The Frugal Hearth: Stories of Simple Living and Living Well

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Excellent news!! 🥳🙌😁

Elisheba

Morning, frugal friends,

Thank you so much for all your wonderful messages of support ☺️. My offer was formally accepted yesterday, and I've filled out various ID checks, and the Rightmove advert now says Sold STC which made me smile this morning when I saw it 😁.

Nothing will happen now until the New Year, so it was good to have some certainty before everything shuts down. The interest rate cut should have fed through by the time everything opens up again, so I might get a bit better deal on a mortgage. I did read through all the legal bumph my conveyancer sent me about missives in Scotland when she sent it, but I'll need to sit down with a notebook and pen and really get to grips with it, and then I'll have a much better idea of what happens next.

Thanks for all your comments about the kitchen company. I must admit I had no idea about it having bad reviews. I don't think I've so much as looked at a brochure or website for kitchens and the like in the past, having no need of them as a renter. What you say about living in a space and getting a feel for it is very wise, although I don't want to live out of boxes for very long so I'll need to buy some sort of storage asap. I'll hold off on any expensive options though and see how I feel 6 months or a year down the line.

I'm up in Scotland now, but have cancelled my leave for most of this week and am still working. This way I'll be able to cobble together about a week of annual leave for the move, which is very lightly penciled in for the end of March.

When I move I'll still be working in SE England, and go there roughly once a month. It will be a 5 hour drive down the night before (plus any stops), then I'll car camp in a service station (where you can shower and whatnot), and get a train into my work city in the morning. Silly dog will stay in kennels (or occasionally have a family member dog sit him), and I'll drive back on the evening of the office day. It's a heck of a commute, but in someways better than what I'm doing now as I won't have to get up at 5am for a 3 hour plus commute as that just wipes me out, and needs must and all that.

I have factored all the costs into my s/s so that is taken care of, and my only real concern is if, for whatever reason, I can't get care for silly dog. But one of my work friends suggested I might be make to find doggy day care in my work area so that might be an option, and just take him with me. It would be a lot easier if he was calmer around strangers and new houses as then I could ask friends to take him in an emergency, but as things stand he would be too much for most people (and possibly destroy all their soft furnishings). Black cat is a lot easier as I can leave her overnight, or if it needs to be longer for some reason, she can stay with family no problem. 

Oh, and my Mum completely surprised me last night and has transferred some money to me for my Skye trip for spending money. I hadn't even said anything to her about money being tight for the move, I think she just knew I wouldn't have booked Skye if I knew the house move was going ahead, and it turns out she has helped my siblings with holidays in the past and wanted to help me. So that means I'll have a little bit more for the move. And I remembered last night that all being well I'll get my rental deposit back as well at some point, so that's another £836 towards work that's needs done on the house.

In more annoying news, I have pinged something in my right shoulder and now it hurts when I move my arm. No idea how or when - which is the joy of being 45 not 25, and hypermobile, I suppose 🙄. Had to be my right arm as well - dogwalking, driving, and even typing for work is going to be a pain (literally). Hopefully it will sort itself out quickly.

Everything else continues onwards. I forsee the New Year will bring much more buzzing up and down the M6 than any sane person would ever want to do, but I shall keep reminding myself it is all in a good cause! Oh and on that point, if you are out driving, beware of speed traps! I have never seen so many traffic police tucked away as I did on my drive up on Sunday (and I've been doing the Scotland commute for over 20 years). Thankfully, although I may have beeen known to press the accelerator a little too enthusiastically at times on the dreariness that is the M6, I restrained myself this time so I don't think any tickets shall be popping through my door.

Hope everyone is as prepared for the big day as they can be. I still have a few presents to wrap, and a couple of vouchers to buy for people who want them instead. It's so lovely these days to have all the money put aside, and not being waving credit cards about and scrunching my eyes and worrying about if they are maxed out, and if so which one I can use next. 

KajiKita

Ah, I had forgotten you have far more of a network of support in Scotland than in Wales That will help a lot. Glad all the logistics *should* work out okay. 

Lovely of your mum to give you Skye fun money and what a time to have an interest rate cut! 🤩 Hopefully that will have morphed into new and interesting mortgage deals in the new year .... 🤔

Sorry to hear about your shoulder - hope it eases soon and you have a restful, peaceful, thoroughly-fun-plotting-and-scheming time over the Christmas break, once you get to it.

KK 

fionaandphil

Good news and lovely of your mum to help out with Skye, every penny will count while you're buying the house. 

I hope the travelling up and down the M6 isn't too onerous.  Big roadworks taking place over Christmas somewhere in north Lancashire/south Cumbria so watch out for them as the detour is quite large.  There is also a big train project going on from just after Christmas until mid January so I think there will be more traffic than usual.  Living near the motorway, you become very aware of how often it is closed or there is a big accident.  Shut for several hours yesterday so the traffic spills out onto all the surrounding A roads.  Our local police are also having a big push on drink and drug driving and publishing the stats each week - quite scary!

Have you got a heat pack that you can put on your shoulder to help with the pain? Or can you convince the cat to lie on it quietly and warm it up?!!

Hope you have a lovely Christmas and New Year x

Cheery_Daff

Well this is all extremely exciting!! So pleased for you (not about that commute though!) Is your car at up for camping? We used to have a Kingdom with a bed in the back (I think you may have similar?) which was great to sleep in,  but propping in the front seat might not make for a very good day's work 😬

Can't wait to watch all this unfold!

foxgloves

Well, @Elisheba, I popped onto your diary just to see if there were any pre-Christmas house buying updates & what do I see? STC!! Fantastic news! I do hope everything proceeds smoothly. As you say, not a lot is going to happen until after the festive shutdown, but how lovely to go into it with an accepted offer. I expect you will be very busy sorting everything out for some time to come. Shall look forward to reading your updates as & when you are able to chat to us all.
Another thought about storage....I can't think of the name of it, but there is a FB group devoted to using various units from the Blue & Yellow Swedish Emporium to create customised storage/furniture. Some of the ideas were very good & although I don't follow the group, I think I shall do when it eventually comes to moving time for us because we will be wanting affordable, attractive solutions for storing all our books & Mr F's vast CD/AV collection. Some of the solutions made me wonder why I had never thought of doing something similar with some of these very standard units.
F

ThriftyPrincess40

Fantastic news!!! I’ve been keeping an eye out for your updates, I love them!! And good news on holiday spends, that will help ease the pressure abit! Eeeek so excited for you! Have you thought of cheap flights down south from Scotland? Save the drive? You can get good discounts at times. Trains aren’t cracking though, just a thought x 

Humdinger1

Who-hoo @Elisheba! Fantastic news.  2026 is THE year.  Onwards and upwards love Humdinger xx 

peb

Excellent news. Just a thought, Easter falls the first weekend of April this next year which may help with timing.

Id go with the get someone in for ideas - I have an architect friend who really gives good pointers.

Moorviews

Congratulations Elisheba 🎉 I am way behind on reading diaries so yours has made a particularly exciting read! You have carefully put all the pieces together over the years to make this happen - well done to you 👏🥂