Oh, Goodness!

Demetrios says now's the time to get serious about acquiring a place to stay in England. He lived in Ormskirk for a while, which is in Lancashire, near Liverpool, so he'd like to go back there. He says the Liverpudlians have a great and unique sense of humor, a delightful culture, I'll like it there, the western part of England is especially pretty, and Lancashire is near Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. The dollar is going a bit better against the pound and housing prices are currently depressed, so now's the time to use the money from the property we sold here a year or so ago.

So I've spent some hours this week looking, on the Internet, at what's available in the vicinity of Ormskirk in our price range.

I'm having to learn new terms. The "lounge" is what we'd call a living room. An "en suite" is a small bathroom connected to the master bedroom. "First Floor" is the one immediately above the Ground Floor (as is the case throughout Europe). "No upward chain!" apparently means if you sign a contract, it won't be contingent upon the seller finding a new home. "Partial Ownership" means you still pay monthly rent to the other owner(s). DG is double glazed windows and GC is gas central heat. I don't know for sure what an Artexted ceiling is (textured?) or coved. A hob, I think, must be a stove top. (Dear Elizabeth, have I got these more or less right?)

These homes are mostly tiny. Tiny is what we want, of course, and it seems likely we'll find something delightful. Still, I think I'd feel claustrophobic in a kitchen no wider than the kitchen sink, like this one.



And, while I was looking, I came across this photo of a half-length, easy-chair shaped "tub" just like the one we used to have in Thessaloniki! I had supposed it unique, but here's its twin, except this one is bright and shiny and clean looking, whereas ours was hopeless. You sit on the shelf and lower your feet into the well.



I found a picture of a shower just like the one we installed in Greece, too, except our tiles are forest green and our glass is partially frosted. It's so small you have to be careful not to bump your elbows!



Well, it's a lot of fun looking and dreaming. It'll be even more fun if we manage to get there in March and look around in person!