Moving House -Dislikes

What do I hate about moving house the most? oven cleaning, oh I absolutely hate that job. I managed to gas everyone out the house tonight while using ammonia to clear the inside of the oven. It did manage to clear that big old ugly stain at the bottom of the stove which was good but my poor eyes and throat are now paying for it. Each time we move I swear I will get oven-nu in to clean but can never swallow the cost involved. Still job done except the shelves which are outside steeping in the bin bags with my ammonia cloth. Tomorrow the packers arrive to start the mammoth task of packing all our bits and pieces up. I still need to make sure I have enough clothes, shoes et cetera to do us and the children for the next few days of school and travel. I am sure there must be a better way of doing this but not much longer and it will all be over for move no 18 of my life.

I tried to make caramel shortbread today to give the teachers a treat to say thank you for all their time and energy over the last year, but as usual when you try to rush something it didn't work. I have never had a problem with my caramel before but today when I am trying to make four trays would it go right - grainy caramel and no amount of heating and stirring would clear it. Give up it is to difficult they will just have to have a box of chocolates instead!

I am still waiting on my scrap booking parcel coming from the States for my course. It should have been here over a week ago but as usual in a hurry no show. I haven't had any chance to catch up on my assignments either as my work room is now totally empty. Wow what a lot of stuff I managed to cram in there.

Miss Ellie has picked her fabric for her room. She has gone for Flutter by flower from the Liberty range at Osborne and Little. She also wanted the voile net to hang down by her bed, so cute I couldn't resist, now just need to sew those too!! That is me up to six pairs of curtains to sew at the moment.

I had a fabulous weekend, on Friday my friends from the nursery all came out for Dinner at the Strathmore Arms in Glamis. We had a lovely dinner with lots of laughter, rude talk and fun. I tried to teach them how to eat their desert Korean Rule style but only two out of nine would attempt it, the others looked on in horror!! Would I let my children behave like this, NO but hey I don't get out often! They all clubbed together and gave me a beautiful necklace and bracelet (thank you Leslie for choosing it) which was so thoughtful of them. I am really going to miss their caring thoughts, laughter and company, especially you Eileen you get where I am coming from!!

On Friday afternoon when picking the children up from school Michelle gave me a lovely picture frame and beautiful card to say goodbye which was totally unexpected. Thank you.

Saturday was spent clearing the garage which was great (not that it is a task I like but one that needed doing desperately). We managed to get rid of two tables and a bulk load of wood we didn't need to Eileen and Adam -thank you again you saved us several trips to the dump! We did however managed one massive trip to the tip with an assortment of stairgates, wood and sundries. Sunday we took our last walk in the woods with the children and dog. Maddie pronounced "you have a baby in your tummy Mummy" - ok J and I now look worried at this point. "No Sweetheart I don't" "Yes you do Mummy" and off she trotted. J I love you but I would kill you no more children please. John by the way looked equally horrified.

Today was spent trying to make the ill fated caramel shortbread and visiting a friend for lunch at Dairsie Manse. Biz and Guy have the most spectacular house in Dairsie which they are in the process of doing up. It has a beautiful walled garden which will look amazing in years to come when they have restored it. They also have outbuildings which I would die for. The best bit though for me had nothing to do with the house but all the spring bulbs which were popping their heads above the ground. The snow drops where just stunning. Another sad goodbye at the end of the day to Hilary and Biz, will miss you lots but hope to catch up soon. Helen and Chris popped by to pick up the tumble dryer and very kindly brought us a Fisher and Donaldson carrot cake, YUMMMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYY you really know how to grab a friends heart! Totally delicious but now I feel sick as a had another piece after dinner. We hope to see you both again soon, you just know that you will end up down by us next year. The house next door is really rather lovely!!

Well I think the fumes have died down now so I shall shut the window down and head to bed as I am knackered. Love and wishes to all Stay safex

What will we miss?

Moments like these! and the beach - oh the beach, it has become one of our favourite Sunday past times to go to Broughty Ferry beach, collect peebles, take photos (Ellie had a new camera for Christmas) and then head down to the Glass House to have a hot chocolate or lunch. Definitely going to miss the icecream sundaes on the pier in the summer. St Andrews beach will also be missed as one of the best places to play rugby. Yes I hear you John I need to improve my catching skills! Fergus will miss the doggy communication with all the pooches running in and out of the waves. I know we will have Westonburt but nothing is the same without the sound of the waves and sand underfoot. It always manages to relax me, clear my mind but most importantly wear the kids out!

John and Euan on the Dunes at St Andrews.

I think we are all looking forward to finally be back together as a family but this home has provided us with a very happy existence over the past three years. The ability to just walk out the door into the countryside will also be sorely missed. Friends I will really miss you all, our drinking nights, cinema nights with Eileen and our coffee mornings at Abernyte Antique Shop will leave a vacant hole but I am sure I shall get one with things at the new place.

I started a scrap booking course with Big Picture Scrap booking that John gave me for Christmas. It is a year long course called a Year to Remember with Heidi Swapp as the instructor. It has been great to get me sitting down at my desk to scrapbook rather than just thinking about it. The brief for January was to pick a goal that I could achieve in 2007 and to scrapbook it and five reasons why it was important to me. I have picked to get my Christmas stock done by August - yes those who know me well can stop rolling around on the floor now, how many years have I been saying this? but it really is something that I need to get a grip on and start to get organised so I don't get so stressed so close to Christmas (for my sake and the families!). Hopefully a few months after the move when everything has settled down I can get into a routine of getting things done. Maddie will not be going to nursery in the mornings when we move because it is all privatised down there, she will start 1/2 day school though in September and then go full time in the term that she is 5. I cannot believe that she is already so big. I have made a steady income this year and I will miss the client base that I have managed to build up over the past few years but needs must and I will have to start again. I have just uploaded Flickr to my blog so I can start to slowly add all my pictures of stock and commissions. It will have to be done slowly as you are only allowed a certain limit to stay within the free limit on the account. Hopefully this will allow people to see what I have been up to and allow them to order direct by email if there is something they see they would like. Make sense - apologies if is doesn't my brain is fried!

Well as usual two posts in one day hopefully it wont be as long before the next one, I shall try and make an effect to update more regularly. Love to all Hx

NEW HOUSE!!

Well I can hardly believe two months have gone by since I posted here but I haven't been idle. We are in the process of buying a new house in Wilthshire called Prunus Cottage and hope to be moved in on the 2nd of February, English Conveyancer willing (can you tell we have been having problems with an inept solicitor!!) We cannot wait to be back together again as a family, the last year has been somewhat trying to say the least for all involved particularly Euan.

We had a good but quiet Christmas and New Year with a few friends and family. Most of John's leave was spent clearing the house of excess stuff for the move. I think at last count we got rid of 41 bin bags to charity, tip and the local nursery!! We were slightly concerned we were going to be over the baggage allowance for the move but thankfully due to getting rid of all our old appliances in the garage (the new house has all built in) we managed to scrap under the limit. The new house is great but smaller than this and I think we are going to struggle with storage initially. The kids are all going to get their own bedrooms which will be great and they have already picked their colour schemes. Surprise surprise Maddie has chosen pink, Ellie purple and Euan blue!! Mum has yet to work out all the other colour schemes but she has got the fabric for the livingroom curtains. John is pleased with the new place as it has a wood burning stove so he is happy. It is in the village of Crudwell which has a lovely little primary school, riding stables (sorry John you know it is inevitable!) and three pubs. We have already checked out the Wheatshef and it has very nice food. So if you are in the area please stop by for a cup of tea, I cannot tell what state we will be in but a hand with unpacking, painting, turfing, fencing et cetera would not go amiss.