Settle (this) over a Cup o' Coffee

Tara's babies sleep snugly on one of today's FIVE loads of washing

It does not take a look at more hidden dirt in the house (inside of bathroom extractor fan, not cleaned in a lifetime) to make me move out. Or the mold incident a few weeks back. Or the fact that it takes over ten months to get the landlady to replace one of the ancient and well-past-their-lifetime mattresses.
It takes all of that, and more, to make me want to move out. But all it takes to up and go and do it, is my new shiny little job that's a whole bunch of fun and lots of work ahead to look forward to. Such a lovely little office to put order into, procedures to set up and get running, and messes to turn into structures. Aaaah, just my kind of thing!
So, what I'm saying is, really I've been wanting to move out into something bigger all the while. But now the job's come around, suddenly the idea of living in *this town* (to politely summarize all I've thought and said about it before) isn't so horrid anymore, and suddenly I'm keen to find myself in a house that (list of criteria that this one does not meet):
* is not so fully furnished with bulky old unsuitable furniture that there is no room left for personal touches or our own stuff
* has some additional storage space so I don't have to share my bedroom with about 14 boxes
* has an entrance you can fit a pushchair through and can get through without getting stuck even when carrying a sportsback on your back
* has enough room for me to put a pole up and roll a yoga mat out in
* is spacious enough for me to be able to access my clothes in the cupboard without having to move a box that has nowhere else to go - the same goes for wanting a book shelf that I can stand in front of without having to temporarily move one of the bulky sofas to the middle of the living area (which is taken up by toys anyway as it physically is the only place to sit and play)
* actually has room enough for us to sit around a table in the kitchen - we are actually still dining with our plates on our knees on fold-away garden chairs in the kitchen. There is a table in the living area but it's taken up by my computer and other stuff. Computers need room too.

Also, I won't cry if I got to live somewhere without a mold / damp problem or noisy sea gulls nesting on our roof and occasionally dropping half eaten fish, soggy old bread or other delicacies onto our porch. But then, I didn't really mind them, they were kinda cute, if a little loud. Anyway, you get the idea. There's not enough space, there's never been, and I'm an ungrateful bitch.

So, fuelled up by a new and previous unknown passion for living here... well, ha ha, maybe not quite that, but an urgent desire to improve things now that the idea of a greater degree of permanence has become more appealing (ah, nicely put!), we had a look at our options today. I got a few vacancies of the internet that seemed to tick most of the boxes, and we got in the car to have a look at the respective neighbourhoods. We then changed this *unsuccessful* strategy and drove round the acceptable parts of town to find what's there, and indeed found two convenient and suitable options - one above (3 bedrooms with one en-suite, 2 reception rooms, garden, double glazing, and very convenient location near by, if no parking). I've requested viewings, and we'll take it from there some time next week.

After all that, who would not need some coffee and treats? That brownie? Mine!

Sugar in my coffee...

... Cake in my mouth...

... all gone! Yummy!