new home with old home fitted in....

Last week I wrote about my first visit to the doctor; to update those interested I am gradually getting better but it is taking a lot longer than I had expected or wished. The antibiotics are really working but I can now see why I was given a "double dose" with 10 days worth of medication...As long as I don't rush about, or stand for too long or walk too far, I am not in much pain, and each day it is a little better!

This week feels long already...we are feeding our lovely Dutch friends at lunchtimes this week as they are working on their little house here with a view to it becoming a gite. It's really a lovely place and they are busy wall paper stripping, painting and installing a new loo. At lunchtime they arrive and we all sit down and eat together and the 2 dogs come as well! I love the dogs, they sort of chat to you, not barking but making all sorts of yelping sounds! The first vicar I worked for back in Jersey had one of the same breed called Rufus and he too had a great character and personality. I enjoy cooking but it has been a bit of a struggle today, because at 9:40 the van arrived with all our belongings. So we are truly here! We had expected them last night but they felt they did not want to impose on our hospitality! I quickly cooked them sausages, egg and fried bread as they had had not breakfast and they set off unloading the van!

The van arriving outside

I was very impressed with the way the whole operation went. It was great to meet Sean and Darren again - they had loaded everything up in Wordsley and we felt we had got to know them a bit so we asked if they would do the trip and the operations manager at Burke Bros agreed!

 It was good to hear a West Midlands accent again and we were suitably impressed when they told us they had appeared last week in the new Amanda Lamb programme about deserving your house. This one was filmed in Birmingham and they were on it five or six times...wish our TV was sorted - we might have seen it, never mind!

Darren manoeuvred the van so that it was as close as possible then out came a long ramp that reached from the van on to our steps outside - very clever! And then, and then...

The ramp in place

then I began to realise just how much stuff had come down! Joe lent a hand and soon the quiet room was almost impossible to get into because of boxes, book cases filing cabinet, chairs etc etc. Then my food boxes arrived - and my kitchen gadgets - hurray, but then a panic - where on earth will it all go!

Sean and Darren reacquaint us with our stuff!

Joe too got stuck in!

It took hours to pack all that stuff, and Joe did most of it, but my goodness, that van was empty within 2 hours and we bade goodbye to Sean and Darren and wished them safe travelling as they set out for Brussels where they were due at 8pm this evening! I think Darren summed it up when he said, hmm you had a fair bit of stuff already here then!!!!!!

Tonight we can get to the kitchen the loo the bed via corridors of boxes, but tomorrow we hope to get the wardrobe assembled and the cupboards on the wall so we can get things put away. So far we have managed about 25 boxes during the afternoon and we are happy with that - but if there is anyone needing boxes in Burgundy tell us quick and you can have some from us!!!!!!