{"id":1718,"date":"2016-05-02T20:38:37","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T18:38:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/?p=1718"},"modified":"2016-05-02T20:47:51","modified_gmt":"2016-05-02T18:47:51","slug":"how-to-downsize-a-spaniel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/?p=1718","title":{"rendered":"How to downsize a spaniel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"house<\/a>

(c) ArtsyBee via pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018We\u2019re downsizing.\u2019<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Words that must spring terror into any estate agents\u2019 mind. You know the type of house buyer I\u2019m talking about. Middle-aged couples, childless or childfree with equity wrapped up in a large house somewhere and looking to de-clutter, downsize and re-value their remaining years.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s us!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As (she says in a hopeful whisper) we\u2019ve moved one teeny-tiny step closer to moving, we decided to check out a few prospective houses last weekend.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Like many people, we\u2019ve been addicted to the property porn sites for years, dreaming of a fresh start somewhere new. We\u2019re hoping to move to the south coast. Lyme Regis if I ever win the Lottery. Failing that, somewhere within ten miles of it \u2013 it\u2019s my favourite place in the whole world. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Lyme<\/a><\/p>\n

Of course, house hunting from a distance brings problems. There\u2019s only so much you can do online. No matter how much you study the floor plan, scrutinise the artful photographs and track the neighbourhood on Streetview, you have to put a real, non-virtual foot onto a real, non-virtual doormat at some point. And if you have to squeeze a lot of viewings into a short weekend it all gets a bit intense. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Armed with our trusty tape measure, the realities of downsizing hit home with a vengeance (pun intended). Yes, we know we\u2019ll have to jettison furniture, choose which bits we actually use and are therefore going to come with us. We know we\u2019ll have to streamline our lifestyle.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We know the theory. The reality is something else. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For instance, I have a beautiful oak dining room table. Used at Christmas and for the occasional dinner party, it sits looking resplendent but lonely in the dining room \u2013 while we eat in the kitchen. I love it \u2013 but do I love it enough to reject the perfect kitchen diner it\u2019s not going to fit into? Of course not. It would be silly to base a \u00a3300,000 decision on a \u00a32000 table. And certainly not one that\u2019s hardly used. \u2018But I love it!\u2019 I hear myself whine.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"2016-04-06<\/a><\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s my study. My lovely room where I write, listen to music and read \u2013 otherwise known as spending an unfeasible amount of time staring out through the window. Am I really going to have to put up with a corner of a bedroom, or a space estate agents optimistically call \u2018the study area\u2019 on a landing. With our budget, it\u2019s looking likely!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"2014-10-29<\/a><\/p>\n

The one thing we can\u2019t compromise on is the garden. Our Springer has a propensity for escape that makes bids for freedom from Colditz look amateur. We must have outside space that is secure, or at least easily made so. This rules out quite a few promising houses.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"2012-12-20<\/a><\/p>\n

Yes, despite my whinges, the dogs\u2019 needs are definitely coming first. Cue much eye rolling from the accompanying agent. But, if the dogs are happy, then so are we.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Or \u2013 here\u2019s another idea \u2013 maybe we should delay the move until after the dogs have shuffled off their snuffly coil? Then we could have a nice flat with a balcony just big enough for a pot plant and with panoramic sea views.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sigh. Bet there still wouldn\u2019t be room for my dining table though.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Love,<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Georgia x<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

PS Have you downsized lately? Please send me your tips for survival!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u2018We\u2019re downsizing.\u2019 Words that must spring terror into any estate agents\u2019 mind. You know the type of house buyer I\u2019m talking about. Middle-aged couples, childless or childfree with equity wrapped up in a large house somewhere and looking to de-clutter, downsize and re-value their remaining years. That\u2019s us! As (she says in a hopeful whisper) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[564,93,64,566],"class_list":["post-1718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-downsizing","tag-georgia-hill","tag-lyme-regis","tag-moving-house"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1718"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1728,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1718\/revisions\/1728"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.georgiahill.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}