Liberation!

Our house is a mess!
The house itself is a mess, having been unloved and un-cared for for over 20 years. there are bits of ceiling that have fallen down to reveal the lath and plaster (and ancient animal hair, what joy for an allergy sufferer!). There are areas of amazing old flag stones, but equally vast expanses of concrete floors. The stair case is quite literally falling apart and it's only really a matter of time before we lose a child through it. Part of the upstairs hall, luckily a non-essential part, was damage by an ancient water leak and is not safe to stand on. The dining room, which will eventually become our kitchen, looks like the inside of a barn and you can see daylight around the windows,
but,

I don't care how much water and playdough and bits of apple and squashed raisins ends up on the skanky brittle old lino in the kitchen.

It doesn't really matter how stained the reclaimed piece of carpet we are temporarly using in the family room gets.

Muddy wellies don't do too much damage to concrete floors, and mud sweeps up off them very well once dry.

And, the pile of building materials and scaffolding in the back yard has prompted a lovely lady over the road to let me use her beautiful walled garden to hang out my washing in.

All said and done, quite liberating really!