Busy Bees....

Hi All,

Well it’s just over a month since we posted our last blog and I suspect that most of you think that we are living a life of riley with either our feet up or just chilling out at the beach with plenty of time on our hands to do the things we love, oh how wrong you all are!!!  We can honestly say hand on heart that we have only actually fitted in a couple of kite and surf sessions since we’ve been here as we have been so busy getting the house all stripped out ready for the builders, where we found the time to go to work is just beyond us as the days and weeks are just flying by.  We do like to reward ourselves with some time out from the house after a day’s work though so we do make sure we fit something in and we’ve also had a few unplanned visits from friends which is great as it also gives us a break from site!!  Julie’s mum and dad came down for a week which we were really looking forward to so that was really nice as we got to spend a lot of time with them and show them the progress we'd made at the house and to show them around our new location here in North Devon.

So what have we been up to then……we finally finished off the wallpaper stripping, removed the lovely carpets, storage heaters and internal doors which we were going to keep but after having one dipped unfortunately we discovered that they are sadly beyond re-use as they have been chopped about and painted that many times that we would be wasting our time and effort so we have decided to get new oak ledge doors which will look great and still keep the character of the cottage.  We’ve also continued to do work outside clearing stuff in the garden and cutting trees back so Julie has had no shortage of things to make bonfires with, let alone the wood from the panelling in the kitchen and the timber from the garage.  One evening we had a bonfire that big that it looked like one of the Beacons in celebration of the Queen’s birthday!!

The first major job was the demolition of the garage as we are having a new detached one built further back to give us more driveway.  With my many years of demolition experience this of course wasn’t going to be an issue, the only thing missing was my risk assessment and method statement but luckily I had my site supervisor Julie on hand to oversee the whole thing and it came down on budget and ahead of schedule with no hiccups!!!  It was a good job it came down as we were rapidly running out of wood for the log burner, our only form of heating in the house, so it gave us a couple of weeks fuel before we finally moved out into the motorhome a couple of weeks ago after we sold our bed and made the house completely uninhabitable following the removal of the kitchen, most of the bathroom, the carpets and me making lots of dust with a sledgehammer and disc cutter making the new fireplaces.   

The garage burning nicely!!

We have found a really nice friendly guy, Derek, that has a small plant hire company and also does skips and muck away so he came with his grab lorry to take the hardcore from the garage which was great and made me feel quite at home.  I think this picture shows my job interview as he has actually offered me a job and wanted me to start straight away!!! I told him that once we are all done at the house then I'd be interested but only on a part-time basis, which is great.  Talking of jobs Julie has a little job checking our neighbours three horses on the farm next door which is about a five minute walk away up the lane....funny how it all came about but won't bore you with all the details but she will also be picking raspberries there in the summer, the simple in things in life, each other and living the dream are all that we need......

Derek dropped a skip off for us which he brought on his hi-ab lorry and just lifted across the hedge into the garden, made us both chuckle as health and safety obviously hasn't reached North Devon yet!!

The skip brought back good memories of Pinden for Julie where she used to work before we went travelling

Our good friends James & Charlie got married at Watergate Bay at the end of April so we had a lovely weekend celebrating their wedding and also making the most of the luxuries at the Watergate Bay hotel.  We both joked about the novelty of sitting on a proper sofa and having a lovely room and bathroom as we have been using a couple of bean bags in the house and we have stripped out most of the bathroom except for the toilet, basin & shower.  At least now we have the luxury of the motorhome, our go anywhere home from home.

Watergate Bay

James and Charlie were so lucky with the weather and when we arrived on the Friday the sun was out and the wind was up so we couldn't resist a cheeky kitesurf to kick off the weekend.  Another place we have ticked off the list.

The day of the wedding we had a walk along the coastal path with it's stunning views.

It was really nice to get all dressed up for the special day and leave our work clothes behind!!

We don't scrub up bad do we...

As we said we do like to have a break from the house and love our walks, on one of them we came across this fella who had escaped from the farm where he lives and ended up in the middle of a field, I am sure if I hadn't of caught him and reunited him with his mates Mr Fox would have had him for dinner that night.  The only problem was the electric fence between me and the field where he belonged.....Julie asked how I was going to get him back in there and with that I flung him like a rugby ball and he landed safely to the amazement of his mates who were all watching as he landed amongst them!!

We have been blessed with really good weather and only the odd rainy day and out of the unseasonal winds it's been really quite warm.  We often walk along Saunton Sands beach and one evening came across the army from Chivenor practising some of their manoeuvres, what a great place for them to train.

And there was a lone kiter making the most a nice evening kite session

Last weekend we had a walk to Putsborough and Woolacombe and saw the paragliders out again at Woolacombe Down, it just looks fantastic and is a really safe place to fly.  We saw them a few weeks ago and I got chatting to a local guy who was telling me all about it and where the best place is to go and have lessons.  Once we are all sorted it's something I'd like to get into,  we had a go tandem in Meribel when we were travelling and it's been on my wish list ever since and it's only a few minutes from the house.

Julie's mum and dad, Dave & Brenda, picked a good week as the weather was lovely and we had some nice days out exploring.  We went to Marwood Hill Gardens, just a few miles from here, it was a lovely place and packed with lots of lovely plants and shrubs.  Julie takes after Brenda and loves being in the garden so it was nice to see them spending time wandering round together.  

We also went to a place called Hartland Abbey and had a wander round the walled garden there.

We went to the harbour at Ilfracombe and had a walk around to the lifeboat station and also found the famous Damian Hirst statue called "Verity" which was to be honest all a bit weird.  It shows a pregnant woman holding a sword aloft and carrying the scales of justice standing on a pile of law books, half of the statue shows the internal anatomy of the pregnant women.  

"Verity"

This week I have been working hard on getting both the fireplaces ready for our new log burners.  I have been enjoying every minute, it's nice to be doing some of the smaller easier stuff ourselves.  

Going, Going....

Gone....

Work in progress, the new openings coming on nicely....

We have been doing lots of stuff in the background getting prices for bathrooms etc.   The builders are all sorted the skip has been replaced by a site hut and it's all systems go.  They are due to arrive on site tomorrow, we are very excited and just want to crack on with the major works,  all going well it will all be done by mid August....fingers crossed.

We are off to Glastonbury at the end of June which we are looking forward to and by then will probably need a break from site.... Julie couldn't resist having a trial run with the portaloo we have here but I am not sure she'll be smiling quite as much at Glasto!!

So that's it for now, hopefully our next blog will show you even more major progress.

Toodle pip for now.

J&J

x

Settling Into Devon Life...

So here we are in rural North Devon just a stones throw from some stunning beaches nestled in the beautiful countryside surrounded by fields and livestock....we have to pinch ourselves quite often as we truly are living our dream, we made it happen. It's been a very emotional journey in many ways but we feel settled here and as we promised ourselves we are already living life to the full and enjoying every minute of every day.  

We first looked at this cottage about year ago but walked away as it just needed so much work but it just kept tugging on our heart strings and in the end we went for it and it feels just perfect.  Yes it needs a hell of a lot of TLC but once it's done I am sure we will sit back with a very, very large glass of wine and say it was well worth it..... and it's a project to keep our minds occupied.   

One of the first jobs was to make the gateway wider as it was a little tight to say the least even for my van, let alone the motorhome which we needed to get onto the front lawn so we can live in it while the building work is being done.  The large hedge was the first thing to go so armed with my chainsaw and pick axe it was a day of hard graft.....ironic really as while I was swinging the pick axe and digging the roots out I couldn't help thinking that it would have taken just one large scoop with the bucket of my digger and it would have been job done!!

To be honest it wasn't that bad but my arms did feel a bit achy the next day, as did Julie's as she dragged the bush to the bottom of the garden and had a huge bonfire....she's a fire bug when it comes to a good old bonfire.

Much better.....

Julie was like something possessed and cut this hedge back too..

Happy as larry ! 

We are replacing the single gate with 2 smaller gates but making it wider and then I will re-build the stone pillar once the builders have finished getting their lorries in.

Job done...

We noticed that one of the lovely old Devon stone walls was completely covered with ivy and had collapsed next to the lane so we cleared it all off and I re-built it.....

Not bad for my first attempt at dry stone walling....

We've already had a few visitors and had a day trip to Clovelly, it was very quaint with it's little old houses and steep cobbled street, can't believe the residents have to lug their shopping down to their houses on wooden sleighs (there's one propped up against the wall in the left of the picture)....ours would be loaded up with so much wine I am sure it would run away with us and end up in the harbour at the bottom!!

Andy, Paul & I had a few days out surfing and supping while Julie, Twiggy & Claire allegedly had a cuppa tea in Paul & Twiggy's motorhome.....I didn't know that tea came in a glass bottle with a cork!!

The weather has been quite pleasant although a bit nippy at times and it's starting to feel very spring like.  The fields surrounding us are full of little lambs, it's funny watching them leaping about all over the place....mind you they are noisy little buggers and some mornings wake us up.....along with the cackling pheasants that seem to be living in the garden.

View from our bedroom windows

Soooo cute...

Although we have our planning permission we haven't got a builder on board as we are just waiting for final quotes and plans so while we are thrashing out the final details we have been busy clearing out the garden making way for the new patio etc.  The old lady that lived here loved the garden and we have an array of beautiful plants and shrubs, she must have spent thousands so we carefully dug some of them up and have successfully transplanted them to other areas or into pots ready for re-planting at a later date. 

We cut a large conifer tree down that was right next to the house and also some over hanging branches from another large tree, it has made such a difference having a good clear out and looks so much tidier already and allows more sunlight to get to the house.

Another excuse for a bonfire.....

We have almost stripped the house out inside ready for the building work....it's been great to get my hands dirty.  Mind you we'd like to meet the bright spark that invented wallpaper and said that it's OK to just wallpaper over wallpaper, over wallpaper.....oh and then paint it too!!

The house has some lovely old original features but sadly they have been spoilt with modern wallpaper, layers of paint and hard board so we are stripping it back which we think will be amazing.

We went to our storage unit on the hunt for some tools and some summer clothes.....easier said than done searching for what we wanted but we got there in the end!!

So you might all think that we are living a life of leisure but we have a lot of work to do but of course we do have the benefit of downing tools whenever we like and taking a few hours out to enjoy the stunning beaches and the amazing countryside walks we have on our doorstep...

What a great view the cows have of Saunton Sands

We stumbled across this place on one of our walks....Saunton Court

An evening stroll along Saunton....we had the place to ourselves

So that just about sums up our new life so far and like we said we are loving every minute. Julie's mum & dad, Dave & Brenda are our next visitors in a few weeks and we can't wait to see them, hopefully they will see we've made some progress here at the house already even before the major work begins.

J&J

xx