Good morning, good morning to all of you from a still but very cold north yorkshire morning. There is not a breath of wind and the tree outside is silhouetted against the lightening sky but with the moon still shining through. I am so happy to be joining you all today and have enjoyed reading your news. There is much to catch up for me as I have been living a bit of a nightmare until friday . I am type 2 diabetic, so try to follow the rules and not go about bare footed, but wear slippers always. On the 9th October , I had to get up to go to the bathroom and such a short journey on carpet didnt bother with the slipper. Suddenly in the hall I felt the carpet wet underfoot. Stood quietly to hear if there was a leak or dripping water but no sound. Couldnt do anything at 3.15 am so back to bed until the morning. A friend, fortunately, knew a dependable and good plumber and lucky for me (but not his wife) he was at home trying to do a job there. We asked him if he could just come and find the leak and turn the water off or whatever was needed and then we could manage until later.
Mike kindly came straight round, and first all the airing cupboard was emptied and water tank checked. So then he carried on and on and on. Very bad news! The bathroom was tiled, with underfloor heating. It ended up that there was a leak from behind the tiles from the toilet soil pipe, so it was contaminated water, but the tiles meant that it wasnt noticed until it reached the hall. I stood there at 2pm, with no loo, no water, absolute chaos and of course unable to stay in the flat. Tried ringing hotels and no room at the inn, and had to go through booking .com to get a bed for the night. Naturally , just when I could have done with a bed, two very good friends have recently left to live near their families. My family had been away and my sons partner and my grandson had covid. Couldnt collect clothes and paperwork I might need with me , as I couldnt even get to drawers or wardrobes with stuff being piled there out of the way.
I was lucky enough to get a room in the hotel in the town, but it is a listed building and has no lifts and a long thin carpark. Anyway thinking it would be a temporary situation, I was grateful to have a bed for the night. It has ended up that I have been there for 10 weeks, and of course they are booked up in advance , so I have been the nomad guest, having to move rooms when they needed my room. They have managed to keep me on the first floor , and the housekeeping staff have been very helpful, but still difficult.
Total bathroom had to be cleared out. Then there was some asbestos in some tiles , a weeks delay to deal with that, Then the sanitisers cleaning it all, followed by dryers going 24 hours a day. The plumber was ready to work but the timing with the dryers is "how long is a piece of string" as they had to keep testing the walls and it appears it has been leaking for a long time. They were there for three weeks .!! Then the great plumber worked extremely hard and long hours , installing new shower , a a new toilet with cistern and pipe visible this time! Then we had to get a qualified electrician to come and do his work, followed by the plumber and I having quite an interesting time working out seating heights and grab rail positions etc. He has had to put the shower at the opposite end of the tray to the previous one, so I have had to get used to the different way of getting in etc. In the meantime I have been stuck in the hotel with poor wifi and phone signal, and had about 3 sets of clothes to wear, as I couldnt get into my wardrobe or to my desk. I had to go for a cancer treatment, during all this, and suddenly realised, one day, that my car insurance would be due. I never automatically renew, but make a note on my calendar to check about 3 weeks before. With all this going on, I hadnt thought about it, so had to spend most of the monday morning, just renewing with the same people just to be covered. Then my car needed MOT and the garage are very good. I take the car there and they run me home and then ring me when it is ready. So thank goodness it passed but oh no ! It needed new brakes and pads so another £345 gone. Oh well I am covered and safe now. So the insurance have of course been dragging their feet. I have always had freehold properties and had one insurance company to deal with. This is a leasehold property and so the landlords insurance are involved in this as it is building , not content. They promised to give me an interim payment so that I could pay the hotel something. on account. I owe over £5000, or rather the insurance owe them. They are not saying they wont pay, but that doesnt help me. I like to pay my debts promptly. Anyway the hotel trust me , and know the minute the money is paid I will pay them but it wont be before new year. I felt very odd and awkward going with all me things to the car, not having paid the bill!! So the saga comes up to date.
I am so happy to be able to sleep in my own bed, use my lovely new bathroom and to be able to cook something. However I have no hall carpet (thrown out of course)cant yet get into the wardrobe with shelves in it, as a bookcase was put there in the panic stage and I cant move it, Half the long curtain is down as something was stood on the bottom of it The lounge is covered with bags and papers and stuff of all kinds. I have no christmas food prepared, nor cards or anything arranged or organised. But it has been a joy to at last sit in my own chair (surrounded by chaos) with a cup of coffee, made the way I like it, in my china mug, and beloved J
J S Bach as composer of the week. I have had offers from friends to spend christmas day with them, but right now it is so lovely to be here, listening to the programmes I enjoy, and no stairs to struggle up. Have to go back to dr's on monday, as my leg doesnt look good, maybe cellulitis again. Well considering I havent been able to follow my routine of resting it raised, and having to struggle up stairs, not surprised! Yesterday was the first day I was able to enjoy looking at the lights etc. Today I am going to shut the door on the chaos and going to church with a friend . Then the best medicine of radio3 music of my choice, and revelling in the joy of being home. Tesco had a good offer on lamb 1/2 price with the clubcard. It has been so expensive I havent had any for ages and I love it. So I have bought a small leg and shall be having lovely roast lamb, roast potatoes and parsnip and onion, peas , cauliflower and mint sauce of course. It will be a great christmas day feast, with some cold to have with a jacket potato etc. Looking forward to it,and going to carol concerts and singing and getting my life back. I thank you all for letting me be part of this, and have missed being able to keep up with what is happening in your lives. Well the sky is bright now and a bit of a breeze as the branches are moving. Looks very cold though. Wishing you all a very happy christmas, may you spend it with the people you love, or may you be able to be in touch with those who live away from you. I wish everyone a Peaceful and Healthy new year and look forward to hearing more of the saga of your lives. Dont forget whatever happens right now, some minor disaster or forgotten shopping, you are still way ahead of me! I was the only person shopping for basic things on the market and in the shop yesterday smiling at people and thanking people for letting me pass on my buggy. The good thing is that for once I have a very good reason to have forgotten something or not sent something in time. I cant say that I recommend it though!!! The hotel had no bed for me this friday anyway, they were totally full. I did ask if they had a stable at the back of the inn. After all there was a very good precedent for this , I thought if the inn couldnt put me up, I might go up Swaledale and look at the sheep and see if a shepherd could put me up.!!
