Still here

Hellooooooooo

We are still here, although you would be forgiven for thinking we had fallen off the planet

FIVE months on from my last post, much has happened and not much has happened if you know what I mean

In a nutshell

*      We have been up country to visit family

*       Friends and family have been here to visit us (Mum and Dad, Tony and Carol, Kev and Jackie)

*      We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary

*      Amy and Robbie finished uni

*      All three 'children' are now working

*      Amy has had a tonsillectomy

*      Robbie is learning to drive and has his first car

Some of these events will be blogged in more detail later. I have just finished editing all the photos from the last five months, 700 photos, two hours and three coffees later I have decided there is far too much to wade through in one blog post

And in other news

We had an unexpected little windfall, so bought ourselves this fab little campervan, we have been away in it a couple of times already and are planning our first trip away with the dogs soon

The dogs have had a wonderful time in the woods, on walks and especially on the beach

We have had some gorgeous days out, exploring our stunning county, sometimes just the two of us, sometimes with friends or family and often with the dogs

I gave up trying to cover the grey and have been gradually adding more and more highlights, I am really happy with the results and my hairdresser is fantastic, Paige has the patience of a saint with my stubborn hair

We have also had some amazing days/nights out, we have enjoyed some fantastic gigs this year, local and further afield, found a couple of new festivals, added a few new bands to our playlists and generally broadened our horizons musically ( much more to come on that in future posts )

And yes, I have still been doing a little crafting, much much less than I used to. I toyed with the idea of giving it up and freeing some space by getting rid of all my craft clutter  stuff, but the feeling didn't last long. 

It may take me a little longer to actually get started, but once I have all my pretties out on the table, I remember just how therapeutic it is to have a craft and play session

This is my most recent creation, a card for my lovely friend Sue

I know this is a bit of a 'mixed bag', but you know what it is like to have so much to catch up on that it is difficult to know where to start

A very sensible person once said "just start", once you get going, the fear of the blank page disappears and the rest is much easier, how true this is. Now I have a million ideas running through my head and rather a lot of photos on my hard drive, no excuses then !

Back soon

I promise

xxx

7 On Sunday

I have been asked why we moved to Cornwall

This is why !

1. St Mawes on Tuesday

2. Bathing in the glorious sunshine

3. Our first visit to Crinnis beach which is right on our doorstep

4. Midweek the beaches are virtually deserted

5. I have never known two dogs happier than when they are playing in the surf

6. Clear blue waters, clean sand and winter sunshine

7. One very soggy but very happy Bruce

Out of the past 7 days, we have enjoyed four days at the beach

Yes I have a little ironing to catch up on and the house hasn't been dusted yet this week, but do I care ?- hell no, the cleaning will get done on a day when we are limited by the weather. We wanted to move somewhere we could enjoy the outdoors. The coast has called me for years and I know we have done the right thing when I can see Neil and the dogs on the beach, not a care in the world !

Love and blissful beach days

Tracey

xxx

St Mawes

ST Mawes is a small fishing village at the end of the Roseland Peninsula, opposite Falmouth on the South coast of Cornwall, approximately 30 minutes (by car) east of where we live

We have passed sign posts many a time as we have travelled to and from Truro and promised ourselves a little trip there once the weather picked up

Tuesday was glorious and so we packed the beach towels, dogs and a picnic into the car and off we set

St Mawes is positioned within the gulf stream and basks in mild weather all year round, during the summer it is often a Mediterranean climate, which explains why there are some stunning gardens in the area

We headed straight to the harbour so the dogs could have a run on the beach

This is the view from where you enter St Mawes

We started out on Idles Beach

It didn't take the dogs long to dive in, Bruce is already swimming ( that little dot where Molly is heading)

I wandered off down the beach to explore the rockpools, Molly was not far behind, ears flapping, tail wagging and stick in mouth ready to play

I love this photo of Bruce, checking that his little sister is not far behind, he is a very elegant and strong swimmer, hardly making any splashes when he is in the water, Molly on the other hand, starts off like she is drowning with seemingly more legs than an octopus, she eventually settles into a lovely little doggy paddle but Bruce is always mindful that she is ok.

After our playtime on the beach we explored the town and took a wander along the harbourside.

St Mawes is a beautiful little village, well maintained and very clean. There was lots of painting going on, many of the seafront properties, mostly little fisherman's cottages have been painted ice-cream colours - so pretty, and then there was this stunning thatched cottage, up for sale at a cool £750,000 - but honestly the view it had was priceless

Strolling passed the thatched cottage and continuing around the harbour we found the perfect little sun trap to settle down, take a breather and enjoy our picnic. With views out over the harbour and out to sea, the sun on our faces it was the perfect end to an absolutely beautiful day.

I just love the way Molly is catching the rays, eyes closed, sniffing the clean sea air and drying out nicely.

Love and sandy paws

Tracey

xxx

Blazing a trail

To pick up where I left off in my previous blog post,  yes we did find our new home

It certainly wasn't any of the first houses we looked at, in fact, the price had placed it out of our search criteria and finding it was a fortuitous twist of fate

We had  booked a viewing in a town called Par, the viewing went a little awry, there was a mix-up with the keys, so we had to wander around the town while the Estate agent contacted the vendor, the house smelled damp and was darker than the photographs had led us to believe, the garden was too small for our growing menagerie, in short, it wasn't 'the one'

Before heading out to our next viewing we searched out the local pub for a comfort break

As we sipped our ciders and gathered our thoughts, the landlord made polite conversation. We shared our disappointment of the viewing but also mentioned how we had found a gem in the town, we loved the area but couldn't find anything else here suitable. Matt mentioned that a friend was selling a house that he had just finished renovating, in nearby St Blazey and offered to take us there to have a look ( he actually shut the pub and took us the mile down the road )

It wasn't the kind of house we were looking for, we were looking for a bungalow, but it just had such a happy feeling. The refurb had just been finished and the whole house was immaculate from top to bottom, brand new plastering, paint, woodwork and best of all the fabulous high spec kitchen and two new bathrooms both with showers and one downstairs which was an absolute bonus.

The view from the conservatory door looks out onto an old cottage- a listed building, beyond that is a beautiful wooded area and park with a duck pond, the level crossing is just beyond the cottage, over which is a canal and a small stream

We have started tidying the garden, all the flower beds had been neglected the fences had been left unpainted, the old post box you can see on the wall in the bottom picture (filled with rocks to hold it down) has been replaced with the shiny new red one on the wall of the house in the top picture.

We have been painting and renewing fences, the dirty grey rendering on the walls has been painted white and we have refilled the flower beds with new topsoil, ready for plants and flowers, photos will be shared of the progress we make

So, by happenchance and the helpfulness of the local landlord we found a house that would have otherwise remained undiscovered in our new hometown of St Blazey.

St Blazey is a small town  on the south coast of Cornwall just 3 miles east of St Austell

St Blazey is the home of the incredible Eden project, just one mile and easily within walking distance of our house

We are home to two lovely beaches too

Par Beach, which is approximately 1.5 miles away from the house 

And Spit beach which is slightly nearer at a mile away, both fabulous places to take the dogs and the kids

Are we settled yet ???

Hell yeah !!!

And as you can see from the last photo, Sox would agree. I uploaded a photo of her to facebook last week, supposedly helping me tidy away my craft stuff. As fast as I could empty a box, she would then commandeer the box as her new home, it was suggested by a couple of my friends that maybe I should let her have her own little corner of my craft room - I think she loves her new basket - don't you ?

Love and kisses from St Blazey

Tracey

xxx

The journey begins ...

And so the adventure begins....

We made it to Cornwall  - wooohoooooooo !!!

Our relocation here did not go as smoothly as we had hoped it would

We put our bungalow on the market

Sold said bungalow within a week, full asking price, to investors with no strings or ties or conditions

We found a new house and all aimed for a mutually agreeable completion - should have been plain sailing

And there we stayed - aiming for completion for almost six months

Turns out the house we were buying contained two of the most indecisive people you could meet, cutting the story short, with three days until the mutually agreed completion date, the vendors  changed their minds and took the house off the market.

Not wanting to lose our sale and knowing our search would be much easier if we were actually living in the county we were househunting, we embarked on our 'little adventure'

We trawled the internet and discovered a little static caravan in Perranporth - a place we briefly visited last year and loved,  and booked it for five weeks, cramming all our worldly belongings into storage. We packed one bag each and all the pets in our little Honda Civic, beginning our journey brimful of uncertainty, excitement and just a tad of "what the hell are we thinking ?"

The packing was easier than I thought, limiting our belongings to the contents of a holdall each forced us to choose loved, comfortable and practical clothing

The journey was pleasant, good driving conditions, very little traffic for our term-time departure, all the pets and the kids travelled well, impeccably behaved for the full 385 miles, no mean feat when there are three kids, the dogs ( one still a puppy ) a cat and a hamster all in the car with us 

The goodbyes - heartbreakingly hard !

As we left Lincolnshire, the lump in my throat threatened to break into a sob and be my undoing, I so wanted to be positive and upbeat, transferring good vibes and energy into the precious cargo of kids and pets, I held it together - just !

And so, for five weeks, we were homeless  holidayed in the beautiful beachside town of Perranporth

The view from our caravan

Exploring the rock pools

The boys had so much fun playing on the endless sands of Perranporth beach with the dogs, carefree, all inhibitions dumped at the edge of the incoming tide along with their sea soggy t-shirts

One very happy puppy, finding her sea legs with the aid of a football

The evenings were spectacular, stunning half light bounced and dazzled from sea sodden sands

And you would be forgiven for asking  "so what is it like sharing a caravan with your hubby, three kids, the daughters boyfriend, a dog, a puppy, a cat and a hamster ?"

I am not going to lie, at times we all had the 'count to ten' moments but on the whole it was absolutely brilliant. We visited some amazing places, we met some lovely people, we enjoyed some fantastic beaches and we shared some very special moments .......

And did we find a new home ?????

To be continued ......

Love and salty kisses

Tracey 

xxx