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Oh Patootie, I do feel for you! I think sorting is the WORST. It's like shopping, only without the fun. You spend hour after hour looking appraisingly at things and trying to decide for each one what is , why you kept it, whether it could conceivably ever be used/read/worn again, if not whether it has such sentimental value that you can't bear to part with it, if so whether you can find room for it, if not whether you can bear to chuck it or have to find someone to give it to, if so who might possibly want/like/be able to use it etc etc etc.
With something as disorienting as fibro, it must be ten times worse! And frankly it sounds as if you may have got to the place where there isn't a lot more left to do til you are at the stage of being ready to go.
So why not give yourself a day or two of rest? Would do you good to take the pressure off a bit. Oh, and try to find out when you really are moving
)))) The rest of us are all on tenterhooks!
I think I'm off to bed too, sleep tight! xxx
Sigh .. I;ve already taken a 'few days off' .. I got very disorientated with the sudden change of plans and new flat last Monday .. so I am trying to motivate myself to get moving again .. done a few more things this evening .. but now it's bedtime ..
As far as I can remember it's perhaps 29th May that the flat becomes vacant .. but then isn't it a Bank Holiday then ?? If so nothing will get done until the next week .. !!
Sigh .. I knew I had gone in the lounge to do something .. just reread my post .. flippin' 'eck .,. I was going to get stuck into a mound of shredding .. by the time I'd made a coffee and got sat down I couldn't remember what it was I was going to do .. heheheh .. watched Brokeback Mountain instead .. DOH!!!
Okay .. I'll do it tomnorrow ... or rather TODAY!! That is once Ive been down to the local tip and visited 'the elderly gent that I do online shopping for .. got to pick up my money .. !!
Ohh .. and I did get a man sorted out to do me a quote for the painting .. and a company to estimate the carpet and bring samples .. and contacted 3 removal copmpanies ... so I did get some things done .. even if I did forget about the shredding ..
paTOOOOOOtie....pssst......you're doing as much as TWO healthy people, did you realise that???
You're sorting out a lifetime's worth of stuff in your old house, organising carpets for your new house, shredding old papers, getting removal quotes, making trips to the tip, doing shopping for an elderly neighbour, despatching selected items to charity shops----all by yourself......It makes me tired just to LISTEN to you!
So it's a great relief to find you took refuge in a coffee and Brokeback Mountain (one of my favourite films)
)))))))))
Now, will you kindly quit beating yourself up for ONLY being able to do twice as much as anyone else, instead of the five times as much that you seem to expect of yourself?!?!?!?
You're doing GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My 'old' gent was really pleased with the set of weighing scales I had scoured the Internet to find for him .. or rather for his little dog who is in need of losing weight .. got a set of mechanical 'doctor' style weighing scales for under £10 .. they are big enough for his Yorkshire Terier to stand on .. got a 5 year guarantee .. and are nice and sturdy just in case my 'old' gent decides to weigh himself from time to time .. !
Did I say a while back I had found my 'old' gent a truly wonderful houseboat on the river right behind Kew Gardens .. he is having a holiday there in July .. with his daughter and his little dog .. it's a super houseboat .. recently refurbished, all mod cons, near to shops and eateries, private parking space (in London!), gardens and fishing from the houseboat observation deck ... and amazingly it's a LOT less than a river side place along the Norfolk Broads ..
Dunno quite why I told you that .. but I like to think I can help folks now and then .. get folks a lot more for their money than they would themselves .. gives you a nice warm feeling when you can see folks are pleased .. my 'old' gent laughed so much when his little dog stepped on the scales all by himself .. heheheh ... clapped his hands with glee just as a child would with a new toy .. I had a lump in my throat .. it makes you feel really happy doesn't it ...
Oh you are lovely Toots!
LOL at the thought of the doggy hopping onto the scales
Had a phone call from my 'old gent' about 15 minutes ago .. he'd left the scales on the lounge floor so his little dog could get used to them .. my 'old gent' came back from the kitchen with his cup of tea .. and to his delight his dog sat on the scales while waiting for his saucer of tea to be cooled for him ...
So now he will be able to weigh his little dog without any fuss .. just make a cup of tea .. leave the scales near his feet .. and with a bit of luck the dog will jump on all ready to beg for his saucer of tea ... £9.99 well spent if you ask me ..
Patootie, you really are THE BEST! I just love the way you help people, such a wonderful combination of the imaginative and the practical.
And I love the picture of the little dog who clearly thinks the scales are a special place meant for him
))))
No wonder your old gent is pleased: you've given them BOTH a treat!!
And yes, you are supposed to feel good when you make other people happy
)))))))))))
Well thank you ... but .. it's just normal behaviour surely .. I am helped by folks who can do things better than me .. and in return I can sometimes help them with things they find more difficult to do ..
All too often when you do something to help others you find you get something good happens in return .. it may not even come from the folks you helped .. it's the 'what goes round, comes round' philosophy .. I've always tried to be 'helpful' where I can .. you never know when you may need a bit of help in return ..
Well, I agree with the philosophy, Patootie. My dad always used to say that you never get to repay the people who did you a good turn, so you 'repay' them by doing it for someone else.
And I agree that often, when you do something nice for someone else, something nice comes back to you.
But I don't agree that it's 'just normal behaviour'! Most people mean well, but there aren't many who are as kind and thoughtful as you are!
Took my car down to the local tip today ... stacked to the roof with 'rubbish' ... strange feeling watching the nice 'strong lads' chucking out 24 years of hoarding .. but I felt a real sense of 'freedom' once my car was empty ...
I mean .. just because I was sent a freebie or a sample in the post .. for some reason I had felt obliged to keep it .. a whole rubbish bag of weird samples and 'try it sized' concoctions ... weirdest was the little sachets of organic grass ... supposed to give your insides a good cleaning out .. one sniff of the first sachet had me gagging so there was no way I would have ever been able to glug it down .. and the samples had been coming every 6 months or so for about 5 years ... I simply cannot believe I even kept them .. but now they are gone ... gone .. GONE ...
Getting my motivation back again
Oh well done, Patootie! I know EXACTLY what you mean about the little samples. Whenever you get something for free, throwing it away feels like throwing away money. Disrespectful. Sacreligious. Sinful! So I too have cupboards full of things I am unlikely to use, but feel guilty throwing away....what idiocy, isn't it?!? But YOU at least have the pleasure of making a clean sweep!
And it's good to know you're feeling a bit more upbeat. You deserve to! But moving house, especially after 24 years, is a big undertaking, emotionally AND practically, so don't kick yourself if you find it takes effort. Of course it does!
But in a month, when you're sitting in your lovely, light new house with so much more close at hand, you'll be so proud of yourself, and so glad you did it!!!!
Well now , today was just a wee bit WET and Windy !!
we clocked Dymock ( Glouc ) HM in 2.11, ( It was our 165 th HM together ) it's more undulating than i remember it being some 6 years ago - never mind, it was good,
very peaceful, rural, mainly country lanes, with the odd main road - just the birds twittering - it was uncomfortably wet though, I cannot remember the last time we ran a race like it - , though i'm physically tired it was good for my pschycological mental strategy
Though i felt Phillip's weight - there was to be NO surrender, at least not on a HM
i used a structure today of
2 miles gone and 11 to go
3 gone and 10 to go
4 gone and 9 to go, fully knowing it would reverse soon, on we went to
5 gone and 8 to go
6 gone and 7 to go,
7 gone and 6 to go, ok, we were turning and heading for home, albeit a fair way off
now things would be reversed
8 gone with 5 to go
9 gone with 4 to go
10 gone with just 3 to go
i missed 11 anyway
so, we plodded home past 12 and into victory
i had'nt used that tactics for quite a while early as 2 gone 11 to go-
but it was good, very refreshing, knowing we are still competative
so, there's another day over- we are happy - regardless of horrendous rain
we march on
The logistics part of my brain wonders ... how much heavier are clothes, shoes and racechair once wet ... how much extra effort does it require therefore to actually propel yourself and Philip along .. and does the wet road surface make running harder ...
Hehehh .. a lifetime of being interested in the logistics of F1 and other motor racing prompts me to think of these things .. OR ... maybe it's because I think like this that I have a lifelong love of F1 and all the technical challenges that race cars have
Anyway ,.. haven't yet been out to try and load up the old TV .. because it's been flippin' POURING with rain ALL day ..
the TV is roughly a 22" cube and very heavy ... but I think I have finally fathomed out how to get it into my car without doing myself an injury .. I have an electronic hoist that lifts my disability scooter in and out the car ... and I think if I use the cargo netting jobbie I have .. in a similar way that they use nets for loading and unloading ships .. I can stand the TV on the cargo netting .. scoop up the four corners and thrust the netting over the electronic hoist arm ... then I can let the hoist drag the TV into the back of my car for me .. fingers crossed !
Maybe tomorrow if the rain stops ..
Hi Patootie, I am glad you preparations for your move are still moving ahead. We had a great big clear out of our flat last weekend. It was amazing how much we had - about 6 sacks for charity and 4 for rubbish. We were totally ruthless and now everything fits in the cupboards again
It is a wonderful feeling - I feel physically lighter, clutter definitely stresses me and now I feel much better.
Did you watch the Monaco Grand Prix today? It was very exciting - and the right result of course!! Good luck with the TV move, don't overdo it though, if the hoist plan doesn't work then look for some more "nice strong lads" to help.
Just managed to find a 'window of opportunity' this afternoon to get half a dozen bags of assorted 'rubbish' out ready for the bin men in the morning .. along with 3 bags of shredded paper for the recycling ..
All my food cupboards are practically bare now .. fridge freezer almost empty .. just a few bags of veggies left .. so this coming week I will be eating steamed veggies with rice or pasta .. not much else left in the cupbaords now ..
Didn't get a chance to try out my TV idea .. rain didn't stop long enough for me to attempt it .. if it's not raining in the morning .. I might just try and get it up to the car park and then ask the nice bin men if they will lift it into my car for me .. that's if I get up in time of course ..
You're doing brilliantly Patootie,
Just imagine your lovely spacious clutter-free new home!
I had to go out and run the BUPA 10,000 in that lovely weather yesterday. 30 minutes waiting at the start in pouring rain and gusting wind. You had to laugh though. I got a PB by about 3 minutes so I'm pleased I did it.
When I took my kit out of the washing machine it was dryer than when it went in!
It's FRIDAY !! Friday !! Friday !! Friday !! Friday !! Friday !! Friday !! Friday !! Friday !! Friday !!
Great news!
Yesterday I went out for the 6 miler I've already put off. Interesting run as I had to do a few diversions round swamps, but I ended up doing it fast (for me!) and strong, so feeling really good about it.
Got an interview for a job tomorrow which might help a few of my problems if it works out.
WOOHOOO!! GO PATOOTIE!!!
Gee, that means that in just a few days you'll actually be moving in!
I tell you what, girl, when you decide to change your life you don't mess about, do you?!??
Oh, and best of luck with the interview, Rowan---fingers crossed for you!!
And Mick, what a really stellar performance, even for you! As Patootie says, the rain must have added materially to the weight of everything you were both wearing, quite apart from the (dis)comfort factor, so it was truly a magnificent achievement!!!!!
Good luck with the job interview Rowan
And well done Screamapillar .. 3 minutes is a lot .. 180 seconds .. there's one heck of a lot of metres covered in that time .. try measuring it out .. and then you can physically see just how much 'faster' you were ..
Time doesn't mean much to me .. but distance is all .. when I used to run around I would work out how much further I could have gone if I had done it in the 'old' time .. it's amazing how much more you do in just a few minutes .. knowing 'how far' encouraged me far more than lopping a minute or two off my time ..
Good luck Rowan.
That's great news Patootie, only 5 more wake ups and you can start moving in.
Sending positive thoughts to Rowan for the interview - hope it goes well
Ohh well done Rowan .. what a great job .. think of all the lovely places you'll be going to .. so many new areas to learn about and see things .. and all those lovely cats who'll be so grateful to see you .. get a bit of fuss .. a nice scratch behind the ear (the cats not you hahaha) .. when I had my dear old cats I would have loved to get a good cat sitter .. my dear old boy wouldn't tolerate going to a cattery .. the very first time (and last) we left him at a cattery he howled for a week .. when we went to fetch him I could actually hear him yelling for all his might 7 days on .. seems he had done it from day one .. we got to his pen and the very second he saw me he stopped .. leapt about 10 feet into my arms and clung on tight .. making little slobbery singing noises in my ear .. just seconds behind him was my female cat .. I had a cat in each arm, both clinging on with every single claw (I still have the little scars in my back) and there was no way they were going to let themselves be unhooked from me and get inside their travel cages .. so I had to hold them both the short (thankfully, as by now I was bleeding quite profusely down my back hehehe!) journey home .. they were both so stressed I had to have a week off work to calm them down again .. and to get my back sorted out ..
Sigh .. I do still miss them .. two very special, very devoted, very unique cats .. just the two of them born in the litter so they were true twins .. both very intuitive to each other .. even before one came home the other would get up and stand at the door waiting .. same thing with me .. every time I came home from anywhere they would be sat inside the door waiting .. the minute I woke up I would suddenly get two cats leaping onto the bed for an early morning fuss .. they were very strange in a lovely way .. they lived to 19 and 20 years old .. they both died on the same day at exactly the same hour 1 year apart .. it was like she was waiting for the day and exact hour .. then she just slipped away .. no doubt to join her brother somewhere on the 'Rainbow Bridge' ...
It was a rare privilege to be 'owned' by these two very beautiful and so unique cats ...
Oh Patootie, what a lovely story! Cats do have such tremendously individual characters, don't they? We have three at the moment, all directly or indirectly from the animal shelter. Truffles and Hershey (yup, if you think you discern a hint at family taste in the names you would be right!) came from the shelter. They told us they thought they were sisters, but we now doubt it.
Hershey was so terrified of everything that she spent the first 2 years shooting under Chuglet 2's bed if anyone else came into the room. But he's a lovely, very gentle, very cheerful lad, and over the years she has relaxed more and more until now she doesn't even wake up if I go in! She never strays far from him room, though.
Truffles is adventurous, to put it mildly: she disappeared for a week once, and in desperation we put up signs up to a mile away. A lady rang to say she had heard a cat up a tree, which might be ours; it was indeed a mile away, but we shot round, and the minute she heard Chuglet 3's voice (she's HIS cat) she began shouting to him in terror 'Get me down from here!' She was about 75 feet up in a high tree and couldn't get down. In the end the fire department had to come get her down, and as it was very wet they couldn't get the fire engine close enough til the next day, so by the time she came down she'd been 5 days without food or water. She refused to be physically separated from C3 for about a week.
Then there's Heineken (yup, another big hint there
)). We were told the cats had been spayed, but at a certain point we discovered that Truffie......wasn't. Heineken and her sister Biertje (an affectionate word for 'a beer' in Dutch) were born in C3's bed. Biertje was found a good home, but Heineken has stayed with us. She thinks C3 is a cross between her personal slave and God.....
Any chance you could have a cat in your new home? And am I right that at the end of this week you will be moving in????
Rowan: well done on the job! As Patootie says, you should see some lovely places, and you'll be doing a lot of good, too. People often don't feel safe going away these days, both as regards their homes and their animals, so you will give a lot of people peace of mind. And even though you will quite possibly have some things to do every day, most of them are things that you probably would do anyway wherever you were---eat, check the house is OK, pet animals, fed and walk them. And you should be able to fit in plenty of other things around that. Do let us know how it all goes!
No pets where I am going .. but that's ok .. I said after I'd finally lost my two cats that I wouldn't want any more .. they were simply too unique .. too perfect ... and in any case I'd be far too old if they live to such ripe old ages as my two did .. it simply wouldn't be fair .. I'd not be able to look after them properly when they are in their dotage and need the most help .. !
My home is now an obstacle course .. boxes, bags, packing everywhere .. a pile for the homeless charity .. a pile for rescue dogs .. a pile for the local rubbish tip .. ohh yes .. and look there is a small group of things I am actually taking with me ahahahahaha !!!
I'm pooped .. done in .. had it .. cream crackered .. but I've pretty much emptied all the kitchen cupboards this weekend .. so many things I will never use .. so many prize wins I thought I'd use and never have .. so many 'labour saving' gadgets that take twice as long to wash up as it does to use them .. OUT .. they have all been ousted .. I am determined NOT to take anything I don't actually need or haven't used for yonks .. the charities will benefit of course .. I always keep all the booklets and paperwork stuff .. so they can all be given away ..
I can't find anything anymore .. it's packed and I don't know where .. and I am practically camping out in my own home .. food cupboards are pretty much finished .. just a portion of porridge left .. and a few tins of oddments .. if I don't move soon I will have to move out into a B&B .. hahahaha
Sigh ... please, please let all the 'madness' be over with soon ... I am getting so far out of my 'fibro comfort' zone ...
You're doing GREAT, Patootie, and this IS the worst moment, when your old home is all packed up and thrown away and you only feel the uncomfortable dreg ends of leaving. My dad always used to say that leaving and going are the same thing, just seen from different ends; but while leaving is backward-looking, and hurts, going is forward-looking and exciting, so the trick is to get your farewells over with as fast as you can and start looking forward to your arriving.
So just think---is it right that this time next week you'll actually be IN your new home??? And won't it be lovely when you can UNpack things, and start to make a really comfortable, happy home for yourself in much more accommodating surroundings!
Then you really will be able to let go and just REST for a little while----although knowing you, it won't be long at all before you're determined to be up and at 'em, exploring your new neighbourhood for all you're worth!!
But in the meantime, it is tiring and disorienting, so here's a big hug:
((((((((((((((((PATOOTIE)))))))))))
awwww thank you for the hug .. I was at a bit of a low ebb last night ... although strangely not at leaving here .. in my mind I have already gone through all the 'leaving friends, familiar areas, neighbours' etc etc ... I had all those emotions weeks back before I took the plunge and decided to move ..
I have moved a lot in my life .. between 1969 and 1984 I moved 16 times .. and the only one of those places I ever regretted having to move away from was when we came home from Liberia, West Africa .. I desperately wanted to stay there .. although just as well I didn't as the mission home for Lepers (where I wanted to volunteer to work) was overun in a small virtually unreported local war (Leopard Society feud more like) a few years later .. all the nuns were brutally butchered and lepers 'done to death' as it was reported .. I would have been there with my kids .. shudder .. doesn't bear thinking about does it ..
The Leopard Society was a brutal cannibalistic society of males .. along with the Crocodile Society and Devil Society (I think there were more too) .. even as late as the 1990's Leopard Society atrocities were still cropping up now and then .. and because of the various local Leopard Society attacks no ladies or children were allowed to go anywhere .. 'away from the secured compound we lived in' .. without an armed guard .. shopping trips had to be planned days in advance .. and you always had the risk that a flash storm would wash away the jungle road we travelled 30 miles along first before hitting the tarmac for another 60 miles to get to Monrovia and civilisation hehehe ..
Living 30 miles deep into the forest and at the foothills of the Bong Range mountains on a rubber plantation was a wonderful expereince .. I can still see it all as clear as anything in my mind ..