Downsizing.....

I am amazed at the stuff I have accumulated over the years.
Going through drawers I almost had hysterics and foamed at the mouth!
One drawer had the contents of Christmas Crackers from years back right up to 2010. Unfortunately none of interest to the Antique Road show, tho theres a thought, perhaps I should hang on to them... NO. Although in a few more years? NO.
The reasoning behind this particular hoard is for the year I will make my own Christmas Crackers.
That just doesn't make sense.
I never will make my own and furthermore no-one ever takes the contents, hence the packed drawer.
Not that I am ever allowed not to have Crackers on the Christmas table. This year will be different, I can tell you.
I have to say that there is one useful Cracker content and that is the mini screwdriver set. Perfect for fixing your glasses when they lose a lens, or a leg, or whatever. Needless to say there were none of them in the drawer. Packs of cards for midgets, erasers, sewing kits - they go in the guest rooms, never to be seen again, so yes, useful. Then there are the cars, puzzles, rubber balls etc. just big enough to choke a cat or a child, the stapler - again for a midget, the pen ditto.
All in the bin now.
Then there was the cupboard with bath foams, lotions and potions. All almost empty, or as regards the lotions, only used once. Down the plug hole and containers recycled.
Despite all this frantic activity and bin bag crammed with rubbish I can't tell any difference....
Mike is finally recovered from a bad stomach bug. Rarely ill, I get used to him doing so much, its a real shock when I have to do it all!
House sale and buying ground to a halt as our building society has had difficulty in finding a post box.
Yes, I am being facetious.
Why can't people do their job properly. If they cant be a**** do they think of the consequences? No.
Asked to send on our house deeds over a week ago they have promised that "They are in the post today."
So our solicitors will have them tomorrow?
Well, no, it could be Thursday.
Now even I know the post office isnt that bad.
So - on with the clearing. Who knows what I may find. Watch this space.

Its not all ironing.

I am the archivist for Central Buchan Rotary. On Wednesday we have our usual meeting, but this time its to encourage others to join. My task has been to sort through all the stuff I merrily wang into a box. And the box was crammed, I have been gaily wanging for two years and more.
Newspaper cuttings, all copied and laminated now. Photographs laminated.
All the letters of thanks for donations filed in order.
Menus, calendars of our meetings and activities.
Hope its impressive enough.
I have even mastered putting photographs on to a disc and then into a slide show.
I am impressed with myself but then no-one else ever is.
Rotary really is about FUNd raising. We really do have such fun together.
I just have to work out how to display all the items in the 'best possible way', (remember Kenny Everett?)
In between I have been sorting through all the instructions, guarantees etc. of things like showers, macerators, anything really thats been installed in the house, and/or will be of use to our potential purchasers.
On that note, I always did intend to write a book on how to run a bed and breakfast, which I shall do when I 'retire', but need to have something now! Well - for tomorrow, when our potential purchasers visit for some advice.
I have just had an idea! I could do a power point presentation! After mastering skills today for the rotary, I should surely be able to do that......
I had my ultrasound scan on Thursday. Imagine my surprise when I discovered I knew, personally, the operator (doubt they are called that, probably a lot more posh a description). But, this did mean that instead of waiting weeks for any results I was given them while I was still there.
Basically nothing in there that shouldnt be. Ha!
I am seriously thinking that, yet again, my body has decided to flag up STRESS, rather than anything major wrong physically. I have been down this road many times! Blood pressure, cant cope with stress. Lost voice for a year = stress (some people very happy at this one.) and so on.
So - if we really have sold the house - I should be fine. And, the consultant I saw did say this could well be the case. No pressure there then for our buyers!
Our paying guest has gone home for the weekend. I would normally have said, "Well you still have to pay for the weekend, " but Mike is ill, a rare occurrence, so I was actually relieved. She has a very early breakfast, which he is fine with, but I am not. I did it on Friday, but the thought of doing it again was not a good one. Sad - but one does feel ones age at times.
Weather report. Snow was promised, but on the hills. We have had some sleety rain, and the wind. But nothing major. The snowdrops are all out now, nodding away like fury. Soon the daffodills, the crocusses, deep breaths and imagine all that. I like the Spring, even though it means I am another year older.
Now who remembers Doris Day? She always insisted on muslin being put over the camera lens so as to portray her in the 'best possible way' - think I might try it.

Good hair day.

Although a rocky road to get thus far.
Where was Alan Sugar?
I had an apprentice shampoo me. "Is the temperature okay?" Well, no, it has just taken the top layer of skin off. And you have filled my ears with water.
Later, as she applied the hair dryer, I got third degree burns as she forgot to move it about, and just focussed on one bit of scalp.
What we women suffer in our desire to be beautiful, or in my case, just passable.
Fortunately she did not wield the scissors.
I was out of the house while the surveyor refreshed the home report. One, I was booked into the hairdressers, and two, I might have done him serious injury. I was still around when he started and I had to point out the new flat roof...... Why can't these people list all that you have done since they were last here - and give you a pat on the head?
So - tomorrow I am away for an ultrasound scan. Last time I had one of them it was to see a baby. This time its to see that there is nothing in my stomach that shouldnt be. Which means starving for 6 hours before said scan. Unlike last time when you had to be so full of water you daren't cough or sneeze.
I remember a strange juxtaposition of t.v. adverts. One was about stress incontinence and the other about hay fever. I thought at the time, what if you have both.

Whooooooooo!

Do not get too excited. It could still come to nothing. Under the Scottish system this is what it says, under offer. This means either side could back out, indeed we had a phone call last night from N. who said, "Tell me what the offer is and I will beat it."
As N already owns a successful guest house, I took that with a large pinch of the proverbial. But you never know.
Tomorrow is the refreshing of the Home Report. J has done our surveys from our original purchase, right through till now. He doesnt get any less professional and despite my every effort is not open to bribery. Joke! Although, having examined some other properties Home Reports, I wish he wasnt quite so professional. Or spoke about things which could apply to any house. But a prospective purchaser would automatically think, oh theres a problem there then.
One of the comments, "Flat roofs are prone to collapse without warning."
Well ours gave plenty warning, drips everywhere, so we had it replaced.
I bet you any money that that comment will still appear. Its on every Home Report he has done for any property that has a flat roof, even if it is a new build. So a stock in trade comment.
The other one is about seals round loos and baths etc. As a b&b proprietor we spend vast amounts of time attending to seals round baths etc. Something the Hotel Inspector is very keen on too.
It doesnt pay us to neglect any problems with the house. Not just for the paying public, but if you do not attend to things you end up paying more to rectify them.
As regards where we move to, well, now we are in the making silly offers stage. You never know. But the offer was turned down. So still in negotiations.
On the b&b front. We have a lady staying with us through March. Never, ever have we had anyone who had so much trouble finding us! A ten minute drive from Peterhead to here took her two hours. At one point we had a phone call from a local farmer to ask if we had moved the house! He had her on his doorstep and was telling her where to go and she said she had been there (she hadnt as Mike and I were both stationed watching for head lights so as to leap out and wave).
A lot to be said for SATNAV even tho one of the breed insists on sending people into the middle of the village, not the half mile out into the dark, dark countryside, but at least then they are easy to direct. Not someone who is in the dark, dark and doesnt know exactly which bit of the dark dark.
Had a bit of excitement this morning as I suddenly realised I had taken the wrong pill. Which meant, according to the instructions, I was about to go unconscious. Phoned the doctor, tried to explain to the receptionist , which included spelling everything. Hard to do when you think you are heading for a coma. Eventually, actually, to be fair, very quickly, I was phoned back by a doctor who assured me I would be fine. Which surprisingly immediately brought me back to consciousness! Now was that faith healing or just stopping me from being auto suggestive and stupid. Bit of both I reckon.

Well I did say downsizing....

The good news is that there is enough room for us to continue keeping the ducks and hens.
Though after just standing in a howling gale and getting wetter and wetter, and ended up pleading, "P-l-e-a-s-e go in," I'm not sure that is still a good idea.
The language of ducks seems to consist of a lot of head bobbing. When their heads begin to bob towards the pond rather than their hut I am sorely tempted to do that Japanese thing and "Ha so" their heads off with a strong kick. But as it takes me all my puff just to go once round the pond and do the pleading bit I doubt I ever will decapitate them (I wouldnt anyway - but cant help the wishful thinking).
Anyway downsizing is on hold at the moment.
So - on with the day job. Ironing tomorrow and cleaning guest rooms. And everywhere else. Ho hum.

Swimming pool.

A dreich day. Rain coming in horizontally. The ducks love it.
I shall so miss my view. When I sit at my lap top I have a mirror in front of me and in its reflection is the view from my bedroom patio doors. And the table and chairs waiting for summer.
Every window at Greenbrae has a view. Well, I suppose any window in any house has a 'view'. Our last house, in the Midlands, had a view, at the back, of our garden. High fences gave one an illusion of privacy. But when one of our neighbours decided to bring his t.v. into their back garden and we all had to endure Wimbledon whether we liked it or not, I knew it was getting beyond the pale. The front window gave a view of the street. Surrounded on all four sides by other houses I am surprised I remained sane. But then, I probably didnt!
We first looked at the west coast of Scotland. It just did not appeal. High mountains, pine forests, and the sea consisted mainly of lochs. Too claustrophobic by far.
I am continually amazed how, in a few miles here, you can be in totally different countryside. Yes we have pine forests, but also lots of broadleaf trees. Rolling agricultural swathes and then fields full of sheep or cows. And the sea. Right to the horizon, is the sea. You feel you can breathe.
When we look at houses, potential future homes, I am sure the owners think I am mad. As the first thing I do is look out of the windows. Just to confirm there are no near neighbours, plenty trees, and that my mental state will be able to relax. Then I can turn to the is our furniture going to fit malarkey.
As they say, location, location, location.

Fly away home.

Rooks on their way home to bed. After an exhausting day following the plough.
There are two ploughs today. One at our side of the road, so any minute now he will drive past the bedroom, and I still don't know whether to wave or ignore! We always wave when I am in the car. But imagine as they plough up and down, with about twenty minutes in between, its a big field, how often do you wave, once? every time? So I will just ignore.
The heron is out there again, and four buzzards.
Smoky Robinson, our drake, is now becoming more adventurous.
He loves the pond. Now Jemima is showing him the other parts of 'their' garden and hopefully widening his diet to slugs. But he still panics when he hears a tractor.
Looking at houses at the weekend.
I wonder how many houses they actually show to the people on Location, Location, Location. I bet its more than the three or four that make it to the screen. I imagine there will be some where they go in and walk straight out again. Well, that would be rude. But I really dont think that Phil and Kirstie narrow it down to just a few properties before showing the purchasers.
Having said that, I know I am terrible at viewing properties as I immediately start transforming the place in my mind. I then spend a long time poring over the schedule and writing stuff on it like, 'paint this cream', and the favourite 'REMOVE'. Till we view another and I am at it again, this drives Mike mad!
He only sees major drawbacks, such as sloping gardens, how does he mow the lawn. There are stairs - which I struggle with. Only if I am talking at the same time as climbing them. He can't walk to the shop for the paper, we can get it with the postie! When you try to establish how he FEELS in the house all you receive is a blank stare. Men v Women I guess.
But as this is probably our last move, before I am placed in the septic tank, I am being particularly picky. Plus my failing health rather stymies me on getting the sledge hammer out as I have done in the past. Dont think I told you, but I was once featured in the Sun comic (you cant really call it a newspaper) when I removed tiles from a wall and it fell down. Well, ok, slight exaggeration, the plaster came off. (It did mean we had to totally refit the kitchen, in itself, not a bad thing!)
This has caused some arguments. He wants to, as always, buy something cheap and fails to see why it is cheap, needs new kitchen, new bathroom, another bathroom, electric heating (this from a man who is so conscious of his carbon footprint he could draw a picture in charcoal with his big toe), small windows, no access to garden, backs onto a main road = dead cats, and so on. And its a boxy bungalow, no way.
Whereas I have now fine tuned what I want in my next abode. The amount of work we have done here, all I want is to be able to change the decor, and make some new cushions. End of story! But I still have to like it.
Strangely, as I was typing this, a man came to the door whose company have taken aerial photographs of Greenbrae over the years. The one at the top of this blog is the first one, just after we moved in. The one that was taken last year is amazing. From the one at the top to the one we were shown today it is clear just how much we have done here. Greenbrae looks fantastic to what it was. I wish we could have had that picture on our schedules! Sadly, we had to decline the purchase of the photo this time around.
So! On with the search for a new home. Fingers crossed we dont have to join the rooks. I am not good with heights.