Saturday, April 20, 2013

That was the week that was....

exciting, nerve wracking and busy!
Busy, because I am still in the throes of decluttering, brutally tossing out things that have accumulated like debris on a beach after a major shipwreck.
I have to search back into the memory banks to figure out when I decided that two complete sets of Blue Willow china, enough to cater for 16, became necessary. In future, to hell with the environment I say, if I ever have 16 people cluttering up my new much smaller place I will use paper plates! ( hope my friends will excuse my little outburst about the environment, I will recycle the plates).
After a visit from the local "antiquarian" my cupboards are a little like Mother Hubbard's but alas my purse is not much heavier. Nevertheless, it is a relief to unburden oneself of too many things, there is a definite spring to my step as I toss yet another accumulation of shredded paper into the recycle bin.
Nerve wracking because we have made an offer on an apartment and been accepted and pending paperwork we are committed to living in a very small two bedroom apartment until the local nursing home or undertaker gets first pick! The trade off in space will, I hope be compensated for by the view from the large deck where I plan to spend every  clement moment watching the passing parade of ships and people.

This is the view, courtesy of the Real Estate agent's brochure, from the deck. Newcastle harbour is very much a working harbour and is busy with large cargo ships, tugs and on the weekend pleasure craft. The view of the wheat silos and loading facility is especially dear to the Prof's heart, he being a plant geneticist involved with the wheat industry for most of his working life.
So I am trading this,
For the above and hope I don't live to regret it!

Saturday, April 6, 2013

A bit of this and a bit of that and a whole lot of mess!

A fairly long break from blogging but I have not been idle.
Itchy feet ( ?) a change in health and the need to declutter have kept me busy. Almost fifty years of married life and I am horrified by the amount of 'stuff' we have accumulated. This is notwithstanding several major moves and previous attempts at clearing out our possessions.
What is exercising my mind at the moment is how to dispose of the many non valuable but sentimental items that I have inherited. I am sure  that neither of my children will want them, certainly the grandchildren will not but they do not fit into my contemplated future. Does one bite the bullet and cast them adrift or leave it to the next generation to do that? All of these things have become quite burdensome and one feels guilty to even think of giving them away. I am constantly reminded of that awful song by the very naughty Barry Humphries,'The Night We Burnt My Mother's Things".
We are currently searching for an apartment, with a view, to compensate for the loss of the garden. Believing as I do that I am quite an adaptable person I am sure nonetheless that I will have a balcony stuffed with plants as I go through the process of grieving for the garden. The Prof is completely oblivious of his surroundings and as long as there is a cup of tea and access to sports on cable TV he will be happy. You may wonder why we are thinking of the move but I have seen too many older friends sitting in a big house as the wind whistles through the deserted bedrooms and watching it slowly deteriorate around them. Better to jump than be pushed I say!
The changes may be in the medium to longer term as we hunt for the perfect place but in the meanwhile it is sooo good to toss things out!
A couple of etegami fitted in between slashing and shredding this week.


The Dog is a stamp and I tried many captions but I like this one best as it suits my present mood.