One week down and approximately 700 carpets have been taken up.
With the help of my favourite big cousin, we spent our first weekend in Glenlochar ripping up every carpet in sight. And there were a lot. Every room had been carpeted, some with several layers of lining underneath, and none had been cleaned, touched, or probably even walked on for years. It was a grim job but one that made an instant difference to each room and the feel of the house overall. We’ve also kept every window open all week to let fresh air in and allow her to breathe, something we don’t think has happened for a long time. Eric who just moved out was living in Glenlochar alone and only really spending time in the basement so the rest of the house had been closed up and untouched.
Wading through the layers of carpet and underlay By the time all carpets were up we couldn’t even open the door to this room These beautiful wooden floors had been covered with the carpets The spare room is ready for guests!
We had our first (and second) braai while revelling in this beautiful view, pinching ourselves to remember it really is ours.
Scarlet is in her happy place with land and water and not a plank to walk insight First braai 🙂 Favourite Big Cuz came up to increase our manpower!
Over the rest of the week, the builders got going with stripping walls – a massive task that they don’t seem that thrilled to be doing – and the skip got delivered and filled. The To Do List seems to get longer rather than shorter despite us continually ticking things off! It’s amazing how many little things need doing when you move, things that almost get lost in the midst of the overall project we’re embarking on.
I have also spent considerable hours putting up stair gates – needing 5 gates in a house is definitely a #manorhouse problem. But without them, we all spend half our time asking where Tillie is or shouting “Tillie, wait!” as she’s decided all she wants to do is go up and down now she has endless stairs.
Stone stairs and the first of many baby gates The bare hallway I thought this was full but apparently there’s plenty of room
We’ve also met our neighbours; Anne and George live in the coach house and Jane lives in the lodge house. Having all lived on the property for 20 years, they have lots of tales to tell about the family who lived here before us so hopefully, over time we will be able to gather more background information. We’ve all spent time researching the house’s background but there doesn’t seem to be very much out there so the more people can tell us, the better picture we can build. We did find out that the house was (maybe) built for a son in the Stewart family as a wedding gift but he died the night before his wedding so never moved in. After that, until the McWilliam family moved out last week, no one has any idea what happened to and in Glenlochar!
Mum and I have ventured into Castle Douglas (referred to as CD by locals) to explore our new local town and facilities. It’s a cute little town that seems to have everything we would need without having to drive to Dumfries, half an hour away. Our research into finding the best coffee and cake for when visitors come has officially started and we took a break from ‘house stuff’ at the weekend to explore Threave House and Garden – where we signed up for the National Trust for Scotland which pretty much makes us citizens, right?
The cats have arrived after their extended holiday and the guy dropping them off had a little panic as he lifted one carrier out of the van only to find it felt very light. Toto had gone in with Tinkerbelle which apparently is unheard of for two cats to end up in the same carrier, especially when they don’t even like each other much! They are now both firmly ensconced in mum’s room with familiar furnishings but we’ve no doubt they weren’t overly happy to find out the dog is here too!
We had a slight incident with the house sign disappearing and everyone who arrived saying “you need a sign” and me saying “there is one, it’s just not very big”, only to notice when I went out that it had disappeared. It was found in Jane’s garden having fallen over and is now in a new home resting against the backdoor.
So as the week comes to an end, all the carpets are up, the skip is filled, 3 walls in one room are almost bare and it feels like we’re doing something constructive and getting going with making Glenlochar our home.
You are all slightly mad but it’s very exciting. I want to know what happens next.
Haha, yes only slightly mad 😉 I’ll be writing weekly posts so stay tuned!
How exciting to read this, goodness what a lot you’ve achieved.
Look forward to reading more about your activities👍🏼
Thank you – it’s good to remind ourselves that we have achieved a lot because it’s easy to focus on what’s still to come!