Life's A Picnic

I've Been Busy Helping The Credit Crunch Continue ok!

Imagine there has been an avalanche and someone got caught under it. Then they dug a little hole and shouted, ''Hello out there.''

Well...that'd be me saying hello to anyone interested that I am still living and to carry on and voice my voice about whatever the throat in my head comes out with.

As the title suggests I am guilty of borrowing vast sums from the banks to purchase a new property. Le flat dans Newquay Delboy and who would do a thing like that at the start of this crunchy nut financial situation we seem to be in? Yep. Moi. Me. Le me. Not lay me.

Picnic Cottage didn't sell and so I took it off the market and it's just about to go up for holiday let and probably with www.ownersdirect.co.uk.

.........what happened was.....

Rick Stein's wouldn't be able to pay me enough to cover the mortgages. I looked elsewhere but realised money would run dry by November. I got a call from a family that I used to nanny for in Dorset asking if I could help as their full time was leaving. I promptly and very easily finished furnishing the flat, re packed my belongings, got 2 rooms ready to rent and kept a third for me, for a base. The rooms rented and that nearly covers that mortgage. One less worry.

Then it was time to run back to Picnic Cottage and get it ready for holiday lets. I then spent too much time procrastinating over the choices...to let long term, holiday let and with which company. Months later and with a lot of empty house but still pay the bills later, this weekend is my own deadline. I need to get the income in.

It brought me to Sandbanks where I am lving avec Millie on millionaires row in a 4 bed waterfront cottage with own beach and jetty, lawned gardens, awaits a buyer. It belongs to the family I'm working for.

Millie and I get up at 5.50am to leave at 6.45 to be ready to be at work for 7.15. I don't finish until 7pm ish, get back around 7.30/ 8pm. By then, I don't want to do much I must admit. It's paying the bills, that I can be grateful for. Right now it's what I need.

I have started writing a book. My first proper attempts, but that I need to crack on with. I just have this desire to write. Guess I always have. It feels like 'coming home..only to no home..' just kidding. It does though.

2009. Here it is. Obama changing history. As he said, there has been a shift in the ground beneath us. Anything is possible. For me this year must come a book deal then.

Dirty Boy

Well, if anything might get some attention the title 'Dirty Boy' might. Herbert. Is dirty. Dirty, dirty, dirty. I will spend some time loving him today. My car folks, my car, the Vee Dub Beetle convertable. He's not mine...he's rented. No, I didn't win the lottery, no..I'm not minted Am I aiming that at anyone I wonder?!

Millie gets in Herbert after the beach and of course gets him all sandy. That's how it's meant to be right. A VW wouldn't be a VW if it didn't hold a bit of sand hey.

I'm still loving him. Someone sent me fresh flowers last week and I put them in the vase..shifted that plastic bloody flower. Cool. Loved it. I drive with the roof down as much as possible.

Just a quick update for you on the bug..but gotta go..got a B&B booking.

x

Your Own Little Home on the Coast

Picnic Cottage is.... still for sale and I really don't know why, because it is just so pretty, all done, all ready to run, you should buy it. Since the last time of writing I have officially dropped the price to £325,000. To you...just you...I will drop to £310,000.

Picnic Cottage at 1 Summerland Terrace, Kingswear, S. Devon, sits just up the road from the River Dart, the village shop, 3 pubs, the Royal Dart Yacht Club, minutes from the ferries up river to Totnes and just across the water from Dartmouth.

Kingswear is a quiet (at times), coastal retreat that goes beyond stunning. With the evening sunshine on the pretty town of Dartmouth and being so close\ the the beautiful river and the most amazing coastal walks, if you want a new life by the sea, this could be for you. Why not locate www.frankthemortgagegenious.com to find out how you could raise a mortgage to buy this pretty cottage.

Don't want the whole house, but want to get in on the housing ladder, then why not consider buying half the house and living in it as your home...just you have to share the growth. All options considered you see by me.

A bit more about the village of Kingswear for you...

Picnic Cottage

Picnic Cottage is for Sale. Current price of £349,950. We all know the housing market is slow at the present time, but let me tell you about Picnic Cottage. Bought just over 9 years ago for £62, 500, you could say it has done well. Very well. The house was vertually shelled nearly 2 years ago with over £70,000 spent to up date it and if you buy I can tell you the whole house has been re wired, re plumbed, re plastered. New kitchen, new bathrooms and now comes with a river view too. The floor was dug up and has been insulated, the double glazing was all new 5 or 6 years ago, there is a new boiler.

Now, prices in Kingswear are crazy BUT it is a very popular place to buy. Why am I selling then? Not only time to move on, but I don't want such a big mortgage, some thing I did gradually was borrow, borrow, borrow and quite a challange for me to meet that mortgage on just B & B or even holiday lets.

If you buy from me I will drop the price to £335,950 and will include all the furniture and the cooker, Tv etc. This means you could buy a holiday cottage to rent out and it all be set up ready to earn income. You could even keep it as a B & B. I have have Blue Chip Vacations around and they think that I could make £12 to £14k in the first year in holiday lets. Still not enough for my mortgage but might be enough for yours??

So, please excuse these plugs for ad word purposes... Rent Picnic Cottage Dartmouth, buying a home in Kingswear, hot properties in the SW, special offer on house in Dartmouth, business opportunities Dartmouth, coastal homes for sale, Kingswear, Dartmouth, SW, Dartmouth holiday lets, holiday lets in South Hams, buy a bed and breakfast.

Thanks... Lizzie

And so...

I. Need. To. Create. A. New. Business. Quick! 2 days in Padstow at Mr Stein's deli, which, is a great place, nice enviroment to work and all that, but from Picnic Boat income and freedom to just above min. wages and of course I'm racking my brain here thinking what could I do. What does this place need?

Note to Claire R. I need to book a session blog spot. New proper Newquay blog and a page for Picnic Cottage with loads of photo's. Anyone with any smart ideas in 'how to sell my house' or how to turn my home into a time share? Let me know.

Meanwhile....

Well, I'm in the internet cafe, so I may as well....

...Say some thing. I just went gig rowing in the Newquay swell. Lots of boats out and a friendly and lively club. So, thats the first step towards making some new pals I guess.
More excitement in that my sofa arrives tommorrow. At last! Well, you know, it will be nice and make it more homely. I did get some cheap DVD's too, The Holiday, Borat, Jack Ass and Casino Royal. Not for one sitting, but some times, adding the comfort thing for the comfort when you're in a new place and it's you, yourself and dog, you gotta do these things. So, I shall look forward to a day of unpacking more boxes, building the other bedside table, sorting out the office a bit more all whilst waiting for the sofa to turn up.
Thursday theres a tennis lesson. Friday I have training at Rick Steins. Saturday Rachee is coming to stay for the weekend.
Newquay plug in's so far....
I went and checked out The Headland Hotel today. Very nice, great terrace bar for watching the sunsets, nice feel, cute outdoor pool, funky bar. Also Fistral Blu Cafe looks pretty good. The Bay Hotel with it's trendy bar, good, reasonable 3 course menu's and the Fistral Spa there. Wow, would I like to become a Gold Member. Not as in the Bond..Goldmember, but as in the membership thing.I'm telling myself though, that a bit of running, attempting surfing, gig rowing and tennis should be a start to better fitness. The outside stuff.
Well, I'm going to head home now. Did you here that? Home!! I may well take Mills for a stroll to the beach. Why now eh! Bon nuit.

The Second Installment

Dear C,

Millie has a new lease of life. It was a tumor but it has hopefully all been taken out. There were no signs of it having moved elsewhere and the surrounding tissue showed clear results so, fingers crossed. Boy, did it put my nose 'out of joint' when I got here. She had quite an op and it did leave me feeling, how can I do Newquay without Millie. Surfice to say, she has recovered and is loving swimming and the beaches. I think she likes Newquay!

I confess I ended back at Picnic Cottage for a time while she was recovering. What with no job here and the B & B being my only source of income, at least I could work there, so I did a bit of painting and so on.

Well, if one story leads to another, Anna from South Africa came for coffee about a month ago and whilst we were swapping stories on a bit of an update of 'events' in our lives...men being mentioned of course (bloody toe rags!), having escaped a relationship she was in, she needed a place to live and a job, having left S.A. A natural suggestion with me about to move was for her to live in my place in return for running the B & B. So! That's what she's doing. Just that. With several other local jobs under her belt too, she has settled right in, so that's good.

I made my move here properly, full time Newquay resident last Wednesday. And... am I in a panic about it? Nope. I'm not actually. I've been loving my flat, got used to being minutes from everything from the harbour, the best surf beaches, the shops, the bars and restaurants and so on.

I've joined the Heron Tennis club, tommorrow I'm going to see if I can go gig rowing and join that club. Friday I'm in training for shop work at Rick Stein's in Padstow. Perhaps a part time thing, but a foot in the door and maybe lots of different areas I may be able to move to. If the rumours are correct and the man himself is going to purchase in Newquay then that could be good. It's all a start anyhow. I do want to be based here, to be able to take up a lot of sport again in my life and see what happens next. Life does happen if you dare to look around the corner.

And finally for this posting. Am I surfing yet? Nope, but there is stacks to do here, all girl surf lessons, boot camp style fitness, tennis. It's outdoors and even if the sun isn't shining, that view of the big open sea, those lush sweeping big beaches, gives me a breath of fresh air. I'm booking a lesson this week. I will be surfing by the summer's out...and so might Millie!!

It happened...

What should I be saying..Katanga, Hang Ten,  Surf's Up?? I'm here, I've done it. I've moved to Newquay and I know all of...wait for it...2 people.

Yesterday was the big day and although I wasn't leaving Picnic Cottage for good, I was leaving and I did feel a little emotional about it obviously. I mean it was my very first 'pad' on my own, it was my married home, my office and later Picnic Cottage B & B (which it still is by the way). So, yes a bit wierd, leaving it furnished, looking lovely and Flack's Man and Van from Brixham sorting everything else out with you know...'stuff', which is what it is isn't it...just 'stuff'.

Anyhow, on arrival, after feeling a bit 'odd' leaving I felt fine arriving. The flat was left spotless and all I seem to have done is every few minutes go to the top floor lean over the balcony and breath in my sea view. I can see right across to Watergate Bay and as far as Trovose Head. Sweeping, blue sea and white surf. I love it!

I don't love...

For The Love of The Housebuying Process

Hmmm, a week before completion on Newquay, deposit with the solicitor, quite a few possesions packed and away in storage then wallop...mortgage offer withdrawn! Stress levels can I guess be prevented by deciding not even to own a house and buy a boat to live on. Then, you see your bills will waver council tax, you won't be able to arry too many possessions (no point buying too much stuff therefore), you will only be able to shop for food every other day or so and you know...to me..it's quite an appealing option!!

Something sensible in me (or should I say boring) compells me to think that bricks and mortar will help in the long run and prevent in creaking old age from wondering from bench to bench with newspaper for blankets like a bag lady. Part of me also thinks that reaching old age, as I am sadly constantly reminded by friends and loved ones, doesn't always knock at the door. So perhaps a rock and roll lifestyle, no worries or possesions whilst rockin and rollin around on a yacht??

Rent or buy Picnic Cottage

Good day to you, whoever, however you got to reading this blog.

Notice

For sale or rent

If you are looking to re locate by the sea, love Dartmouth, love boats, love the river, then why not enquire about renting Picnic Cottage for a 6 to 12 month agreement whilst you wait for the right property and price to come along?

Picnic Cottage is a beautiful, cute, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom, all newly re furbed cosy pad within a minutes walk to the river and ferries across to Dartmouth. Wood floor and open plan living room and kitchen, lovely double oven range,original working fireplace, sunny courtyard garden and a fab room on the top floor with space for a double bed and extra single and or cot/ office.

The house was totally re plastered, painted, new carpets, re wired, new combi bolier and so on. It's all finished off with a New England style look, cream kitchen units, beach wood top, lovely hints of blues throughout the house and a cute nautical, kath Kidson sort of style to the place, although rent it unfurnished and you an create your own look.

To rent I'm looking for £1000 per month plus bills. Do consider however, you could possibly run it as Picnic cottage B & B and earn back rental from £90 per night, so depending on how good you are at bringing in business, you could almost live rent free, try out your new lifestyle, al whilst deciding how best to start your own business in Dartmouth.

Call Lizzie now to discuss on 07929b048386

Number 10

www.deskwithaview.com ok..it's out there but not the idea I'm thinking of, so how about...The Drive Desk?

Now, why is it that when ever I have thought of an idea and then think about what to call it, the name is already highlighted? I didn't spend more than 2 minutes thinking up the name, but the idea I had whilst in 'Bug' this afternoon, sat with the roof down, overlooking the beach and the deep blue sea whilst paying Picnic Boat invoices!

If you can devise a desk that slots over the wheel of your car, van, truck whatever so that you can slide your seat back and instantly create a work area. Something light weight, maybe it can fold away?

Then, you see, all you reps out there or anyone that has an adversaty to being inside for too long can get the paperwork, drive to your favourite port of call with a view and make it your movable office.

Am liking this idea and think it could make you rich.