Finally settling in under the hammering of many different contractors all at once.

I’ve finally got the internet back properly! The electrician ran the ethernet cables along under the floors and through the ceilings so that we have a hard-wired LAN in the house to each room. It seems to be working all right.

Moving house continues to be stressful with the steady procession of contractors passing through. You all know me by now to be an OCD neat freak perfectionist, so it should come as no surprise to learn that I am not comfortable until I’ve got this new house just as we want it. We’ve had Zoë’s office put in, and the plasterers are plastering the walls as I type. By Thursday with the dehumidifier in there we’ll be ready to decorate it then it’s a big go for moving her stuff in over the weekend. That will clear out a lot of the boxes from elsewhere in the house.

Next I have to arrange for a joiner to do a fitted wardrobe in the main bedroom and shelving in what will become the library/dining room. ‘Library?’ I can almost feel you thinking. Well, yes. We have so many books and the dining room is so large that we decided “what the hell” and are going to shelve a lot of the walls. Still, it saves us from having to decorate the room.

After all that the builder will be back after his holidays to put a pitched roof over the front bay window, and add a porch there too. Then there’s a drive to go in at the front and a carport to go at the side. Ultimately there will also be a new extension at the back, as well as a conservatory, but now we’re talking about plans for next year and the year after.

Does it all feel like home? Yes, it certainly does. Despite all the stresses of the move and the work being done, neither of us would ever want to go back to rent-a-hell that was the succession of dodgy rented homes. If I drill a hole in this wall, at least it is MY wall to drill a hole into!