Recently in Karen Overbury Category
I THINK I'm turning into my mum! It's the middle of January and I'm revelling in finally being back in my routine! What happened to that superb sense of spontaneity I once had? Perhaps it got buried in the snow.
After weeks of wintry weather and before that New Year - and before that Christmas and the build up to the festive season - I finally feel that the world is returning to some sense of normality (whatever that may be!).
A NEW year. A time of new beginnings. Of resolutions, changes, optimism and hope.
Let's be honest - 2009 was quite a struggle at times. A dreadful jobs scene, poor property market and gloom and doom in just about every sector of the economy. In fact, I think most people were glad to see the back of it!
So will 2010 be any better?
IT'S important to get on with your neighbours. When they do something you don't like, perhaps hosting a noisy party or leaving their car where it's inconvenient to you, sometimes it's best to turn a blind eye - just as they probably do to you!
But there comes a point when even the most mild-mannered, patient and understanding neighbour will feel they've been pushed too far.
AN Englishman's home is said to be his castle.
But take a look at most castles, with their cracks, leaning walls, damp, bats and beasties, and even the generous of lenders wouldn't offer even the smallest of mortgages.
AS I begin to write this blog, the software tells me it's number 13. Now, there was a time when that number would immediately have been followed by the words "unlucky for some" and sent shivers down the spine.
But 13 today seems to be just another number.
SO the latest plan to save the world is to issue us all with compost buckets so that food waste isn't put into landfill. I wonder how many civil servants on what salaries and perks it took to come up with that one!
A scandalous amount of food is wasted these days. Let's try to educate people to cut the waste - and save cash - and not to leave food about. But forcing householders to use compost buckets isn't going to stop the waste. If people actually use the buckets, it is more likely to increase vermin.
IS there a magic trick to selling a house these days? If you're keen to sell your home, just what can you do to make your house that little bit more appealing and get an offer?
In days gone by, many people thought that the aromas of newly-baked bread and fresh coffee wafting through the property would ensure a quick sale. Then came the "boom" years when properties seemed to sell the moment they were put in the estate agent's window. But we're living in different times.
IS your home just as you want it? Is it a house which could be featured in one of those glossy magazines showing perfect properties that provide inspiration and aspiration. You know the ones I mean - houses which most of us can't imagine anyone, let alone a boisterous family, living in.
Chateau Overbury isn't like that. We try. Yet the paint on the skirting boards chips the minute they're painted, the carpets mark the moment they're cleaned and everything seems to come with a scattering of dog hairs. It has what some would call a "lived in" look.
EVERY generation says it, but that doesn't mean that we're wrong to declare that life today is getting more and more complicated.
There was a time when you left childhood, became an adult, met someone, married, had children and then the process repeated itself. I'm not saying folk were necessarily happier then, but things were more certain - at least in personal relationships.
WE had one weekend in which to find a house when we moved to the North East. Of course, we "knew" we'd only be staying for a couple of years, so the house didn't have to be "perfect", just somewhere to lay our heads and where then-toddler daughter would be safe and happy.
On this one weekend - pre-internet, mobile phones and the abundance of buy-to-let properties we could rent short-term - we soon decided the area where we wanted to live but there weren't many properties for sale. A couple of houses almost fitted the bill and we plumped for one simply because we had to.
Blog Authors
Leanne Chambers - an Ashington mum on her battle with breast cancer
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Glove Affair - Olympic boxing medallist Tony Jeffries
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Anna Heywood - Environment campaigner Anna Heywood writes on ethical living
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Brenda Boyd - the life and times of a morris dancer
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Will in Whitehall - The Journal's Political Editor on life at Westminster
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Adrian Pearson - The Journal's Regional Affairs Correspondent with a look behind the scenes of North East politics
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Mieka Smiles - Journal columnist on the ups and downs of young married life
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Francesca Craggs - on tying the knot, tantrums and tiaras
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Stephen Farrell - The Faz with a fan's eye view of NUFC
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Karen Overbury - our homemaker editor writes and answers questions about property
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Zainab Radhi - on life after leaving Tyneside for Iraq
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Anna Mason - Spa pro Anna Mason gives her expert tips and tricks on all things beautifying
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Kat Davidson - teaches singing all over the North East for The Sage Gateshead
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Tom Bestford - works on The Sage's Folk team and is a national Rapper Sword Dancing champion
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Fiona Gill - writes and interviews for The Sage Gateshead
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Richard Pattison
- the Northumberland mountaineer writes about the climbing scene
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Plot of Bother - allotment gardening with Katharine Capocci
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Graeme Whitfield - The Journal's Graeme Whitfield takes you behind the headlines in his newsroom blog
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Malcolm Reid - on renewable energy
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Jon Half-Ironman - The Journal's Jon Tunney on training for the athletic event of his life
Find me on Facebook or Twitter
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Liz Lamb - talks about fashion
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Write Said Fred - view from the pram with toddler Fred Telfer
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Tim Taylor - The Journal's Golf Blog Club
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Kasia Bobrzak - writes a blog for the Polish community
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The Cheeky Winkle Adventures - Lily and Toby go Geocaching
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Hannah Davies - on life as a new mum
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David Matthews - on health and safety gone mad
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Alan Tilmouth - on birding in the North East
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Mark Robertson - of the Northumberland Cheese Company on artisan food
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Marc Vargas - an exiled Catalonian writes about life in the North
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John Mackay - Local GP John Mackay writes about the NHS
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Tom Dodds - on transport matters
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Malcolm Clarke - on life as a professional pool player
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