Thinking about my weekly update makes me realise what a crazy mixed up week we have had! Firstly, the above photo….
Earlier today we paid a visit to our friends living in our house in town. While I was there I took the opportunity to relieve them of the responsibility of looking after my baby monkey puzzle tree. You see, we have a larger monkey puzzle tree in our front garden and it has provided us with three babies, this being the only survivor. I kind of cherish it and thought I’d bring it home, hoping to nurture it. Whether it survives the move, well time will tell but at least it’s not the crazy pension investment it could have been (tongue in cheek).
Improving the house
We have revised our retirement budgeting more recently, on account of living here in the Quirky Museum. This has focussed on whether our finely tuned budget could stretch far enough to life here. We have found ourselves paying considerably more Council Tax and the gas bill for heating is eye watering (and I am often cold).
We have concluded we can spend a little money on ‘capital’ improvements to make life easier here. Out strategy is:
- Maintenance comes first – the roof and guttering needs repairing, always budget for unexpected repairs
- Making the house warmer in winter – heating system, improving Victorian windows and improving insulation
- Re-configure kitchen and laundry
- Alongside all of the above – decorating (painting, carpets etc)
With the roof in mind, I had chat with a very nice couple who live in a house over-looking the village green. They had always offered tips and advice, since their house was of a similar age and undoubtedly had similar challenges. I was left feeling a little daunted by hearing of their challenges and on-going snags. It was Rita’s closing remark of
“Welcome to the Historic House Club!”
which gave me the creeps most of all. Well, I reminded myself, I would rather live in a Quirky Museum with all of the nooks and crannies, than a boring, well insulated tiny box.
Another health update
Two things:
- My fitness continues to improve. Last week I ran 13 miles and thoroughly enjoyed it. This included having a run with my friend Jon. I suggested 5 easy miles. He dragged me round for 6.5 miles, plus it was a hilly course. And it rained! Loved it and the pace was quite good too.
- Last week my left eye went POP! This is a return of the Central Serous Retinopathy, a small leak at the back of the eye which causes the retina to bulge and therefore I have wobbly lines everywhere. Tricky when I’m trying to read somethings or simply look at something which I know to be straight and instead its wavy. Already it is settling back into place, thankfully.
A haircut
Having a haircut was a welcome event for me and indeed most other people. With my last haircut about six months ago, I was starting to look like an unkempt hippy.
Knowing Rachel had found the dog clippers, I knew it wouldn’t be long to wait. So when it was suggested, quickly I dutifully sat in the kitchen and tried to keep a straight face. Rachel enquired how I’d like my hair cut, just in case it coincided with what she had in mind. Fist step in the process was taking off some hair with said clippers, followed by using scissors for a random bit of hair here and there.
It was Rachel’s patter that was a little disconcerting. “Would Sir like his ears trimmed as well? …. Oh whoops, well never mind about that, it’s not a big bald patch …. I don’t know why that bit is sticking out, I’ll just have to cut it off”.
Actually, joking aside, it’s pretty good!
Boiler
As you know, we are settling down more in the Quirky Museum. As I am eager to stay a little warmer next winter, we need to carry out a few upgrades to achieve this and hopefully save a little money on the eye-watering heating bill.
The floor mounted boiler is a good 35-40 years old. The man who services it every year always says
Just don’t go touching it. If you do anything, you’ll break it. Leave it alone and I’ll nurse it along for another year”
So we have asked him if he can have a look at the system as a whole, to see if we ought to upgrade it. You see, there are no thermostats on the radiators, or anywhere apart from the a knob on the front of the boiler itself. The radiators are all very old and we know there are more efficient ones available and having the ability to turn individual radiators up or down seems a wonderful luxury to look forward to.
Also we are wondering, yet again, about the windows at the front of the house. Original Victorian wood, with an almost unique and intricate design is lovely. Also rather cold with paper-thin glass.
Late last year we had someone give us a quote for a novel approach which we aren’t that keen on. Last week we had someone else come and take a look at them. We can see the logic of his approach. We await his quotation, though he did mumble about it “not going to be very cheap” as he left the house.
So we wait and see. Again I reminded myself of Rita gleefully saying “welcome to the Historic House Club!”