I have taken over all responsibility for
the move. It was clear that David could not get on in a concentrated way with
the Weaving Memories stuff (the only thing that is bringing in money at the
moment) while he was also stressing about
the arrangements for the move. I just hadn’t said to him to leave it to me, so
once I did that he has been much more relaxed. He now carries a small notebook
around with him so that when tasks occur to him, he notes them down on a page
of the notebook and then rips it out and hands it to me … Of course, that
requires me to collect and collate said notes.
His only responsibility move-wise is to
prepare the office for shifting. He now tells me that he is ready – what that
means is everything that is currently there will be shifted holus bolus to
Waikanae. If we’d been moving into the apartment he would not have this freedom
to shift cr*p from one place to another. However, it’ll be less stressful for
him, and therefore me and Joe, if he can take everything without having to sort
it at this end.
I have prepared a plan in Excel with a sheet
for each category of task. I think it’s going to be useful. I am adding tasks to
it and updating tasks’ status as I go, and it does help to have it rather than
rely on my memory. Memory, what memory? There was a time when I didn’t need to
make lists. I remember that - it was about 30 years ago. Now if I don’t write it
down, it has a half life of the half life of a monarch butterfly – possibly less,
by a factor of 0.25. You note that I can still sound quite sensible in a
mathematically calculating way, but trust me, it’s all based on long term
memory …
Today has been quite busy – first thing
(well, as first thing as you get when you don’t get out of bed till after 9am)
Joe and I went off with a list of things to purchase – rooting hormone for
cuttings, potting mix for plants I will take, aphids spray for the roses at the
new house, packing boxes and bubble wrap, a couple of bits of groceries – and a
few things to post. All done and back we come to the house so I can get on with
packing. I had forgotten that it took me weeks to pack up (singlehanded) the
house in Church Enstone back in 2007. I soon recollected that timeframe when I
started packing crockery, glasses, ornaments, my precious Cow Parade cows. It
took me about 3 hours to pack one large tea chest, but I am sure that, barring
direct hammer blows, all inside the box will be safe.
I also packed several small boxes with
ornaments, glasses and ramekins and have loaded them into the car – we are
going to Waikanae tomorrow to meet with the owner and technical guy, and will
drop (i.e. carefully place) things off in Bruce and Gary’s garage.
I am hopeful that I have sorted the moving
company too today. If yes, it will be a boon to have that arranged.
I have put a few items up for sale on TradeMe.
The one attracting interest at the moment is the queen sized sleigh bed and
mattress. We shall see if it sells for a reasonable price.
Joe and I have decided that we will have
the kitchen stuff packed (apart from the things we need for the next couple of
weeks) by the end of this week and get the rest of the house packed by the end
of next week. It’ll be strange for the place to be so empty! However it’ll make
the cleaning so much easier. The house is always pretty clean – running a
B&B requires a high standard of cleanliness. It’s the cupboards and
skirtings and windows that’ll be the last things to do.
I am making the most of our last weeks of
having Joe with us – he is a great cook and today was no exception. For lunch
he made me a BLAT, for David pita pockets with lamb and salad, for himself lamb
salad – it’s like being in a café and being able to choose individual dishes!
Dinner tonight was rice and asparagus with chicken breast cooked in a marmalade
and soy sauce based marinade – very yummy and to be repeated on the boat!
I did try this morning to book our flights in
May next year back to the UK but for some reason Singapore Airlines don’t want
to take us to Glasgow – what is wrong with flying to Scotland, I ask you?
My next task is to send invitations to our ‘At
Home’ farewell party on 9 November. I had best get on with that or people will
have made alternative arrangements for the afternoon, and it would never do to
have a poor turnout to our Helston Swansong, would it?
2 comments:
Marilyn
Trying to see if you have comment moderation. Some I have found have a number thing to copy. No idea how they get that on blogger.
Les
Now i see you have numbers please how do you change it?
Les, until a couple of days ago, your moderation was numbers. It (and nb Holderness's moderation, changed to the weirdly written letters yesterday, I think. The numbers were good, the letters are a pain as they are often very hard to make out.
I have no idea how to change it though - I will consult the IT Dept when he has made my morning cup of tea.
Love and biggs hugs to you and Jaq,
Mxox
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