've suggested it as an option (but obviously we'd then want that off the price). 

Anyway, getting closer! Still not heard from the builder's pals so it looks like they've missed their chance now. Still, I don't think any builder types are desperate for work at the minute - seems almost impossible to find anyone who can do anything without booking months in advance!

hb2

It does sound as if things are coming together now Cheery. What tends to happen is that there is a long period when no progress seems to be made, then everything comes together at once.

I can't imagine having 11 acres of land, our communal 'garden' is about the size of our lounge! I wonder if I could get Mr hb shipped to you to go under the patio . . .