As I write this, we’re waiting to hear from the bank about whether our mortgage is going to go through. Stressful times. I’m feeling extremely anxious right now.

We’re (hopefully) about to buy our own house. It’s something that I never for a moment imagined would happen on my life. When I was a younger man, when I was single and had a bit of disposable income and could have considered getting on the ‘property ladder’, I couldn’t bear the idea. I disliked the thought of being tied down to a particular place, and of having to have a regular steady income (ie a job). Who knows – I might have been offered the chance to move abroad or I might have wanted to fulfill my youthful Kerouacian fantasies of becoming a dharma bum or even a full-on monk. These were things I relished the idea of.

But for one reason or another, and I don’t regret it for a minute, I never found myself going down that path. Here I am now, in my late thirties, with a wife and a kid – and about to get that mortgage I always avoided. Except now houses cost about twice as much as they did when I was twenty… and now by the time I pay it off I’ll be damn near retirement age. But still – I’m pretty excited about buying a place of own.

Renting is pretty good. You don’t have to worry too much about decorating or upkeep – just make sure you pay the rent (and that you have a half-decent landlord). But it’s been years since I’ve even put up a shelf or repainted a room, because I’d just have to pull it down or repaint in a year or two anyway. It’s a cliche, but what I’m looking forward to doing in the new place is putting down roots – being somewhere we can shape to our own needs as a family, and where we’ll be for years.

This blog – hopefully – is where I’m planning to keep a record of the process.

It’s planned as a record of domestic life. Nothing too personal, but a scrapbook of my gardening, cooking, DIY and various hobbies and projects (did I mention the shed?).

All we need to do now is wait to hear from the mortgage people, and get those keys!