I’ve learned that as quickly as you have dismantled your life around you, you can rebuild it again. I’ve also learned how important making a home comfortable is to me. Purging our place in Douro was gratifying to a point but once it became an empty shell, I didn’t want to live there anymore. It felt hollow and cold and the fact that I was there by myself made my urge to move on even greater.
It is true that a house is just a house and that it is the people, the love, the joy, and the trials and tribulations that make it home. For me, home has to be a soft place to land and as quirky as our place is in Harlow it has been a good landing so far. I am happy to have been able to move on.
Quirky Manor is a three bedroom mid terrace house that was probably built in the 50’s. The walls are solid and it is difficult to hang pictures. The good news is this means that unlike our place in Dartford we can’t hear the neighbours sneeze. There is also lots of space for storage which is unusual for many British houses. I guess the good part about that is that it discourages you from being an over consumer. I think of all the things we had in Douro and in the end did we really need them? Probably not. But having adequate storage to put linens, dishes, and clothing is certainly a bonus here.
The bathroom arrangement is interesting in that there is a toilet and sink in one room and right next to it another separate room with a sink, a tub and shower. Both are quite tiny and neither have matching flooring. In fact, the one with the toilet has a sink that is so petite Rick’s hands barely fit it in when he washes them. We also tend to spill water on the floor as a result. A small mat on the floor will remedy that. There is no place to store cosmetics and shampoos so we finally found a three tiered free standing storage units that we can tuck under the pedestal sink. The Brits are very inventive when it comes to making the best use of space and it has been fun being creative with ways to do just that with our kooky water closets.
The furniture in the lounge has posed a challenge. They are rather large and surprisingly comfortable black faux leather and resemble a psychiatrist’s furniture. And interestingly enough, our landlord is just that! Things were tickyboo until we bought our tellie (an awesome 40” Sharp flat screen at a terrific price in Sainsbury which is our local grocery store) and had to put it on a stand and then scratch our heads and stand back and say gee how do we position all this now so we can actually see the screen? Well with some creative thinking and some shifting around, I think we have it figured out. Now when we watch the news I feel like I am looking up the announcer’s nostrils. I have never had such an excellent picture and it almost makes me feel boogly-eyed watching it. We are still on the hunt for a proper entertainment unit but for now the arrangement we have seems to be working just fine.
Now next to the ultra modern living room furniture we have this interesting Victorian dining room furniture which has taken some getting used to. The table is round and at first glance looks like it is covered in glass but in actual fact has a plastic top (so you have to be careful putting hot dishes on the surface). The wine coloured plush chairs are comfortable enough but the style is just so formal that we chuckle whenever we sit down for a meal. We feel somewhat regal when we dine. It certainly is not the type of set we would spend our money on but they are functional and will provide for great conversation when we have guests over. I’ll tell them my Aunt Betty and Uncle Phil were cleaning out Windsor Castle and asked if I could take it off their hands.
The kitchen has a lovely window that looks out onto the back garden. I like to stand at the sink and eat my breakfast as the morning sun spills into the room. There is also a little breezeway between the kitchen and the patio with doors that have big window panes and I love to open this up and let the fresh air in. There certainly are more cupboards in this kitchen compared to our last British home and I have ample space to do my food preparation. Our landlord put in a new hob and I am enjoying cooking with gas which provides a quicker and more even heat. The house is so quiet and aside from the ticking clock (gee this reminds me of Douro) the fridge every once in a while makes this funny noise that actually sounds like someone quietly farting. It would freak me out a bit when I first moved here when I would get up in the night to get a drink. The wall clock would be making its rhythmical tick and all of a sudden “perffff” and I swear to god I thought there was someone else in the room.
I’ve taken some pictures of Quirky Manor so you can see things like the tiny bathroom sink, oh yes and the interesting ventilation system in the window for when you have a shower (you pull the strings to open and then close it again), Aunt Betty and Uncle Phil’s dining set, the back yard which Rick has only just recently raked and turned up a tube of toothpaste, an ashtray, and three spoons and a fork along with the dead leaves, and has since mowed, evened out with new top soil and reseeded with grass seed. I have also taken some shots of the pub which is only 88 steps (Rick counted them out when we went for a pint last Saturday night), the houses in our area (one which caught my eye when I was out for a run on Sunday morning – such a contrast with the pink house and the autumn coloured vine and wispy tree in the yard), the hall runner which we picked up at North Weald market, and our dealio on the round coffee table from a nearby “blow your mind away with the prices and selection” charity shop.
