Spring cleaning

Regular readers of this blog will know that Graham and I have long been planning a permanent move to France and, finally, we’re on the downhill slope to doing just that.  Don’t get too excited – we don’t ever do things quickly – we’re another 14 months or so away from exchanging winter sun in the Caribbean for the uncertainty of winter in Sainte-Foy-La-Grande.  However, we have decided that the few chattels that we have here in the BVI that merit keeping (and more than a few with sentimental value) ought now to be shipped to Les Terraces.  Cue mayhem!

Ten years ago we downsized from a 3-bedroom, 3-bathroom house with a decent-sized kitchen-breakfast room, a full dining room and so on to a 2-bed, 2-bath house with just a dinette in place of our spacious dining room.  As a consequence, many boxes have remained unpacked for the entire time we’ve been in our current digs.  So, this weekend it was time for a grand exhumation and sorting, thereby creating chaos throughout the house – exacerbated by a rugby-fest courtesy of the 6-Nations tournament, and my having a hand in plaster as a result of tripping over a paving slab in town.  I have reduced my inventory of cookbooks by 30%.  Graham can’t understand why I want/need to take the remainder, as he believes that I can find all that I need on the ‘net (little does he understand the joy of curling up with a heap of cookbooks and planning a menu).  He doesn’t yet know about the box of travel books that I’ve sneaked past him!

So, at the end of the holiday weekend, the house and office (formerly Mo’s bedroom) look as if the proverbial bomb has gone off in its middle, and that’s after I’ve thrown out the rubbish and boxed everything else up into “keep” or “sell” piles.  It’s as close to domestic hell as I can conceive.  I’ve called the movers and left them a message saying “please come and take our stuff away”.  I hope that they’ll be here before the week is out.  Then I can stash the stuff we don’t want to take until we hold a house sale next spring, or sometime …. maybe sooner (I can’t bear the hiatus).

So, if anyone has a burning desire for a load of cookbooks, miscellaneous fabric/sewing supplies, loads of glasses and serving-ware please let me know: it’s all available for sale!

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