Finding Enough

March has been a very busy (and expensive) month. I am not quite sure where to begin. The biggest news is probably the start of the destruction investigation work at one end of the house, but we also made a decision on our next vehicle, which was definitely the biggest news by cost……….

We finally took the plunge at the start of the month and started to make a real mess in one of the downstairs bedrooms. We dismantled cupboard doors, took down light fittings, lifted the carpet and did our best to save most of the pine tongue and groove cladding……..before destroying the plasterboard lining on one of the outside walls. There is a huge chimney stack with 3 capped off pots at this end of the house, so we knew there would once have been a number of fireplaces – probably one in each room (2 downstairs and one upstairs). Having removed the plasterboard, which was soggy and crumbly in places, we found a layer of polythene then a timber frame stuffed with what was once glass fibre insulation. Behind that we found a complete fireplace and half a second one!

On the right there is a fully intact granite surround with a cast iron fireplace that we haven’t dated yet, still more or less intact. On the left, there is what appears to be a filled in larger fireplace, which is now straddled across the two downstairs rooms. The current dividing wall butts up against the middle of it, which appears to be randomly stuffed with rubble, which explains the damp that was visible in this corner. There is virtually no clearance in this area between the plasterboard and the stone, whereas there is 50+mm around the smaller fireplace.

The concrete floor appears to have plastic under it – at least in some places, and it stops short of the wall. We will have to do a bit more investigation and get advice on how best to deal with this. In the mean time we are keeping good ventilation in there to allow the thick stone walls to start to dry out a bit after at least 40 years sealed between impermeable plasterboard and plastic masonry paint outside.

We have the other external wall in this room to strip of plasterboard lining, before we move on to the adjoining room. then there’s the plastic paint to get off the outside, which may be a trickier job. We have booked ourselves onto a lime course next month to learn the basics of lime pointing, rendering and plastering, so are hoping to get the opportunity to ask A LOT of questions of experts, as well as having a go before we get started on ours in earnest. We may need to leave the walls to dry for a while – I have read that it takes approx a month per inch thickness of wall and ours are approaching 40-50 cm (15-20″)! We’ll be able to be more accurate when we’ve removed the framing and plasterboard on the wall with a window in it.

So, that car……..

After much consideration and discussion, we decided to go for it, and collected our new (to us) Hyundai Kona EV towards the end of the month, just in time to ferry visitors around all in one vehicle (that wasn’t theirs!). As I suspected, the end of a quarter in a slow market is an excellent time to negotiate. Research, and a test drive of a high mileage car that was available fairly locally, had narrowed the choice down to a model which best met our needs for a good price. I created a shortlist of 4 individual vehicles that balanced good value and low mileage and the ability to either have it delivered or collect from somewhere less than 90 minutes away.

The dealers holding those vehicles were all asked for their best price for cash (no part ex, no finance) collected before the end of the month. Some responded better than others – I think my approach rather bewildered one chap at a car supermarket. I imagine his training consisted of ways to manipulate the customer and keep the power with the sales person – and sell finance packages. He didn’t get the gig.

We have now had the car for 12 days and are very pleased with it. News of our purchase was met with an intake of breath from a couple of family members, but we think it will work for us long term. There really is only one way to find out. The only close friends we have, who already own an electric vehicle, absolutely love it. I am more inclined to be guided by them, than those who don’t like the idea and have never tried. By accessing cheap overnight charging rates, the additional purchase cost should be mostly offset over the life of the car, especially when we fit solar panels further down the line.

Financial Update:

• Freedom fund value – £1,253,449 (up £20K on last month)
• Expenditure – £20,099 (or a 19% withdrawal rate) including the car, or £4,072 (or a 3.9% withdrawal rate) without the car purchase cost
• Earned income – £0

The freedom fund managed to end the month up £20k, despite withdrawing £5k on top of our monthly expenses to fund the car purchase. Part of the reason I felt comfortable spending above our accrued budget was because the markets were riding high at the moment.

March was a massive month for expenses. This was expected, with a drinking water filtration system service (£125), tree removal (£325), cost of 2 places on a lime plastering a pointing course in April (£288) and a birthday trip away(£385) as well as increased grocery spending with guests visiting. That’s before we add a new car (and insurance and breakdown cover) into the mix. At least by going electric there is no road tax – for this year anyway. I have shown the number with and without the car purchase cost, as it helps me see how we’re doing against a baseline. The cost of insurance and breakdown cover (£385) is in both numbers as this will be an ongoing expense.

Poor service from the water filtration contact we had been left by the previous owners led us to do this ourselves. We had been planning to pay for the first one and watch and ask questions before doing it ourselves next time. As the company in question were unable to confirm a date, we started looking on the manufacturer’s website, and they had produced a number of youtube videos for installers that showed just how simple it was. So we just had to pay for a new UV bulb and set of particulate filters, probably saving ourselves around £200. We did have a bit of a panic when we didn’t have any hot water immediately after the service (no water at all out of the hot taps). We suspected an airlock and after a bit of jiggery pokery, got everything flowing again.

The number could have been even higher, as we had to refill the heating oil tank in March too, but as we now have an account with the company, they will take the payment for this in April. The price has gone down slightly since November, but it’s still a big number at £582 for 800 litres. Hopefully with the weather starting to warm up, this will last a bit longer than 3 months this time.

Non-Financial Goals:

Forage something every month – with spring starting to get into full swing, there were plenty of options this month with new shoots appearing everywhere. As we spent some time working in the garden getting raised beds ready for limited vegetable growing this season, I decided to identify some of the weeds that we have growing. I was delighted to find that some of the more prolific ones are not only edible, but quite tasty. There are 3 wild salad leaves that I have used as the basis for a salad for lunch on several occasions now.

Pineapple weed is so called as it’s flowers slightly resemble tiny pineapples, and are supposed to taste of them too. At this time of year, there are only young leaves which are supposed to taste fruity. I am not sure fruity is how I would describe it, but is it very pleasant and certainly has a bit of a tang. It adds a pleasing feathery texture to salads too.

Hairy Bittercress is a great name for a fairly small plant I recognise by sight, but had never paid much attention to before. The leaves are small and grow in a rosette shape similar to the pineapple weed. They are a bit fiddly to pick, but tastes a bit peppery – similar to rocket. I have no idea why it’s called ‘hairy’ as I couldn’t find anything hairy about it.

Ground Elder probably needs no introduction and is the bane of many gardeners’ lives, as it spreads so quickly and is difficult to eradicate. This is by far my favourite, with an aromatic flavour that I would describe as somewhere between parsley and coriander. If you like a herby salad I strongly recommend giving some young leaves a try. A great example of ‘if you can’t beat it, eat it’.

Towards the end of the month, I also tried adding flowering currant flowers, which added a nice blackcurranty tang as well as looking lovely:

Update on last month’s foraging: the King Alfred’s cakes did work as firelighters – just, but aren’t nearly as effective as modern alternatives or just scrunched up paper, so I won’t be making a special effort to collect more. I’m glad I tried it, and will store it away in my memory banks, just in case I ever find myself stranded in the wilderness having to build a fire to survive.

Wild swim at least once a month in as many different places as possible – Having connected with a few like minded loonies people in the local area, I managed 5 swims this month in 3 different places. The most memorable being a charity event on International Womens Day (8th March). There was a howling wind that felt like it was coming in straight off the arctic, which made it feel warmer in the water than out, and whipped up a few waves. It was for a local Women’s Aid charity though, so all 11 of us who turned up, got in. I had foolishly chosen that day as my first wetsuit-free dip of the year – mistake🥶

Document our house renovation progress in an illustrated journal – Honestly, I’m not doing too well on this one. There always seem to be more interesting things to do. We’re doing a pretty good job keeping a photographic record, but I haven’t written much. Writing this post today has given me a nudge to write down our experience of taking down that first plasterboard wall.

All in all it was a pretty busy month. Other highlights included my first attempts at baking in a Rayburn, upcycling old shoes into nest boxes (there are new residents in one already), building raised beds in the kitchen garden and learning to fillet and cook fish on a course in Manchester with a friend. We also saw our first adder basking in the spring sunshine, a ‘mole plow’ laying fibre optic cable down the side of our road, and plenty of spring flowers.

The keen eyed amongst you might recognise Dumfries House, which despite the name is actually quite a long way from Dumfries. This is the estate that the King raised funds to rescue in 2007, and which is home to a number of training schemes for traditional trades as well as community projects and a posh B&B and restaurant. We had been wanting to visit for a while, so a birthday gave the perfect excuse to splurge on a stay and nice meal as well as a visit.

We continue to enjoy seeing new things everyday as the seasons change. We are loving seeing brown hares in the garden regularly now, and if recent activity at the bottom of the garden is anything to go by, we should have leverets in the not too distant future too😉

Oh and I unpacked the hammock for the first time in 2 years and found the perfect spot with a view……….