Even MORE junk he's been hoarding!

 As I was struggling up the stairs last night (my back, hips and knees are really bad now), I thought thank goodness, only another couple of days of this and then no more stairs!  And no more struggling to climb into the bath to have a shower - the new wet room has a big sturdy chair (currently folded up against the wall, it's fixed to the wall) in the shower, so I can even sit and shower if I need to.  Bliss!

Husband did another tip trip yesterday, he's nearly finished the garage and shed clearance and will need just one more tip trip today - or so I thought, until I looked inside the boiler cupboard in the utility room (another space I don't go into, far too cobwebby).  The boiler cupboard is full up - a set of steps and big fan, which will admittedly be going with us to the new place.  But also, completely unbeknown to me, a load more junk - a big old (non-working) TV in its old box, an old ironing board that I told him to get rid of literally YEARS ago, my old broken liquidiser (probably also been in there years), and goodness knows what else, more stuff hidden behind the huge TV box.  He was going to just leave it all there!  I despair with him, I really do.  So it'll be at least 2 tip trips today - I'll go with him the 2nd time so I can nip into a shop and buy some cakes and sausage rolls - think we and the removal guys will need them on Wednesday.  I want my physical collapse and nervous breakdown now - I've bloody well earned them!!

One interesting thing that's come out of all this busyness these past few weeks - the meals we've been eating lately haven't been the normal cooked from scratch, veg heavy ones I usually do (and spend ages cooking).  For the first week or so, we ate home cooked ready meals out of the freezer, but when they ran out, we've been eating mostly just store bought things plus frozen veggies.  So things like chicken pasta bakes, burgers, bacon and sausages for husband, fish pies (for both of us), fish fingers and lightly dusted fish fillets and vegetable burgers for me.  With added frozen veg.  And guess what, we haven't died from the lack of home cooking, we're fed and healthy.....although I have had a few gut issues from eating too many carby things, and I've put back on some of the weight I lost.  The fact is, I just don't get the same amount of pleasure nowadays from cooking, and I'm more than happy to eat simple food, as is husband.  So our normal diet in the future will reflect this - why spend hours in the kitchen if I don't really like doing it anymore, and we're happy to eat a jacket spud with beans and cheese, or prawns and coleslaw a couple of times a week?  I also really like cheese (especially Brie or Stilton) on sourdough toast, topped with cranberry sauce with a side salad, whilst husband loves a beef or even fish burger in a roll with a pile of salad and some frozen spicy wedges.  I'll generally do a roast on Sundays - some sort of meat for husband, just the veggies for me - and I expect I'll cook the occasional cottage pie using chicken mince, or fish pie.  But not every day!  So that'll give me more time and less work.

So, so tired - waiting for my collapse!

 I am tired - very, very tired.  I've worked my socks off the past 3 weeks.  The physical stuff of clearing out the cupboards and rooms, packing, lifting and carrying boxes and small items of furniture, shoving bigger stuff around, etc etc is - well, almost nothing,  Having to organise husband to do jobs, motivate him, keep checking on him and guiding him back to doing what he's supposed to is tiring, and often exasperating.  But all of the admin stuff to do with moving - numerous emails, texts and phone calls, arrangements to make constantly, liaising with all the different people to do with various aspects of the move, disposal of surplus furniture, finding new doctors, dentist, vet, groomer, arranging services, new meters (we won't mention those useless fools BT), and writing lists, lists and more lists - that's the really exhausting part.  I can't wait for it to be over.  Only another 3 days and we'll be there.  And then I can collapse.

It's possible - even likely, given BT's inefficiency....and the fact that my mobile service is not good in the new place - that I'll be offline for a few days.  Or however long it takes for BT to get their act together and actually connect us!  So it may be a while before I can update everyone on here.  But I'll be back blogging from the new place as soon as I can.

Another quick trip to the bungalow yesterday morning to take another car load, then to the neighbours for a buffet in the afternoon - very nice.  I managed a quick sit down for 15 minutes before we went, to write a few Christmas cards for the neighbours here.  I have some more to write and post, will try and do that today - the post is so crappy nowadays it's not even guaranteed that the cards will reach the recipients in time for Christmas, but I can't worry about that, it's out of my control.

Husband has another couple of tip trips to do today, hopefully his last.  Tomorrow we'll be going to the bungalow again, to take the last few small bits and make sure everywhere is clear for the furniture to be put in place on Wednesday - husband has an annoying habit of putting boxes of stuff in the wrong places, or wrong rooms even, so I have to keep shifting things around.  Tuesday will be all about cleaning here at the old house.  I've emailed the landlord (last week) suggesting a couple of times he can come and make his final inspection and asking him to confirm which is suitable - guess what, he's not replied.  Again.  Honestly, that man - moving out of here can't come soon enough.  Well, if he doesn't get back to me, then we'll just dump the house keys at the farm office when we move out, with a clear conscience that we've left the house in good order (and with photos to prove it).

The local vicar's husband, who is involved with a homeless charity, came yesterday and took away our old fridge freezer (he said there's a waiting list for them), small filing cabinet, bedside cabinet, bar stool, large oil-filled radiator and some gardening tools.  He was very grateful, but I said I was extremely grateful to him, he was doing us a huge favour by taking them away and I was glad they were going to a good cause and not into landfill.  The only surplus piece of furniture that's left is an old electric recliner chair which he couldn't take as it doesn't have a fire safety label, so we'll have to get that into the car for the tip - it does come apart, I think.

4 more sleeps!

 Well, 4 more nights in bed, don't know how much sleep I'll be getting 😂

We're almost at the finishing line now, I know I've had some panicky spots but actually can't believe how much we've achieved in just 3.5 weeks (is that all it's been?  Feels like a lifetime!).  Joy made a comment yesterday about how few people are able to get sorted before moving day - you're so right, Joy.  Being able to move so much of our stuff over gradually, and get carpets and curtains in place before the move, has been absolutely bloody marvellous, and I know how lucky we are.  Of course it's meant we've had two lots of rent to pay, which was a big dent in our savings, but it's been so worth it.  The thought of having to move absolutely everything in just one day filled me with complete dread, I think I'd have had a nervous breakdown.

Yesterday husband made 2 tip trips and we took the very last donation to the charity shop.  He's still got another couple of tip trips to do, but he's made big inroads into the garage and shed stuff and is doing really well.  Just a pity he left it literally to the last minute.  Well, he's learnt his lesson and knows he won't be hoarding stuff (junk) in the future - I won't let him.

At this rate we'll have nothing left to do Monday and Tuesday!!  I'm sort of joking, I'm sure there'll be a few last minute bits still to deal with, and making sure everything's clean.

This morning we're off to the bungalow again, taking another car load - more tinned and dry food, almost the last of the kitchen stuff (just enough crockery and cutlery left here for the next few days).  Bathroom stuff and most of the cleaning supplies.  A few pictures that got missed....it's surprising how many pictures we actually had.  A new mattress bed for Betty to have in my bedroom, and some of her toys, just a few left here.  I think I'm going to give her a few drops of CBD oil on moving day, just to calm her (our vet ok'd it, in case anyone wonders).

Thank you again, lovely readers, for all the supportive comments and emails, they're much appreciated xx

Simple logic, and garden musings

 We did another 2 trips to the bungalow yesterday, taking a car load (and Betty) each time, and putting all the stuff away.  Husband asked why I insist on putting it away, rather than just dumping the boxes to unpack at a later date.  Simple really, I don't want boxes full of stuff cluttering up the place for moving day, I want clear spaces so that the furniture can be put in the right places straight out of the van, by the moving guys, so husband and I don't have to lug it around by ourselves afterwards.  Husband gets very breathless indeed when moving or lifting things, and my back, shoulders and arms are killing me already from all the lifting and carrying.  And when we've moved in, I just want for us to be able to collapse and rest, knowing that most stuff is unpacked already - well, all the important and needed daily stuff.  Anything else is being left in the boxes in the huge airing cupboard and one of the big cupboards in my bedroom, to be unpacked at leisure.  When we got back home after the second trip, around 2.30 pm, we just relaxed for the rest of the day, we certainly needed it.

It's funny, whilst we're here at the old house, I do feel quite panicky (no need to really, it's just the way I am) and my mind is constantly ticking over....yet as soon as we get inside the bungalow, calm descends and I feel relaxed and at home.  We are so going to love living there.

Yesterday the weather was horrendous again, more torrential rain and flooded roads.  Today it's forecast to be much better, sunshine even.  I think we've all certainly had our fill of rain.  We're doing tip trips today, and one last charity shop dump.  Then over the weekend, it'll be a case of cleaning all the cupboards and hoovering in corners, and we'll probably go to the bungalow again with another load of small bits and pieces.  We're also having au revoir (because we will be seeing them in the future) coffees with two sets of neighbours.  Which reminds me, I must write out Christmas cards this evening.

I was looking at the new garden yesterday, out of the window in the pouring rain.  It's certainly going to be low maintenance - no lawn to mow.  I now think rather than having a greenhouse, it would be more sensible to have a couple of raised beds on the paved area - there's a big tree in next door's garden which hangs over the paved area, so it would shade the greenhouse and probably drop leaves, etc, all over it.  And when we're away at the caravan, as we will be during the season, any plants in the greenhouse might suffer or die from lack of water.  Having veg in a couple of fairly large raised beds would be better I think, more chance of them surviving.

There are some existing plants that I'll be having out - 2 large very untidy yucca type plants (I've never really liked them much) and a couple of roses.  Whilst I do love roses, they're one of my favourite plants, these 2 have been left to get really tall (6 feet plus) and leggy, they've not been pruned properly for years by the looks of things, are bare at the bottom and tied up very roughly to odd bits of wood.  They're flopping over the path and are a hazard - someone (husband) could easily get his eyes poked out or at least severely scratched so they've got to go.  I can't wait to see what comes up in the beds next Spring.

Do it now!

 Well, I've pulled my bra straps up and got my big girl pants on and am just getting on with things.  As is husband - as he knows I've run out of patience with him and he's got no choice but to get on.  He IS capable - to a certain extent - in fact most of our neighbours and friends don't realise there's anything wrong with him, apart from his poor memory, occasional lapses in concentration and his habit of saying inappropriate things, which they put down to his age!  I am actually staggered at the amount of junk he's collected - since I almost never went in his shed or garage I didn't know just how much of a hoarder he's become.  He's always had those tendencies and has been terribly disorganised throughout the entire time we've been together, but he's certainly got much worse over the past couple of years, no doubt due to the cognitive impairment which was only diagnosed this year.  He's the complete opposite of me.

For the few days remaining until we move next Wednesday, I will have to tell him each day what he needs to do, and make sure he does it, I can't leave it to chance anymore, there's no time left for him to float about doing the odd thing here and there and sitting down dozing in front of the TV in between.

As for getting some local firm (of any description) in to take away the remaining stuff.....there's nothing left that's worth anything, the charity guy will take away the few remaining bits he can distribute to needy folk, which I'm happy about.  Husband's stuff in the garage and shed is, quite literally, junk, only fit for the tip - bits of wood (an assortment, none of it useable, mostly not even for wood burners because of varnishes or paint), old broken tools, old half empty paint tins, stuff like that.  He did clear out quite a lot yesterday, we made 2 trips to the new place....well, he went on his own in the morning, taking tools and (useable) wood.  After lunch we both went with another car load of packed boxes, some of which I unpacked over there and brought back for refilling today.  Going back there this morning with another car load.  We really are nearly done now, certainly inside the house.  

One thing I will say to you all, a big tip - if any of you are thinking of moving some time in the not too distant future - start decluttering and sorting NOW (well, after Christmas!!).  I did lots a few months back, as you may recall - well, it still wasn't enough.  It did help, definitely, but not enough by any means.  The problem is that we've downsized from a 3-bedroom house with 7 rooms plus bathroom and understairs space, to a 2-bed bungalow with only 4 rooms + bathroom.  Granted, the rooms are a fair size, with the lounge being much the same size but without a chimney breast taking up valuable space as in the old house, bigger kitchen and my bedroom being bigger.  But there's still a lot less room in the bungalow than there is in this house, which means a lot less possessions.  If you want to move house, be ruthless and get rid of whatever you don't need, haven't used for months or years, or won't fit in a smaller place.....and do it now!  Lecture over 😉😂😂

One thing we've noticed - the heating in the bungalow is far superior to this house....although I'm guessing the new extremely cheap and nasty double glazed windows the landlord had installed here have something to do with it.  It's blimmin freezing here now, despite having the heating on, whereas it's lovely and warm in the bungalow.  I'm glad we don't have to spend the winter here!

The final countdown, and a disappointment

 Yesterday I actually saw inside husband's garage and shed, for the first time in weeks and weeks.  I was absolutely aghast to see that they are both - still - almost full of junk.  Husband was supposed to have been clearing them out over the past 2 or 3 weeks.....now I admit I haven't been monitoring his progress as I've been so busy inside the house, but it honestly looks like he hasn't touched them.  At all.  Goodness knows what he's been doing whilst he's been outside - sloping off to chat to neighbours, I suspect.  I was so annoyed - I've been working my socks off these past few weeks, not only with the physical stuff of clearing and packing, but all the admin stuff involved with moving, and having to keep up with washing, cooking, shopping etc, ordering our meds early to ensure we don't run out, appointments for Betty and trying to keep her fairly calm, when she's clearly unsettled with all that's going on.  And arranging our trips over to the new place, and what to take each time we go.  It's no wonder I'm not sleeping well - my brain is ticking over relentlessly.  And now I'm stressed up to the eyeballs again, my shoulders are up round my ears and I have a permanent tension headache.

The thing is, due to various commitments we have over the next week, husband has got just 3.5 DAYS left to clear the shed and garage.  And I have no idea how's he's going to manage it.  The amount of junk there will mean probably 5 or 6 trips to the tip, and some of the stuff he won't even be able to fit in the car unless he chops it up.  I've been telling him for literally months and months he needed to get rid of all this crap, but obviously he hasn't.  And now he's left it almost too late.  I know he's probably stressed about it all - what does he think I am?!  This is him all over - prevaricates, buries his head in the sand, puts things off and ends up doing nothing.  Well, he now knows he's got to get on with it, or else leave it all behind and risk the landlord keeping our deposit to pay for clearance.  Just to make matters even worse, the tip is closed today, and there's a load more rain forecast for tomorrow.

At the bungalow yesterday morning, Hannah the Housing Support lady came round to tell us she's hosting a Christmas afternoon tea at the community centre the week after we move in - so that'll be a good opportunity to get to know everyone.  We unpacked a few more boxes there and I made another list of a few little things we still need, like hooks for the bathroom door, a bathroom mirror and toilet roll holder.  I also rearranged some of the plans for where furniture is going.

Today I'm packing the store cupboard surplus food supplies, cleaning the fridge freezer which we're not keeping and is being collected by a local charity, and gathering up/packing any odds and sods.  We're up early (even earlier than has been the norm over the past 2 or 3 weeks), husband's done a lot of thinking during the night and has decided he's going to take some of the wood he's accumulated (from who knows where) over to the bungalow this morning, along with gardening tools....he says he can use the wood to make a fence at the back of the car port, to prevent Betty running out into the road.  I didn't even know he had this wood, it'll save us having to buy any fence panels, which is something.  At least he's thinking positively now following my serious talk with him yesterday.  He's also said that the chap coming to collect the fridge freezer (the local vicar's husband, who works for a charity) can have some of the surplus of gardening tools he's collected, that'll clear some more stuff out of his shed.  The charity chap says he knows local families who have allotments to cut costs by growing their own veg, so they'll be glad of any tools.

One week to go!

Final push

 Yesterday we had rain of biblical proportions, it went on all morning.  We needed to go with another car load to the charity shop, time is very tight now so we need to keep to the plan.  We waited until just after lunch when the sky was clearing and the rain was easing off, however our little farm lanes and even the main roads were rivers, it was really quite scary.  Husband was fine with it, having been a professional driver almost all his working life he was pretty confident and took great care, I was proud of him.   The worst thing was lorries and vans, mainly the vans, driving far too fast for the conditions and throwing up huge deluges of muddy water, almost covering the cars entirely.  I was thankful our car is an MPV thing, albeit a small one, so it's higher than a normal car.  I was also very glad to get home safely. 

HH, you asked about dentists and vets.  Husband and I have different dentists (long story) - he will stay with his, I will have to change mine as it'll be a considerable distance from the new place.  There are at least 3 in Minehead, our nearest town, although none of them are taking NHS patients - but then I don't think any of them are in the whole of Somerset!  Re the vets....again we'll have to change, as our present one will be too far away....there's one only about a mile or so from the new place which has good reviews.  Ironically, we've just had an email from our present lovely vets - they're a married couple who own and live at the practice.....well, they've sold it and are moving as they're retiring.  The practice is remaining open will all other staff, and the new vet owner is apparently very nice and has the same values and ethos as the present couple.  So it seems an appropriate time to change vets anyway.  They've said they'll send all Betty's records to the new practice, once we've signed up there.

Sue, thanks for the offer but my answer to coming to help you with your next move (is one on the cards then?! 😉) will be a big resounding NO THANKS! 😁😂.  I shall hopefully never have to do anything concerned with moving houses ever again.

You may recall that the neighbour who threw us the 40th anniversary tea party back in May had offered to give us a big leaving party.  We thanked her but gracefully declined - I'm not a big party person anyway, and it'll all be too emotional....both husband and I feel we'd rather just slip away quietly.  We are visiting individual neighbours for a coffee and exchange of cards, we're not just shooting off with no warning.  Well, a couple of days ago I discovered that a different neighbour, to whom we're going for coffee and a mince pie this coming Saturday, had planned on inviting most of the other neighbours for a big shindig for us - behind our backs.  He loves a party (he throws himself a birthday party every year, much to his wife's irritation as it's left up to her to do all the food planning and prep) and simply cannot grasp that not everyone feels the same way!  His wife, who is a good friend of mine, has nipped it in the bud and told him he's not doing a party for us and that's final.  For which I'm very grateful.  A party is the last thing I want right now, I'm too tired and stressed. 

I'm outwardly calm and coping pretty well, but my guts are churning along with my brain.  Only 8 days left till the move!!  Having done the charity shop trip yesterday, looking around the house now I really do think that's the last stuff to be donated (famous last words).  There'll be another couple of tip trips though.  Husband has finished clearing the loft (apart from the previous tenant's stuff which husband left up there), what was up there has been either tipped or donated.  This morning we're off to the new place, taking a load more small stuff.

And yes I will be taking photos when we leave, to prove we've left the place in a clean and tidy state (despite the previous tenant having done no such thing!!).