We get the keys on Friday.

Really.

After all these months of waiting, we finally get the keys.  We first viewed Number Seventy Five on December 27th 2008.  We took our time and made an offer a couple of weeks later (ok, the lovely husband took his time, I was an absolute wreck of impatience).  After a week or so of to-ing and fro-ing over details we signed a commitment to buy.

And then we waited, and waited...

Part of our agreement was that we would not take posession of the house until mid-July.  It seemed so far away, but now we are here.  On Friday morning, at 9am we make the handover and our whole world will change.  We have never owned property before, jointly or separately.  We have never lived anywhere with a view to making it anything more than our "home for the moment".  I am scared, delighted and thrilled all at once.

There are some minor issues to resolve - expect many ranting posts on the intracacies of Dutch planning permission (*deep, deep breath*). 

Some of the furniture is still not arriving on time.  Yes, Chair Company I mean you.  You are right at the top of my list.  You are so far up my list you should be suffering from oxygen deprivation around about now.  Which is really the only remaining excuse for your continued show of staggering incompetence.  While I am starting to look forward to our weekly calls, if you call me on a Monday one more time to apologise for the delay (which I have yet to be given a reason for) and promise me that the chair will be here next week and still fail to deliver I will not be held responsible for my actions.  It is not acceptable that it takes 9 weeks to deliver a chair you claimed you had in stock, when I paid in full.  You have been warned...

Still, irritations aside.  I'm excited.  We are surrounded by boxes and stunned by how much clutter we need to get rid of but its all moving in the right direction.  The big furniture move is on the 18th, between now and then we will be ferrying small items, painting walls and getting a floor laid.  Posting will be sporadic but I will be back with a vengance and a helluva lot of photos as soon as I can.