It is D Day here; well, maybe L Day would be more apposite - L for Leaving.
The house is 99.9% packed, and we have slept the night on a blow up bed (nowhere near as comfy as our tempur mattress, that is for sure!) I am drinking a cup of tea, David is in the shower, Joe is up doing bits in the kitchen and waiting for Reuben to come and collect him in the truck to take his stuff over to his sister's place in Wainuiomata. He will then make his way back here to clean, finish the last minute packing, and come out to Waikanae for the weekend.
I am collecting Janneke at 8.30 (crack of dawn for her) to come and help with house cleaning - she has elected to do bathrooms, Gary is coming on his way to the beach (where David and I are going to stay for the next 2 or 3 weeks) to collect a carful of stuff, Derek is arriving about 10ish with his trailer to load up the rest of the stuff and do a drop off at the storage place and then transport everything else to Bruce and Gary's. I will have a load of stuff in the car as well ...
Last night was the first time since we got the offer on the house that I have cried about leaving. I walked into the empty lounge and just burst into tears, then walked into the conservatory and the flood started. It took a bit of a cuddle from David to calm me down.
More later - David is giving me info re notes for the new owner (for me to email), sorting out how the LIM for a place we are interested in can be collected at Paraparaumu before the council closes at 4 today ...
So up and at 'em, Atom Ant. But boy, my back is sore, my legs are sore, my arms are sore ...
12 comments:
Sounds like you have some wonderful memories that will stay with you always. Jennifer & Peter, Hobart
chin up you old bat, but I know what you mean as my Father is selling the family seat and going to live with my fwit younger brother. The house may go, but you will always have your memories - well until you become old and senile ;-)))xxx
You will pay for the 'old bat' nomenclature, ODS - David has adopted it as a form of endearment, dammit!
No worries re the memories of senility strikes - the long term ones stay and the short term ones go. Hence your infraction re old bat may be forgotten, but I wouldn't rely on that, if I were you ...
I thought of you and your escape from the house in the potential pathway of the fire as we were packing EVERYTHING.
And the house is just a house, after all, albeit rather a special one for us. The new owner is delighted with it, so that feels good, given we are the ones who turned it from a tip to a lovely home.
The memories will remain. Onwards and upwards - although we have both been tempted to head back to the boat instead of house-hunting ... Cheers, Marilyn & David
I think old bat is a perfectly acceptable nomica ;-) guite suits you. Spent today emptying kitchen cupboards ready to be ripped out on Monday. My little man here at 9 and electrican turning up in the afternoon to put in the new fuse box, it is older then he is, and additional wiring needed for appliances. Will get toaster out from upstairs as will have no means to make toast or much else once cooker goes. Taking Thomas to see poppies at Tower of London tomorrow. Been scraping the wall and think that I might get away with a light skim if plaster. Using a wall paper scraper, I have scraped around the loose paint and what is left seems pretty attached. That will be the next thing to do.
Exciting about the kitchen finally getting started. Send photos on Whatsapp as it progresses. Say hello to the bright red toaster and tell it I am pleased it is finally out of hibernation ...
Will say hello to toaster. Much banging and clattering as I type. Julie has given me run of next door for the duration so can at least make a sandwich at lunch time as will have no work surfaces by the end of the morning. How you doing? Will send photos.
You need to add wattsapp to your nz sim. Only your UK phone is shown in contacts. Kitchen gone all but the kitchen sink. Literally.
I feel for you Marilyn. I was so sad to say goodbye to our NZ house, and we'd only owned it for a few years! I still miss it, but I tell myself how fortunate I was to live there for the time that we did. And the people who bought it kept our cat too - and they keep in touch and send us photos every now and again of what they're doing to the house. It's lovely to know it's being cared for and enjoyed by a young family, and Suki-Lou is happy as Larry!
Some folks stay in the place they were born, the area and the structure, all their lives. It must be comforting to do that, and not have the upheaval of change.
However, it's not for me. The world has so much to offer, and I can't imagine not getting out there and grasping the opportunities it has to offer, meeting new people, experiencing amazing things.
I took a video of our home before I left, so I can always walk through it any time I want and remember.
Now I love our boat ;-)
Hi Sandra, Surprisingly we aren't pining for the house now. The pain was before the leaving - as I posted: firstly when we got the offer (when we were on the boat in Stone), then the night before we left and (not posted about yet) as we were leaving - although for the last we were so busy and tired we had no energy for emotion!
I agree re grasping opportunities - hence we now have the boat, and back in 2003 we took the plunge and did our OE in our 50s: 4 years in the UK.
Onward and upward - now we just have to find the right house and grab it quick. In the Waikanae market at the moment there's only the quick and the still homeless!
Cheers, Marilyn
Good luck, hope you visualise and discover the house that's right for you now ;-)
It's cool that you're well on your way. Glad you settled all your packing right on schedule and that it seems to be without further delay. The only other worry is if your containment and storage will last the trip, though I'm sure the quality ones will. Thanks for sharing that! Travel safely!
Traci Mcdaniel @ CMH Inc.
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