Saturday 25 April 2009

25th April 2009

Well we are now getting into full swing for the move. The dining room is starting to resemble a warehouse stacked with boxes from floor to ceiling. The walls are looking bare and the house is starting to take on that echo effect that all buildings get when they are empty or heading that way. The house is slowly returning back to just a house and no longer a home. It is a sad thing as we have soo many happy memories here but when an area goes downhill it is time to move on.

The kids are really looking forward to the new house especially the youngest. She already has dug out her bike and has informed me the tyres need pumping up so she can ride around at our new house :) Youve got to love kids eh! As theres a school at the top of the road we gave our youngest the choice of staying where she is or going to this closer one. She has taken this decision very very seriously. At 8 years old this has been her first independent decision so she has been talking to her sisters, family and friends about it :) we then had a look around the new school and she was most impressed with it but I think the clincher was the fact she could walk to school by herself in the mornings LOL So a new uniform needs to be bought this week at some point.

So in 6 days the long move shall begin. Never ending boxes and furniture to be moved. Lots to take apart and then reassemble...I really can't wait!

We hit a glitch with the lorry that I was hiring....the company went bust!!!!!!!!!!!! Still at least I had not paid a deposit and a mate has lent me his Luton box van so that with my old Transit we should be ok.

I may be offline for a week or so due to the move and transfer of services so I will write again as soon as I can!

Saturday 18 April 2009

After a hard week I have had a great day today. It has rained for the past couple of days but today the sun has shone and shone. Its been the sort of day that makes you glad to feel alive.

I sold my greenhouse on Ebay for a ridiculusly high amount and the chap turned up this morning with some hard cash and then dismantled it and away it went.

Whilst the chaps were playing with glass I did a bit more packing so that side of things is going well and I am hoping the move should be quite smooth. It took the guys nearly three hours to remove the greenhouse but as soon as they were gone I grabbed my youngest and off to the allotment we went.

We did remember to take the scarecrow with us this time and its just as well because after two weeks of the rather ugly chap sitting in the living room I think I would have been mice meat if wifey had got home from work to find we still had company!
Now I did intend on running forwards and backwards all afternoon taking all of the plant pots there but as soon as we arrived I knew it wasnt going to happen. The afternoon was just pure sunshine without a cloud in the sky. It really is my santuary down there and I never want to leave once I have arrived. My mate the robin was happily hopping about and followed us around for 10 mins before he realised that no digging was going to happen today. After unloading the van I had a look around trying to make the decision on what to potter with next and that call came to the tea shed construction. Now you should have seen my wifes face when I told we had built one today..."Why do you need a tea room?" she asked and after I explained the small metal shed was for secure keeping and the tea room was for relaxing in and somewhere to run from the rain. Apperentley I am quite mad LOL but she doesnt realise that we need to take a tea break even when we are having fun :)

So after 5 happy hours and a call from wifey we came home for dinner. My evening is planned on doing next to sod all so Im going to sign off and get stuck in....

Thursday 16 April 2009

Its been a difficult week with emotions ranging from celebration to depression.

Lets start with the celebration side of things. Our friends were over from america nad it was good to see them again. We went out for a meal and had a good catch up. Then on Friday it was off to the hotel where wifey works for the day and night. All of them then played in the pool and tried to give themselves early coronaries in the steam room. Bugger that I went and had a coffee, put my feet up and read a good book. Everyone then went and had a shower etc and met up back in our suite (yes suite nice being upgraded because your wife works there) for a bottle of wine before dinner. Now our friend was upon the grand day of his 40th birthday and none the wiser for what had been planned for him.

After our delaying tactics with wine which was not all that hard if I am honest:) we took him down to the restaurant and into a private dining room where he was awaited by 20 of his friends and family. Now I have seen people turn red before but this was a new shade all to itself! He really had no idea that we had done it and it was a great way for him to see everyone whilst he was back over on his short stay from the states. The meal was fantastic and a good time had by all so all in all a very good day.

Now the rest...

Why oh why in this wonderful England of ours does it take so long to have a funeral after someone has died??? It was 10 days from when my Nan passed away until we had her cremation. You feel like you are just getting somewhere with dealing with your grief and then its time for the funeral which just drags everything up again. All those feelings of loss and hurt come straight back up to the surface and sitting in the chapel looking at the coffin just drags your heart down into the dark depths of your soul.

Well the day was warm and the sun out. I have no doubt she had this planned as she really loved planning did our Lil :) I had the honour of being a coffin bearer and taking Nan on her last trip into the Chapel. My uncle said a few words as did I which I will put below. Family had come in from all over Europe to say goodbye to the head of the family. It was a Sad sad day but she really did get a good send off.

Now these days are always going to be sad but it suprised me just how drained I felt at the end of it. All of my four passengers coming back from Oxford were fast asleep within minutes and it didnt take me more than 30 secounds to fall into gratefull oblivion once my head touched the pillow.

We were not the only ones to be going through all of these emotions on Tuesday... our best friends were also high in our thoughts as they set off to say goodbye to thier uncle who had passed on suddenly. Strange how there is always more than one death around the same time and we are lucky to have such good friends and family for support.

So there we have a strange few days. Many highs and many lows but as always the world keeps turning and life will go on.

Good bye Nan you will always be with me...

Thursday 9 April 2009

Well here we are heading toward the end of the week and the start of the easter weekend and of course in true British tradition its raining!

My great grans funeral will be on Tuesday and family from all over the world are flying back for it. Just goes to show what an incredible woman she was and how much she meant to us all. I was talking to a cousin who lives over in Cyprus and she asked why is it we only all get together when someone gets married or dies? I pointed out that all we can do in this life is bring up ourt children as best we can and they soon make their own way...its just the way of things. She promptly told me to shut up as I was depressing her and she didnt want her babies to leave!! LOL. Of course she was messing but isnt it strange that a family as large as mine that all lived within a 10 minute walk of each other when we were kids have now ended up scattered across the globe!? The world from our generation really has become a much smaller place. What was a once a year occurance of getting on a plane is now almost as easy as jumping on a bus. We think nothing of booking a cheap flight for a weekend away in the sun when our grandparents and parents could never dream of such things. Going to the next town was a big deal and hitting the coast was a long term break!

I digress....I have been asked to be a bearer at the funeral which to me is an honour and to also say a few words about Lil. I have so far written three speeches and thrown them away. Theres so much to say and so little time to say it I really want to do her proud. I will jot down the final draft here after I have said my bit on the day.

On the great news side our best friends have passed all tests and are now about to begin their IVF treatment. If anyone desrves kids its them but in a cruel twist of fate they need a kickstart to do so so heres hoping and praying like mad that this treatment is succesful. I love these guys to bits and they are so giving and caring that its about time they got just a little back. It doesnt have to be loads but lady luck just needs to give them a bit of a grin so they can hear the patter of tiny feet. We shall see over the next couple of months what happens.

Some friends are back over from America on a visit and its his 40th birthday tomorrow. There are about 25 of us going to a hotel for a meal and spoilt evening out with lavish rooms booked and he has no idea! His face should be a picture LOL. Now why we had to have lavish rooms is beyound me because I am sure none of us will appreciate them when we pass out at the end of the evening but the wives booked them and ive been told women know best....who am I to argue?!

The problem is that I dont really drink these days and I had 2 pints on Tuesday evening which gave me a hangover for 36 hours so why I would want to drink tomorrow is beyound me. I have been convincing myself that not a drop will pass my lips but who am I trying to kid. Once you get caught up in the atmosphere of a good friends birthday party the beer will be drunk and I will suffer. I wouldnt mind but a hangover on 2 pints!!!!!!!

AND I have just realised I havnt told the other big story...we are moving at the end of the month a couple of miles up the road to a nicer area. The house we are in is fantastic bt the area has gone steadily downhill over the last 6 months. Yound kids drunl out of their little minds and drug users crapping up the alley and leaving used needles around. My kids cannot go out to play and wifey tells me I cant deal with these youths as I will be in more trouble than them. The police are neither use or ornamant as they never "catch them in the act". So enough was enough. We looked at a few houses and found one we like in a really nice area at the end of a Cul de sac which is fantastic. The eldest daughters freinds are around the corner and the youngest can ride her bike outside...perfect. Now all we have to do is pack everything we own and load the truck, drive to the new place unload the truck and unpack. Easy eh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I must be mad!!!!

New life is growing at the allotment and I have got loads of wood for it from freecycle which is great. Lots of new raised beds which are nice and easy to look after. I have 45 slabs to collect in the morning for it as well as a load of topsoil so back ache here we come :)

Thats enough for now....I will be back soon.

Sunday 5 April 2009

It was with great sadness that I received the call yesterday morning that my great gran Lil had passed away. The world is a little bit more empty now she has gone. I took a walk along the coast after I heard and dwelled on memories of this fantastic women. Its strange how time passes so quickly and there has just been a massive generation shift. We wont know until Monday when the funeral is but its expected to be later this week.

Its been a strange week with many highs and lows. Works going well that was until Wednseday when I put my back out atop a 25ft ladder!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that was an experience getting down form there very very slowly :)

We decided to go away to the seaside on Thursday as I couldnt work and the kids were breaking up from school. My parents have a static caravan near Cromer and what a great time we had for a couple of days:) :) No rush to do anything and lots of laughs and slot machines and walks along the beach and pier. It was bloody freezing mind you but hey ho a break away was what we all needed and it was so nice to spend some time away from phones and computers and TV. We played chess in the evening and ate far too much but isnt that what holidays are for?

We have started to look for a new house to rent. The one we are in is fantastic with 4 bedrooms three bathrooms and all in a victorian 3 story but the area has taken a real turn for the worse over the last 6 months with drug users and gangs hanging around and we feel like the kids are virtual prisoners in the house and theres no where close they can go out to play safely. So we are taking a good hard look around to find a nicer area but we know we will have to comprimise on size which will be hard after being spoilt for the best part of two years now.

The bikes all fixed and has had a few miles put on the clock and Ive been helping a mate fit his new kitchen today. The dog sulked because we left her with the neighbours on our little holiday jount but after 2 days has now decided we are ok after all and is more than happy we are home.

Still thoughts drift back to Lil who was the grand old age of 95 before she left us. Think of the changes she saw in such a lifetime! We should all be happy to live so well, be fit and active for just a portion of such a lifetime. Go out today and do what youve been putting off. See friends and family and tell them you love them because you just never know when your time will end.

See you again Lil I know you found your way...