Here's a picture from the park across the street of where I used to live... you can see our Sepia coloured flats from there...
Not the worst spot in the world you might thing, but remember this is quiet a well looked after park (D and I spent a lot of time there over the years). I'm glad I don't have a close up shot of those blocks of flats though... awful they were, just awful (very dirty and unloved by the local community)!
Still as I say the park was always well kept and the flowers looked beautiful in bloom as we left.Ok... where to start... it seems like an age since we started packing... Ok, I know from moving day!
5:30am D got me up... man I'm not good in the mornings! So between the 3 of us, D, D's dad and little old tired me(!) we began to start moving boxes. About 8am we had a couple of friend's turn up to help us move the really heavy stuff, which was a big, big help... amazing the 'stuff' you gather in almost 13 years of living together... or the weight of that sofa we just 'had to have!' Fortunately the lift was working, so from fourth floor flat to van wasn't too bad.
Trip 1 to Devon (yes I did say trip number 1!), was rather fun... D's dad regaled us with stories on route... some things I'd not heard before... made the drive a bit more interesting. You can always rely on D's dad for that! When we got down to Devon, I picked up the keys and signed my life away (!), while mum turned up to put the kettle on for us. Bless her, I was grateful for her being there. We unpacked as quickly as we could so that D could get back on the road with his dad for trip number 2. Mum and I stayed put, carefully unloading and moving what we could get to.
By about 8pm the next night D and dad were back... and just as we'd cleared enough room for the place to look reasonably tidy, they unloaded a second batch of boxes. At this point I promptly burst into tears on mum's shoulder... 'How can there be this much more?' I think I'd been holding all of the stress of moving inside, because by the time a few family helpers turned up I was really quite ill... ('I'll never move again... I swear!', whimper, whimper!!). I'm not normally that bad, usually quiet organised and together (well, at least I think I am!), but what with D being away the week before already having started work in Devon... I guess I got a bit wound up dealing with the paperwork, packing and the day job. Maybe a little overtired too.
D and I then headed back to London on day 3, because we had to hand in the keys and take back the van... a one way drop tariff on the van was more than the diesel cost for another trip! I think by then we were both a bit exhausted, so we spent some time listing the things we really hated about living in a big city like London to make ourselves feel a bit better about Devon. Not that we really needed the list to concrete our new life choice... more of a fun poke at the things we really hope to get away from. You know what I mean... the cramped trains in rush hour, the unlicensed drivers who nearly cause you an accident, the sullen faced people who always seem to moan about queuing in the post office... usually when they are behind me with my bags of post (even if they are only there too claim their benefits!) Sorry guys... I didn't mean to cause you a delay... honestly! Tired and aching, we arrived home and avoided the unpacked boxes until the next day, promptly falling asleep.
Since then, it's been a case of getting Sara's Texture Crafts back up and running and taking a few trips into town (http://www.crediton.co.uk/).
5:30am D got me up... man I'm not good in the mornings! So between the 3 of us, D, D's dad and little old tired me(!) we began to start moving boxes. About 8am we had a couple of friend's turn up to help us move the really heavy stuff, which was a big, big help... amazing the 'stuff' you gather in almost 13 years of living together... or the weight of that sofa we just 'had to have!' Fortunately the lift was working, so from fourth floor flat to van wasn't too bad.
Trip 1 to Devon (yes I did say trip number 1!), was rather fun... D's dad regaled us with stories on route... some things I'd not heard before... made the drive a bit more interesting. You can always rely on D's dad for that! When we got down to Devon, I picked up the keys and signed my life away (!), while mum turned up to put the kettle on for us. Bless her, I was grateful for her being there. We unpacked as quickly as we could so that D could get back on the road with his dad for trip number 2. Mum and I stayed put, carefully unloading and moving what we could get to.
By about 8pm the next night D and dad were back... and just as we'd cleared enough room for the place to look reasonably tidy, they unloaded a second batch of boxes. At this point I promptly burst into tears on mum's shoulder... 'How can there be this much more?' I think I'd been holding all of the stress of moving inside, because by the time a few family helpers turned up I was really quite ill... ('I'll never move again... I swear!', whimper, whimper!!). I'm not normally that bad, usually quiet organised and together (well, at least I think I am!), but what with D being away the week before already having started work in Devon... I guess I got a bit wound up dealing with the paperwork, packing and the day job. Maybe a little overtired too.
D and I then headed back to London on day 3, because we had to hand in the keys and take back the van... a one way drop tariff on the van was more than the diesel cost for another trip! I think by then we were both a bit exhausted, so we spent some time listing the things we really hated about living in a big city like London to make ourselves feel a bit better about Devon. Not that we really needed the list to concrete our new life choice... more of a fun poke at the things we really hope to get away from. You know what I mean... the cramped trains in rush hour, the unlicensed drivers who nearly cause you an accident, the sullen faced people who always seem to moan about queuing in the post office... usually when they are behind me with my bags of post (even if they are only there too claim their benefits!) Sorry guys... I didn't mean to cause you a delay... honestly! Tired and aching, we arrived home and avoided the unpacked boxes until the next day, promptly falling asleep.
Since then, it's been a case of getting Sara's Texture Crafts back up and running and taking a few trips into town (http://www.crediton.co.uk/).
All in all, it wasn't too bad... a lot of hard work, but we're in now... just unpacking the last few things before I get my hands on that small patch of dirt I'm calling a garden out the back.
I've noticed a real difference in me already... like a weight has been lifted. From the new place you can hear the Church bells and see the steeple from my bathroom.
I've noticed a real difference in me already... like a weight has been lifted. From the new place you can hear the Church bells and see the steeple from my bathroom.
I even see fields of green on my way home from the post office...
And the vicar says 'Morning' to me every time he passes me in the street! No sullen faces in the post office, in fact people smile (!), our family is close by and I'm back on-line chatting to all of my friends with a new found passion for getting things done. I'm invigorated with a new lease of life... still shattered, granted, but enthused my friends, enthused!I won't be back to regular blogging just yet, as I have lots of things to catch up on and a whole list of new things I want to start... but do pop back, as I will write when I can. Until, then I'd just like to thank everyone for their support and warm wishes for us during our move... we really appreciated your words and love you all for keeping us smiling!
