Moving

First day back at work, yawning by about 2pm, but got quite a lot done. The contractors moved in to the Eduction Centre and this was the state of the kitchen by morning tea break. I am even allowing myself to get a little bit excited now that the project has started. Given that the weather is so awful, there is a moat around our house now as well as at the castle, my January blips will mainly be made up of the refurb updates.

As I left I phoned Mr L to tell him I was on my way, and he told me how he had almost set fire to the kitchen by leaving some card on the cooker top after turning it on. It reminded me that I had never got round to the tale of our house move in July and have decided now is the time. So, as it will be a long one, and mainly for my own memory banks in case I start going Gaga in later years, feel free to back flip to some nice photos by other blippers.

So, following an extremely stressful week not really knowing why our buyers hadn't paid up, we eventually exchanged contracts a day and a half before moving day. I left work at lunchtime the day before the big day ( the hottest day of the year) and arrived home to find all but our beds, a settee and tv for the evening and the 'last minute bits' box in the removal lorry. This was to save time the next day. Operation Stack was in place and this could have an impact on our journey time. We had already loaded Mr L's car with all sorts of things we didn't want in the lorry, and I was due to take Dog with me in my car. We planned the alternative journey via the M2, said some goodbyes to neighbours and I went to the car to go for some fish and chips for our last meal in Lordswood. On the hottest day of the year with the prospect of an unknown journey the next day, with Dog in the car my electric Windows had given up the ghost! Totally inoperable.

We slept fitfully and got up early, checked the roads on the BBC website to find the M2 was now also closed at the very junction we needed due to accidents in both directions! I am not a confidant driver when I don't know a route, and now I had to leave our home of 37 years, drive across country through villages I had only looked at on a map, with a panting dog on a very hot day and with no windows to open in the car. I was a little stressed!

Before the removal men arrived, Mr L walked dog, while I packed the final bits in the box that was placed on the cooker hob, checked every cupboard and room etc for left behind bits.
I was upstairs stripping the bed, went downstairs for some string and I was sure I could smell burning. I raced frantically checking everywhere and it took a full 5 minutes for me to realise that one of us must have knocked a control on the ceramic hob and our 'last minute box' was smouldering! Only a couple of things had to be thrown away, but goodness me how awful it could have been.

Everything done and packed, the lorry left and we did too. The journey wasn't as bad as I had feared, only about an hour and twenty minutes, and Dog settled to sleep on the back seat. When we arrived, I came first to the house where the lorry was waiting for us, and Mr L waited at the estate agents to collect the key. He had gone to lunch! Nothing worse than sitting around waiting for someone when you have so much to do!

Fortunately we could get to the shed and unload some of the garden stuff whilst waiting.

Only 2 removal men and Mr L and myself, but we went like the clappers and were soon unloaded. Over the next four days we got all the rooms straight, ordered flat pack furniture and settled in. There were boxes left in the garage ready for when I could take my leave at the end of the school term, but my planning, organisation and labelling of everything made it all easier than I anticipated. Having said that, it was an exhausting and stressful time, and a bit like childbirth, I would not be aiming to do it again any time soon.

The real ending to the story came the following day when the buyer of our previous house rang with a question and mentioned that they could smell incense! I told him I had lit a joss stick on my last evening as I didn't dare tell him we had almost burnt down his house!

Edit: this is not my 365, that was yesterday. Not sure why Blip can't count!