Tea Mr Shifter?

I was awake at 3 am, feeling nauseous and shivery. I got up and did a bit of work so as not to disturb Flash with my tossing and turning. We are both under so much stress. Finances are worrying us, we jumped into this with little money saved (because we had the "two year plan") and what we have got is disappearing fast...the painter, the paint, new carpet, plumber and today the shifter came to assess our quote.

I'm a little bit terrified.

We have 40 boxes already stored in my Mum's garage - our library, kitchen and spare room already packed. We are looking down the barrel of a 40 foot container from Auckland to Dunedin! Payday is still 20 days away and we are feeling very edgy.

I just keep thinking "leap of faith", step out knowing the path will rise up before you. It will...it always does because we always find a way. The one thing I know and that I keep holding on to is that the house is right, it is so right. Temporary pain will lead to a lifetime of happiness and security.

This afternoon we received an email from the second of the three agents we are interviewing. His suggestion of the expected sales price fell short of our expectations, and varied considerably from the first agent's suggestion. We are slightly confused and a little deflated. I have decided to just keep painting...its not fun but it is constructive.

(first bedroom finished)

Post the first.

Currently this blog is private, we have told very few people of our plans...due to our superstitions that if we tell the world about our plans that somehow they may escape our grasp.

A ridiculous idea, but one we fear as we want this SO MUCH!

So, the plan.

We currently live in a very pretty and pleasant corner of suburban Auckland (New Zealand), called Titirangi. We are nestled into the foothills of the native bush clad Waitakere Ranges in Auckland's west. It is a 15 minute drive to the city (in the middle of the night with no traffic) or a minimum of 45 minutes (but usually an hour) if you are my husband commuting by car. Commuting by car is the only option unless you have someone to drop you at the train station which is a 5 minute drive or 45 minute walk away.

I am lucky, I'm self employed and work mainly from home, so am shielded from the worst of the traffic. However, progress has not left me unaffected. I try to minimise my trips around the city, to the supermarket or hardware store. The malls leave me cold and slightly panicky, never being able to find the items I am searching for. I have learnt to plan well in advance and purchase gifts from ETSY, Felt and Toggle. I am a designer and artist, I like to purchase local and handmade whenever possible. I feel that creativity is where the future lies. If robots can perform our highly skilled jobs, as well as the manual ones then humans are going to have to change their plans...soon...and creative self-expression looks like a good route to follow.

Our home is pleasant, large and comfortable. Over the past 10 years we have removed an old and leaky in ground pool and built in spa, built new decks, fully fenced the property with attractive fences and removed a giant Phoenix palm which was attacking our house and threatening our neighbours. We have built vegetable gardens and created a small orchard. We have enjoyed living here, but it does not suit our needs. We sit outside on the summer evenings listening to our neighbours conversations, our visitors jockey for parking spaces in our narrow road, our cat has pissed off the majority of the street in one way or another over his decade here. We feel stifled, squashed. We yearn to stretch and breath, to listen to nothing but the sounds of of the cicadas, the rustling winds, the cry of the Karearea.

We had plans for escape, we had written them down, made ourselves a timeline. We had posted our plans to the wall in our office. Our plans gave us the ability to cope with the present knowing the future was mapped out. We had a two year plan...and then, holidaying in Otago over Christmas we happened upon our dream property. We drove up the driveway and we knew we were home. We walked into the house and both had a little something in our eyes. We went home, talked into the night and the next day we made an offer that we thought was more than fair...we wanted this house and we weren't mucking around. Our offer was accepted and we came home to Auckland and started work.

So now we are 2 weeks in...the house is a bomb site, wallpaper ripped off walls, grout all over the place, carpets pulled up, the spare room is now full of tools and paint, my studio is home to all of the furniture from the lounge and dining, laundry baskets hold our pantry food (in the laundry). This how we meet you then, right in the middle of chaos.

the chaos

the cat supervising

the list (the way out)