Reading my last entry I can't believe how much things have changed for the better. They say your worries this year are always different the next year and this has proved so true for us. For a start daughter found a house in April, and was successful in purchasing it after 4 months of trying. It's a shared ownership house in a nice area, with a small garden for the granddaughter. She has 2 double bedrooms, a downstairs utility space and toilet, nice bathroom, large lounge and kitchen. It's only 2 thirds of the price of private rented accommodation in the area so she can afford the mortgage and rent on her own salary. She has taken a permanent job in teaching 5 minutes drive from granddaughter's school which means only a 4 mile drive each morning of around 20 minutes. Daughter has settled well in her new home and is now much happier on her own without a boyfriend messing her about. Too many broken promises of getting a flat together, then he didn't want to, then he did  ......... He was a nice person but unable to commit to a long term relationship. I did like him though and he treated her and granddaughter well.
OH has now retired, he retired in May. We put this house on the market at the same time but didn't get an offer until the end of July. In the meantime we saw lots of houses and bungalows we liked in Devon but were unable to make any offers due to not having a buyer for our property. We rented storage near the caravan site and have slowly been taking various items and packed boxes to storage. The caravan is now on a seasonal pitch until the end of February next year so we can stay there as long as we like. This suits us well as with 2 dogs renting would be expensive and difficult. We have now found a house in the area we wanted which is in good condition and has a conservatory and garden. The actual house has been decorated throughout but the garden needs serious attention as it has been paved in about 8 different levels. This will be OH's project when we move and should keep him busy for quite some time.
Our buyer's surveyor came this morning, so things are moving in the right direction now after a few hiccups along the way. They couldn't proceed with their mortgage application as their solicitor's company only had 3 directors and the mortgage company needed 4! I always thought a qualified solicitor was adequate but apparently not. So they have 1 solicitor for selling their house and 1 for buying ours.We also booked our survey today on the property we are buying, but they can't fit us in for another 2 weeks.
At the moment we are at home packing slowly and sorting things here. I have cleared our bedroom and Daughter's room this week - washing down wardrobe doors and cleaning drawers. Also sorted out the bathroom cupboard and packed things we are taking but don't need for a few months. Found 5 bottles of shampoo all open and used once, a few things daughter left behind, nephew's hair clippers etc. all at the back of the cupboards. OH is still working on the garage but it is starting to look clearer now. He is one of life's hoarders so it was a mammoth task.
Today we spent the afternoon at daughter's home waiting for the plumber to come and connect up her new sink unit in the bathroom. OH fitted her new toilet seat and extractor fan so its just the towel rail and tiles to put up then the upstairs will be finished.
I think we will stay here for another week and then return to the caravan. I'm definitely more at home there than here. I have the caravan set up with everything I need, there is a swimming pool and bar on site, toilets and showers are good (also a bath), and I have a good friend in the area that we visit and go to lunch with. As my washing machine broke down last week we are not replacing it until we move but there is a laundry on the site which is handy. We had the grandchildren to stay for a week in the summer, first daughter and granddaughter, then the 2 other grandchildren for a week. When we move into the house they will have a proper bedroom so it will be a lot less crowded.
Bye for now - the peaceful retirement is getting closer.