Chuck it out throw it out!

Been a bit busy with the old skip this weekend end just gone! Pictures of the end result will follow in a few days!

Pictures from the Eden Project

We had a wonderful time and the plants took our breath away.

April Fools Day 2007

A Man Happy in his work!

Well we have made progress and no this is not an April Fools Day Prank!lol Even though OH has managed to do some serious damage to two of his fingers at work ( it truly looks really really sore!) he has done some excellent work in the En suite - and we (that is the royal we you understand!) have nearly done 3/4 of the tiling that needs to be done!

What happened to the weekend then?

Blimey can't believe that it is Monday already! I realise we lost a whole hour with the clocks moving forward but honestly!lol

Been working from home today, so nothing much to report really, OH has had his car returned today from the garage all serviced etc including the work that had to be done on its wheel arches and wing mirror.....hmmm he managed to damage them reversing into the garage - god know how its not like he hadnt reversed into that space a million times before...oh well maybe the £1000 might make him pay more attention!

And I found out that an old insurance policy has matured! yipeee

The ensuite

The latest project to be started!

The Kitchen

All the kitchen worktops have been replaced, and so has the sink, the kitchen just needs a lick of paint and a declutter and its done!

The Master Bedroom

We have nearly finished this - just the last few little things really to be done in here, like carpet and accessories.

The Main bathroom

The main bathroom is the only room that is completely done!

The Garden

We have hardly touched the garden up until last week when we got a great tree chopper (Tree Doctor) in and he lopped all the fir trees at the back by about 8 ft , removed two from the front and lopped about 4 ft off the side ones!

The Hallway

The hallway is nearly finished just a few paint touch ups some light shades and new carpet and its good to go - however it is being taken over by things that are from different rooms while they are being attacked!

The back Patio

The dumping ground/back patio! hard to believe that we once used to sit out here in the evening to enjoy a bbq and a drink!

The pile of decorating stuff

Here is the pile of decorating 'stuff' that is currently taking up the back bedroom!

Where does all the time go!

I have decided that this blog will be dedicated to the big MOVE and that I will create another site for my crafting - as it was getting to confusing for me ...it doesnt take much!

So if you are interested in seeing how things are going in the world of decorating a complete house and where we are in the process of moving to Canada then this is the place to go but if you want to see what I have been up to with my craft then please go http://montysmumscraftretreat.blogspot.com/

You are of course welcome at both!

I will be uploading pictures here of the house as it progresses good and bad!

love and best wishes

Oops Sorry its been so long....

I cant believe that I have been so remiss in updating my blog! anyway things are moving on a pace with getting the house ready for the big move, the fir trees have been lopped and we actually got 2 removed, its amazing what a difference it has made. The bedroom is on the near side of being finished and then the ensuite is next on the list, we have all the tiles etc for that so hopefully it should be done quite quickly.

Been doing a bit of crafting including making some cards and a Easter Egg Box!

Where has it gone......

I have completely lost my get up and go today? its just well left, completely unannounced! So I haven't done a whole lot ...ummm me thinks I am going to pay for that tomorrow!

Well we managed to get the bedroom walls all lined and the ceiling all painted so a couple of little jobs to do and then we can paint it and move on to the next room!

I have loads of cards that I have to make as well as March is just well a complete hullabaloo...birthdays weddings anniversaries St Patrick's Day Retreat Monthly cards etc etc the list is just on going.....and I have not made a very good start.....the two wedding ones need to be where they need to be by Friday, one of the birthday cards needs to in Ireland by Friday (oops!) and then it just carries on from there - its very inconsiderate of these people I mean honestly a bit more forethought and spread these things out a little would have been nice!!lol

Contact with Friends!

Today has been a strange day but one that I will remember for a long time!

It didn't get off to a good start this morning when my porridge ended up looking like a school room science project that went wrong in the microwave....note to self reduce time for heating porridge. But within minutes I had received an email from a friend I had lost contact with about 2 years ago, and we had only just got back into contact after about 8 years! I found her the first time and she found me the second so hopefully we wont lose each other again! So much to tell someone who you hold dearly in your heart and email is a wonderful thing but its hard to put into words feelings and emotions that you can felt.....and 2 years of gossip is a long time for us girls to catch up on .....but now that we have found each other we get to get to know each other all over again which will be fab! and I also got the chance today to speak to one of my cyber friends for the first time and it was like speaking to an old buddy which she is, a buddy not old! Strange how you hear people talk in your head when you read messages either through email or msn and they sound totally different in real life? but again it was lovely to speak to her and now I have a face and voice to put together when we next chat!

On the home front I tackled the back bedroom and now it looks like a bedroom once again rather then the bombsite/dumping ground for everything else in the house that didn't have a home whilst we decorate......I was in a 'if it doesn't have a home and its in the way its going to the tip' and so a car load of stuff was taken to the tip - where one of the workers helped herself to most of it - just glad its going to a good home! and its not in mine.......OH wanted to know why I had taken the small TV .....umm it hasn't had a plug on it for 5 years at least why would we want to keep it ....he wanted to see if he could get it to work again....why oh why oh why.......this thing is circa 1980! any way its gone now!

All things being equal looks like the main bedroom is being done this weekend! and then on to the en suite, then the office, then the kitchen then the lounge, then the..........we have a fair way to go really.....

Todays Ramblings.......

Well as I look out of the window today its starting to rain - but I can see cherry blossom, crocus's and snow drops and its the 2oth of Feb, the weather has gone mad!

Well he managed to finish stripping the wallpaper last night in the bedroom, we took delivery of the replacement hose for the steamer and we were back in action, so looks like we are on for papering and painting the bedroom this weekend...which reminds me I need to measure the windows to get curtain rails and curtains..........oh goody shopping!

Still no news about our permanent residence application - so full steam ahead with work on the house for the work permit stage!

Oh the joys have having a cold! he had man flu last week but as I got it on Tuesday it was down graded to the common cold! so needless to say I got zilch sympathy and had to get with things! Which meant going into London - Liverpool Street on Thursday and then out to Broxbourne on Friday...come Saturday morning I was not human!

But we soldier on and I had a bath on Saturday that seems to have kicked it all into touch - ah me and my bath....don't know how people survive without them, don't get me wrong I love showers when I get up in the morning but there is something almost spiritual about a bath when the house is empty, the phone is unplugged and you have a glass of wine or a drink of choice and a good book! oh and plenty of hot water to top the bath up......bliss

I managed to fit in a couple of hours crafting this afternoon has been fun! and I got some great inspiration off http://www.craftsbycarolyn.co.uk/phpBB2/index.php I suffer from having to much choice so its great to be told you can only use this format and off you go......the results are on the side

Looks like I am going to be in central London on Thursday oh the joy of it! NOT As a country girl the thought of the noise smells and general rustle and bustle of London just doesn't appeal....but hey each to their own.

I received some of my recent purchases today but I am being good and leaving them until I have finished work....can you see the halo glowing brightly!

The plan of attack is for our bedroom to be finished this weekend...and then we head into the office territory and that's well it all gets complicated! things need to be moved but still need to be accessible, and things need to be packed that aren't needed now but we still need to keep...............oh the joys of moving!

The ironing pile also known as Everest is leering at me as well, how can so few make so much ironing?? OK yes mum I know its my own fault 'cause I wont wear anything twice but honestly!

I have to make the OH a valentines card today so I will post a picture later.

Monday 12 February

Well we finally got our heating back on Friday evening! and a full refund from the charlatans that were supposed to fix it, wouldn't mind but we had 3 inches of snow and no heating.....that was not fun!

Once I had attacked the housework on Sunday I managed to sit down and make some cards, and I have also added a picture of one I made for my mum a few weeks back!

Hopefully now that our focus is no longer on trying to keep warm we will get on a do some more of the decorating that we need to do!

I have a list of jobs that is as long as my arm and I don't seem to be doing anything but adding to them at the moment!

What a weekend.............................

Friday night I spent with OH in the bedroom spotting the bits he has missed when he was painting etc, we got up Saturday morning, I took the dog out for a walk and came back to grumblings.....all was not well in our little world.

It turned out that the boiler had packed up ...its 2 years old! so he spent 1 and 1/2 hours on the phone to various people including the people we were insured with to find out that they had in fact not taken our direct debit (its Yearly) and we were not cover (read NOT VERY HAPPY) anyway they wouldn't come out, then we phone a couple of people that we had be recommended but no joy, then we phoned British Gas 24/7 all year round who only come out Monday to Friday !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and then we got hold of someone at about 4.30 on Saturday night who couldn't get us anyone until the next day but they guaranteed next day call out....OK we can cope with this - its the coldest night of the year we have no heating/hot water........next morning phone call from the subcontractor we can come out tomorrow .....ummm no we were told today, yep you guessed it they had not passed the call through to the subcontractor until Sunday morning and therefore the subcontractor would not come out until Monday..................except I was out..........but I managed to get back at 3.00 for them to call out - we even told them what was wrong, but did they have the part NO....do I have heating NO the earliest it is going to be fixed is Wednesday.......................aahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Anyway we wont let a little thing like freezing our bottoms off get in our way and we managed to move all the wardrobes over to the other wall and sort out the bed on Sunday.......

except now to the cold we have sleep deprivation and we are on the wrong sides of the bed and it feels like a hotel room at the moment all be it a half decorated, no curtains no radiator type one.

We are in the process of getting the house ready for the big move - oh doesn't that sound so easy......what we are actually doing is going through the house room by room stripping it bare of any wallpaper, carpet, furniture, pictures, ceiling artex........and starting all over again!

But before that can be done everything has to be go through a process of ....is it coming with us, is it being given to someone, is it going to the charity shop or is it going to the tip................this is a complete nightmare, you have to be realistic, you have to remove all or most emotion from you being, yes you have have had it for 10 years, but do you actually have it for a reason? is there a memory attached to it? does it actually mean anything to you? could you live without it?

You would be amazed at how much junk, rubbish and useless items two people over a period of time can accumulate and hoard..............and it is shocking how much new stuff or hardly used stuff gets pushed to the back never to see the light of day when something else comes along!

I have done 2 of what for me are the hardest things, I have done my wardrobe and I have done my craft goodies! The wardrobe clear out was I have to say cathartic in a way, 4 full bin bags of clothes, one of shoes and one of bags was taken to the charity shop, and if I am honest that was the first serious sweep I will go through them again and I am sure I can get another bin bag or two out of them!lol

I had a moment of clarity when I did my shoes - it was odd to say the least but I looked at my shoes in a practical way............do I wear them? only two available answers there Yes or No the No's went straight into a black bin bag, then the next question to those remaining was Do they hurt my feet when I wear them? now this was difficult one because there are different levels of pain and some degrees of pain are acceptable based on the look of the shoe! so this question was not as good a reducer of the pile as the first question but we got some shoes out (what you mean I should have kept those wooden soled shoes that made me look and feel like I was about to keel over at any given moment?) and then the dreaded final question Do they go with anything that you still have remaining in your wardrobe...........this was the clincher and it got rid of a fair few...........and now I am left with oh I don't know maybe 25 pairs (oops!).

Then the craft room was on my radar, oh where was I going to start, how could I possibly get rid of any of my well loved highly priced goodies, but I had to do what I had to do............the first casualty was my cross stitch magazines.........keep in mine that for over 6 years I collected approximately 6 to 8 publications or some where quarterly rather then monthly but 4 at least were monthly so that was 288mags just for those 4, 40 for the quarterly ones and at least 50 odds and sods that I had picked up on the way.....so give or take a few about 400! and I went through them all and picked out the ones that had any designs that I was every going to stitch....lets just say that I ended up with about 25 magazines and the rest were taken to charity oh I did give a few say about 30 to a friend.

The next step was my paper craft stuff, boxes and boxes of the stuff and each one of them had to be gone through and sorted, I sent a big box to my mum who has just started crafting, and then 6 boxes and an envelope to some very good friends, ebay'd a few bits and bobs and did the horrible question Do you even like this? which got rid of some of my earlier purchases! I bought some more storage and it helped reduce the over all look of my collection! Not to traumatic on the throwing away front but one the organisational one it was a nightmare!

In the crafting vain the final step was all my card making magazines and there must have been about 400 of those as well, I went threw each of those and pulled out what I wanted and that wasn't much and the rest went to be recycled - as the charity shops round here didn't want them!

And where are we now - well yesterday morning I went through all my lotions potions and makeup and got rid of anything that was a least a year and bit old - which was more then 75% of it and that is all nice organised and pretty now! and in the afternoon I cleared all the stuff from under the bed - the shame of the amount of dust is unbelievable and I am houseproud....but its gone now so I feel better! All the stuff that belonged to me has been sorted the other stuff is his and he and I will do that together - god forbid that I accidentally throw something away that he wants to keep...actually that might be a good idea!

So today I am not doing any sorting I am cleaning the house ready for tomorrows assault of decorating and sanding etc etc etc..................and then the office needs to be done..................