Moving countries with a dog: A full account of the trip from Helsinki to Bath

It's almost exactly a month since we moved, and I think I've just about recovered enough to tell you all about what turned out to be quite an ordeal. 

Having thoroughly planned, packed, and panicked, we set off to Helsinki the night before our flight to Brussels. I doubt anybody slept that night, including the dogs. Mum and I were very nervous about Kara's weight - Finnair allows dogs in the cabin if they, with their bag, weigh 8kg or under, and the previous day Kara weighed just under 7kg without the bag. Here I must mention that the information given on flying with pets varies depending on the source, and though I did do a lot of googling to check every single little detail prior to the flight, I can't say I was particularly confident about how we'd manage.
As it turned out, Kara weighed 7.9kg with her bag, and gleefully we dashed through the terminal, both dogs in tow, with none too many minutes to spare at the departure gate. Next it was time to worry about Freija - how on earth would she stay put under the seat in front of mine for the full two and a half hours? More importantly, at this point I kept all my fingers and toes crossed that she wouldn't panic and start screaming bloody murder as she can sometimes do in nervous situations...
So on we went, our seats being the very last at the back of the plane. The space under the seats in front of ours was cramped to say the least, though thankfully the soft Trixie bags we'd bought solely for the flight did squash down somewhat and both doggies were lodged reasonably comfortably in their places for the duration of the flight. As we set off, Freija was nervous as I'd expected, and whined from the runway till we got above the clouds - happily a bit of soothing rocking her bag on my part seemed to help, and she settled down eventually. In fact, the flight from there on out was incredibly peaceful with both dogs sleeping most of the time.

A photo posted by Freija (@freijatheyorkiepoo) on Jul 22, 2015 at 1:41am PDT

When we landed (and breathed for the first time in 24 hours, I feel) Kara had a bit of a Bambi moment - somebody hadn't moved a muscle for over two hours and ended up with paws of spaghetti! What a laugh we had at that, while simultaneously dashing to collect our luggage and meet the pet taxi who would be collecting us for the trip from Brussels to Folkestone...
It was a short and peaceful drive across the border. Our driver amused us with stories of other pets they'd traveled with, and said how surprisingly many of them got stopped at the pet passport check in Calais due to a multitude of ridiculous reasons - we chuckled and said how glad we were our passports had been checked by our vet just days before departure to ensure we'd be safe to travel.
Oh how wrong we were.
Upon entering the pet reception building, one of the personnel pounced at Freija, who I was carrying, to check her microchip. Girly girl freaked out and I ended up with a pee-covered shirt - the least of my worries towards the end of the night. With both of the dogs microchips found, they started looking through the pet passports. Kara's went through no problem, she was cleared to travel. Then things went very, very wrong. The ladies behind the desk gathered round Freija's passport, shaking their heads and muttering in French. My heart sank - something was obviously amiss. To sum up (and leave out hours of exasperation, tears, negotiation, and fear), here's what was wrong:

• Instead of the issue date of the microchip, ours had the reading date of the microchip. This was very obviously bad because the microchip has to be inserted BEFORE the rabies vaccination is given, and of course these were in the wrong order as Freija received her passport in January. 
• The vet had not stamped the passport, neither on the main page or on the vaccination pages.
• The rabies vaccination had not been laminated.

We spent that night in Calais, not sleeping a wink. All kinds of backup plans were running through our minds, from flying back to Finland, to getting a new rabies vaccination and passport and staying the mandatory quarantine period in France... It was a real waking nightmare. The pet reception ladies told us to visit a vet first thing in the morning who would "help" (there were mentions of paying in cash and "he'll sort it out for a price"), and so we made our way to there at eight the next day. We were greeted by a secretary who promptly declared she couldn't do anything for us without correct documentation from our own vet in Finland - which we obviously didn't have with us since we'd thought we wouldn't need anything apart from the "approved" passports we'd bought. Cue frenzied, expensive international calls to Finland. First none of the many vets we've visited with Freija answered, all calls going straight to answerphone. Then the phone rang - our little local vet had heard our voicemail and said they'd fax over Freija's records (which were actually missing the microchip number, but the vet understood our situation and added it on since all the other details including the microchip insertion date were correct). As soon as that fax came through, the secretary whipped out a new blank passport and started scribbling away - Freija was saved (although now a French national and pronounced "Frejah") and we could officially continue our journey, PHEW!

A photo posted by Freija (@freijatheyorkiepoo) on Jul 22, 2015 at 12:48am PDT

Our driver from the night before kindly came back for us, and we whizzed past the traffic (you'll all know about the migrant crisis in Calais this summer), through the pet passport check and border control. We got through to the tunnel rather quickly, with just enough time to spare for a quick wee for the dogs before loading up the pet taxi into the sweltering hot train. It was an uncomfortable journey in the heat, but short - withing 45 minutes we were in Folkestone, apologising profusely to my granddad who had come to meet us the night before, only to have to turn back home and come again that day.

A photo posted by Freija (@freijatheyorkiepoo) on Jul 22, 2015 at 12:40pm PDT

A photo posted by Freija (@freijatheyorkiepoo) on Jul 22, 2015 at 12:52pm PDT

After a blissful night of sleep in Eastbourne we were thoroughly prepared for the drive to Somerset. Granddad had borrowed a minibus from work, which easily accommodated three large suitcases, a few bits and pieces of furniture, three people, and two small dogs - so off we set just after five in the morning. There are few things as beautiful as the English countryside at dawn, especially that drive from East Sussex through to the West, onto Hampshire, Wiltshire, and eventually Somerset and Avon. It's especially delightful after the ordeal of the previous couple of days, I must say.
We arrived in Bath around ten that morning, via a quick brekkie stop at Wetherspoons in Warminster,
and spent the day buying furniture, kitchenware, and other immediate essentials, and setting up my and Freija's new flat. It's a gorgeous flat, in a gorgeous area, and that night I think we couldn't have felt any happier to be home.

A photo posted by Freija (@freijatheyorkiepoo) on Jul 26, 2015 at 4:54am PDT

Moving countries with a dog: a long post about packing!

Packing up your entire life in a couple of suitcases is a challenge to say the least, especially when you're taking your full art studio and everything your dog owns with you. Here's how I packed for my move from Finland to the UK. :)

• Start planning your packing well in advance: I wrote my list two weeks before the move, and added to it almost daily since I'd forgotten everything important, as you do. You'll also need to check how much luggage you can bring - if you're flying it's generally around 20kg per suitcase, and if you're bringing your pet on board you have to make sure it weighs no more than 8kg (or 6kg for some airlines) including the weight of it's bag. The pet's bag has to fit under the seat in front of you and should be a soft one so you can slightly squash the fabric to fit if it's not the exact size, bearing in mind your pet should be able to spend the entirety of the flight in it comfortably. You're also allowed a little carry-on bag in addition to your pet, so pack all your travel essentials in that. Before packing make sure to check what you cannot bring on the plane! If you're flying to the UK you can bring your printer ink, for example, but you couldn't if you are flying to the USA as they have very strict rules in regards to ink cartridges.

Helping @liserichardsonart pack up her art studio for our big move 🎨🐾 #etsy #etsycards #etsyart #shopsmall #cutedog #crossbreed #dog #doodle #doglover #dogsofig #dogsofinstagram #dogs_of_instagram #doodlesofinstagram #freija #instadog #instapet #instacute #instamutt #ilovemydog #mutt #pet #poodlemix #terrier #terriermix #terriersofinstagram #yorkiemix #yorkiepoo #yorkiepoosofinstagram #movingwithpets #movingcountries

A photo posted by Freija (@freijatheyorkiepoo) on Jul 16, 2015 at 12:29pm PDT

• Make a list: This seems like the most obvious tip ever, and if you've ever moved house you'll know how to do this in a way that works for you. However, moving from country to country you'll have to trim the list down a little unless you're prepared to dish out for a removal company (which is dead expensive if you're going on a student budget!), and consider what you can replace once you've moved or bring along later if you're able to leave things behind in storage or with family. Here's my list: 

• Paperwork:
• travel documents (pop them in a plastic wallet so they're all in one place for you to grab when you need to.)
• passports (for people and pets alike - make sure they're up to date and that the pets have all the correct vaccination details marked in there.)
• tenancy paperwork (everything to do with your rented flat that you'll need.)
• university paperwork (you'll need it to set up a bank account if you don't have one already, among other things!)
• medical records and prescriptions (although you won't be able to use them abroad as such, you may find them useful when going to your new doctor - also if you have a national insurance card bring that along too!)
• any other identification and legal paperwork
• a map or list of important addresses in your new hometown (because you'll need to know where the bank, GP, post office supermarket, and many other places are located practically as soon as you arrive, and that means before the broadband is set up.)
• Clothes: 
• two or three weeks worth of t-shirts/tops
• plenty of underclothes and socks (these can be used to protect fragile items in your suitcase, such as ornaments if you're a hoarder like me and can't bear to part with your collection)
• three or four pairs of trousers
• warm clothes just in case (that is if you're moving in the summer, in the winter this one is obvious!)
• a pair or two of thick or woolly socks (for cold evenings and wellies if you're moving to the UK!)
• jim jams (warm and cold weather ones)
• a pair of boots, a pair of nice shoes, crocs or sandals (wear trainers when you move!)
• at least one pair of gloves, hat and scarf
• jean jacket, sports coat, raincoat, warm autumn coat (I don't know whether I'll need a full-on winter coat in the UK, I may buy one later - but I've got a winter gilet which can be chucked on top of the autumn coat for added warmth).
• Dog clothes: 
•  two warm jumpers
• two raincoats (because on rainy days you really don't want to do two to three walks with a soggy coat)
• a set of booties
• lifevest
• hi-vis jacket
• spare leash, harness and collar.
• Soft furnishings and decorations: 
•  a quilt (I'm talking about a crocheted little quilt, not a duvet, you can buy one when you arrive!)
• a couple of throw pillow cases (if you have nice ones you don't want to leave behind that is, don't even think about taking the actual pillows for goodness sake - those are easily and affordably replaceable)
• a stuffed toy (if you're sentimental like me!)
• a few SMALL ornaments (I collect dog figurines, art, and prints, I'll pick and choose the best ones to bring with me).
• Books and DVDS: 
• any dvds you want to bring, packed in storage cases (I have A LOT of videos because I've always got something on whenever I paint, but instead of bringing all those boxes with me I've grudgingly agreed to pop all the disks into those big folder things - much easier to move with)
• a few important art and reference books I'll definitely need
• a couple of fictional ones to last the initial week or two (I may eventually have my collection shipped over, but for now there's simply too much to bring along)
• recipe book (I've got a homemade one with all my favourite recipes jotted down in it)
• Dog supplies:  
• food and water bowls plus the plastic mat they go on (if your dog is anything like mine, there's NO WAY they'll agree to eat and drink in a new enviroment from brand new set of bowls)
• brush
• nail clippers
• fur scissors
• heat pants (for intact girly girls)
• paw balm (only if you've already got a tin open!)
• frisbees (or any other sports equipment your dog may use that costs a pretty penny)
• one or two balls
• a soft toy or two
• Art stuff:  
• Printer (I'm shipping mine separately since it's MASSIVE - I'm using sendmybag.com which seems to be the best and most affordable option - just be aware that you cannot ship the ink cartridges along with the printer, so either use them up or pack them in your suitcase. I managed to pack all my paper and packaging supplies as well as some other studio bits and bobs in my printer's box too, since I paid for 30kg and my printer only weighed 16kg on it's own. I'll update this post once I've moved and let you know how that's worked out!)
• portfolio (only the best work from the past year or so - if you can leave your older work with family or in storage then do that because if you're like me and have accumulated an absolute mountain of originals, it's doesn't make sense to bring it all with you.)
• laptop and charger
• external hard drive
• painting supplies (for me it's a tin of gouaches, a watercolour set, any salvageable paintbrushes since I've not replaced most of mine for ages, pencil case with the most used pens and pencils, one full pad of good paper and all remaining painting boards, one or two of these fab clay yoghurt pots I use for watercolours, and two little palettes)
• wacom board and pen
• scissors (you'll probably need them during the move too!)
• In addition to all this, I've also listed my meds and makeup, a hair dryer (I've got a REALLY nice one), a few choice pieces of jewellery, a couple of my nicer bags, maybe one set of sheets and a towel or two. Basically make sure you bring things you're sure you'll need, and store everything else with family or with a storage service, and brin
• g it over in little batches when you can or sell it at a flea market or garage sale. 

•  Time your packing well: If you're moving with pets like me, do not pack their day-to-day belongings until right before you leave. This may not apply to every pet, but my dog will work herself into a panic if she sees me packing too early - when we go for holidays I try to pack and leave as quickly as possible so the trip will go as smoothly as possible, and that same idea will apply for moving too. Obviously everything else needs to be packed earlier, so what I've done is laid everything out into a couple of washing baskets ready to dump in the suitcases quickly and easily. I started really packing this weekend before the move begins on Monday evening.

• Set aside things to be moved at a later date: If you're moving countries and you've got friends or family who'll be visiting you after you've moved, it's a good idea to have them bring over some of your non-urgent belongings with them. Make sure these things will be easy to find - bag them up ready to be packed later!

That's about it, tomorrow (Monday) we head off to Helsinki for the night before flying out on Tuesday. If my blog goes back to radio silence, I can guarantee it's due to lack of internet connection in the new flat. But I'm sure I'll have lots to talk about after the move, so I'll write to you on the other side! :)

Getting out of a slump

Long time no motivational art blogging! Actually, this time I'm going off on a bit of a tangent, but it's all applicable to anything and everything that you might be working on a lot at any given time, plus it's a quick read so ho hum. ;)

Today hasn’t been great, I’ve been a bit off-colour in the art department (’scuse the pun) and things have been feeling a bit iffy with my webite, shop and general social media stuff, like I know there’s more I could do, and that I could do it all better, but something is holding me back. The thing is I’ve had this sort of crises with my work so often that I know it always inevitably precedes a kind of leap of progress, so I’m not getting too worked up about it (it also helps that one of my favourite video bloggers, Lachri Fine Art, mentioned having a similar sort of revelation with her work: a slump generally proceeds a big improvement). That’s not what inspired this blog post though, funnily enough – but it does involve the exact same thought/panic/revelation process as art!

See, it’s actually dog sports I wanted to talk about. My dog is fantastic, as I’ve mentioned many times before, she’s all you could wish for in a sports companion: endless motivation, enthusiasm, very fast and agile, is willing to work for toys and treats alike… So colour me surprised when every now and again (not frequently, thank goodness!) we have a really terrible training session.

Tonight it was frisbee. Freija girl LOVES those disks to bits, and usually I have no trouble getting her to at least attempt a catch (we’re not great at flying catches yet, not least because I am completely useless at throwing what is essentially a rubber pancake in such a way that it’ll fly smoothly). That was not the case this time, she wouldn’t go for the disks till they simply dropped in front of her to pick up. We wrapped up the training session fairly quickly when I realised things weren’t going to work, and left the little football pitch we practice on in a decidedly frustrated mood.

As a dog owner it can be difficult to hide that frustration, especially if it’s aimed at yourself (“why can’t I get this throw right?” “why am I not giving commands clearly enough?” etc.). What I try to do is take a deep breath, pause the training for a few minutes and figure out what’s going wrong while giving girly girl a chance to sniff around for a moment. If it seems like she’s too excited to focus on catching practice, I’ll let her chase a couple of rollers (where you throw the disk on it’s edge so it rolls instead of flying) and end the training there. If it seems like she’s getting irritated at not getting the catch right and receiving no praise, I’ll have her do a trick she knows and end the session on a happy note. And if it’s simply me being rubbish at throwing, I’ll go and practice that throw without Freija so I can get it right for her next time.

When we practice anything, whether it’s painting, crochet or even doggy tricks, there will be moments when it feels like we’re up against a brick wall. The first time (who am I kidding, the first ten times) this happens, we’ll get annoyed or even angry at ourselves for not being able to overcome the obstacle. That is not going to solve the problem – you have to make yourself take a step back, take a deep breath, and work out what’s going wrong. This can take a minute, a day, or several weeks, but you’ve got to let yourself get over that frustration and really focus on what you can fix in order to get better, and once you do you’ll soon forget that you had to go through that process in order to progress. That’s why I’ve written this post, as a little reminder that you’re capable of improving in whatever you’re working towards, as long as you give yourself a fair chance. :)

Moving countries with a dog: The paperwork bit

Long time no blog, eep! I've got a very good reason for the elongated silence though, I've spent the entire month of June emailing, working out, and generally just arranging the rental agreement. Turns out it's ridiculously difficult and bureaucratic renting a flat in England, who'd have thought it?

I'll keep this short and sweet, since I covered a lot of the arrangements in my previous post, but these are the complicated ins-and-outs that I've dealt with after that:

• Guarantors: As my grandad so aptly put it, unless you're a millionaire, no pensioner has enough yearly income to act as guarantor. No begging, pleading, or weeping will help with this, if your guarantor doesn't make 30x your rent, they won't be accepted, and that's a fact. The thing is, agencies may not tell you this before you've already paid for the guarantor check, so to avoid that extra £50 fee for a guarantor that won't make the cut, make absolutely sure that they're making enough each year to cover it. I was lucky enough to have a wonderful family friend who stepped in and helped me out, so make sure to explore all avenues before giving up.
• Tentant's and Landlord's rights: This is really easy to overlook when you're renting for the first time by yourself, but for goodness sake make sure you've read all the legal papers - there can be some really nasty surprises in store if you don't! Especially when you've got a dog in tow, there can be some clauses in the drafted agreement that you need to be VERY aware of, or even re-negotiate depending on the situation. But don't worry too much, because it's all in legal-speak and often isn't quite as strict as it seems - for example I didn't know that basically every rental in the UK says you aren't allowed to run a business solely from the apartment, which scared me since I have my own online business, but as it turns out that only means you can't run, say, a brothel! :D
• Paperwork: Things I requested before signing the tenancy agreement included the following; landlord's insurance documents, gas and electric safety checks, lease documents, and the deed of guarantee. You'll also want to hold onto all the invoices you've been sent, just in case!
• Signing the agreement from overseas: It seems pretty obvious, but if you're based abroad like me, it works like this; the agent sends you the drafted tenancy agreement which you need to approve, then they get the landlord's and guarantor's approval. Then the agent sends you the final version of the agreement to print, sign (you also need a witness to sign it, and make sure to add your initials on each page - they do require this sometimes!), scan, and send back to them via email. They then fill it out at their end, email it back, and that's that. When you move in you'll exchange the original documents. 
• Furniture: If you're buying any of the furniture left in the apartment by the landlord, make sure you have it on paper that you've paid - and invoice is good to keep for this, so you can avoid any confusion to the ownership of bits and bobs at the end of your tenancy.
• Visitors: I'm moving in with help from my mum and granddad, with our older dog (hopefully!) in tow. This may not be the case with all rentals, but my landlord does require me to inform them of visitors staying more than a few days, especially if there are pets involved. Since I already had approval for my own dog, negotiating about my mum's dog didn't prove too difficult - but definitely ask permission before booking any tickets!!
• Travel arrangements: This can be a bit of a nightmare - England is NOT an easy place to move to with pets, especially if you're not willing to fly with them in the hold, which we are most certainly not. It seems impossible, but with a bit of working out it's doable. I suggest flying to Brussels or Paris CDG airport, then making your way up to Calais (please note that Eurostar does not accept pets in any shape or form, so avoid them at all costs!) via train, bus, rental car, or taxi. We opted for taxi to avoid any additional panic in renting and returning cars and driving in Belgium - eep!  Then get on the Eurotunnel shuttle with your taxi (you can't rent a car from the continent to drop off in the UK, it's all to do with driving on the wrong side etc.) to Folkestone, the price of which can vary from around £100 to over £1000 - do your research!! Once you're in the UK, getting to where you need to go is fairly easy, trains generally allow pets free of charge (South East trains do, and that's where you're setting off from), and if you can rent a car or have relatives in the area it's a piece of cake. :)

So that's as far as I've got in the past month. It's not been easy, but it's done! Next I'll tell you about the actual traveling bit, which is a bit nerve-wracking to say the least. :D

Moving countries with a dog: Flat hunting

Hello again pals, I've been away for just under three weeks looking for my new home in England.

It's just over that last hill, on the way down to Bath.

Finding a rental flat as a student with a dog is, predictably, not easy. I'm sure I'm not the only one in this situation, but I have to say at times it did feel as though it was completely impossible to find anywhere that would have both me and Freija. Here's how I eventually found the flat, and what it required on my part:

• Earlier in the year I joined a local dog group on FB, where I asked how I should go about looking for a rental flat which will allow pets. I got some very helpful replies, recommending agents in the area that had been accommodating to dog owners in the past. Although in the end none of the agencies recommended turned out to have a suitable flat, it's a good idea to ask locals beforehand, they might have some really useful inside knowledge, so to speak. 
• In March I booked my trip to England for the end of May, since websites like Lets with Pets suggest it's best to look well in advance to when you need to move if you're looking for somewhere that will allow a dog. Upon arriving in Bath, a lot of estate agents said I was searching too early. There's no real way around this, as properties that will allow the student-pet combination are few and far between - either you start looking early and find somewhere suitable on the off-chance, or you leave it till just before you need to move and there's a worrying possibility you'll find there's absolutely nothing on the market at that time.
• In the run up to the trip, I spent a lot of time browsing websites like Rightmove and Zoopla. Occasionally a listing would pop up that suited my needs, and I'd fire off an email immediately. About 98% of the replies I got were along the lines of "Thank you for your interest, but unfortunately pets/students are not permitted in this property". This is very disheartening, but if you're prepared, you can power through the negativity. Eventually I did get a promising reply, and put the wheels in motion immediately - I phoned, emailed and kept in contact with that agent up till the viewing we'd arranged. 

This was the first glimpse I had of my new home

• Before the viewing, I wrote up a list of things to ask about the flat, the contract, and all the little ins-and-outs that might occur. There are lots of tips on what to ask online, most of which I copied onto my list, but the ones specific to me as a mature student with a dog were these:

• First and foremost; are pets allowed, and if so, are there restrictions in size, age, breed or anything else?
• Are there quiet hours in the building?
• What is the policy on visitors?
• Who do I need to get in contact with if anything goes wrong, the landlord or the agent?
• Do I need a guarantor, and if I do what is required from them? (In most cases it has to be a UK resident, who earns 30x the amount of your rent per year)
• Do I need to pay a pet safety deposit?
• Can I pay the rent each month, or does it need to be paid in full for the agreed term in advance? (This was the case in my part, since as a student I don't have any income yet. My landlady required the full six months rent in advance, and is willing to negotiate on monthly payments after that provided I have a suitable guarantor)
• Will any furniture, lamps or appliances remain in the flat? Can I make an offer to buy certain items (lamps, tv, curtains etc.)?
• At the viewing, it's important to give a good and honest impression of yourself, your pet, and your circumstances. I got on very well with the agent, which helped a lot - the landlady hadn't initially wanted to let the property to students at all, but after having a good long chat with the agent, she was convinced I was a suitable tenant. I made sure to emphasize that I wanted a long-term rental for me and my small, trained, adult dog, basically focusing on what would make us a great choice, and it seemed to work - I was up against two professional couples, for heavens sake!
• As soon as the viewing was over and done with, I emailed the agent with an offer. The next day she phoned me to say we could start the application process as soon as I'd paid the holding fee (something you need to be prepared to pay with most UK agencies!), which involved filling out a fairly simple form with my details, providing identification for myself and my guarantor, and handing over my references. I had sought those out beforehand, including a character reference from a friend, and a reference for Freija from our trainer. I was also asked to provide an email address for my former employer, but a tutor would suffice too. I also needed to hand over copies of my student grant and loan letters, university acceptance letter, my dog's passport details, and a utility bill from my guarantor. It's best to have all this prepared even before viewing a potential flat, and it speeds the process along considerably.
•  Later I was sent another form to fill in, this time from Letsure, a company that deals with the referencing of potential tenants for landlords. Another form was sent to my granddad, who's acting as guarantor, and I know he had to scan and send in his pension details. Right now I'm waiting for them to finish their part of the job. UPDATE: As it turns out, granddad's pension wasn't enough for him to act as guarantor, so a family friend very kindly offered to do the job - always have a backup plan with all aspects of the rental process because things can go wrong!
• Fees that needed to be paid before the rent include: holding fee (a kind of initial deposit - this counts towards the actual rental deposit later), application/referencing fee, and guarantor fee. These tot up to around £500.
• The last thing that remains to be sorted is paying the deposit and rent in full. These will need to be paid around a week prior to the start of the tenancy in my case, as I'm transferring the money from my Finnish bank account and it can take several business days to arrive. 

A snap of Bath during all the running around various estate agents offices.

So that's the whole ordeal summed up. It's been exhausting to say the least, and I've not even started on the actual moving countries part! I shall be following up with the next steps of the move later on. :)

Preparing for flat hunting: budgeting, wardobe planning, and references.

  

Just over a week from now I’ll be heading over to England to find a flat. It’s all very exciting, and I don’t quite know what to expect, so I’ll not say much till after it’s all sorted, but I thought I’d write a bit about how I’m preparing for the trip.

First up, I’ve written up a slightly vague but reasonable budget for my living costs for when I move. As I’m lucky enough to be eligible for some student benefits from Finland, and indeed the usual student loan from both countries, I’ve got a good base for my monthly budget. I can also rely on help from family if worst comes to worst. Using an online student budget calculator (there are plenty to choose from!), I quickly figured out what things like food, dog supplies, transport and other important things would roughly cost. There are bound to be surprises, but it does help to know what you can and should be spending on these things, and what you could have left over. Anyway, the point of writing up a budget like this is to figure out how much I can use on rent each month. With that done, I’ve spent quite a bit of time since Christmas perusing the websites of local estate agents in Bath, and of course rightmove, to get some sort of picture of the going rates for the type of flat I’m looking for. Bath isn’t the cheapest place to live, but since my main requirements are that it's pet-friendly and has a washing machine, it's doable – the average price per month is around the £750 mark (at the time of writing, that is!), and I can stretch to that if need be.

Second on my list has been a bit of wardrobe planning. I wont go overboard with this and plan it all meticulously, but my rule of thumb for flat hunting is to look smart and presentable, even if you’re a bit of a artsy type like me. I’m a great believer in making good first impressions, especially when something as important as where you live is at stake. So no dog-walk trainers, no scruffy old t-shirts, no just-rolled-out-of-bed hair. For me, it's essential that I look responsible and... well, like a mature student, since that's the ace up my sleeve. Lots of landlords seem to be a bit worried about accepting undergrad students, and for good reason, so I've got to show that since I'm a little bit older, I'm fit to look after the place, myself and my dog.

These are my new flat-hunting shoes. Freija approves!

Lastly, references. What I’ve done is written up one in English for my dog trainer to approve and sign for Freija, as I’m more likely to actually get it done that way than if I asked them to write it up themselves – they’re very busy people, and not too keen on writing in English themselves! I don't know how common it is for people to provide references for their pets, but having discovered Lets with Pets, I decided I needed to get one for girly girl, especially since we're moving from abroad and the potential landlord wont be able to see her in person.
 I’ve also asked a friend of mine if I could jot down a character reference for myself for them to look over and sign, and they’ve very kindly agreed to do that. So although getting that paperwork sorted can feel like a bit of a drag, I’ve managed to sort it out reasonably well. My parents will be acting as guarantors for the rent, and they’ll be writing their own little references too.

So that’s what I’ve sorted out so far! We’ll see how my flat-hunting goes soon enough… :)

Painting my pooches

 

I draw and paint dogs all the time. I often take inspiration from Freija, she’s such a funny looking thing that I find it quite easy to get her characteristics down on paper or canvas. But oddly enough, I’ve never found it quite as simple to paint my older dog, Kara. I’ve given it a go many times before, and occasionally I’ve been fairly happy with the result, but mostly the portrait just looks a bit off. I’ve put it down to using the wrong colours, not putting in enough work with the initial sketch, basically just every reason in the book as to why it wasn’t looking a lot like her. I’m still not completely certain on some of the drawings, studies and painted portraits, whether I was just trying too hard to make it look like my idea of her, or was it down to not being quite there yet in the skill department (I’ll say right now that I’m not a great fan of straight-up realistic portraits, illustrations are more my thing). Whatever the case, I was not happy with most of the results.

"Quizzical" a painting of Kara from 2014

 Since I found out I was definitely going to be moving to Bath, I had this idea that I wanted a nice portrait of Kara to take with, something pretty to remind me of her and to brighten up the new flat (whatever that’s like – I’m going on a househunting trip to England mid-May, fingers crossed I find something really lovely!). It had to be larger than A4, but not huge so that it would be easy to frame and take along with the move – so it’s A3. It also had to be… well, not TOO colourful, in case it clashes with the décor of the flat – some of the potential ones in Bath have interesting colour schemes, so I was going to have to make it work with basically ANYTHING. So I decided on subtle pale pink on grey, with details in black and just a hint of brighter pink in the eyes and nose – I’ve used a similar palette in purple before with the splatter painting of Freija, but this had to be more “interior design-y”. With the style of the piece, I sort of wanted to hint at realism, especially round the darker detailed areas of the face, and leave the rest airy and light. Watercolour helps with this effect, just using light washes with a fairly large brush does the trick.

 
So the idea was all set, all I needed to do was find a reference photo, and in looking for that I sort of saw what had been going wrong in my earlier attempts at the grumpy old lady. The photos I loved, where she really looked like herself, weren’t particularly good – there was very little detail, they were often dark and grainy (an iphone camera with bad indoor lighting does not a good photograph make), just plain rubbish. I looked at the ones I’d used before and they were ALL like that. As it turns out, gorgeous though she is in real life, Kara just isn’t particularly photogenic. I eventually found ONE shot I’d taken on my actual camera that had real potential. It was from a hike last summer, and the lighting was really rather lovely, Kara was looking slightly off camera and it just had the feel of a good portrait. It’s the kind of photo I can snap easily of Freija since she’s essentially grown up as a photographer’s dog, she KNOWS to hold a pose and has the patience of a saint. Kara has never been this kind of dog.
Combining ALL of what I’ve talked about above, this is the result! I’m pleased with how it turned out, and will definitely be happy to pop it in a frame to spruce up that Bath flat later this year. :) 

 

Also if you're interested in my painting process, I actually recorded a very sped-up video of the portrait I did after this of Freija-girl. I think I'll record more painting videos from now on, this one was rather fun. :)