Glorious Sunshine

The weather is gloriously sunny, all I can see is hazy blue skies and sunshine.

Fridays are good because I get to finish earlier than during the week which is nice, and will get home and still be able to enjoy the weather.

Luckily this morning I woke up, albeit a little later than I should have done, but then some numpty forgot to set her alarm last night and so I had some extra snooze time. Still managed to get everything done before leaving for work, including making my lunch and washing up the breakfast dishes.

I have a busy weekend ahead of me, tomorrow I have an appointment with the building society, then later a trip to a rescue centre at Newquay before heading to Penryn to watch a rugby match in aid of a young man paralysed by the game. Then on Sunday, the bike trip to Jamaica Inn, my first trip on the bike in almost a year.

It was once of the sacrifices I had to make, yes I could have taken him out on my own up at the Back of Beyond but more urgent things like decorating/tidying up/decluttering needed to happen and that allowed me to come down to the Edge of the World. One little sacrifice I didn't mind taking.

The bikes are now safely in the garage, the house is gradually taking shape with things in the right places though I fear it will be a long job, but this weekend is for us to enjoy ourselves and Saturday night will be the Chinese take-away from the Hong Sing which does the most wonderful food and extremely bad for the diet.

Have a good weekend all.

Hot, Hot, Hot

I was lucky, I had an extra day off work to try and get some tidying up done. Moving a few boxes here and there gave us a bit more space in the living room. The washing was hung out on the line, and the sun shone brightly.

I phoned BT again, the fourth attempt to get a working phone line and it is costing a small fortune having to use the mobile and once more we have been told to wait 48 hours and someone will call... I beg to differ and if I have to ring them again there will be trouble!

Then a trip over to the storage container, to pick up the last few things, and hand back the key. If we had waited any longer we would have had to pay more rent, so it was crucial to get things done this weekend just gone, even though it would have been nicer to have had a bit more time to sort things out before taking them to the house; still beggars cannot be choosers.

Into town, and the great address change, now we can do all the licences, insurances, bank accounts etc... a raft of paperwork is about to move so apologies to Royal Mail who are doing well finding us in amongst the building site which is opposite.

Tomorrow is back to work, a more normal day well for me at least. SOH has the heat to contend with as he negotiates his lorry in amongst the holiday makers and traffic works delivering cream and milk to shops and the like.

Brain Drain

With all the heavy lifting duty of the move on-going, we are moving what we can in the car to limit what we have to do on Saturday. The house is therefore full of boxes, probably all in the wrong spot but we don't care. They will get unpacked in time, over time and if not at least are tidy lol

We have a lorry hired for Saturday, and will now move all the heavy stuff like the washing machine, fridge freezer and garage stuff then finally we will be in formally and fully. No more caravan nights for a while, the luxury of a shower or even bath when we want and running water.. it all seems a little dream like at the moment.

With the limited facilities we have in the kitchen at the moment, it is still possible to cook up a decent meal, last night we had jersey royal potatoes, carrots, peas and lamb shanks in mint gravy (the latter being on special from Asda) and it was absolutely gorgeous - who needs a cooker - well actually I do, just waiting on the monies being returned from the solicitors and then I can go and order the one I want... Tesco's here I come, well I might as well bag a swathe of club points which we might be able to use against the hire car for September.

I move stuff in the mornings from the caravan to the house, while SOH moves stuff in the afternoons from the container to the house... still we are both tired, sore and drained by the end of the day and with the warmer weather coming I am finding it a bit stuffy at night so last night I got the window open by me and slept in a nice cool draft of air. Better than the night before when I woke up feeling all stuffy and then developed a migraine which while it didn't stop me teaching, it did stop me driving :-( not too good for work really.

Roll on the weekend, bring the work on... for it is good.

Tre Agan (Our Home)

It's officially ours, the money has been wired and I will be collecting the keys to Tre Agan this afternoon.

So long to the old homestead at the back of beyond which now belongs to someone else who I hope is very happy with her choice.

Say hello to Tre Agan, the official residence of Sage and SOH

With views from the front door over to the North Coast and Portreath (only 3 miles away), and views of Carn Brae from the rear it is a good location.

PS. anyone noted that the downsizing didn't really happen as this is also a 3 bedroom house with a garage lol...

Still it has plenty of storage, and isn't too near to town, but not to far away to be within walking distance. Just need to ring the utility companies and sky to arrange for a satellite dish.

Paperwork

I have been buried in paperwork relating to the new abode, and hopefully in the next few days I will be able to announce a more permanent location for Sage exists and I might even provide some pictures of the view from outside.

The wodge, term meaning more than a little amount, of paperwork duly signed and witnessed is winging its way back to my solicitors to process and as they are holding the money left over from the sale at the back of beyond they should be able to speedily move towards completion. Right, well I mean move with all the speed that solictiors can do without risking any untoward mistakes in the contractual terms and obligations which probably means it would take longer than I would like for it all to happen.

My time at the smallholding is nearly over, and I will miss all of the animals, even the chickens and ducks who are tamer and will even fly into where you are prepping the other animals feed and start pecking at the pig nuts in anticipation they will get some goodness out of it. Merlin and Dillon are young shetland stallions, Merlin is far more laid back than Dillon (who needs to learn some manners before he becomes a biter), they need more time spent with them giving them people skills and working full time means I don't have as much time as I would want to except for weekends; both of them like having their winter coats scratched out and will stand quivering in pleasure.

But the one I will miss most is the big sow, answers to big girl and yet is so tame and gentle (well for 18+ stone of pure pork) that she will take weetabix out of your hand. Her biggest problem is that she loves company and will often kick over her water to get some attention and it is a bit of a trek to carry more out to her, hopefully she won't miss us too much once we have gone.

In the pouring rain

A nice young man, known officially now as the hero of the hour, pulled off the old exhaust now completed severed from the manifold end and welded it back together using a bit of spare pipe and meanwhile the rain pelted down on him as he was lying on his back outside under the car.

It took him about an hour in total and then my little car sounded once more like a car and not an undersized tractor. He did try to kid me by saying I had to drive at 20 miles per hour for 5 miles which later got increased to 10 miles but I kept quiet. It has to have some more work done on it in the near future as the Cam belt drive and pulleys need to be replaced due to age, hopefully this will be enough to keep it going for a little longer.

I am looking to get a new car, well new second hand. I haven't made up my mind what I want, but some of it is going to come down to needs and environment as well as costs. I quite like the idea of a Kia next but have no experience of them, though SOH's Dad has had a couple and seems quite happy with them.

A quick visit

Raz, or Stormsmuggler as she is known on the rat forum is providing a loving (and I do mean loving) foster home for Gus and Barnie until we are settled. Thank you so much to Raz, it means a lot and I know when we take them back she is going to miss them both, but particularly Gus.

We dropped in to see her, and the two girls on Sunday on our way home to Cornwall. What a change from the two we left there just before Christmas. Even then Gus was interested in the smells of the other rats, while Barnie cowered in her igloo. Both had been successfully integrated into a small group of other females and Gus was in her element looking after the younger kittens like a maternal godmother. She did remember us though and happily came out to investigate and say hello even though it was their sleep time.

Barnie on the other hand, we knew she was different to Gus, but I put it down to her poor eyesight etc. Raz thinks that she is hormonally challenged. For those of you who are interested, rats come into season every 3-4 days and only on probably one of those did Barnie feel sociable, the rest of the time it was leave me alone and let me be. She fits in well with the group and they seem to understand her ways and leave her alone when she doesn't feel like interacting. Barnie did have an argument with the alpha female, Mabel who has put her in her place and all is peaceful. She will never be as easy to handle as Gus but I am growing in confidence and wouldn't feel scared about picking her up, just wise to the fact that she is more than likely to bite you if she feels like it.

What it does mean, is that the two of them will need a bit more company, particularly for Gus who loves the company of the other ratties, and curls up with them in big snuggly ratballs on the hammocks, so I have asked Raz when the time comes to help me find a couple of female companions, that will see our population rise to four rats rather than two. Barnie will be like the maiden aunt in the corner, grumpy as anything and leave Gus with her 'babies' to play and have fun.

It was good to see both of them, and to have a little time with them, for those that haven't thought of rats as pets I can vouch for them, highly intelligent and very entertaining. Gus particularly likes to supervise the cleaning out of her cage, holding onto your ear and bruxing in your ears to tell you when to put a bit of extra effort in.

　

I want to be ....

I can't help it, the long dark days, the cold frosty nights make me want to upsticks and move somewhere warmer...

I want to run on golden sands, with warm blue seas and the caress of warm sunshine on my back as I turn the page of my book I am reading. To sip a cold drink, and taste the sunshine sweetening the fruit on my tongue, to watch the sun slowly set over the sea before strolling home to my house on the shore.

Sadly, even if I could be at the picture today, it is more likely to be cold, wet and fairly miserable, and as for the house by the shore, I'm afraid that is just a figment of my imagination at the moment; and will be for a little while longer as I was not one of the two euromillions winners (wishing you nothing but happiness, joy and true friendship).

What do you want to do today?

Maybe, Just Maybe...

Thanks to the Hermit for his kind permission in recreating this here, I did ask first. The words mean a lot, as do all my visitors so this is for you guys.

1. Maybe . . . We were supposed to meet the wrong people before meeting the right one so that, when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift.

2. Maybe . . . when the door of happiness closes, another opens; but, often times, we look so long at the closed door that we don't even see the new one which has been opened for us.

3. Maybe . . it is true that we don't know what we have until we lose it, but it is also true that we don't know what we have been missing until it arrives.

4. Maybe . . . the happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way.

5. Maybe . . . the brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; after all, you can't go on successfully in life until you let go of your past mistakes, failures and heartaches.

6. Maybe . . . You should dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go, be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you dream of, and want to do.

7. Maybe . . . there are moments in life when you miss someone -- a parent, a spouse, a friend, a child -- so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real, so that once they are around you appreciate them more.

8. Maybe . . . The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had.

9. Maybe . . You should always try to put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that something could hurt you, it probably will hurt the other person, too.

10. Maybe . . You should do something nice for someone every single day, even if it is simply to leave them alone. Profound!

11. Maybe . . Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they will love you back. Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart; but, if it doesn't, be content that it grew in yours.

12. Maybe . . . happiness waits for all those who cry, all those who hurt, all those who have searched, and all those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of all the people who have touched their lives.

13. Maybe . . . you shouldn't go for looks; they can deceive; don't go for wealth; even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, because it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile.

14. Maybe . . . you should hope for enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, and enough hope to make you happy

15. Maybe . . . you should try to live your life to the fullest because when you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling but when you die, you can be the one who is smiling and everyone around you crying.

Maybe ...I could send this message to those people who mean something to me, to those who have touched my life, to those who can and do make me smile when I really need it, to those who make me see the brighter side of things when I am really down, and to all those whom I want to know that I appreciate them.

That, my friends, is why I'm sharing this with you! Maybe...it will be able to say just how special all of my readers are to me! Thank you just for being here!

A Heavy Heart Remembers

Today, two years ago, my heart was heavy as I made the last journey to the vets with Sam my beloved Jack Russell Terrier who was 17 years old but had reached the end of his days.

He was struggling to manage, and working all day meant I couldn't watch over him to ensure that he was comfortable and coping with the day to day living. If he went out into the garden, he couldn't remember how to get back into the house, life became bewildering to him with the little sight that he had and I can remember crying when I came home to find him cold and in the garden not knowing how long he had been out there..

He didn't want his favourite treat of cheese, something he was always guaranteed to do. He just wanted to be held by me, and when I phoned the vets to book him in, he just turned to look at me as if to say I had done the right thing as it was his time to leave.

Sam was a dog who was always a people dog, but took no notice of the vets that day, and they agreed that the time had come.

I am in tears as I write this, just remembering that day, yet the pictures I have of him show his character, and one day I will again have a dog when I have time to give him the lifestyle he will deserve, it won't be Sam being replaced for how do you replace something so unique?

A Moral Tale

A mouse looked through the crack
In the wall to see the farmer
And his wife open a package.

What food might this contain?'
The mouse wondered - - -
He was devastated to discover
It was a mousetrap.

Retreating to the farmyard,
The mouse proclaimed the warning :
There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'

The chicken clucked and scratched,
Raised her head and said,
'Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave
Concern to you, but it is of no consequence
To me. I cannot be bothered by it.'

The mouse turned to the pig and told him,
'There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'

The pig sympathized, but said,
'I am so very sorry, Mr. Mouse,
But there is nothing I can do about it
But pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.'

The mouse turned to the cow and said,
'There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'

The cow said, 'Wow, Mr. Mouse.
I'm sorry for you,
But it's no skin off my nose.'

So, the mouse returned to the house,
Head down and dejected,
To face the farmer's mousetrap . . . Alone.

That very night a sound was heard
Throughout the house --
like the sound Of a mousetrap catching its prey.

The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.
In the darkness, she did not see
It was a venomous snake whose
Tail the trap had caught.
The snake bit the farmer's wife.

The farmer rushed her to the hospital,
And she returned home with a fever.

Everyone knows you treat a fever
With fresh chicken soup, so the farmer
Took his hatchet to the farmyard
For the soup's main ingredient.

But his wife's sickness continued,
So friends and neighbors came to sit
With her around the clock.
To feed them,
The farmer butchered the pig.

The farmer's wife did not get well;
She died.
So many people came for her funeral,
The farmer had the cow slaughtered to
Provide enough meat for all of them.

The mouse looked upon it all from his
Crack in the wall with great sadness.

So, the next time you hear someone is
Facing a problem and think it doesn't
Concern you, remember ----
When one of us is threatened,
We are all at risk.

We are all involved in this Journey called life.
We must keep an eye out for
One another and make an extra effort
To encourage one another.

Remember .. each of us is a vital thread in another persons tapestry; our lives are woven together for a reason.

One of the best things to hold onto In this world is a FRIEND so to you my friends... you can count on me to be there in the tough times, to support you and to help you to the good times...

463rd Post.... The balloons are up!

And what a good one it is, the second visit went very well the buyers parents also liked the place and we had a good chat over things they stayed for about an hour taking a look around and talking over what they could do to improve the house but the resounding result is that barring all the paperwork it is a done deal..

I will be leaving the back of beyond to go down SouthWest by the end of September (this is obviously the initial date and dependant on other factors such as no obvious problems with the survey and the landsearch..

The new owners have passed their details on to me, as I have with them and I have said if they have any questions, or want to measure up windows etc they are more than welcome to call me and arrange a time.

Just need to appoint a solicitor, I have a choice of going with a building society appointed one or a local one I have used before so I am just waiting to hear back from Nationwide advisor who I met in June to see what she says before confirming with the Estate Agents.

So my next problem, I am leaving the Back of Beyond which has been a firm favourite of mine and how I met Janet of 32-akre wood, and heading down to mining territory in Cornwall which quite clearly is not at the Back of Beyond so any suggestions as to the location naming I should go for?

I look forward to many and varied suggestions and thank you everyone for your support and encouragement, and boy have I needed it on occasion when all seemed gloom and despondancy.

Its always nice

Its a good feeling and nice when things get their MOT done and they get through it with no work needed.. Max my beloved motorbike had his 3rd MOT today (was it really 6 years ago that I purchased him - the time has gone by so quickly) and he got through with flying colours...

I am now free of car/bike hassle until January when Tax becomes due on the car, and then April when the MOT is due on that but I am hoping after paying for all the work last time that I wouldn't need to do too much more.

Of course this time last year, I was looking forward to a long and challenging ride down to the South of France, this year I might be going to Suffolk to the National Rally instead... oh how the mighty have fallen actually I have plans that might include a holiday in the sun but it does require the house to be sold and if there are enough pennies in the pot then I am going to have a break and am considering Cyprus... should still be warm enough in Oct/Nov time shouldn't it?

Any other suggestions welcomed... I want a beach, soft and sandy, don't mind if it is quiet as long as there is a bar to have a drink at, don't mind self-catering but happy to do full board or even half-board.

Its official

The For Sale sign has gone up outside of the house as of today, the estate agent has measured the rooms and written a description and I get a chance to proofread it but the details should be on the rightmove website in the next few days.

The painting has moved on a pace, more done and less still needing to be done. The packing is going well and I have arranged for a removals company to visit tomorrow evening to give me a quotation for removals down to Cornwall.

Ain't life exciting lol

What I will miss most

I was thinking, at about 4am this morning, what I will miss most about the house and the location.. and came up with Bats..

I am lucky in that my bedroom, has windows front and back as it is a large bedroom some 22feet long and at the rear it faces onto fields and woods I don't need to pull the curtains at night so I get to see the bats flying in the twilight catching insects.

I knew they flew at dusk, but until this morning I didn't realise they also flew at pre-dawn as well.. all you see is a fast moving dark object almost like a swallow except for the fact they are flying in lowlight. I am fascinated by them, and when I still had the dogs I used to take a walk last thing at night along the lane to the farm to see the bats flying. Occasionally they would come nearby you, but you were never in fear of being entangled in them.

So there you go... I am going to miss my bats above everything else and I don't know that they will be at the other end of my journey.

Update : I had a phone call this morning, to say I have another interview for the same day next week as the other one.. what are the chances of that occurring? One happy singing bunny...

Finally!

I heard today, I have an interview for one of the jobs I have been applying for.. my average form filling time is about 40 mins per application in my bestest handwriting lol.

This is a job in Pool, near Redruth and working with a regeneration charity. I am trying not to get my hopes up as there is likely to be stiff competition but it is a step in the right direction and I am always hopeful that a) I like them and b) they like me enough to offer me the job.

I will remember that the interview is a two way streak, as much about whether I want to work for them and what their ethics are about the people that use their services. I now plan to do some investigative work and try and find out more of what they do so that I can ask intelligent questions at the interview stage.

Also my new laptop arrived last night, I purchased this last week from the Dell outlet. It was supposed to be a scratch and dent laptop, but I can't find a mark on it and I am looking forward to exploring it in the next couple of days.

Like Arnie....

I'm back...

How can a great holiday, leave you so shattered at the end of it.

I managed to do some walking, the Portreath Tram trail is good, but not when it is chucking it down with rain :-)

I managed to find the Methodist Church in Falmouth, and gave blood.. now at 48 and only two more to go before I get a gold badge - that is just so sad lol

I had a day trip to Falmouth (on a day when the sun shone) and had a nice ice-cream out on Pendennis point (actually went there on two separate days and had an ice-cream on both occasions) the sun shone and the boats were sailing out in the bay it was lovely. Managed to get the obligatory trip in to Trago Mills as well.

Had a chat to a nice mortgage person in Truro about selling and buying down in Cornwall, I have 6 months in which to buy to keep the same mortgage and the only stipulation is that I must have a permanent job at the time of application. I am hoping this won't be too difficult to arrange, but as yet none of my applications has made it to the short-list stage but I am not deterred. Even Tesco's will need check-out staff :-)

Have even managed to find two or three properties that I like, and the possibility that I can rent the one I might be able to buy is even better. It is a two bedroom bungalow, with lots of ground out the front and a small secluded back patio which seems to get the sun most of the day. At the moment it is being cleaned and decorated ready for sale, but the owners have been asked to let me know as soon as they know how much they are selling for.

Had a chat to the team at Cornwall College in Camborne and submitted an application form for a part-time Teaching course starting in September; though if need be I can defer it to next September if I can't make it to Cornwall by this year.

I even managed a walk on the beach at Portreath, but not a swim - yet.

Had a grand day out at Murdoch day in Redruth, it's a big thing and the main street was full of traders and fair attractions.. had a great chicken pasty from Rowe's the bakers, you couldn't taste anything nicer at all.

I finally got home after 7 hours driving yesterday, the roads were chugging awful and I didn't actually want to go back to the house.. but sadly my numbers didn't come up in the euromillions last week otherwise I don't think I would have come back at all.

Its going to be

This weekend is going to be a beautiful weekend, one to sit back with friends and chill over a glass or two of cold wine..

BUT its not going to be my weekend for doing that, no sirree I am going to be busy getting stuff ready for collection on Monday when Emmaus come for their furniture. This week I have been busy going through the shelves in the 'study' and getting rid of old OU materials, some of which I promised I would do when I had a moment and never will now so they have gone for recycling. The shelves will be coming down so I can reuse them later on.

I hope to start some decorating after a little break when Max and I are going for a few days out to enjoy the sunshine and good weather - note please that when I plan something like this usually the weather gods interpret this as a mechanism for thunderstorms, downpours and any other type of unpleasant weather so I don't expect too much from this break.

It does mean that posts are going to be bit sparse, as it will depend on internet access.. oh how I wished I had gone mobile broadband, but a bit too late now.. never mind.. the saturday satire posts will be there to amuse and I am sure I will manage something to come on line automatically to share with you some of the pearls of wisdom that have escaped the decluttering process so far.

Hope you all have a great weekend, don't get too sunburnt

And that was Easter

A grey and dank Friday morning, Max and I set off to Derby to stay with friends. Not my choice of weather, nor road, but M1 it had to be and filtering through the traffic was for me, at least, a slow progress.. admittedly faster than other car drivers because they were stationary... the reason I am slow is that those gaps that appear quite wide when you are approaching them, seemed narrower when travelling through. Only when I reached Leicester area did the drizzle turn more to rain and by the time I reached Derby itself I was dripping on the outside.

Though the friends had seen the bike before it was because I had lent him to SOH last year when his bike picked up an unfortunate puncture and the only solution was to lend him Max. It is a fair difference when you are used to riding a bike with a fairing to be riding something so naked and as it was a bitterly cold March day SOH reached his eventual location chilled to the bone. Now me, I ride with my electric waistcoat, heated grips and that does to a certain extent keep me warm so I don't mind too much.

Walked into the town centre on Saturday morning, a good 2-3 miles and it was a good pace but enjoyable in the spring sunshine. I ended up buying a Nintendo DS as they were doing a bargain on the pre-owned variety in a shop along with two brand new games this was the cheapest option I had ever seen. Though quite why today's pre-owned is better than second-hand beats me.. are they not the one and same?

We had steak and chips for our Saturday meal, along with some very potent pepper sauce... enough to fuel rockets to the moon but very nice with it..and the steak was some of the best I had tasted in a long while and the only chips I ever make are oven ones the home made deep fried golden ones that were served were delicious.

Sunday I took the bike over to Matlock Bath, to see the other bikes and their riders congregating along the main road was good fun and Max attracted his own comments notably 'What in the Hell's name is that!'... comes of having a belt drive bike.. usually reserved for Harley Davidsons. This of course meant that watching the Help for Heroes match in Bournemouth had to be postponed... but you can't be in two places at once.

Monday was a return home, to finish off the tidying up of the kitchen, to sort out what hasn't been done and what still needed to be done. While it is nice to go away, it is nice to return home to all things familiar.

Brrrrh

Ok, I might have made a big mistake yesterday thinking Spring had Sprung but with a vengeance Winter is back and with bitterly cold winds it's snow joke... still some years ago on my 18th birthday which is at the end of March I was woken by my Mum saying it had snowed overnight.

Now coming from a family of jokers I was having nothing to do with it, preferring instead to stay in my nice warm snug bed, only to be doused with a handful of snow brought in from the outside.. Needless to say it went down as a memorable birthday in my eyes, not only because of the snow but also that my parents relented and kept one of the puppies from the litter who had been nicknamed Kipper. Never one for male jack russells, my Dad tried to not get attached but eventually the daft pup won him over even if he was not very good at doing anything a jack russell should have done.

When my parents looked at getting dogs much later, Dad was the one who picked out Sam and that dog was intelligent, in a different way to his sister. Sam could hunt a scent and find his own way home, while Teg was a bundle of hunting instinct all wrapped up in a girly dog. I have a picture of her sitting on Dad's shoulders looking at the camera as if to say 'He's mine', and she was right, Dad was hers and she was his, only tolerating the rest of us as though to say she was a one man dog...