Wow.

We moved in on Thursday – our first night! We started by moving in the big furniture, and any boxes that were in the way of accessing more big stuff. The children have been very excited, and are now exhausted after four days of change.

Wardrobes are filling up, as are kitchen cupboards! Our pantry now has 12 metres of shelving, so we can easily see our food. It’s so organised! Yay! It has been wonderful to unpack some boxes to find lovely things, but I am finding that I am unpacking boxes of things that I no longer want or need. Off to charity they go! What a shame I wasn’t more ruthless when we moved over here.

I am grateful that my father-in-law packed so many things so carefully. Thank you, Gordon. A lovely antique piece is in great condition, as are some other things that we treasure. Platters – I can entertain again!

Exciting to be in separate bedrooms that can be darkened really well. The house is huge though, and very very messy. It takes two hours to vacuum the floors and just as long to mop… Eww. It’s great to use the Dyson again though – it has been packed away for so long.

I can’t really explain how I feel. It’s overwhelming. I walk into the cabin now, to collect more things to move, and I just cannot believe what we have done. It was so hard and I really was losing the plot towards the end. I’m happier now. So very pleased that we’re in the house, even if it is filled with boxes and newspaper and messy floors.

The children are very happy and they love playing in their own rooms.

So much to do still. The outside needs to be rendered. An outdoors cleanup and lanscaping is on the agenda. We’re looking into painting the internal side of the windows. The house is a bit cold because the eaves are open and the insulation needs to be finished. We don’t have a wood supply ( a big no-no in these parts!) so that has to happen so we can boost the solar hot water, which is not doing so well in the cooler weather.

We are looking forward to some visitors in April. It feels wonderful that we will have a house and a guest room and a nice bathroom for them.

Suddenly I almost feel normal again. It’s great to be in a house. I don’t think I will ever take it for granted; too much work and sacrifice has gone into it. I love having electricity.

It will get even better today when the washing machine – and other appliances – arrive.

Photos will be added when our internet connection is up and running.