The New World Order - Days 1 to 4
Thursday 21 April - Day 1 - Loading Benington into a truck!
We have spent the last week or two boxing everything up as carefully and sensibly as possible. Now it was time for the lads to arrive with the truck and take over. First time I'd seen the truck, and now thankful we had booked a companion van as I'm sure that thing will not get up the track to Fronrhydd.
It was an emotional day starting with Andrea (house opposite) in tears as she said her goodbyes, Sarah (next door) refusing to say goodbye because she didn't want to do the same, and a fond farewell and house-warming gift from Karen, our other next door neighbour. It was sad to leave such lovely people behind, but I'm sure we will keep in touch, and they will be welcome in Wales any time!
Once all was packed we drove to Wales, and the start of our next big adventure. We arrived at Fronrhydd early evening, with our fingers firmly crossed. When we left a couple of weeks ago, the power had tripped just before leaving, and we were unable to get everything back on. Fortunately all the circuits came on without tripping, so we had light, heat, etc. Got an electrician booked for following day, in case we were left in the lurch, so will be interesting to see what he has to say about the state of the place - we are bracing ourselves for the worst!
Friday 22nd April - Day 2 - Emptying a Truck into Fronrhydd
Bit of a false start to the morning. We were up bright and early after a good nights sleep, expecting the truck at 8 ish. No sign at 9 still, so I called the office. They were in Swansea? No problem apparently, but they didn't have a phone number to reach me on, so were unable to tell me they stayed at a truck stop down that way and would be with us at 10.
The driver turned up at 10:30, and decided to give the lane a go
Was there ever any doubt - the driver is South African!
It was a long day directing the removal men here and there with whatever box they happened to be unloading at the time, but by 3pm they were all done. Fortunately we had enough room for the lorry to turn round in the yard, or he might still have been trying to reverse up the lane as I type.
The men arrived to have a look at the electrics. A sigh of relief when he didn't actually condemn everything, but he did keep showing me the ends of cables going nowhere. He's doing a quote for a proper evaluation, as everything outside the main part of the house appears to be an eclectic mix of both dodgy and downright dodgy!
We got enough together in the Kitchen to survive, and a bed rebuilt for the first night, and that's us pretty much done for the day.
Saturday 23rd April - Day 3 - Establishing a New Norm
We were blessed with a beautiful day, and started to establish a routine. We put a list of priorities up on the board, and tick them off as the day progresses. Tasks tend to get added as the day progresses, but we aim to at least cover those we start the day with, and anything else is a bonus.
The cat has found a new perch with a view on the window sill, and can keep an eye on the birds in the garden, when she chooses to open her eyes. She seems perfectly content in her new place.
The dogs too seem perfectly content. Dexter busies himself being with accompanying whoever happens to be outside at the time. Whereas Tallie is happy to potter around minding her own business, and simply doing her thing. When we do return to the house for elevensies, they are happy to find the bed by the radiator.
I took time out to look and admire what we have before us. On a beautiful day like today, it would be rude not to stand and stare. Dexter, on the other hand, did not stand and stare when the 'GoDogGo' got unpacked. Dexter is ball-obsessed, so this auto-launcher given to him as a Christmas present by our best (and slightly barmy) friends, means nothing else matters to the Collie. It took Dexter 5 minutes to work out he has to return the ball to the green bucket, and now we can just step back and watch him wear himself out. There were a few lambs in the field where we had this set up, and Dexter barely even glanced at them. I want to get him as used to livestock as possible, so he isn't a pest around them. These early encounters seem very positive in this respect.
We took a trip out to a local garden centre in the afternoon on the hunt for bits to plant in the veg garden. We picked up a variety of things that will keep Debbi busy tomorrow. We also picked up a much needed petrol mower from a DIY Store. You can see tomorrows ToDo list coming together.
Sunday 24th April - Day 4 - Rinse and Repeat
Todays ToDo list started as:
Put Mower together
Mow Lawns & Paths
Dead Head Camelias
Plant Potatoes, Onions, Garlic
Prep Empty Packing Boxes for re-cycling
Twiddle with Boiler Settings
The fluidity of the list was proven straight away. As I put the mower together, the instruction said 'add oil' before running. Time to scoot to the local garage and pick up a litre of oil.
We were blessed with another bright, though slightly chilly day. Issue number one was Dexter generated as Debbi could only find one clog! The second was found in the garden. Fortunately Dexter isn't into burying his acquisitions or we'd still be searching now.
The list got completed, with a few bonus items thrown in for good measure (such as I can see out of the bedroom window, and we have a dining room table the right way up!)
More boxes got un-packed, and the routine is starting to come together.
A marvellous day was finished off in the perfect fashion with a Sunday roast of Welsh lamb, and all the trimming, cooked to perfection on/in the Aga. Delicious!
