Head or Heart

My commute to the station

OK , I know it's been a while, but things should pick up now as I've just discovered that the site has free WiFi in the cafe/ bar.  Well, I say cafe/ bar, clearly I'm in the bar.  Whilst I'm on the subject of the site I have to tell you that it's a truly excellent site.  There are only 2 things I can possibly think of that make it less than 100%, firstly the only showers are push button ones with no temperature control so you get timed bursts of scalding hot water and secondly the entry and exit system is done via a number plate recognition system which doesn't always work.  The friendly and helpful reception staff (and I'm not being sarcastic here, everyone we've met is a delight!) will tell you to clean your number plate, well mine has never been so clean yet still it won't let me in.  Now, when I approach the gates the camera checks the number plate, raises itself to take in the panorama of my fuming face and lets me it.  I think it recognises that it's days are numbered if it doesn't!

So what have we been up to?  Well after the biblical downpour last weekend the weather during the week has been very kind.  Workwise things continue to go well and I flit between the various sites and courses.  I haven't seen or spoken to my boss in over a week and, seeing as it's only my 3rd week, I'm taking that as a goood sign! Steve continues to take amazing pics which I promise I'll start to upload now I know I've got free wifi - but I only found that out tonight and I'm just not prepared.

Kent Estuary

Our estate agents down south have perked up a little and now we have two people very keen to buy our house but sadly neither of them have yet sold, still there have been a lot more viewings and as the house is a good 'un I'm sure it will sort soon.  We've been busy house hunting and this week have seen two houses that have got us thinking.  The first one is the 'heart' house in Arnside and is a very pretty semi.  On the plus side it has utterly stunning views from the upstairs bedroom windows of the estuary and the mountains of the Lake District behind, it's in a very quiet cul-de-sac and is in Arnside, an absolutely gorgeous little estaury village.  On the downside it's a semi, has no existing parking but does have a front garden we could reluctantly butcher.  The second place we saw is the 'head' house and is in Allithwaite, another very lovely little Lake Disctrict village (and the very same village where Steve went to school when he was little.  Well, littler than he is now anyway...).  The house is on a small but very modern estate and has all the inside space we could ask for and then some.  It also has a garge and plenty of off road parking BUT it doesn't really have any nice views and it is very modern and thus, in my personal opinion, lacks soul.  We're looking for a house that we can live in for the next 40 years or so, so this is a big decision for us.  I think we're leaning towards the heart decision, or at least I am, and isn't that all that matters when house hunting..?

"Heart" house had pretty much this view.

Today we were absolved of all househunting duties by virtue of the fact that there were no more to see, so we decided it was time to truly start to get to grips with the Lake District.  I can't quite believe we live here yet, despite the fact I've been working for the past three weeks, so we headed off towards Coniston for the day.  It's only 32 miles away.  32 miles!!  That means we can be there in a shade over half an hour, go for a mega walk (which we did) have lunch on the top of a gorgeous fell with amazing views down over the lake (which we also did) and be home in time for dinner (which we did, apart from the fact we discovered free wifi in the bar and are now being horribly side tracked!).  There are hundreds of peaks around here all asking to be climbed and, once we're done with the Lakes, we can head to the Dales, or the Peak Disctrict, or Dumfries and Galloway - OK, I need another drink now!

Life may still be incredibly chaotic but we both know we're in absolutely the right place.  Life on Delores isn't too bad, it's cosy, but as the site is so wonderful we can escape whenever it gets too much, and it's never cold - despite what everyone seems to think!  It sounds incredibly cheesey, but we're both spectacularly happy and these inconveniences really are minor.  Of course we'll be better off in many ways when we finally find a home, but for now our hearts are happy and, at the end of the day, isn't that all that really matters - even if everyone else's heads are telling us otherwise?