Champagne and toilet seats

The toilet seat is fixed!

My partner burst through the door last night and announced that our mortgage had been approved! So we opened up a bottle of champagne, made a lovely meal and did chores. Well, I did some laundry and she applied her considerable intellect into fixing the rogue toilet seat. And occasionally we squealed, hugged each other and had more champagne!

About five minutes before she got home, she got the call – and the decision – we had been waiting for all day!

Today I sorted out the survey and am just about to call the solicitor (he sends emails and letters longer than some novels I’ve read). And on Wednesday I have Pickfords coming round to do something called a home survey. That’s where they assess exactly what you want packed/moved and then provide an accurate quote. If we complete before Christmas we’re thinking of going down for a couple of days to camp at the cottage. It would certainly be a birthday to remember (I’m 35 on Christmas day!) We might not have heating or electricity but it should still be fun!

I’ve always wanted to own my own place but like a lot of people faced with spiralling house prices, I thought we would only be able to get what the American’s call a ‘fixer-upper’. To think we might soon be the very proud owners of a gorgeous cottage is very surreal...

Anyway, things to do and all that. Keep sending good thoughts and crossing your fingers. House buying is not known for its similarity to walking in the park...

Conference report

My conference was a huge success! I'm now totally exhausted but really pleased how it went... and I got two bottles of bubbly and some chocolate as a thank you for all my hard work!!

Penny Mallory (former world rally champion - the only woman to ever compete and win in the world championship, and TV presenter) was our inspirational speaker and she was awesome. A really powerful, interesting, articulate woman. Thoroughly recommend her for your conference / team building etc.

Anyway, I'm going to finish my beer and go to bed!

Happy retirement mum!

My mum is retiring! Out of context this may not seem a very big deal, but for a very ill woman battling cancer, this is wonderful, fantastic, extraordinary news! I shall explain… St. Christopher’s hospice (yes I know, I went cold when I heard the words ‘hospice’ and ‘I have an appointment’) but my mum was quick to point out that it was nothing like that, they employ advisors that can help ill people (not just terminally ill people) and they worked out that she can afford to retire and that based on the consultant’s recommendations this should be done as soon as possible because her working was seriously impacting on her health and recovery. In the meantime, her hospital doctor has signed her off work (I think he must have said something akin to ‘now listen here missus, you are not well enough to work and if I have to confiscate your travel card and steal all your shoes you will bloody well rest!’)

I felt quite emotional when she told me last night. She actually sounded a little better already. Apparently she is going to be doing some volunteering and take a course. For some people, retirement is a frightening thing; a prelude to a rapid decline into old age and fragility, for my mum, I really do believe it will be the making of her! And of course, she will be healthier, simply because she is resting more.

I will be making a donation to St. Christopher’s hospice and I might take some flowers down because I have the names of the two women who have helped her so much. It is an amazing thing that there are people out there who by dint of their knowledge, understanding, patience and sheer determination can help people with the practicalities of life (benefits, pensions, housing, complimentary therapies) when they are at their most vulnerable. I hope they – and others like them – will always be there to help and make a real difference to people’s lives.

We have decided that when we get to Paris we will take her to a posh restaurant and order champagne and celebrate not just her birthday but her retirement too!

This is great for us as well (selfish gene alert) because it means when we have kids she can baby-sit more and look after our growing menagerie of animals (although the sea monkeys are fairly self sufficient). I may have to buy her a car though, it seems a bit mean making her take the bus, lol!

52 weeks and one day later...

Yesterday was the year anniversary of when my partner moved in. Yes, a whole year... 12 months, 52 weeks etc. I can't believe how it's flown by and it's been such a fantastic year as well. (Fantastic because she moved in.) Anyway we opened a bottle of champagne and eventually I fell asleep in front of the TV with the dog stretched across my feet, whilst she sewed some buttons on to a jacket.

Ahhh... domestic bliss.