I have been in my new home for nearly 4 weeks now. Unsurprisingly there are still many boxes around the house but they are mostly in neat or neatish piles or stashed in the garage or lean-to. The weather has not been brilliant, lots of rain and not that warm for this time of year so not really sit in the garden weather. But good walking weather and I have done lots of walking up and down the clifftops and along the prom. So far I have walked to the edge of the next town east and west of home along the cliff tops, I have also been doing some inland walking, which does mean walking through lots of houses to get there but worth it once you do. It has been very windy here so I have not been able to Nordic Walk as much as I would like or have had to go inland to do that where it is a bit more sheltered.
Something I have noticed is that catching up with people has changed a bit, I think I am doing about the same amount of socialising that I did before I moved. The big difference is that plans seem to be made further in advance, it is not so possible to meet up at short notice and I am very unlikely to meet someone by chance whilst out for a walk and have a catch-up. maybe stop for a coffee if warm enough to sit outside. Now socialising has to be planned in advance as it is a drive or bus ride to meet up. I probably am making more advanced plans for socialising but less short term the day plans. I do miss the quick chats I used to have with my old neighbours and the people in the workshops behind my house. I am getting to know a few of my new neighbours and hopefully, this will continue. Rather than meeting people somewhere, people are coming over here to have a look at the bungalow and sit in the garden or go for a walk with me so that is different. Covid stopped indoor socialising and for CEV people like me, it is still not advised by medics if not the government. Having a garden and conservatory that can be opened up makes socialising at home safer.
People keep asking if I feel at home yet, and I can say I really do feel at home and this is the right move to have made. Weirdly the only time I feel like I am not at home is getting into bed at night, I having been feeling like I am in a familiar hotel room, though this is fading as I get used to my new bedroom. Cooking still feels a bit different, getting used to a new cooker and remembering where everything is. Sometimes muscle memory is directing an arm to a drawer or cupboard that is either not there or the wrong one. Then there is the searching for stuff, I know I put everything away myself but sometimes I can’t immediately find things because cupboards have been arranged differently from how they were pre-move. I recall this happening when I had my old kitchen refurbished about 17 years ago. Whether it will last longer this time as I am older, only time will tell.
I still haven’t had any major work done, the roof work has been delayed due to the repeated heavy rain storms we have been having causing the roofers to have a backlog of work. It has only been a couple of days per week so not that bad for me but stops them from working and if it is forecast and doesn’t happen that is also another day lost. I have had help doing a bit of work in the garden and that is a bit tidier and I will refrain from doing any more than keeping it weeded for a bit, as my gardening friends have advised. I now have a bench for the decking at the end of the small garden and a bistro table and chairs for the patio by the conservatory, where I have just got the seating sorted out. I need to get a few trades in to give quotes for some electrical work and re-doing the bathroom so I can fit the washing machine in there and have a dishwasher in the kitchen. Not having a dishwasher is probably the only daily noticed downside of living here and it is not that bad.
I do miss parts of living on my old home and being in a familiar area but this does not stop me feeling that I have made the right decision and I really feel that here in Peacehaven, close to the clifftops is where I will be calling home now. Brighton was home for 37 years and for most of them I found it hard to conceive of living any where else. Over the last few years, this was changing slowly but never enough to get me ready to move. I would think about it but I always kept coming back to that I didn’t want to leave, mostly because I didn’t know where I wanted to live. It was a walk along the clifftop and prom last summer that gave rise to the idea of moving to this area. I had initially thought that I would move to Saltdean which was slightly closer to Brighton but once I started looking Peacehaven felt a better fit for me so here I am. This house was the third one I put an offer in on, so it was third time lucky and I think compared to the other two bungalows, this is the best one for me.
Being me, of course I have over done it at times and had the occasional day of fatigue, fortunately these have often coincided with the stormy wet days we have had, so weather enforced resting has prevented me getting really fatigued. For the first few weeks here I was waking very early, as I had been for about the last week prior to my move, now I am sleeping a bit later so don’t feel tired as well as fatigued. These are two different states which I know does confuse people and some question the difference. Sadly I can tell you whilst there is an overlap to the two they are quite different and I have written at length about this previously if you are interested and feel inclined to trawl back through posts. I think one of the posts focused on fatigue was in early 2017.
I find that I am using different parts of the house at different times of the day, this changes with the weather and what I am doing. Sometimes I will have a morning coffee in the conservatory or the patio. Others, I will be sat in the lounge reading, browsing the web or messaging people. And this migration around the house goes on through out the day. It feels like I am exploring my home and finding out how it feels to do different things in different places, maybe I will always continue to move around like this or maybe I will settle down into a more fixed routine of where I do different things or spend parts of the day. What I am doing though is enjoying my new home and revelling in this. At the moment I am not having to notice the good bits to make dealing with the bad bits easier. Life is not perfect but it is really good at the moment and I am hoping to enjoy a good summer in my new home.
paulbysea 