Sunday 14 November 2021

Sunday

 Good morning, everyone.  I hope the weekend has gone really well for you so far.

Yesterday was a busy old day.  I left here good and early, when the street lights were still on, and headed over to Dad's.  John, G and N were already there, having arrived Friday midday, and had already made great inroads into the garage which, frankly, had been giving both John and me bad dreams.  There was such a huge load of clutter, old tools, gardening equipment and the shelves around the edge were filled with bottles of this, that and the other - weed killer, other chemicals, paint - you name it, it was there, some dating back decades.  There was probably enough to kill the whole town!
G sorted out the greenhouse and even gave it a good clean out, which was something I hadn't considered.  It looked an awful lot better afterwards.

Obviously, everything had to be disposed of properly, so they had already made several trips to the local dump on Friday where the staff were extremely helpful.  I think John said that all in all they took ten car-loads and there's more to do later, but not much.
Also, John had hired a big van and some of the contents were loaded into that so he and G can dispose of them through the scrap stores he manages up in the Borders.
As the three of them were already well into that, I headed off upstairs and pretty much finished clearing Dad's office (another nightmare) apart from the financial papers which we need to keep until it's all over although we're pretty sure no-one will be interested in tax and finance stuff dating back to the seventies!  I finished off by sorting out some other bedroom cupboards. 

There's still plenty to do but none of it is nightmare stuff now, we've broken the back of it all.  I came home with the remaining little cottages, a couple of walking sticks (no, not needed yet but you never know and these are really good ones), a couple of computer gizmos, a battered Travel Scrabble and enough Yahtzee cards to see me out!  I was particularly pleased with that last because I was thinking of ordering some as we all like a game or five of Yahtzee on Christmas Day.

To cap it all, the journey home was busy but fast and, amazingly, absolutely no hold-ups whatsoever at any traffic lights, roundabouts or junctions.  I've never known a drive back from Dad's like it.

Wasn't Strictly good last night.  I may very well have shed a tear (or several) during Rose and Gio's couples' choice dance.  How beautiful it was!

On to today and I will resume working though The List.  Beth has invited me over for lunch, which is lovely.  Should be a satisfying day.
Stay safe and warm. xx

16 comments:

  1. It sounds like an exhausting task, both mentally as well as physically. I hope you are finding some time to relax between visits. X

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    1. I really am, Jules. I'll probably go once more before Christmas, again, just for the day and John and co won't be coming down until after the New Year. The other three worked a lot harden than I did because they arrived midday Friday and - well, they should be on their way home again as I type.
      xx

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  2. I'm worn out just reading about it all. Glad that the hardest bit is behind you now.

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    1. We dreaded the office, the attic and the garage. They're all pretty much done now. By that, I mean the cupboards are pretty much empty and most of the stuff that needs chucking has been chucked apart from what's staying until after the house is sold.
      Emotionally, it is getting a lot easier.
      xx

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  3. Well done on the clearance, preys on your mind and keeps nagging worryingly all the time when there is something large to tackle, you know you have to but the heart is not in it, but boy does it feel soo good once it's done!

    For me, the couple's choice dance last night was the best ever!

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    1. Oh, it really does, Annabeth, it feels so good.

      I think it was - there was so much meaning, purpose and 'story' in it. Just fantastic. I wish it had received the highest mark. And wasn't Shirley lovely about it?
      xx

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  4. What a task I know exactly what you have had to go through, a lifetime of saved bits which might come in handy but never do. Disposing of them isn't easy. So well done

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    1. That's about it really. We did find a few treasures which was nice. xx
      xx

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  5. Having been through this myself I know how challenging this sort of task is both mentally and physically, so well done all of you on what you have achieved so far. I hope you have a lovely time with Beth and Alex today xx

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    1. I'm just home. Alex cooked dinner and it was delicious.
      xx

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  6. OMG, I LOL at your comment that there may have been enough chemicals in His garage to kill the whole town. I so understand that as both of my parents are hoarders. And I’ve cleaned out a house or two from other hoarders as well. It’s a big job. I’m glad you had some help with it.

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    1. It is a big job but I think we've pretty much done as much as we can right now, I think. Yes, there's a few more things but with office, attic and garage pretty much sorted, we're well down that road now.
      xx

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  7. I know just how stressful this can be, not just sorting through Mum's things and Jane's. I'm not even sure how long it will take us to sort through everything. It is just MIL and myself doing it and it's hard not to get discouraged as she too kept so much paperwork - some was even junk mail that hadn't been opened! There are boxes and boxes of it. Sigh.

    Hope you got some relaxing in!

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    1. Oh, Sharon, I feel for you. Until the last few months, Dad was very good with his paperwork, thankfully. I found some things just popped into a tray but not much rubbish, just hospital appointments, etc.
      Everything else was carefully stacked away in boxed, files, cases . . . phew!
      I suppose two lives well lived are going to have quite a papertrail, aren't they?
      xx

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  8. Glad that you are finally getting close to the end. I can only imagine how stressful this has been.

    God bless.

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    1. The end of this chapter anyway. I think the rest will be relatively simple (not easy, just simple - no hard decisions to make)
      Thanks, Jackie.
      xx

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