Day 60 in the Big Bad Ischl House….

Day 60 in the Big Bad Ischl House….

I hadn’t realised the irony of this being the 60th day since the beginning of lockdown until I started writing this post. Because this day also happens to be the 60th birthday of a good friend of ours here in Bad Ischl.

In true ex-pat style, we tend to come together in one way or another to celebrate birthdays, Christmas, special events etc. Possibly because we are all so far away from our immediate family and friends that we make more effort to fill the gap, or maybe simply because it’s as good an excuse as any other to get together and have a bit of fun.

One of the girls once referred to the group out here as ‘our Austrian family’ and that is exactly how it feels. We all come from different walks of life, different areas of the UK (and other countries) and yet, here we are, all in one place and living similar lives, with similar jobs and similar challenges. If it hadn’t been for moving here, our paths may never have crossed but as I’ve mentioned before, they form the backbone of our lives out here and have indeed become ‘our Austrian Family’.

Since we can’t have a party of any kind for this 60th birthday, the girls have decided to have a walk, followed by a suitably socially distanced coffee and cake as a suitable way to celebrate. It’s been postponed for the moment as the weather isn’t playing ball right now, but I’m sure we’ll get to it at some point.

In the meantime, there was a smaller get together planned which involved a bit of assistance with tree felling and a hastily moved indoors BBQ to follow (did I mention that the weather wasn’t playing ball? 😉). Mark went on ahead armed with my long reach chainsaw, which didn’t actually get used in the end and I followed down on my bike an hour later, giving us a little more latitude in ‘the length of time that dogs can be left’ department.

Whilst we’re on the subject of chainsaws, of which I’ve owned 3 to date, it reminded me of the amusing memories of having acquired them. Long before I met Mark, I lived on the Isle of Wight in a very old cottage, pretty much 2 up, 2 down, front porch.. you know the kind of thing, it’s the archetypal one that kids always draw.

Whilst the house itself was tiny, the garden was huge and… shall we say… partly forested. 🤨 It probably shouldn’t have been, but over a period of time these things called shrubs had got a lot bigger than they should have done… including a hawthorn ‘hedge’ that was best part of 30’ tall. 🙄

Anyway, long story short, I had toddled off to the large B&Q in Newport to find something to cut them down with. Wandering up and down the chainsaw aisle, I was approached by two nice young guys with a wealth of knowledge and advice. Namely, buy a small one, the big ones will be too heavy for you to wield safely and if you burn it out, bring it back and we’ll just replace it under warranty. Now that’s my kind of advice. Very helpful. 👍

They picked one out for me and handed me a helmet/ear defenders/visor combo and some gloves that would prove worth the investment, should the scary part of it come anywhere near my dainty fingers. Job done.

Taking my exciting new pile of goodies to the checkout, I watched the cashier – an experienced old school tradesmen of a certain age – keep looking at the items being purchased and then at me, up and down, repeatedly. He was clearly fighting a war within himself which he ultimately lost, finally spluttering out involuntarily… “You will be careful with these won’t you dear…?” 😂

Second time was sitting with my Mum in a hospital waiting room – one of those where you all turn up at 10am, take a number and wait to be called. I can’t for the life of me remember why we were there but I do remember the conversation clearly. You will remember that I have learnt a lot from my Mum over the years, including her ‘roll your sleeves up and get on with it’ mentality.

So we are sitting in this deathly quiet waiting room, flicking through magazines with occasional conversation as you do, to pass the time. Mum suddenly looked up and said (possibly a bit louder than normal), “That reminds me, I’ve had an idea for your birthday, I thought we’d get you a long reach chainsaw”. It was an excellent idea and a suggestion I was grateful for, but the sudden stillness and turning of heads in the waiting room was a moment I’ll never forget. 😂

Before going out for the day, Mark had been continuing with the upstairs hallway and managed to finish all the paintwork with just a few minutes to spare. We want to do a bit more regarding hanging pictures and decor related stuff and for the moment but we can’t believe the difference it has made already. It’s so much lighter and brighter!

He’s now planning on starting a bit of a makeover in our bathroom. We had originally wanted to do a complete overhaul of it, but for now a lick of paint and a bit of tidying up will suffice.

I’ve always been of the opinion that a house doesn’t feel like your own home until you’ve painted at least one room and it’s usually one of my first priorities when moving to a new house. If there’s one thing this enforced closure has achieved, it’s that slowly but surely – one paintbrush stroke at a time – the house is starting to feel like it’s all ours and, more importantly, our home. 😍

Stay safe everyone xx