No matter how you look at it, moving is one heck of a challenge.
When I moved in with Ben in 2008, I was convinced it was the very last time I would be moving house. Where we live is a such a lovely place, I had no desire to live anywhere else.
So when Hazel died suddenly, neither Ben nor I were prepared. You can read more about the aftermath in this post: The hardest thing I’ve ever had to write ‘Mum has gone’
Suddenly, there was so much to do. The funeral alone was an event (as I am sure so many of you already know) and thankfully, it was a fitting goodbye, but oh-boy! it was a lot.
So what comes next? Grief comes as and when it wants, and it doesn't just automatically dissipate after your loved one has been laid to rest. We were still breathing, still waking up everyday, and now, we had to figure out what to do with the two cottages and all of Hazel's things.
Ben and his brother Dan have been in close contact, and between them, they decided that the smaller cottage now belongs to Dan, and that we would move into the bigger cottage that used to belong to Hazel. After some thought, we settled on September, and now The Big Move is underway.
So many decisions! What goes where? What to keep? What to let go of? My mind was reeling...
Okay, okay, I know we are only moving to the cottage next door, but the thing is, it's not quite the same as moving into a new home that is empty, and waiting for it's new owners to fill it up. No, we needed to gird our loins and prepare to do battle with...The Hoard (and yes, pun intended)
Unfortunately, Hazel was a hoarder. She. Kept. Everything. It seems that this is a trend with people from a certain generation, everything is kept in case 1. It's important or 2. You might need it one day
So to begin. We started slow, as sometimes a normal day is a challenge when you are disabled. Adding a complete house clear out PLUS a house move to this, aaand, it makes for a lot of work. Luckily for me, I have a Benjamin!
He single-handedly moved our behemoth of a sofa, and with a bit of help from me - and a wheelbarrow - managed to get this moved from one cottage into the other. Then, he reconnected all of our devices so that I can sit here tonight, and let you know why we've been so quiet.
There's still a lot to do, but the long and short of it is - we're in! Even the cat has his own door - yay!
So we will continue to tidy, organise and recycle, getting used to our new surroundings a little more everyday.
And when you have this outside your living room window, what's not to like?
And don't worry, we are getting back to cars - starting with a journey this weekend to Silverstone Festival in a fancy new Honda. Road Trip - Yay.
Thank you all, and enjoy!
Annabelle :)