One house, loved. Seeking really nice owner.

We had a visitor this week. Having been contacted by the estate agent to say said visitor was coming by to view Chez Knollys on Thursday evening, I scrubbed, aired and polished the ol’ homestead to sparkling perfection. Okay, maybe having 10 dogs makes that somewhat futile but at least there weren’t any paw marks on the walls or hair in the fridge (how does dog hair get in there?). I even built a sort of avant garde rockery in the front garden where Steven had piled up all the old driveway concrete and bits. That’s where little plant is by the way. I added some illegitimate pot bound greenery (lost their tags so parentage unknown) plus a couple of bags of compost and voila! Mind you I’m not sure Monty Don will be oohing over it any time soon.

I can only hope it was ‘first viewing’ nerves that had my stress levels hitting the red zone. As much as I tried to reason with myself that whoever wanted the house would expect to put their own stamp on it, I started to see flaws everywhere. The new extension (have I got too much furniture in there?), those scrapes on the bathroom counter (let’s face it, one quick paint job), the gardens (why did I get replace the artificial grass with the real muddy stuff?) and so on. By 6pm I deposited Callum and the woofers in the annexe (that’s what the former garage come gym is listed as) and cleared up the last minute deposit Mo left on said gym floor. And there they were on my newly washed porch step.

Well I think the viewing went okay. At least he didn’t comment on my decor or laugh at my landscaping, it turned out he even owns a dog. Just the one, odd people. And he did say “I like it” several times but as yet, no feedback. Am I upset? No actually. After all, it’s only the first one. Every one including the postie tell me the house will sell quickly and I’ve got it on the market too cheaply and how much they don’t want me to go so I’m telling myself to relax and go with the flow. Yup, try moving 10 dogs up the side of the house and through the back door whilst agent and potential homeowner are leaving through the front door. Think counting school kids back onto a bus post outing, at least one is always unaccounted for. In this case, Neo, who let’s face it is the only one to avoid and had decided to make a dash for the front door just as they opened it. In a former life, I must have been a rugby legend. I really need outside lighting….

“All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. For after all, he was only human. He wasn’t a dog.” (Charles M Schulz)