It hasn’t quite been a week yet since I left Dubai and already I’m feeling the excitement of having thrown away comfort and stability to start my dream project!  I feel impatient to find the right property and start putting together a schedule of courses.  My first £65 investment has bought me The Little Grange URL which means I can start to give the project an identity… take a look at the About section in this blog for what I have planned.

So over the past few days I have been back to tending my little seedlings which have done rather well over the May bank holiday weekend so we might have a good crop of fresh herbs this summer.  The tomatoes are coming on too as are the spring onions, summer bulbs and a little Chestnut sapling I’m determined to grow into a rather large tree!  I may even place it centre stage in the new garden as a symbol of these first few steps to a more fulfilling way of life.

Fab find: two stone planters

On Thursday I went to a local auction which sells household items as well as fruit and veg and outdoor furniture/tools/equipment, etc.  Outside, I spotted two old oblong stone planters and just had to have them; I have since transferred my herbs to them.  Inside the auction house, I fell upon a huge wardrobe made of pine and covered in satinwood/walnut veneer that seemed so versatile in its function I thought it would make a great statement piece in the future barn/workshop: a chest of drawers on the bottom; slide-out linen shelves hidden by two doors on top; both flanked by thin wardrobes (one of which contained the lidded box of an old chamber pot!).  All four pieces sit on a plinth and are finished off by a decorative top panel.  Individually easy enough to transport: together a whacking piece of furniture!  Again, I just knew I had to have it!  It will need a very good clean and some work on the veneer which is peeling off, as well as a bit of woodworm treatment… just to be sure!

The linen press on its way home

Bidding on each started at a reasonable £5 and before long I was walking away with three new prize possessions for very little money at all: x2 stone planters = £34 / x1 four-door pine satin walnut linen press = £130 (bargain).  I’ve since been online to learn more about the linen press and can’t seem to find many four-door varieties so I may have something of an original; complete with spiders and an inch of dust!

I loved the whole atmosphere and experience and will be heading to another auction soon. Next time I will be looking for old paintings with carved and gilded frames as well as board games, catering equipment, mix and match vintage china and garden tools/pots, etc.  SCH