The electricity saga

 I must apologise for not responding to comments, or commenting on your blogs - as you know, I'm a bit busy right now!  I have been reading all your comments though, first thing in the morning and last thing at night, and am so appreciative of how you all seem to be on this journey with us.  If you've asked (or want to ask) a question and I haven't yet answered it - do please shout at me and give me a reminder.  I'm still trying to write a blog post every day, as it helps to consolidate everything I've done so far and still need to do - and it'll no doubt be fun to look back at it when we're in and all the stress is over, laugh and wonder how we managed to do it all in such a short space of time.

Dc you asked if we've had any joy with the electric meter - yes, eventually, after a lot of hassle.  British Gas who are the providers of the current prepayment card meter, proved impossible to get hold of on the phone - 2 calls to them, both held in a queue, the first for about 35 mins, the second for over 40 mins - both times we then got cut off without even getting to speak to a real person. 😠  Meanwhile, the electricity credit on the meter was dwindling fast (we subsequently discovered 2 things left switched on by the decorators or cleaners unnecessarily) and the blimmin new key thing B/Gas had sent didn't work, 2 different shops both said the key wouldn't load credit when we tried - I eventually found out, by googling, the key had to be activated (by sticking it in the meter for about 2 minutes, until it bleeped) before it would register any credit top up.  It now works, thankfully, and we've topped the credit up temporarily with enough to tide us over until after Christmas.  Well, hopefully - seeing as we've never had this type of meter before and I understand the tariff for it costs more than a normal meter, who knows?!  Anyway, I've been in touch with our present supplier here (Octopus, who are very efficient, helpful and very friendly), their advice is to carry on with the B/Gas prepayment meter for the time being, as they cannot register us as new customers (despite us already being customers, albeit here at the old house and at our caravan) until we actually move in.  Once we've moved in, they will change the meter to a normal one, at no cost to us.  So that's that problem solved.

Both husband and I are finding that we can only work during the morning - by lunchtimes both of us are exhausted (neither of us is sleeping very well) and full of aches and pains.  In the afternoon husband has a snooze - I have to say I did too yesterday, although downstairs in the armchair, I didn't go to bed.  I generally sit and do another couple of change of addresses on the computer, tick off the list the jobs we've done that morning, make a new 'to do' list for the next day, and make any phone calls that need doing.  The carpet fitter rang yesterday afternoon, the fitting is back on for 10.30 am today, which is brilliant.  We'll be there about 9 am, taking more stuff over.  Betty is coming too, she and I will stay in my bedroom (she'll be wanting to 'help' the carpet fitters otherwise!) whilst the lounge carpet is being laid.  I've got clothes to put away in my wardrobe, and my curtains to put up, so that will keep me occupied.  If I take a hammer and some nails, I could put a few pictures up too (we are allowed to, before you think I'm a vandal! 😂).

Sue (ex-Smaller and Simpler Life) - I just want to say it's nice to still be hearing from you, I'm glad you've not disappeared from Blogland completely.  I hope you're all doing well.  I'm also hoping the other Sue who stopped blogging (Hard up Hester) is doing alright too, both of your blogs are missed.  There are a lot of Sue's around in Blogland aren't there - we're all obviously of the same vintage!

What day is it?

I had to check on my phone what day it is this morning, I've completely lost track of the days, they're all the same lately.....sorting, packing, tip run, take stuff over to bungalow, and repeat.

We nipped over to the bungalow yesterday morning, to take a few more boxes and some of husband's tools.  He put his tools in the shed, whilst I emptied the boxes ready to bring home.  Another job done.  On the way there, I had a phone call from the carpet fitter - his colleague has had an accident and is in hospital, so they've had to postpone the lounge carpet fitting that was to be done today.  No matter, it's not imperative it's done now, so long as it gets done before moving date.  The fitter promised to ring tomorrow, to give us an update.  It gives us more time to get more packing and tip/charity shop trips done anyway, so I'm actually quite pleased about that.

I got husband taking down pictures yesterday, giving them a clean and putting them in a box, whilst I did a bit of cooking.  I prepped the batter for the Yorkshire pudding and did the veggies, and made a big pot of vegetable soup for lunches for the next few days.  This morning I'm putting a chicken mince hotpot in the slow cooker, that'll be dinners for 2 or 3 days - we don't mind eating the same thing a few days running.  I'll quickly make some dumplings to go in it later, and again tomorrow, or we might have packet mash with it.  The hotpot will have loads of veggies in it, a mixture of fresh and frozen ones.  I don't mind eating chicken mince now and again, it's the only minced meat I will eat - beef or lamb tastes too fatty to me now, and I've totally gone off the taste of pork and even turkey mince, even the smell makes me feel nauseous.  

So today it's another tip run, and more stuff for the charity shop.  I've also made (yet another) list, this time of the things we still need to buy.....the haemorrhaging money is slowing down now, thankfully.  Moving home is certainly an expensive business, it's lucky I've spent the last year saving up for it.  I haven't even thought about Christmas yet, it's not on my radar.  Husband asked yesterday if I was intending to put up any decorations at the new place - the answer is I have no idea, depends how much we've unpacked and settled in and how I feel at that time, I guess.  I may put up the tree, but that'll be it probably.

I was going to leave all the curtains here and have new ones at the bungalow....I've decided to take the front door one and my bedroom curtains though, that'll save a chunk of money.  So they'll be coming down today so I can wash them - I have a blind up at my bedroom window as well as the curtains, so that'll be ok, I won't have to put the curtains back up again here.  I'm not taking the blind, that'll be staying here.

We are making definite and visible progress now, more and more space is appearing here and rooms are beginning to look emptier - and sound echoey!  (is that a word?  And is it spelt right?).

Feeling the cold

 By the time we got home from all the things we had to do in town yesterday, I was shattered.  After putting the shopping away, a coffee, sit down and bowl of soup I was ready to get going again though.  Packed some more stuff to take over today, husband sorted out some of his tools to take and put in the brick built shed there.  We're not staying there long today, just more or less dumping the boxes and coming back home - we'll have a car load so won't be able to take Betty.  I will quickly empty out a couple of the plastic lidded boxes to bring back here though, so they can be refilled with the next lot of stuff.

Cottage pie for dinner last night, something comforting and soft to slide down my sore throat easily.  We ate it on lap trays in the lounge, watching the new Dr Who and then Strictly, after which I went to bed.  

I'm having a go at making toad in the hole in the air fryer for dinner today - we've got rid of our big electric oven so it's all air fryer, Multichef, slow cooker and microwave cooking now.  Oh, and sandwich maker, toaster and one-ring electric hob plate.  Spoilt for choice really, especially when you think of what our parents and grandparents used for cooking years ago.

I'm really thankful for a warm house with good central heating - I never used to feel the cold much but as I get older I really do, especially at the moment when I'm not feeling 100%.  How those poor people in the war-torn countries cope when they've not even got a house or clothes, food or medical facilities I just cannot imagine.  They must be scared to death all the time.  

Nice neighbours

 Husband had met a couple of the new neighbours (well, it's us who are/will be the new neighbours) the other day, but couldn't remember their names.  I met them yesterday - the couple who live next door, and the older chap on his own living directly across from us.  All very nice, friendly and welcoming, they all said to give them a knock if we need to know anything.  I think we're going to enjoy living there.

And speaking of neighbours....several of them here have given us invitations to coffee and nibbles (they know neither of us is a drinker) before we go, which is nice.

We put up 3 more curtain rails and 2 pairs of curtains and a couple of lovely lightshades I bought for £4.50 in a charity shop the other day.  I put a load of coathangers in the wardrobes and hung up the clothes we'd taken over.  Put away some more kitchen stuff - although I think I may be rearranging everything once we're actually living there, to better suit how I like my kitchen organised.  It's gradually turning into a home - our home.  

Today we're doing another tip run, and probably a charity shop drop off as well, then I need to do some shopping for fresh stuff.  We'll most likely be going back to the bungalow tomorrow, to take some more stuff and give the floors a sweep and vacuum, prior to the carpet being laid on Monday.

The sore throat I woke up with yesterday wore off during the day - or rather I was just too busy to notice it.  It's now 04.00 am though and it's raging, really quite sore, so I'm downstairs with a hot honey and lemon.  I think it's just a plain old cold though, so it'll be fine.  I'll go back to bed in a bit.  I fancy porridge for breakfast - that's my body's way of telling me I need something filling and warming....I almost never eat breakfast!

Bouncing Betty

 I think we all have interchangeable husbands!  😂😂

The two 2nd hand furniture men turned up promptly at 08.30 yesterday morning - one of them was easily as old as husband, which made me think "good grief, I hope he doesn't have a heart attack shifting the huge wardrobe down the stairs!" 😨.  I asked if he was sure he could manage, he laughed it off and said he'd been doing furniture and house removals for 60 years and was well used to it.  He didn't have a heart attack, thank goodness, but there was a lot of groaning going on.  It's done now anyway, most of the excess furniture has gone and there are big spaces in the rooms.  Betty, who was shut in the lounge whilst all this was happening, was bouncing off the walls with excitement after they'd gone - the smells of other people who she could hear but not see, and then all the upheaval, filled her up with adrenaline.  Husband had to go out for a couple of hours straight afterwards, so there was peace and calm for a while....so she could let herself relax (she slept on my bed for an hour).

Speaking of beds/rooms....husband can sleep anywhere and in pretty much any conditions, whereas I can't.  His bedroom is like a teenage boy's - untidy with 'things' scattered everywhere - and is now filling up with packed boxes.  My room, by contrast, is tidy and quite minimalist, it's an oasis of calm and is just the way I like it.  Although my drawers etc have been mostly emptied and packed into boxes under the bed (except for one large plastic lidded box beside the bed), the room still looks tidy and calming, and I'm keeping it that way until just before we move.  I need it like that for my sanity to remain intact.  I hate living in a cluttered mess, it really irritates me, so having a calm, tidy and peaceful room to escape to is a necessity.

Today we're taking our summer clothes to the bungalow, to be put away in the fitted wardrobes.  Surplus bed linen and towels to go in the airing cupboard, which is big with plenty of shelving.  Two more curtain poles to put up, and a couple more packed boxes, mainly of kitchen stuff.  There's quite a lot of built-in storage spaces in the bungalow, certainly more than we have here, which is another big bonus.

I was supposed to go to the GP on Monday to have a 24-hour heart monitor fitted, following my anxiety-induced heart problems last month.  I've cancelled it though - I haven't got the time for that, and my heart rate will be all over the place at this moment in time anyway, so it won't exactly be a normal reading!  I'm not worried about it, I was thoroughly checked over during my night in the hospital emergency ward and subsequently at my GP's, had x-rays, several ECGs, lots of bloods taken and BP readings which all came back normal.  The only thing they could find was my apparently 'slower than normal' heart rate, which isn't in itself a problem.  (I'm pretty sure it's not slow right now 😂).  My annual diabetes review was also due the beginning of this month - but the surgery have a shortage of nurses at the moment and said they can't do my review until after Christmas.  By which time, of course, we'll be at the new place and will have had to change doctors anyway.  It'll be a shame to have to change from our current GP, all the staff there have been lovely, but the surgery we'll be changing to has a very good reputation and reviews.

I've woken up with a sore throat this morning 🥺

Husband's packing differs to mine!

 It was a day of physical stuff yesterday - dismantling and moving the surplus furniture the 2nd hand men are coming to collect at 08.30 this morning.  Husband had said he'd emptied his big old wardrobe, leaving just a few things for wearing over the next couple of weeks.  Had he heck!!  It was still nearly half full, unbeknown to me (I do really need to check anything he says he's done).  So I went through the remaining clothes, discarding a few, putting some in a bag to take over the new place tomorrow, and leaving about 3 changes of clothes for him for the next 2 or 3 weeks (there's a clothes rail in his bedroom he can use for the time being, along with his chest of drawers).  Some furniture we're keeping needed to be moved out of the way, in order to make space for the guys to be able to get the huge wardrobe and bed out of the bedroom and downstairs.

It's only really when you come to move house that you fully realise just how much furniture and general 'stuff' you've accumulated over the years.  Our current house is going to be half empty over the next week or so, as things get passed on or sold or taken to the tip.  And of course we're taking smaller things and packed boxes over to the new place.

One thing (amongst many!!) I'm finding particularly frustrating is to do with husband's disorderliness.  When I'm clearing an area, I put things to go with us into a bag or box, labelled - anything we're not keeping goes in a different bag or box for the tip.  Husband simply moves things from one place to another - quite often putting stuff somewhere I've just cleared.  Aaarrrgghhh!!  As I'm sitting here typing this, I've just noticed a small bookcase which we're keeping, and which I'd already cleared, is now FULL UP again with stuff (who knows what?!) out of his desk.  I suppose I'll have to go through that sometime today, he finds it almost impossible to throw anything away.

The last few days I have felt like putting my head in my hands and asking myself "What the hell are we doing this for at our ages?!".  But of course we're doing it because we need to, for our future.  I just have to keep plodding on, writing list after list and doing a job at a time, and tell myself it will all get done eventually, there are only 3 weeks to go (well less than that now, it was 3 weeks yesterday) and we'll be in, can relax a bit and do the rest of the unpacking at our leisure.  I'll say it again - roll on January when we can do nothing for a month!!

I had a surprise visit from my best friend yesterday afternoon, so that was a good pick me up, we had a lovely catch up.

Thank you for all the continued lovely comments.  I must apologise for not commenting on your blogs right now, lovely readers - I do try to read as many of your blogs as I can first thing in the morning and last thing at night.  

Roll on January!!

 Every time we go over to the new place, I love it a little bit more, I can hardly wait to move in now.  Betty was SO excited, she was charging around with her nose to the floor, running in and out of all the rooms numerous times.  We let her out into the back garden, she did the same out there (and christened it several times).  I think she'll be fine there.  I only just noticed yesterday morning that there's a nice rural hill view from the front of the bungalow - not far reaching field views front and rear like we have here, but still a nice countryside view.  I didn't take any photos as yet, because it was cloudy all day - I will do though, as soon as the weather is bright enough.

Husband met a couple of the neighbours yesterday when he took Betty out for a walk - he said they seem nice and friendly, although he couldn't remember their names of course.  I was busy emptying boxes and putting things away indoors, I expect I'll get to meet the neighbours soon enough.  Husband finished laying the hall carpet, I put up some curtains.  

We popped into Minehead to a carpet showroom there and have chosen a carpet remnant for the lounge - perfect size and colour and a lovely feel to the pile.  We're having it delivered next Monday.  Husband had said initially he would lay it himself - with my help.....I had a few misgivings about it, not because I think husband wouldn't do a good job, but because of our age and health problems.  Whilst the lounge is more or less a plain almost square room with no awkward bits, the carpet will be extremely heavy and difficult to move.  Overnight husband has changed his mind and said he'll get the carpet people to fit it, which I think is definitely best.  The carpet itself and having it fitted is costing a bit more than we really wanted to pay, but what we've paid on that we've saved in other areas, such as the curtains and rugs.  We may now have to wait a while (early next year I expect) to get carpets for the two bedrooms, but we have several rugs so we'll be fine.  

Today will be a day of dismantling furniture here, as the 2nd hand furniture shop man is coming to collect our excess furniture tomorrow.  That will leave big gaps here - which means plenty of space to put boxes as we pack them.  The next time we go over to the new place will be Friday, we'll be taking Betty again, the more often we take her, the more she'll become familiar with it and feel comfortable there.

Think I've put a bit of weight back on, I've taken my eye off the ball with the diet lately and carbs have crept back in.  Lunches have generally been sandwiches or something on toast (quick and easy in other words), dinners something veggie and home cooked out of the freezer but served with pasta, rice or a jacket spud.  I'm too busy to be concentrating on cooking low carb healthy meals, so that will have to take a back seat for now.  We're already thinking that January will be a month to rest and recuperate, we won't be doing anything much except pottering around in our new home, probably moving some things around to suit ourselves better, and I'll get back into making us nice healthy food then.

Moving house when you're older is certainly much harder work - we've moved house a few times during our marriage (not as many as Sue from A Smaller and Simpler Life though!).  It's always been fairly stressful, but at our ages and state of health it's definitely a lot harder, both physically and mentally, we're both feeling the strain.  Hopefully this will be our last ever move though, and we're focusing on the fact that we've been offered such a lovely place which ticks nearly all our boxes for the future.

Oh, and when we got to the new place yesterday, we were greeted with our first two New Home cards lying on the doormat, from family.  How lovely!