Keep your fingers crossed

We have had our offer on a property accepted!!!!  Let the stress begin!!!!!  ........ yes lots of exclamation marks, that's the way I'm feeling, pent up energy bursting out all over the place.  It is very early days and a lot could go wrong, it is not straightforward and I have already spent two days on the phone trying to sort things out with solicitors and estate agents.  I'm sure my blood pressure has gone even higher than usual.  Being firm when I was negotiating the price was hard, trying not to show any emotion, doing the whole 'this is what we are offering, we will not offer more, we will walk away', but eventually we came to an agreement.  It doesn't help that half the people involved are off on annual leave when I really need to push things forward to meet the deadline of impending birth of our buyers baby.   ARRRGGGGHHHH!  I keep reminding myself that this is nothing compared to what Sue over at  Our Quiet Life in Suffolk  has had to deal with.  She is flipping amazing.  Luckily I was on annual leave this week so could spend the time on the phone, don't know how I'm going to manage when I'm back at work next week and can't take or make phone calls during clinics.  

Anyway, I won't say too much as I don't want to jinx anything.  I will leave you with photos of our lovely walk yesterday.  We decided to head inland to avoid the madding crowd and took a picnic with us, the first for the year.  Well o.k. to describe it as a picnic is exaggerating, there were no wicker baskets, quiches and glasses of elderflower presse, just a flask of tea and a sandwich, squashed in my backpack and eaten perched on a rock.  The weather was glorious, unlike today which is grey and raining.  It was a lovely distraction from all the things whizzing around my head.   When we returned we tidied up the garden and I covered my little veg patch, I don't think I will have time to grow anything and don't want it covered in weeds and cat poo from the neighbourhood cats for the new owners.  I have also started to clear out the greenhouse, sad to think I will not be growing anything in there, it was my dads and brings memories of his tomatoes and cucumbers which used to fill it and groan under the weight of it all.  I obviously haven't inherited his green fingers.  

These were taking at Stithians Dam, as you can see the water is very high at the moment.  It is a weird feeling looking at the water and imagining the buildings left at the bottom when the valley was flooded.  I have been to the lake before but never the end where the dam is situated, strange how we often overlook beautiful places on our doorstep.  In Cornwall we often head to the coast but this little gem of a place has lovely walks, watersports and is good for birdwatching.  

I love the beautiful yellow gorse 

Not sure what you can catch, my dad was a sea angler so I don't know much about freshwater fish

A very brazen bird who was very reluctant to move

A felt a bit wobbly taking this photo, I really don't like heights

Hope you have a relaxing weekend, and welcome to the new followers,

Chickpea xx

Destination Unknown!

My apologies for not blogging for a while, but I have been well and truly in the doldrums. The description of doldrums is "a state of inactivity, mild depression, listlessness, or stagnation'  Yep, that pretty much sums it up, I have felt like I'm neither moving forward or back, just adrift far out to sea.

However all that will change soon.  We will be moving one way or another!  Destination unknown!

When we accepted an offer on our house our buyers were not in a hurry as they wanted to move down to Cornwall to start a family (and who can blame them, it is such a wonderful place to raise children).  Well they let us know yesterday that a little one is on the way and would like to complete by the beginning of July.  Of course we said that would be fine but we still haven't found anywhere......eeeekk.  I had written a whole rant about how useless estate agents are but deleted it as even I am getting bored with complaining about them.  We used Tepilo who have been brilliant, but as for the rest of them........!!!!!

We put an offer in on a house on Monday so have been on tenterhooks all week only to find out today that the estate agents haven't even put the offer to the owners yet.  FFS!!.......no I'm not going to rant.....I must resist ........try to think happy thoughts......

On that note, I will leave you with some photos of a recent trip to the beach to walk off my frustrations.  The dogs in jumpers certainly cheered me up :)

Enjoy,

Chickpea xx

With the beautiful blues seas it looks like the Med.

The low tides have recently revealed an ancient forest but I couldn't find it

We used to be able to walk along this pier but after several people were swept off over the years it is now closed off.  The original white hut was washed off in the storms a couple of years ago but has now been replaced.

Riding the Waves

A very rare occurrence of good weather and a day off happened yesterday so I grabbed the chance to go to the beach.  It seemed that everyone else had the same idea, it was good to see people with a smile on their faces.

It was cold and windy but the beautiful blue sky made up for it.  With my coat pulled tightly around me I stood to watch the surfers making the most of the big surf.  They fought against the huge waves to get further out to sea, often knocked back in again ending up where they started in the first place.  Undeterred they turned around and headed out to sea again, holding tightly to their boards.  Once out far enough they waited and waited until the perfect wave, then paddled furiously trying not to miss the opportunity, trying not to get left behind to drift.  When everything came together they would be lifted by the wave and rush towards the shore, leaping to their feet to balance on the board.  For a few seconds they would feel the exhilaration of riding the wave before being dumped into the shallow water.

Life feels a bit like that to me.  You work hard, get knocked back a few times, get back up again and continue to fight towards your goal.  Sometimes the waves seem so huge you think they will wipe you out.........and then if you are lucky, you catch that wave and for a short perfect time it is all worth it.

We continue to work towards our time on that wave,  we have worked all our lives for this moment. We search for the house that will be the start of our new life.  There is a huge amount of work still to be done but one day you will see me on that wave whooping with joy.

Chickpea xx

The Disappearing Lump and Other Things

The little stream through the woods has doubled in size.

I have had a lump in my neck for months, it felt like I swallowed a golf ball and was uncomfortable when lying in bed.  Of course I didn't get around to doing anything about it.....yes I know.  Anyway the doctor referred me for a scan.  On the morning of the scan I woke to ........ yes you've guessed it, no lump!! It used to be there I protested pathetically to the doctor as she slathered the gel all over my neck and clothes (deliberately I suspect for wasting her time).  This isn't the first time something like this has happened.  Is it just me this happens to?  So embarrassing.

The other thing that has disappeared is my nice big jam making pan.  I put it away somewhere when I cleared the house for viewings, and can I find it?  I have found things going back to my school days stashed away in the attic but the pan which was put up there a few months ago is nowhere to be seen. I seem to spend my whole life looking for things.  If I added up the time spent looking for things it would probably be years of my life.  Keys, phone, glasses all hide from me.  Oh well the Seville oranges will have to stay in the freezer for another week.  We are eating the last jar of marmalade from last year so it looks like I will be buying another pan if we are to have homemade marmalade any time soon.

My other failure is my lack of self discipline.  Hating shopping I decided to just do a supermarket shop once a month.  We get our veg, dairy and meat from our local food box company which is delivered weekly and I support another local greengrocer by buying all my fruit weekly on my way home from work.  If I'm organised and make a list I could get a whole months supermarket shopping delivered and never have to go near the horrible place.  Good plan I thought, but that wasn't taking into account my lack of control when it comes to crisps.  If they are in the house I have to eat them, I'm addicted!  It looks very unlikely that my months stash of crisps is going to last more than a couple of weeks. The bearded one did comment that 'they aren't going to last you a month'  He was right damn it.  I'm determined not to buy anything else until my next payday so I will be suffering serious crisp withdrawal symptoms until then.  Is there anything you can't resist?

I have looked at another house which was lovely and but the land was separate which didn't work for us so the hunt continues.  I'm afraid I am very behind with my blog reading at the moment so I hope you are all keeping well. We have had some flooding down in Cornwall, places that have never flooded before, nothing like the terrible floods up country, but for those affected still terrible.    It is driving me mad being stuck indoors, we ventured out on Saturday only to get soaked before we walked very far.  Everywhere is muddy and waterlogged and the poor birds look so bedraggled.  It wouldn't be so bad being stuck in if I could sit by the fire  and catch up on War and Peace, but it has been a constant stream of cricket, rugby and football much to the sport lovers delight.

I'm not sure where we will be living in the summer, I will miss getting my veg patch and greenhouse planted up but thought I could at least grow some early potatoes in bags, so they are in the window to chit.  Pots of herbs can be planted for the summer and lettuce leaves in pots, all things that can be moved.  Any other suggestions would be appreciated.  Preferable things that will be ready early summer and transportable.

 I will pop around to see you all when work madness dies down a bit.  Off to make some pasties for the family, you may hear some swearing when I am trying to get my gluten free pastry to stay together!  I'm afraid there's nothing exciting happening at the moment, work, housework and nothing much else to report.

Chickpea xx

Nearly Going up in Flames!

Handmade trug and home grown veg

Hi all, hope you are all muddling along, flipping wet in the U.K. isn't it!  I think I'm developing webbed feet.  I thought I would pop in and give you an update on my exciting life......well my life.  Mostly it's been same old stuff but I did book myself on a Willow Day at our local 'Eco Park' .  Of course it was blowing a hooley as we traipsed across the very muddy field to the willow patch and then starting hailing as we were cutting the willow but it was worth the cold hands (and pulled muscles in my gluteus maximus) Why put myself through this I hear you ask?  Well sometime in the future......who knows when, we haven't found anywhere yet, I would like to grow willow in my future fields.  Not being very green fingered I was pleased to find out that they happily grow away and need coppicing from January to April when you cut everything right back and in the spring they grow away again.  I think I may be able to manage that.  In the afternoon they showed us how to make either a trug or an obelisk for the garden.  Being the practical person that I am, I decided on the trug and as you can see I have already put it to good use. Yes I know handmade trug, picking home grown chard. How smug do I sound, I want to slap myself sometimes :)

The trug is a bit wonky, but I like wonky.

I have been following a really interesting blog My make do and mend life which has all sorts of tips about reducing our impact.  The blogger spent a year not buying anything new, so learned how to make the most of everything she had.  I am increasing worried about our impact on the planet, we only have one, and having watched The Martian over the weekend, I don't fancy living on Mars.  (though if Matt Damon is in residence....) I know my little contributions don't seem much and often have my family scratching their heads at my attempts at being green, but it makes me happy to be treading as gently as I can manage at this point in time.  One of the tips from the 'make do and mend blog was putting your old orange and lemon peel into a jar of white vinegar to make a cleaner.  I had the vinegar, I have satsuma peel so it has cost me nothing.  I will be putting it into a spray bottle later and giving it a go.

I have also bought some soap nuts. I have to say I was very dubious about these and did resort of my usual stuff when the grandchildren were here.  I'm not sure how they would have coped with food and poo splattered clothes, but for everything else they have been great.  I am a convert!  I put a few drops of essential oil in the rinse and Bobs your uncle as they say, Green washing.  I feel so virtuous haha.  The nuts go in the compost bin when finished with.

You are probably wondering about the title.  Well here's a little health and safety warning for you all. Don't be a numpty like me and cook while wearing one of your favourite scarves.  I thought I could smell something burning........it turned out to be me.  Burnt scarf, burnt carpet where I threw it down and stamped on it and the tips of my hair singed.  Apart from that, I was very very lucky!

Stay safe everyone,

Chickpea xx

Rant Alert......may involve bad language.

I thought I had better check in with you all in case you thought I had disappeared, I have been busy busy busy with juggling everything on very little sleep.  Working in health I have been incredibly busy helping people with their New Years Resolutions to get healthier.  It it my busiest time of year work wise and leaves very little time for me to actually work on my own health, seems a bit hypocritical really.  I advise people to "Go for walks, eat healthily,  get enough sleep, stop smoking etc etc" you get the picture.  While little old me is sat scrunched over a computer, living on whatever I can grab from the kitchen that is quick, and surviving on a few hours sleep.  Damn the insomnia!!

I am counting the days to retirement, if I could just do the working with people bit it would be great, it is all the paperwork that is involved in everything these day.  I wouldn't be surprised if I have to fill out a bloody form to go to the loo soon!!!  There is so much ass- covering these days in case you get sued that half your time is spent completing courses and filling out forms on the bleeding obvious.   Don't get me wrong, I'm in favour of Health and Safety to ensure people are kept safe, but it does seem to be going too far sometimes.

I have also failed my resolutions to be a more consistent blogger......yes my output is pants at the moment.  Sorry guys I will try harder.....perhaps I should do a course on it :)

In other news, I am scratching my head over all the forms involved in selling a house......they want to know the ins and outs of a ducks backside!!

Still chasing up estate agents to send us details on any houses that suit our criteria..... do they want to sell properties or not!!

I know, it is a badly worded, rushed post, probably full of typos and lots and lots of moaning (and exclamation marks!!!!)  My next post will be full of good things, raindrops and roses.....I promise.

Hope you are all keeping well dear bloggy friends,

Chickpea xx