Last week was really hectic but relatively well organised. We arrived in our new home with 6 wardrobes for 3 people but managed to get 3 of them to storage without damage. The kids have already had their friends round to inspect. The trip to IKEA proceeded with the usual one hour spend endlessly circling Milton Keynes looking for it. Eventually we cracked and asked directions. Even there was the furniture we wanted in stock, and we didn't suffer from too much from angst, until after we saw the bill.
Hiring a van was a good idea, though I ended up with a bigger one than I intended, so I was a bit scared to drive it at first. However my reputation is now ruined. I was spotted driving by one of Bee's friends. "I thought your mum worked for the EU?" Not strictly true but the easiest way to explain why I am always travelling for work (though not usually in a van).
My room still has a hole in the ceiling (the landlord left the rooflight open during a thunderstorm) so I have to sleep on the sofa bed, which just fitted into one of the unwieldy spaces in the attic. Although our new house is built in more or less the same way as the old one, the loft conversion in the new one has the staircase in the middle dividing the space into two useless, less than full height spaces. Luckily Bee takes this as a new challenge.
Nibbles the cat quickly got orientated and demanded to inspect the garden. With some trepidation we took her on a tour of the garden, in our arms. But eventually she snuck out, and now has explored all the garden, the next door shed roofs and keeps coming back for home comforts.
One joy (?) is the dishwasher. The quality of the hand washing up had got really bad, and so now I don't need to nag anymore. Also there is a nice, low maintenance garden with plenty of room for my containers, and a vine covered pergola by the back door. This gives us a mixture of a patio and a Greek balcony with extra storage.
So on the whole everyone is happy.
I spent my last night in the UK unpacking books, and assembling my new desk and chair from IKEA. The instructions were not much help, but it worked. I was at least able to find my papers, and ticket to Ukraine.
tags: IKEA, Milton Keynes
