How many men does it take ...

... to move a piano?

8.

This is the only photo I took today. I am now sitting on the floor in a mostly empty house. I'm sure the only time you truly know how filthy your house is is when someone comes and takes all the furniture away that was hiding the dirty corners.

I live in a converted church (and am moving to another). They make big, fine houses and are wonderful for parties and for allowing kids space to run around if the weather is not behaving. However, they also have a lot of corners for spiders to hide in and a lot of skirting to dust. Having dusted approximately a mile* of the stuff this evening I certainly never want to have skirting in any other house I live in.

The move took a lot longer than I think anyone expected. I'm sure when the movers said they would be done by 1pm they really believed it. They left just after 5pm. The piano was the longest part of the move. Having spent a long painful afternoon trying to move it about 15 feet across the room a while ago, I could sympathise with their efforts.

After they had all gone (with Mr B) a truly lovely friend came round with my dinner and a bottle of fruit cider. We had a lovely chat and did no cleaning. I'll miss her - someone so wonderfully reliable and generous, and she hardly ever brings up that unfortunate night when I spilt red wine on her carpet 3 times. The closeness I have with some of my friends here has sort of snuck up on me. In a nice way.

So, reeling with exhaustion and more than a little teary about the whole experience... it's time to retire to my daughter's blow-up mattress and hope for sleep...


*Some exaggeration has been employed for comic effect in this blip.