Everything we own is in one room in our first rented holiday home!
The car was packed to the gills last night & in no particular order as it was later than we’d planned & dark before we left. I had stuff on my feet, my knee & was holding the metal parrot stand. No-way could we travel all the way to Spain like this!
We dumped everything inside, then were off down the street to the local Chinese take-away. It’s late Tuesday & we set-off for South for Devon on Friday.
I’d planned to settle-down & do a couple of days work here in our temporary ‘holiday’ home whilst Rob cleaned out our old house. But it won’t be that straight-forward. During the next two days both dogs are booked-in (on separate days) for a trim & groom (in preparation for warmer weather), the car for an MOT, Rob has to have his remaining teeth out as he was too ill to do this last week as planned & we have to go to the vets in Leicester with Woody to collect her export documentation.
So it’s hectic.
The local furniture project has taken what they are legally allowed to & Rob’s chasing about clearing-up, visiting family. I’m
trying to keep on top of client work in preparation for a smooth handover to my associate before we leave ‘on holiday’. On the last day, as I still have power & internet at ‘home’, with all the furniture gone, I work from our plastic patio table for as long as possible.
A neighbour across the road, never one for passing-up a bargain, has many of our remaining items, including a double bed, good leather sofa (as I was let down by a buyer) & many small electrical items. The bin is full to overflowing & my mum comes to help clean a more-or-less empty house. She’s also the recipient of store cupboard items which I had thought to take, herbs & spices etc, but I now know they just won’t fit in the car.
So this is it!
We now own so very little, but it doesn’t matter. It also doesn’t feel real. My mum doesn’t let me get maudlin & encourages us to have fun & an adventure – isn’t she great? The previous week she’d organised a family meal at the local pub. I hadn’t thought about this, both not wanting to make a fuss & due to being so busy, not wanting yet something else to organise.
Due to their jobs, it’s rare that my son & his wife can attend family dos on-spec, but they were there with my mum & dad, together with my daughter, brother & sister-in-law. It was so lovely, but at the end as we hugged goodbye, it was very emotional. I’d enjoyed our meal & chatting to family, but regrettably didn’t take any photos of everyone so will now carry the memory in my mind.
We don’t have space for pictures anyway & as most of our photos are online, since we purchased our first digital camera in 2004, we may in the future buy a digital photo viewer. My son’s looking after photo albums from his & his sister’s childhood, whilst I’d scanned my favourite wall pictures, scrapped the frames & stored the paper images.
I’ll keep in touch with family & friends via phone & Skype or similar to see their faces, but this is really it – we’re off tomorrow!