Hello my gangster friends,please be warned,I do not do things by halves!!!!!
Please blame our Grammaretto for requesting this,although I suppose I am the guilty one, for not knowing exactly where to start..........or finish!!!!!!!!
I guess I had better lie low for a while after this!!!!
HOUSE MOVE
A small resume to give the fuller picture.
We moved into this almost new chalet bungalow some 15 years earlier,seeking peace and a sanctuary following living in a delightful (but hectic summer time) in a superb small resort for over 25 years.
Although too big for just us two really, 4 double bedrooms/3 baths/sitting room/dining room/kitchen/utility/conservatory with a larger than average double garage with loft ……….it was the virgin soil and simple pasture of some 1 acre that it stood upon, that truly appealed.
Initially I was able to enjoy using my designing love and flair into turning it into a real home.
Then both of us. for the first time working together, were able to tackle this plot,eventually designing 4 different gardens,lots of landscaping,overflowing with trees,plants,floral troughs……... and indeed it proved a great joy.
My lovely husband had been my sole carer in the aftermath of my very poor health coping with 4 cancers back in the mid 80`s (2 being life threatening in the extreme), together with holding down a demanding and full time job this was extremely draining.In `96 on enforced early retirement, he became my full time carer and life slowly became more bearable.
Apart from a bad case of COPD he was a strong,fit and very able man.
However we had been discussing a big move for some time as obviously with my again deteriorating poor health (and our ages,)we needed to slow down.
We had our hearts set on a Retirement Apartment overlooking a spectacular bay and harbour scene.
A series of house sales fell through and we were stunned when the Company running the Retirement scheme sold our chosen apartment from right under our noses……...despite us having paid a substantial holding fee.
However, after overcoming the hurt we resumed with the quest of searching for a suitable place,also putting down our names on a long waiting list for this Extra Care Sheltered Housing Scheme having been medically advised this would be a prudent move with my, by now, very poor health .
It came as a great shock when out of the blue a week prior to Christmas 2018 (and our Golden Wedding Anniversary) when my dear man had a stroke and Hospitalised.
Fortunately it was relatively mild,but despite his normal “get up and go” attitude to any sniffles or such like,he simply was not responding to a normal recovery…..try as I would to encourage him.
Over the next few months visably he slowly deteriorated,became extremely painful,and in a matter of months became a mere shadow of his former self,almost a skeleton and barely able even to walk.
The GP tried various tests and medications to no avail.Until in April on taking a Prostate test ………...he rushed over personally to inform us this was positive.
He rushed through an appointment with an Urology Consultant in a distant Hospital,in under 2 weeks we were on our way.
It was an dreadful journey as by now my man was virtually too weak,very painful and needed a wheelchair all the while.
May 1st 2019…...a date stamped indelably forever in my mind……. within minutes we recieved the diagnoses of Advanced Prostate Cancer with Bone involvement,plus a very poor prognoses and no offer of treatments.
A week later a Bone scan revealed the Cancer was in his spine,pelvis,hips and shoulders.
Devastating news.
From the moment the word Prostate Cancer had been mentioned,taking in how my dear man`s overall condition now was, my mind had gone into overdrive.
Knowing we have no family members to turn to,our few neighbours were gents in their 80`s …...all in poor health…….friends were of a similar age,disabled or similar, so I knew only too well…………. All that followed was down totally to me.
Truly a case of we sink without trace or we give it this one great heave in the hope of forming a better life that we could possably cope with…….or rather…...I could cope with …………...as I now took over the reins of being the carer for my beloved.
He had stood tall beside me through some very long and bleak times,now it was my turn to try do the same for him.
Perhaps the one very good thing that happened during that same week was hearing that, if we were still keen, we had been awarded a 2 bed flat in this Extra Care Sheltered establishment.
My dear husband was now both extremely emotional and vulnerable,so opposite to the solid rock he had always been in our 50 plus years of marriage.
I had to do all the thinking and planning for us both.
Everything now was due to me,I simply had no one to talk things through with, so quite frankly I simply thought on the hoof.
Foremost was deciding to accept this flat,although the rider was... we had only a month before having to move in.
So I could not waste time.
It was the Social Services team that took me to this establishment to view the flat,seeing it bright,cheerful with a garden view, the answer was an immediate yes.
Knowing we had collected such an abundance of every concievable thing from furniture,fittings,all manner of house and kitchen gadgetry, garden equipment I again had no one to discuss any matters with.
It was such a torment.
I totally dreaded this sorting out,knowing only too well the flat would hold so little!!
My first thought was to simply arrange that my man was safely brought downstairs to a bedroom with en suite, as running up and down the stairs frequently was not on,and I did not like him “marooned” upstairs (hiring in a man with a van to do the lifting)……...chair,stool,table,TV and such like, thus making him comfortable in one area, complete with PC to keep his mind occupied……...and then I was able to do his caring, whilst arranging for this move.
Our House sale had been put on hold from the time my dear one fell deeply unwell,as the strain of showing would be buyers around during that time was one strain too many.
It was only again resumed the day after we moved out.
Although the Estate Agents, knowing the full story, kept plugging it behind the scenes,building up quite a number of would be interested parties.
I wore a shoulder bag with `phone,notebook,diary,pen during all daytime hours,having this “desk” on my person saved me running back and forth to answer `phone etc…..time was valuable.
Plus there were so many people I needed to contact.
The `phone and internet were my saviours.
Also there was a key safe outside each flat and therefore those workers were able to come and go, without me being there…….another big saving grace.
I had asked for measurements of our new flat, which was also a boon.
I cannot remember the exact order though I know many were probably done in one day!
I contacted our nearest best auction house and was given a date when they viewed all our furniture,gave us an estimate,and date for collection.
I worked out roughly what furniture we would need in our new flat as with our own being darker wood, I knew it would prove too heavy, so ordered a whole array of light,uplifting furniture…... and although the date of delivery was rather later than wished, it was one of the many things I simply had to accept……...and work around.
We had had our bungalow previously painted by a very able decorator so I contacted him, fortunately,yes he could fit us in.
So I ordered some wallpaper for the bedroom and one sitting room wall from the internet,the decorator picked them up and bought in matching paint,the paste etc and got to work with just my simple instructions.
Similar with carpets,the first choice was out of stock so I chose the next best and the carpet fitter removed the old carpets and recarpeted.
Again choosing blinds were relatively straight forward,using people we had used before,picking up the wall paper as the ideal colour and ordering over the phone.
There are added expenses for most items, of course every one that measures up and then fits the blinds ...all need payment
A removal company (recommended from the Sheltered Housing Scheme)
was called,visited and gave a price and a date was arranged……...June 26th.
This then meant I truly had to keep moving at a solid pace .They delivered boxes whilst I had stored bubble wrap upstairs in the loft……………..so I then was forced into deciding what to keep…………..ruthlessly getting most set aside for sale.
Quite frankly I had little choice!
There were boxes piling up in every room.Each one filled was firmly sealed with details, just ready to be set up in our flat.
Every day was a race against the clock.I worked long and hard,doing seemingly a million things at once.
Amazingly my own troublesome health coped with all this,a miracle indeed.
The loft above the garage was filled to the rafters and was a heartbreaking site.
Thankfully a dear friend spared me a few hours and together we emptied the loft, had it cleaned,taking the rubbish to the tip with the remainder joining an already very over packed garage.
All I decided that was not for “keeps” but would not be right for auction …..found its way there!
An advert was placed locally and I was able to sell a few items from our bungalow and garage.
The rest remained and was earmarked for some Garage Sales, after we had successfully moved.
Same with the furniture going to Auction,we left a full week before the furniture could be collected.Everything just could not be fitted in during this short period of time.
D day arrived and the Removal van was packed up.
I had left all furniture for Auction in the packed out Sitting room whilst all for the flat,or to be taken to the flat was in our dining room………….plus the bedroom furniture in one bedroom………..and filled boxes in every room.
I had drawn up rough plans of our main rooms in the flat and each one detailed where any bits of furniture or boxes went into, as of course I had to stay in the bungalow with my dear man,plus give a very thorough clean before we were then taken over to our new home,the flat.
It seemed chaotic…..yet it happened.
Yet the whole removal was over by lunch time!!
The diagnoses and prognoses was delivered on 1st May,yet we had both moved into our new flat on 26th June………...another miracle!
We personally arrived much later that day, and my first viewing almost had me run for the hills!
I could not even start taking in the décor or carpeting, as all the eye could behold were………..boxes and more boxes!!!……...piled high up to the ceilings.
It was quite disheartening.
However the bed was in place and so my first job was to make it up and get my dear man comfortable.
Quite frankly, I cannot honestly remember much of that evening or days afterwards,it passed in a blur of activity.
Whilst I tackled the boxes one by one,slowly the flat itself was revealed, and I began to see what I had sort of very hastily planned……..all be it in my head…….and yes, I was very pleased.
It truly was delightful, although of course the Sitting room was mainly furniture less, apart from some armchairs and a stool we had retained until such a time as our new furniture arrived
Days later the furniture was removed from the bungalow by the Auction House and taken to auction.
I managed several Garage sales,selling well were most of our garden items from lots of stoneware such as troughs,waterfalls and.many beautiful blooming plants such as agapanthus,fuchsias,the all weather furniture and
various garden equipment.
The other 2 sales were in August during the school holidays, so did poorly.
So the Garage remained very full and I was increasingly desperate to clear it out.
Eventually a couple came,offered to take everything as a job lot and also clear out all the remaining rubbish,leaving the garage like new……….but for no cash exchange.
Being desperate,with time running out, I had little choice but accept and true to their word the Garage was left in pristine condition.
The Bungalow was again back on the open market and several offers came in,heartbreakingly low……...especially as earlier in the year we had to turn down 2 excellent cash purchasers …..because we had no where to go to,and of course ,my dear man had now become extremely ill.
We eventually accepted one decent offer, only for that sale to fall through.
More heartbreak,more fretting.
More viewings,more offers,and eventually we had a half decent offer and the sale went through,but altogether it had caused such a lot of real pain and such a lot of needless worry.
Next news was the cash received for the auction items were very low,we had been advised people did not really want darker furniture nowadays,ours were all Ercol,in Golden Dawn,pristine condition too.
In a Specialist sale it is considered the Antique of tomorrow …………..but of course I simply had so little time to work with.
At that time just selling was the main object, and by hook or by crook that was achieved, and yes………….we were safely moved into what has turned out to be a warm,comfortable and attractive flat,our new home.
It is by no means that small either, although of course in comparison to the bungalow we left….. it does seem so!
Our chosen furniture had duly arrived and when put into position the sitting room was very pleasing to the eye,as well as functional.
Now no more fretting about swaying,falling trees in all the winds,grass mowing needed,hedge trimming……. and all the many maintenance worries always found around one`s home.
In just some 6 weeks or so we had “escaped” and yes,how pleased we both are.
Amazing what can be achieved if one is determined enough.
Now we can but hope for improved health.
You will all need your beds after this long read!!
Upsetting and very hard work but at least I was comparatively healthy. 
OUCH! 
(so tempted to add a salacious apostrophe there 
)
