We have landed! As anticipated the landing was not really a smooth one. Yet, we have arrived at destination and we’ll make it ok.

By the end of January, I had relaxed. By most standards I was still very stressed! So much to do in the apartment, so many boxes still to unpack.

So many realization as well.

My partner and I had been renting for years. We very rarely had to buy ‘permanent’ fixture. When moving to a new place, there was always a mirror in the bathroom, a toilet paper holder, some sort of furniture to put our things. Same thing in the kitchen, we never had to buy one. I never had to clean a new oven and didn’t realize how bad it smells, when you turn it on for the very first time! There was also always a place to hang our clothes. Obviously we never had to buy lamps to hang from the ceiling or worry about electric wiring!

This is all new to me! Moving in a place which has just bare walls and nothing else is a whole new experience. Not the most pleasant one I should say. It feels like I’m bleeding cash and plastic at the moment and the end is nowhere in sight.

I know that’s all I write about at the moment! I know I should feel lucky to have a home. I know this should be seen as an opportunity to make it my own, to do exactly what I want with the space. That’s what people say about home owning versus renting. I guess it’s all true but it doesn’t feel that way yet.

And how many times have you drilled a hole in concrete? Because it’s painfully hard and it doesn’t make me feel like I’m making the place my own! It makes me feel like I should avoid making holes and find other solutions instead. Just like when I was renting!

Nevertheless, we are there. And life is slowly getting back to ‘normal’. But I don’t really know what this means any more. Last year was a year of transformation, a year in between and I really have no clue what lies ahead.

I’m guessing March will be a little different but no so much. After that, I shall try to get back to a more regular sort of posting. Back to finance stuff maybe, back to my ‘ugly’ recipes, back to some DIY… We shall see.

Time unfolding (this part is really just for me!)

The first week in short: nothing was going to go according to plans!

We were supposed to get the keys of the apartment. We left without any keys and yet we were told we could move in! Well, I wasn’t about to move in while there were no toilets!

It didn’t matter because on Friday I was going back to see my dad for his Birthday and for the most important event ever, in my view: the vintage motorcycle market that I had been waited for, for 2 years!

Before that, I however got pissed at the nonchalance of someone who got Covid and didn’t take it seriously. For god sake, she should have never been in the office on that day. Grrrrr

I tested negative several times so I left!

Well I must say, I was super glad my dad, my brother and my wrench came because I would have bought nothing without them. I had no clue what I was looking at. I had no idea who to see. It was ridiculous. But I left with a piston, mudguards, a front lamp thanks to them… All in all it was good and we had a great day.

The second week we got a partial kitchen and one toilet!

And the new bed, and our furniture was delivered! I don’t really call it moving in as we were still sleeping at our AirB&B and were still optimistic that the works in the main bathroom would be done by the next week! Silly, I know.

My days were spent almost entirely at the apartment. Waiting for deliveries, cleaning, moving things and organizing things to give room to the workers who never came…

The third week included Valentine’s day!

Valentine’s what?! Being in between places, covered in dust, aching from head to toes, doesn’t put you in the mood.

My partner did get a bottle of Champagne! And what a bottle as you can see!

My little wash machine was delivered and the guys broke a tile in the staircase. This is going to cost me more than the machine to get it repaired. I was pissed.

More cleaning, setting up, unboxing… I had realized by then that the works would take a while to get done. And I spent my first night in the apartment on the 17th. Alone. I can’t say I slept well as the storm outside blew so hard, I thought there were ghosts in the hallways.

We definitively left the AirB&B the next day. We are in our apartment and have to deal with the way it is.

The Fourth week was about trying to get back to normal

I did some major catch up on work. I still managed to install the dishwasher, the bathroom lamp and handled other small improvements.

Still no second toilet in sight, no workers coming to fix the walls, the faucets, the bathtub. I was dreaming of taking a bath!

The war broke and I felt desperate, stupid, selfish…

Thankfully it was time to go back to see my dad. Had to handle the Indian’s wheel hubs fast and so I did and in my bubble there, I tried to forget about everything else.

Now, I must say that maybe I did make some progress painting because the wheel hubs turned out better than the tanks! Which is good! Because the tanks can be taken off fairly easily. The wheel hubs? It’s a different story. I don’t want to do the lacing too often!

Overall

I guess I should be happy that we moved in. In reality, as said above, I don’t feel at home. It’s just a foreign land, a work in progress. I don’t know when this feeling will change. I only vaguely recall what it means to be happy.

At the moment I’m really glad the neighbors haven’t moved in. It’s quiet and I like it. This probably won’t last much longer.