Eight days to go…
Well, the packers did arrive at 8 o’clock this morning – it’s 5 to four now, and they’re still here! I don’t think they’ve done more than pack up most of the kitchen! At this rate, we’re going to need them for several more days, not just the day before we move, to pack up the “last-minute things!” – they’re really not terribly fast… (but I’d be a lot slower! 🙂 ) As I promised, I sat in here and pretended I wasn’t in the house, until Julian called me – saying that I was “needed in the kitchen” With a sinking heart, I cautiously approached the kitchen – what did he want me to do? I was very suspicious… Well, it wasn’t for the kitchen, it was for the display cabinet on the dining room side of the kitchen. It’s stuffed full of – what I call junk, because I don’t particularly appreciate Royal Dalton – figurines that came all the way over from New Zealand, a legacy of my mother’s partner who died many, many years ago. We did attempt to get them valued once, because mother always said that they were “worth a lot of money“, but the “expert” who came out to value them was very non-committal and didn’t seem to think that they were that good… Most of them are either signed, or numbered, they’re all in “as new” condition, and at the moment, I’m tempted to say “free to a good home!” – I don’t really want them coming with us – we’ll be losing a display case when we leave here because the one where they used to live is “built-in” and can’t be moved – and I’m loath to go buying another display case just for all this Royal Dalton stuff that I don’t particularly like! So that’s what I was called out for – what did I want packed that would then be unpacked at the other end, and what did I want boxed up to either go to auction, or a new home somewhere. Then I think he wished he hadn’t called me 🙂 because there are a few pieces from that cabinet that I not only do want to keep, but they’ll probably have to be prised from my cold, dead fingers with a crow bar when I die from old age! – there are some absolutely beautiful glass vases, ornaments, and figurines with fantastic iridescent decorations – I’m not sure what the style called, but it’s reminiscent of Art Deco glassware – there are also a few small bronzes that have been in the family for generations – if Lee and Kate want to sell them off after I’m gone, that’s fine, I don’t really care, but I won’t part with them! 🙂 The packing ladies have just been down to talk to us about the things in the two sideboards, and will we want it unpacked at the other end. Julian, in his wisdom, said to pack them up, but not to unpack them at Stillwater – and without consulting me, volunteered my services to unpack them all and sort them for auctioning! Actually it’s probably a good thing that I’ll be doing all that! Julian’s simply not to be trusted with good quality crockery! 😉 Both packing ladies were aghast that he wanted to send entire dinner sets off to St. Vincents! Some is Bone China, and I know there’s at least one full Mikasa dinner setting for eight there – they both said that it was “far too good to send off to St. Vincent’s!” I just turned to Julian and said “See?! I told you so!” – Ha! Vindication, at last! So it’ll go off to the auction rooms…
Anyway, they’ve finished up for today – Julian seems to think that with two of them working, it should only take another four to five hours to finish off the packing up – the day before we move! And if they don’t get it all finished, I guess it doesn’t really matter – we can come and go from here as much as we like until the end of September, when the job of turning this place into a doll’s house will be handed over to the sagaciously stylish Sharron 🙂
I finally got right through my desk notebook and finished off my Rift Character Names list! I even numbered the pages! (there are seven, all told!) 🙂 It’s printed out, and all ready to by put in the folder with the plastic sleeves – then I’ll be able to go through and pick out names that I like from all the letters left available on Hailol, and create my new character! So all’s well that ends well! 🙂 I also had time to create a new header for the blog… I’m not sure about it – I quite like it, but maybe the central colours are a little too dark, or harsh, or something. Those “fade to white” gradients generally do better in pastel colours – I might give that a go tomorrow, if I think of it… I also have my next Warfarin blood test tomorrow morning – I might get so light-headed from blood loss that I’ll completely forget to try the pastel approach! 😉
Weigh-in this morning. This time, there most definitely will be a bounce back! Let’s just hope that it isn’t a big one! I went down six whole points, from 80.2kg down to 79.6kg! 🙂 I’m into the 70’s! I’ve lost 55kg in under a year, and I now officially weigh less than Julian! I’m now thinner than he’s ever seen me! Mind you, I still have nine and a half kilos to go (9.5kg), but I’m into losing single digit numbers now! I’m so pleased! 🙂 I’m also scared – I won’t know what to do with real food in front of me, though that’s a few weeks away yet…
We got in touch with the Bank Manager to organise about the bank cheques, and we got in touch with Clarke, our fantastic builder. He’ll be coming over to Stillwater on Saturday, the day after settlement, to have a look and tell us what can be done to create an en-suite door, and possibly a door to the walk in wardrobe – I’m very lazy! If there’s no door to the walk in wardrobe, you have to keep it tidy, otherwise it looks awful, and simply shutting a door on all the mess is far easier, and a lot less time-consuming! 😉
So tomorrow I have my blood test, and our cleaning lady will be here… probably for the second last time! She comes every fortnight – so, yup! The second last time! Next time will be the 21st – oh s’truth! She can’t come on the 21st! Our furniture is being delivered, and I want to be at Stillwater to see it , and decide where I want it all to go! There’s no point in her coming the week after because our very own dynamic duo, the charismatic Carmen and the scintillating Sharron, are getting in their own cleaners because they don’t trust anyone else to do a good enough job! So it looks like tomorrow is the last time that our cleaning lady will be doing this apartment! 
Of course, she’s more than welcome to pop over to Stillwater for a gossip and a chat on the 21st, but I simply must be there! And I just thought of something else we need to get in a bit of a hurry – one of those patio heater thingies… so we can sit outside on the deck and have our lunch without freezing to death! Anyway, I think I’d better call it quits now, before I start getting too glassy-eyed and carried away, panicking about all the things we haven’t got yet, and getting neurotic about all the things that we simply must have by August 25th (I’m scribbling down a list, even as I’m typing! That notebook on my desk is so handy! 😉 ) So, that’s about it from me for tonight – do call in again tomorrow night, if only to see how much I bounced back, after shedding six points overnight! I’ll let you know if my Warfarin levels need to be higher, or if I’ve gently settled into my new lighter body (Julian thinks it’s my weight loss that’s affecting my Warfarin levels!) and, I can fill you in on what our cleaning lady said about not coming here on the 21st… There’ll be lots to tell you all, so make sure you drop around to hear all about everything! 😉 In the meantime, continue to bee good, remember every day to ask yourself: “what great thing would I attempt if I knew I couldn’t fail?” and then actually listen to your answer! Don’t forget to keep warm, to look after yourselves, and to drive carefully – but most importantly, don’t forget to stay safe! 🙂 ciao, all! 🙂
My Word! 