This is a post that should have been posted back In November, so its out of date, but the content is still valid.

It’s almost 12 months since we decided to move from our present house , an Edwardian semi. Although we love the house, and had in recent years explored creating a ground floor toilet, we had concluded that this was impossible, without changing the characteristics and beauty of the house. Some incidents over parking brought things to a head and we concluded we needed a home, not only with a ground floor bathroom, but with off street parking and greater access to shops and other amenities. A new tram line extension helped us to focus our thinking towards the west of our city and a suburb which we both knew well and liked.
We identified, jointly and together, what we desired by moving. Armed with this list we visited 4 Estate Agents on the high street; only at the final one were we offered a house, close by to look at. Amazingly we loved the house and after a survey quickly negotiated the purchase.

I have just had some tuition in using my BLOG from Alex, so hopefully I can now create more posts with more confidence…so watch this space!

Things are happening but not exactly apace.

We are content that things will be happening soon, as a lot of detailed planning has taken place so we can shortly appoint a builder.

As some of you know, we have a lot of stuff in our current house, collected over our lives, some of which we will have to let go of as we make our next move. It is a difficult process for us, as each item brings with it memories of times and occasions in the past.
I am pleased to report that after some months of waiting, and a price reduction, I have successfully sold the duet piano stool that I inherited from my grandmother. It has just been collected, and what is so good is that it is going to a musical family, where all the 3 children play music, and their parents too. How fantastic that it is going to have a new life in another family.
What can I sell next??

Nearly 2 months have passed since my last post. Some of this time has been taken up with lovely social events, 2 birthday parties ( a 60th and a 70th ) and a wedding. On the new house front, it’s been rather a roller coaster, but looking back a lot has been achieved.

1. We have continued to explore designs and quotes for the new kitchen and bathrooms. After some anxious moments and some lack of inspiration we now feel we are nearly there. It’s been important to balance advice from friends and professionals, with our own individual and joint desires about our future home. Spending time, individually and together, has really helped us to firm up our ideas and preferences.
2. A significant move has been to identify and agree a Project Manager for the building and finishing stages. A few sleepless nights convinced us we were getting out of our depth, in terms of confidence and competence to manage such a major adaptation and house renovation. Fortunately our Project Manager sees this as a small development!
3. Although we have not secured a builder so far, we feel the work and planning we have completed over the summer has prepared ourselves better for the specification and tendering work we will now engage in jointly with our Project Manager.
4. Some tentative progress has been made on sorting “our stuff” before the eventual move. Both of us have spent several one hour sessions and already we have made some progress. This process has given us more confidence in our ability to achieve more in the future. So perhaps little steps are really helpful!

Well done to Ibis Styles Hotel in northern France,who have upgraded their rooms and installed walk-in showers instead of baths. Very much more practical and complete with a grab rail. For perfection two rails would be even better, one as you walk in and out and one close to the shower.

Just re-watched Buena Vista Social Club DVD. Could learn a lot from this about the Ageproofing theme.

My first blog to start a personal journal of adapting to the ageing process. I am in my mid sixties and my husband is eighteen years older, so we are already conscious that something need to change or adapt if we are to continue enjoying and living life as we desire! Some of these changes are to do with our living accommodation, some to do with activities and interests, keeping fit and healthy etc. Some are to do with how we present ourselves to the world and what we do and wear. So there is quite a lot of potential material for this blog and this new adventure to blog! More to follow!