Isfryn

We've managed to secure a charming house in Wales that is just right for us - it's called Isfryn (pronounced IZ-frin), and means 'below the hill'.

At the top of the hill is St Myllin's Well, a sacred site where a 6th-7th century priest is said to have baptized people by total immersion and became "known as 'Sant Mewn Llyn' or the 'Saint in the Lake' because of his being constantly in the water" Wikipedia. Our house is on the Wikipedia page for the well, just 'below the hill.'

We'd had this house on our favorites/watch list, and then got notification of it being reduced by £35K. The owner was being foreclosed upon and needed to sell by Nov 7. Our agent cleared his calendar for Nov 6, and drove 4 hours each way to view it and take photos for us in real-time, so we could ask questions immediately. This was the last viewing, as the next day was the deadline for bids, so it had to be a rush decision or we'd lose it. Phew! It's scary buying a house from afar without having visited it under a tight deadline, but there's a first time for everything, right? If you don't take risks, you won't get anywhere.

“You have to find something that you love enough to be able to take risks, jump over the hurdles and break through the brick walls that are always going to be placed in front of you. If you don’t have that kind of feeling for what it is you are doing, you’ll stop at the first giant hurdle.”- George Lucas

I'll be going from managing a 1,000 acre lake to looking after a little garden pond, and Dale will be getting a double garage instead of an open carport, and together we'll appreciate the fantastic sunroom and kitchen. No stairs, no basement. We hope to install solar panels, a heat pump and EV charger at some point, and I will HAVE to start removing wallpaper - I've never liked it, and it's my least favorite thing about this house. It can wait though, and it will take time. We have 3 bedrooms, so can have guests ...

We will be 1 hour 20 minutes from my youngest brother, 1 hour 40 to Birmingham airport, and 26 minutes to a hospital. We can walk to a pub 3 minutes away that serves Guinness on tap or to a local SPAR grocery store! There are castles, steam railways, bridges, aqueducts, wells, museums and of course, hikes of note to explore from here. Let the adventures begin ... I'm SO excited 😁

Isfryn