Sometimes it all gets too much, and not just for me: the animals are feeling it too. Flossie is on springs all the time. Someone - well, ok, Lottie - threw up yesterday right beside a packed box which then went all soggy and had to be unpacked and replaced. Feliway and Rescue Remedy are in constant use.
I don't know where anything is - oh, of course, I do: in one of those unlabelled boxes that are everywhere. I get up fancying toast for breakfast, having the rare treat of a crusty loaf in the house, and remember too late that the toaster has been packed.
I wake at three in the morning fretting about not having read the meters - then remember that I don't actually do that until the very last minute - but then lie awake for a couple of hours with my head buzzing incoherently, feeling sick with tiredness.
The surveyor's report contains the words 'damp' and 'beetle infestation' one too many times, and I forget that the words 'treatment' and 'guarantee' also feature.
Time is really running out, and I know that I'm not going to be ready.... and so on. Interminably.
That's when I go and have another look at the rather terrible photos that I took when I had that whistle-stop tour of the cottage, and I settle right down again, stop using words that would shock my grandmother, pause to take breath, and remind myself why this brief (as in extremely rushed) period of hellishness has to be got through, because:
Yes, because.
Because it will all be worth it in the end.
Monday.
Breathe deeply! All will be well!!! ♥
ReplyDeleteSo what if you get to the new house and can't find clean underwear or the teapot ...... you will cope, and one day you will look back and say, yes, it WAS worth all the sleepless nights, the panic, the cats throwing up/weeing!!
ReplyDeleteThat looks adorable. The cats and dogs are going to love it - once they get there. Trouble is, it's impossible to explain things to them in advance, and they pick up on how we are feeling.
ReplyDeleteOnly a few more days to go!
A beautiful fuchsia, herbs by the kitchen door, al fresco meals and a Provencal tiled roofed outhouse at the end of the garden - it's going to be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteIt is like childbirth, a mighty pain barrier to get through, but completely worth it. Like childbirth, you'll probably block out all this bad stuff when you have your lovely cottage in your arms so to speak!! And we'll all be cooing and asking for more photos please and congratulating you! Hang in. xxx
ReplyDeleteYour new home is enchanting! How old is it? (It looks OLD, a precious antiquy old.)
ReplyDeleteAll you need to do is live through the next few days. Once you're THERE, you can unpack at your leisure and breathe deeply.
Don't worry, you'll be having glorious toast in your new home very soon!
ReplyDeletePlease when you wake up in the night think of all your friends in the ether who wish they could help. The cottage and garden look just lovely. Thanks for finding the time to blog.
ReplyDeleteIt looks beautiful....and it will all be alright. You're just going through the pain barrier..!
ReplyDeleteI haven't posted on my blog for such a long time (getting some pix ready to start again) but I wanted to tell you that I've continued following you all the time. I'm delighted to hear about your new home and totally understand the moving house traumas you've been going through. We've bought our retirement home in Betty's Bay although we still haven't sold our home in Cape Town, so anxiety levels are at an all time high! All the best for Monday, I'll be thinking of you.
ReplyDeleteIt WILL be worth it Rachel! Tobias Cottage looks so lovely, and I know it will be a good home for the cats. It was named after a Tobias Cat and one of my dearest cats in early days was a tabby called Tobias.
ReplyDeleteI had been to the National Gallery and seen that wonderful painting, "Tobias and the Angel". The cat came the following week and was named Tobias.xx
You can do it. You are already doing it.
ReplyDeleteYour cottage is a beauty. Eyes on the prize Rachel.
xo Jane
It will Rachel, it truly will.
ReplyDeleteIt looks lovely! Eyes on the prize - what a good way of putting it. Must remember this myself.
ReplyDeleteI always dread moving. Next time I'm calling in a dumpster, throwing out almost everything and buying new---NOT! But boy do I want to...good luck and go get 'em. --Amy
ReplyDeleteI'm glad that phrase is still sticking with you because it will definitely positively and indisputably be worth it in the end. You'll get there my friend. Four more sleeps (or semi-sleeps) and you'll be on your way to finally seeing your dream come true. And we're all with you every step of the way. Even though we can't help locate the toaster...
ReplyDeletexo
The awful pain of packing along with the turmoil of moving - the joy at the end of the journey and placing well loved, treasured things in your dream home. The stress must seem unending, but IT IS WORTH IT! The furries will settle in and in a few weeks you'll wonder what all the fuss was about.
ReplyDeleteSending a big {{hug}}
Rose H
This time next week...
ReplyDelete1600! Oh! I love it!
ReplyDeleteA malt house!
A house with some HISTORY.
How wonderful....
4 more sleeps - then relax. All will be ell.
ReplyDeleteThat garden looks like a little gem.
Think Gloria Gaynor . Think hot buttered toast in that garden next Wednesday morning . Think peace , harmony and floating above it all .
ReplyDeleteKnow that there is August in Tobias Cottage the weekend after this .....
Thinking of you and wishing you all the best - Tobias Cottage is a beauty and I'm sure everyone will love it. Not long now!
ReplyDeleteJan x
All the above and more - it WILL all be well, though it may take a few days/weeks to realise it. Breathe deeply, count to 20(at least!!) and believe that you will sleep properly again one night very soon . . . and so will your dogs and your very special cats.
ReplyDeleteAnd here's the dirty little secret of moving.
ReplyDeleteYou'll get so tired of unpacking all those boxes that you'll put a couple that you know are full of things that aren't really all that desperately needed anytime soon into a closet where they will sit unpacked for the next nine-and-a-half years (Wonder how I know that . . .).
The cottage looks delightful - it will all be worth it in the end!
ReplyDeleteHey, anyone who can convince 4 cats and 2 dogs to live together in harmony can accomplish anything.
ReplyDeleteNext time just put the bread in the oven. It will toast it just fine. Amy
Chip up, Rachel - you're nearly there! Thinking of you and the the clan this weekend!
ReplyDeleteThis, too, shall pass - and you have the summer to appreciate your new surroundings and go for long walks.
ReplyDelete