Progress Report...

In my flight of whimsy yesterday I forgot to report on my progress with 'The Challenge', which technically has now ended. Well, in the 11 weeks I managed to lose (drum roll please):

Half a stone.

Yup, just 7 pounds.

That's not so bad considering I have done no exercise to speak of for the last 3 weeks as November has killed my will to do anything and December is brining me a cold. Poor excuses, but they're the only ones I've got and I'm sticking to them.

This is probably the best I have done in any challenge of this sort, but still not quite the target I was aiming for. Luckily everyone else seemed to gloss over the end of the challenge too, so I suspect it might well get extended. Phew! Flâneur would probably love to take our TV down to Manchester with him in January, but he wouldn't love it the way I do so it's probably for the best that it stays with me.

And now we are well into the festive season where food is a plenty and time to exercise scarce. I will have to be very careful not to put any of those lovely 7 pounds back on, but I will try. Wish me luck (again!).

Wishful thinking…

Renewing leases and taking up new ones makes me even more want a home of my own, that belongs to us (not someone else) and has all the things we want from a home. I’ve started mentally listing what these things are, and I’m sure Flâneur is fed up of me asking him what he wants from our fantasy home… But here are a few of the things anyway, because maybe by writing them down they might one day come true.

The basic is ‘I want a house with a garden’… The garden so I can grow vegetables and have apple trees and a dog. The dog is very important. As for the house, so far it should have…

• a large kitchen, with one of those large central islandy bits. In this kitchen I want a dishwasher (Flâneur’s not so fussed), a proper large upright fridge freezer, and proper sized cupboards. Oh and a gas hob. That’s extremely important.
• a large bathroom – big enough for a nice large, deep bath and (as well as the sink and loo) space for a nice comfy chair. And if there is enough space, a separate shower too.
• a dining room. I’m not so fussed if this is a dining kitchen, but space for our large dining table that’s good for entertaining is a must! If it’s a separate dining room, then it could double up as…
• a library. Or basically a room full of books as between us we have tonnes. This could be in the dining room (see above) or in…
• a study. For Flâneur. That isn’t also a spare room. That has room for his drawing board, his computer, a large number of his books, a place with good light that he can draw and paint by and that is properly heated so he doesn’t freeze.
• a large master bedroom with an ensuite shower room. Because I love our ensuite, I love not having far to go when I inevitably need the loo in the middle of the night and it’s great when you have guests. The bedroom needs to house a large kingsize bed and enough storage for both of us, at least!
• at least 1 (preferably more) spare rooms – for guests. We’re unlikely to be able to afford more than that 2 at most, but this is all about dreaming… And they would have proper beds, not futons, that were made up and didn’t have to be constructed every time someone came to stay (or taken down again when they left).
• Somewhere for me to sew – this doesn’t have to be a big room, but it would be great to have somewhere where my sewing machine was set up, with storage for all my fabric and other bits and pieces so they aren’t in a public space. (I'd also like the time to sew more, but that isn't so much about the house...)
• A nice living room – we’re not showy, this can be modest, but I suppose it should be big enough to fit more than the one slightly rubbish sofa we have now! Oh and an open fire.
• a garden – did I mention the garden? for the dog, and vegetables and apple trees…

I’m not sure if we will ever be rich enough to fulfil my dreams, but it’s good to know what you ultimately want… As for what the house should look like, as long as it’s an interesting building (not 1960s-present day suburbia), then I think I’ll be happy. Flâneur would probably want modern, I’d probably want old. But I think I’d be happy to compromise on an old exterior with a modern interior and that might make us both happy. As long as there’s a garden and a dog….