Adventure to the Green Retreats showroom, and a quick trip to Waddesdon Manor
Husband works from home. Well at least on the days that he's not travelling to exciting places like industrial estates or landfill sites or Finland where the company is based. There are two problems with this situation. One, if Ed is at home at the same time as we are, even if they don't bust into the office to see what he's up to, the general noise level is not exactly conducive to his getting anything done. Two, his office is pretty dingy and small - it's the remains of the old kitchen before the house was extended and although it does have a window, it looks on to the side wall and is shaded by trees. Natural light is almost non-existant.
We looked at garden offices a year ago - Ed wasn't really sure. However, Pip has got bigger and noiser and between him and Sally, keeping everyone away from Ed when we plunge through the door after school has become nigh-on impossible. Today we went and visited this company.
Things I like about Green Retreats that have nothing to do with the product they sell: their showroom is inside; they have a little cafe just inside the door and gave us nice coffee and cake before we even looked at anything - Saul kicked my coffee across the table, this led to rolled eyes and understanding looks directed at husband as to why he might need an office away from
us all; they have a games area set up for the kids. The buildings they've got are also pretty cool and one might end up in our garden - but being able to look around a showroom without the kids escaping and mostly being happy and occupied? I was sold on that alone.
Ed is now doing lots of sketching of the amazing desk he is going to make for this office. Numerous ideas have been
proposed, I'm somewhat intrigued as to what he's actually going to build. But I am slightly more excited about the bookshelves he's going to build in the old office - I might finally be able to have books all on shelves - and then making it in to my sewing and other crafts room. Ed will still be allowed to keep his guitars in there, but I'm going to make that room tidy and nice. Not that it isn't at the moment, to suggest such a thing would be to unfairly malign my wonderful husband.
The showroom is very near Waddesdon Manor up near Aylesbury - so it was off for a quick National Trust visit in the afternoon. We have been there before, the Rothschild house is epic and beautiful - I did have to run around it at relative speed with Sally and one of my nieces last year. Until the kids are a lot older, I think that is going to be the default - get a taste, but not too much of a look at the specifics. But what I love about having the National Trust card is that you don't always have to bother with the fancy house bit. If we'd paid the money to get in then we'd probably feel the need to get some value for money by looking at lots of things, but as with the cards we can run in and out. NT places are pretty much guarenteed to have a good cafe and playground for the kids. Waddesdon also has busses to take you from the car park to the house which is an additional treat for little people. We headed straight for the cafe in the beautiful old stables - I think Max and Keith (the horses) would feel rather out of place and far too grubby to live there - and then on to the woodland playground.
Love these two - and they love running around outside.
