Auditing

My not-so-little sister has taken Mummy hazelh away for a wee holiday in Dumfries and Galloway. Meanwhile Mr hazelh, my middle sister, my brother-in-law Mark and I are 'auditing' the contents of my mother's house.

We were initially prompted to do this when we saw the extortionate renewal premium request for my mother's household contents insurance. This is based on 1991 valuations of my parents' antiques and art collection. We don't believe that a true 2023 valuation figure could justify such a huge premium. The only way to check this is to photograph all the assets and seek valuations.

Before we left Edinburgh, Mr hazelh created a spreadsheet from the record of assets held by the insurance firm. We are using this to identify the (supposedly) precious items. We are also adding to the spreadsheet as we come across furniture and art work acquired by my parents after 1991. It's a very long job, especially when you find cupboards within cupboards crammed with pictures. Our most interesting discovery of the day has been a watercolour by a member of the Baden Powell family.

My main blip is the photograph that we will use to seek a valuation of the dining room chairs. The extra was taken in 'my' bedroom. At this point of the day, Mr hazelh was passing paintings to Mark to return to one of the cupboards. There is a cupboard within a cupboard behind Mark.

Exercise today: small amount of walking (5,615 steps).