I knew moving week would be hard especially because we were moving ourselves but it's been real hard and very, very stressful. Our week didn’t start out great with Phil discovering that Buster had died in his sleep. Then went he got to the hire place in Bletchley he went to pay and found that the didn’t have his wallet so he had to come all the way back to Milton Keynes in the rush hour traffic and back again to pick up the small wheel based van so it was gone half nine by the time he got back home. We filled the van with stuff and I thought we were very careful with our packing but when we got to the Arrows storage unit in west Bletchley and unloaded, a couple of bits had moved in transit; my beautiful Dwell high white gloss unit had a chip on the door and one of the white bedside units had a nick at the back. It took several lift loads getting it all off and a little bit of planning to utilise the space but we did it.
After the storage unit we went back home and loaded up for the second time and headed off to Overstone. We unloaded but of course there was a problem, none of our furniture would fit through the bedroom doors. We managed to squeeze them through the main caravan door but not the internal rooms. Phil went to unscrew them all but we’d forgotten to bring the electric screwdriver so we couldn’t do it. It was lunchtime by this time so we popped into Overstone Manor for a soggy carvery. Phil says he doesn’t mind the carvery here but it’s not great, all the vegetable's including the roast potatoes are frozen, its like eating soggy fresh air. I am not going to write this place off though before I try something off the main menu, mainly because I like the venue and it’s within walking distance from the van.
I can’t remember what we did for the rest of the afternoon but I know we were knackered by the time we took the van back and on Monday evening it was early to bed. And unfortunately it was also early to rise, I was in the wide awake world by 3.30am. Just after half seven I drove over to Caldecotte to pick up Sue who had an appointment at Central Milton Keynes to get one eye laser surgery. She was meant to have it about a month ago and they cancelled because the surgeon was sick. Sue signed the consent form, had an eye check and we went sat patiently in the waiting room when the consultant came up and told us that there was a problem with the laser machine. He said that the engineer was driving up from Birmingham and that there would be at least an hour’s delay before surgery. We said okay and went for a wonder around the city centre and ended up having a bacon and sausage roll in BHS café. Not long afterwards Sue got a call to say that there was a big problem with the laser machine and her operation couldn’t take place. Actually, that’s not strictly true, they said she could drive to Cambridge which was where the surgeon was going but she declined.
I dropped Sue at Newport and then went back home. Phil had been over to the caravan to breakdown the furniture and reassemble it inside the bedrooms. He got back at the same time as me and we then we went over to Westcroft to bury the rabbit. In the afternoon we took down all the pictures and filled all the holes. We cleared everything from all the bedrooms all bar our bed. It was looking rather bare and I was a little anxious because our buyer came round in the evening with another plumber. She is ripping our bathroom out (I don’t blame her) and apparently the plumber she’d brought round last week had let her down. I hadn’t really wanted to meet her but she was nice and seemed excited to be moving into our house.
Wednesday was another early wake-up; I was up at 3.30am and managed to rouse Phil at half five. He ripped out all sound system cables from underneath the skirting in the lounge and together we took down the big TV. It was really heavy. Taking down the wall bracket wasn’t easy either but we managed it. Phil filled in the huge holes and I painted the chimney breast. Luckily I found the tin of paint in the garage so it was no big deal. Sue had lent me her white paint try so I rolled over all the holes all over the house. I ended up touching up skirting boards where last year I had painted around the furniture. We loaded up both cars and drove over to Caldecotte to put stuff in Harriet’s loft. This took a while, I climbed into the loft and Phil lifted the boxes up the ladder and I hoisted them up from there, some boxes were easier than others. Last job of the day was a big clean in all the rooms and a hoover up. Phil says I am a paranoid psycho and maybe he is right but I really don’t want our buyer to come into a dirty, unloved, house. I want her to be as happy as we have been living here.
Yesterday was a big, moving day. It seemed ages before I could stir Phil but luckily he was up at half six because he needed the loo. When he was dressed he dismantled our bed and also the sofa in the lounge. Nigel the-bald-man-with van turned up at 8am and loaded up with stuff from the garage and he and Phil went to the storage unit. I stayed home and did some hovering, cleaning and packing until Phil came back about an hour later. He said our 40ft storage unit is choc-a-block and we couldn’t fit a single thing in. It was lucky then that Sue kindly said we could use her garage temporarily to store stuff so we loaded up both cars and went over to Newport.
After Newport we shoved our double mattress in the back of the Land Rover and tipped this at the Newport dump. Next job was another car load to take to Harriet’s loft and then it was back home to load up both cars with more stuff. Phil was rushing me as he was eager to get to the caravan and as a result I forgot half the stuff that I needed to take. Like the toaster, the kettle and all the food stuffs from the fridge. Really I could have done with another couple of hours packing and cleaning but I don’t suppose it mattered too much because I couldn’t have got anything else in my car.
Last night was ham sandwiches and telly. We have quite a bit of work to do to make the van comfortable and cosy before the winter sets in. As we are complete novices with camping and caravans I think we have much to learn. But I have to say our first night was comfortable; our caravan bed is very comfortable and we both slept like logs. Maybe this was because we were cream crakered from our removals, I don’t know but I think the pair of us are going to be happy here. I had brought new PJ’s for our first night and Phil, bless him, and put a hot water bottle on my side before I went to sleep so I wasn’t cold, but I have to say when I woke up this morning. It was okay when Phil got up and put the heaters on but if you put on to many on the electricity trips and you have to go outside to flick it on. Phil has brought torches to put in every room for when it’s dark, but this is not ideal and we will have to get it sorted.
I wrote this blog in my new caravan bed first thing this morning but I am actually publishing it from our house. I tried to hack into networks on the caravan park yesterday but unfortunately they were all secure. Another 2 hours on the telephone with BT on Wednesday evening and we are not going to be connected at the caravan for another 2 weeks. I worry that I may have a nervous breakdown without the Internet so today I am going to have to try and buy a dooley dangle thing but not one on contract. Not sure if there is such a thing but I am going try.
Well I suppose I better sign off from the Internet for one very last time. I have a few last things to pack, the garage and the kitchen floors to clean and then it’s time to say goodbye house. God, what am I like, my eyes are filling up as I type this sentence. I have loved living beside the canal and I shall miss walking down to the pub watching the canal frozen over on a crispy winters day. I shall miss my neighbours Emma & Jason especially, I will miss my kitchen and my dishwasher and I will miss living in Milton Keynes. I am sure once with settled in the static I shall feel happier next week; well maybe even later this afternoon when our solicitor to say we’ve completed and the money is our account. Bye Bye no 11 hello new life.
and we will miss you too. Much love & happiness for this new chapter of your lives
ReplyDeleteEmma & Jason x