Moving

Mum and dad have hopefully closed the deal on the house they want in Lincoln today. It's a brand new house, but not one built on an estate, so hopefully it'll be okay. If it all goes ahead, it means they're practically the last link in their chain - they're buying the house directly from the builder. Having said that, the person buying from them has sold to people in rented accomodation, so their chain - like ours - is mercifully short.

I got a copy of the draft contract for the selling of our house from our solicitor's today. Our mortgage application is being processed - I sent all the statements, questionnaires and my personal business accounts (if two tax returns and a breakdown of income counts - I don't use an accountant) back yesterday. This move is getting more real by the minute, yet we still don't want to complete before the end of September thanks to our ill-timed Canadian holiday.

On that front I tied up the loose ends by booking the hire car and car parking at Heathrow. All the confirmations are printed out and we're all ready to go - with two months to spare! Although I'm uncomfortable with the knowledge of how much greenhouse gas is expelled into the atmosphere on these flights, I've enjoyed planning this holiday. I've done it all myself - no travel agents and no one else helping me book. Our little trip to Vancouver in November last year was the first I'd booked myself, and it's given me a lot of confidence on that front, helped by the semi-symbolic passing of the baton from dad to me in Finland last year when I took on more responsibility from mum and him. Oh well, I guess it gives me a little more woefully inadequate preparation for when we have kids of our own!

Finally, before I try to forget there's cricket on and return to work, Jasp went for his vaccinations today and appears to have dodged whatever virus caught Matti. She shouldn't relax though - it's her turn next week...