Tag: blinds

Blah de blah

I’ve been a bit slack with my posts recently. It’s been busy, here’s a brief update as to what’s been going on this month so far.

It’s late February and I’m conscious that I haven’t posted anything this month, and that does play slightly on my OCD, as I like to see each month ticked off on the archive page.

It’s a me thing really, it frustrates me that I haven’t been posting regularly recently, but there have been a few things that have kept me occupied elsewhere, probably too boring to write about, but in the interest of maintaining a monthly contribution to my archive, I’m going to tell you what’s been going on anyway.

Feel free to move on at this stage, if you have more important things to do such as washing your hair or counting the hair follicles on your other half’s head.

The overriding elephant in the room here has been the aftermath of the house move. We’ve only moved about 12 miles out into a more rural area, away from the noise and pollution of the city of Leicester, the difference in noise and pollution is instantly noticeable in that we can sleep uninterrupted by wailing sirens, boy racers and inconsiderate road users, my intake of asthma stopping medications has reduced considerably, and occasionally we have to speak up just to check that our ears are still working as the noise levels are almost zero. It’s lovely.

So for what has been the last three weeks now we have been unpacking immense quantities of cardboard boxes and realising we didn’t pack as well as we could. We’ve found a lot of stuff that we have been looking for, stashed away in boxes that they shouldn’t have been in, for example a box of biscuit crackers in with the bedding of bedroom number two, obviously just thrown in at the last moment to occupy a space. We’ve now found most of what we require and are now only left with a number of suitcases of clothing awaiting new storage.

So much cardboard

We are fortunate to have a garage as extra storage and this has been where the mass of cardboard is stored. It’s taken to the local tip for recycling, and when I breathe a sigh of relief that I now have my garage space back and available, another batch of boxes arrives and I lose the storage space again. At the moment it seems like a never ending cycle, but I know we have broken the back of it all and the recycling visits are starting to dwindle and hopefully before long they will stop completely. Fingers crossed 🤞

It’s a new house so fortunately decorating is not something we have to worry about just yet, thank heavens.

My workspace, that the wife has kindly allocated me, is situated within the second bedroom and is more than sufficient for my needs. However as the priority is getting the rest of the house up to the required standards of the foreperson (My Wife) unfortunately my area has to take a step back for the moment, and I doubt it will be anytime real soon where I am in a place to resume my hobbies and interests. Although I am still purchasing items to repair, I now have in excess of 21 projects in draft that need attending to.

A snippet of some of the projects still in draft

In our old house we had quite a bit of furniture that we had to downsize on. A lot of these items went to charities, and earlier last week the last piece of furniture, a 3 seat sofa had to be transported to the south coast, Ramsgate, in Kent to my niece. The wife and I decided we would take this our self and use it as an excuse to get away for a few days to see the family.

Sofa loaded into a people carrier

We hired a suitable vehicle, loaded it up and then hit the road for the 4 hr drive down to Kent.

Sofa, in place in my nieces house, with the wife posing behind

The journey was a success and the sofa is in place being used at my nieces house in Ramsgate. Whilst here I couldn’t resist going along to the Hornby/Scalextric/ Airfix museum in Margate (The wonder works) to relive some of my childhood memories.

The Wonder works – Margate

Another 4hr trip back to the East Midlands as we had some wardrobes being delivered from that large Swedish furniture company that needed construction (And yet more Cardboard 🤦‍♂️)

Wardrobes built and installed.

Then we had another six boxes of blinds arrive, the garage is now overflowing with cardboard once again.

Blinds now in place

It’s fair to say that we are almost there and settled now. Just a few bags to find homes for and then maybe I may be able to get my space finally finished and ready to use, and get all my gear out of storage a couple of miles away.

On top of this my shift pattern has changed at work meaning now that I am on continuous 12 hr shifts. It’s long days and nights, but I do get to spend more time at home now due to the way the new system works, believe it or not.

So that’s what I’ve been up to, pretty much for the last three weeks, and hopefully a somewhat normal return to service will occur as soon as the demands of the house and my wife, bless her, start to dwindle and normal day to day living returns to our household.

Stay safe, and may peace and comfort be with you all.

Thanks for passing by. It’s very much appreciated.

Journal – Post six

This is a long post and for that I apologise, it will encompass the whole of the six day visit “dahn sarf” we have made to spend time with a dear friend.

We arrived in Sunbury on Friday, and made our way straight to my wife’s friend’s house. a cup of tea and some small cakes as predicted and all was going well. We then had to take her for a medical appointment where my wife was her chaperone whilst I browsed the shops in the high street and ventured into what i suspect is the most expensive cafe in town. If I’d looked at the clientele as I entered or at the number of expensive handbags behind the counter belonging to the staff I’d have had an idea that this was going to cost me. £7.30 for an average Latte later I felt suitably robbed and assaulted, lesson learnt.

Today I fixed the toilet that wasn’t filling correctly and checked a coffee machine that wasn’t drawing water at all, surveyed some blinds that are beyond repair and made plans to get these replaced. Ordered a new cord for a pull light and then went into town to get us all a nice evening meal. We didn’t actually get into our hotel until 21:30 despite arriving here at about 13:00 hrs, whilst quickly booking in to get our keys when they were both at the medical appointment. Tomorrow I think I’m putting in a new shower rail and spray attachment and a few other little jobs that need doing. I’ll list them as the trip progresses. At the hotel we finished the evening with a nice pint and a prosecco whilst sitting in a quaint lounge listening to some nice old music from years gone by. It was a lovely wind down to a hectic first day.

Day two:

Well, the shower is fixed, but our dear friend is suffering. I had been warned by my wife that she is not the person we used to know, that she was suffering psychologically but I refused to believe it. 24hrs later and I am shocked, worried for her and genuinely upset at what I am seeing, our friend is changing in front of our very eyes. All along my wife has been at her side throughout and has been her comfort, she’s just so good at what she can do, and today that’s pretty much been everything. We’ve eaten well and she has been with us for every meal so we can see she is at least eating. It’s been an awful day to be honest, everything just pales into insignificance and it is horrible to leave her when we go back to our hotel.

Day three:

Today I’ve fixed the coffee machine, cleaned and refilled a water feature and changed the filters, all looks lovely. We’ve kept our friend busy today and occupied, shredding years of no longer needed paperwork and it’s been nice to see a glimpse of how we remember her. I’m sure her illness centres on loneliness and boredom. A lovely fish and chip supper and all seems well.

Day four:

The town of Weybridge in Surrey where we are currently residing is high brow beyond belief. We are talking charity shops that have Jimmy Choo shoes, Chanel handbags and Prada clothing, it’s another world. Charity shops here smell of expensive perfume not the dank smell of second hand and old jumble sales that you experience elsewhere.

What’s annoying is when you pop into the local Waitrose to buy some water and cakes and you are followed around by security staff. Anyway, the wife took the security guard to one side along with the manager and told them what she thought of them and how they made us feel, they don’t call her the Rottweiler for nothing. I think we’ll pop back in there tomorrow so she can growl at them again.

This area is just so…. Snooty, I’m bloody glad I moved out of the London area and now live amongst the decent, friendly non judgemental people of the East Midlands. This is the first time I’ve really witnessed the class thing, I must have witnessed it when I lived in the area but was never really that aware of it, maybe I was an inverted snob, and I’ve had to move away to realise it. It stinks, and I’m glad I’m away from it now. I don’t like it and it’s not necessary. It costs nothing to smile and be friendly and courteous, but the good folk of Weybridge don’t seem to be capable of basic niceties. No wonder modern society has issues when we still have Dickensian attitudes amongst us.

LOROS our local hospice

Anyway rant over I’ve taken an elderly lady for a wig fitting at one of the film studios, that was an experience, i’ve shredded a further mountain of old paperwork and have also taken some rubbish to the local tip. We’ve been gifted a stack of good items that we will be bringing home for our local hospice in Leicester (LOROS), they will appreciate this and it will raise some well needed funds for them, let’s say we are doing a bit of a Robin Hood and taking from the rich to give to the needy.

Day five:

Has started with a return to the shop above for some pastries, all seems well today and we were left to shop in peace. Here’s hoping it was a one off. We’ve take our friend to an appointment today and she is exceptionally nervous and anxious. Our visit this week has been building up to this and we are both mentally drained as a result of the amount of talking and reassurance we have had to give. But you know what? We are fine with this as our friend is in great need and it the least we can do. There will be plenty of time to rest when she is better. The important thing is to ensure she gets the help she requires before we head back north. And that is the difficult part.

And our appointment was semi successful but we have a way to go just yet. Baby steps as they say, there is a dim light at the end of a very long tunnel. We will get her there. Today I told my wife how proud I am of her, I don’t say it enough. The way she has dealt with every issue that has been thrown at her this week has been amazing. Just watching her has been a privilege and a pleasure. She truly is an amazing human being, and I am just so proud of her.

Day six:

We’re heading home later today and overall it’s been a semi successful trip, we still have a very unwell friend here, but we’ve set the wheels in motion and only time will tell. We’ve put things in place that should comfort and assist, and a care plan has been drawn up. I won’t say that it’s been a holiday, far from it, but it’s been nice to visit and help someone and that’s what is important. My wife continues to impress me with her ability to handle these awkward and sometimes concerning situations, but I guess that’s just her training and knowledge from dealing with such situations in the past. I am very proud of her.

I guess we will be heading back sometime around 2 pm so that we don’t hit the rush hour in all the big towns we pass through, I have a day off tomorrow when I will take all we have gathered here to the local hospice in Leicester, and then I’m back into work throughout the weekend and beyond. Hopefully my postings from now onwards will be a little more concise and less lengthy.

Stay safe, be happy.