Nervous tension

Now the house is officially on the market our nerves are stretched as we veer from " OMG we might get an offer we can't refuse and have to sell and get out before Christmas HELP!" and "OMG we'll never sell and we'll still be here this time next year with the price at rock bottom HELP!"

The house has scrubbed up nicely and the photos on the estate agents website look great with my beloved garden stealing the show. We've had two viewings so far and they seemed to go quite well but I suspect neither will lead to a sale which is probably just as well at this stage (see above). We are both wondering how long we can keep everywhere this tidy!

TC has "come clean" at work and announced his intention to leave at the end of the year - not quite the same as putting in his resignation but a start.

So things are under way. It is a strange feeling to be selling the home we have lived in for 23years but we are convinced that this is a good time for us to do something new and exciting. There is a new "home" out there just waiting to be discovered and a new garden just begging to be created I just want to get on with it.

As I sit here wearing thick socks and a jumper (and trousers of course- don't panic) in the middle of August I dream of next year when my summer will last for longer than two weeks! Our cases are packed and ready for another trip south to seek the sun this week. This time we will be taking my elderley parents with us for their annual holiday at Pavillon.

There won't be any house hunting this trip - I couldn't cope with finding the perfect house and losing it although I admit it is hard trying not to get fixated on properties spotted on the immobiliers websites. We will be looking at locations with a view to their living potential as we travel around though as our last visit widened our search area to new towns and villages we had not previously considered.

Tarn et Garonne here we come!

Carry on dancing

Well things are now under way - the valuation on the house was better than we feared and the estate agent seemed optimistic that we will sell at a good price. ( Timing is really tricky though as selling too quickly would be complicated as TC doesn't leave work until December and I would like a last family Christmas here before we leave). We shall just have to see what happens.

We have just returned from a wonderful holiday in Tarn et Garonne . We had no major traumas this time and everything was working. The sun shone for the whole holiday and we made the most of our little pool. The new generator arrived while we were there and was delivered to the door with the help of some good friends having taken only two days after despatch from Crewe.




As we contemplate leaving England it is of course family and friends we will miss. Our circle of friends is largely made up of fellow folk music and dance lovers. TC will have to leave his celidh band but hopes to be able to carry on playing so we have been pleased to be able to find out about the local traditional music and dance scene in Quercy. We enjoyed two "Bals Occitans" during our latest trip and saw traditional dancing displays. We were pleased to see that the enthusiasts were a friendly and mixed age bunch who would not have looked out of place at our local folk club. It was great to be able to join in with the dancing and seeing the same faces at each event made us feel we were getting to know people already. We will certainly be making contact in the future.