Chill Baby.

This dull Sunday afternoon I will be mostly trying to relax, write a bit of The Story, do a spot of reading and guide my lions (that's my version of gird my loins for the uninitiated) for the next few busy weeks. At the end of that period I hope to be de-cluttered, un-indebted and re-homed. We can only hope and pray that this happens.
Back to today though, my good friend Mr McL has volunteered to do some research on my behalf for The Story, probably for the second in the series, I will be glad of the help so I will be ploughing on with Story 1 until I reach about 5K words which I have read is the optimum length for a short story.
So far our Hero has just been taken on as a singer in the bar where he works as a potman so he now has three jobs. This will help him save up for his journey into story 2 in which I aim to take him into Ohio though this thing has a life of it's own and is evolving rather than being planned so Ohio fans don't hold your breath.
Anyhoo I'm off to stir my curry. More later perhaps.
Just a thought I had whilst stirring my curry (not a euphemism); in case anyone was wondering and I'm sure you weren't but I'm going to tell you anyway; the reason I think it best to move to Amble is so that I'm not visiting my old haunts and having to explain over and over again to people who's lives revolve around gossip the reasons why we are selling up which frankly are none of anyone's business but mine and Mrs H's. Amble will be a fresh start, with the opportunity to visit new pubs, use local shops for bread (not to mention scones, which in case you had forgotten, I love), fruit and meat instead of relying on the big supermarkets and to live in a pleasant town (England's Friendliest Port) near to good transport links and on the beautiful Northumbrian coast which in my opinion is second to none. Also, another big plus is I'll be nearer to my Brother and sister-in-law so we can help one another in our dotage.
So I'll be off now to read the paper, write some more of The Story, read a good book and so on to make my dream of a relaxing day reality.
All together now, chill baby! TTFN.

The de-clutter goes on.

Four trips to the tip and the garage is now looking a lot less cluttered. There is a stack of boxes with stuff to store or sell, an area of stuff that is going straight into the skip once I hire it and another area of bigger stuff which is to be dealt with next week.
You would not believe how cathartic it has been today to get rid of so much junk, most of which has been in that garage for nigh on ten years and never been looked at. The mice have had a field day with a lot of it, so out it went!
Next week, the box room/office is going to be blitzed and all the papers that have been kept for no apparent reason for Lord knows how long will be burned. In the meantime the bags of clothes lying on the spare bed will be going to the charity bins outside Tesco or Asda.
It's at times like this that family comes into their own, thank God for brothers.
Onwards! My friends!

The Story

Time for an update on The Story. So far our hero Bob West, at least that's what he's called just now. It helps with the Title of the series 'West Goes West' although that may change as well. Sorry, anyway so far our hero Bob West has seen his remaining family wiped out in a mining accident and has moved to New York from Northumberland. He has found lodgings and a job and has just started a second job working in Curly McLucas' bar below his rooming-house. He's already had an altercation with the local hard man and has cemented his universal popularity by sending said hard man away with a flea in his ear.
This is as far as I've reached so far. I was wondering whether I had got him to America too soon but on reflection the series will chronicle his adventures in America so maybe getting him there early without too much faffing around in England and on a boat is no bad thing.
As Barbara my writing guru (although she doesn't know it yet) said the trip from his home town to the ship for America and the journey over the Atlantic could have been a bit of a turn off for the reader if not done well and I'm not a good enough writer yet to engage people with tales of the muddy roads of 1860's England and lots of water viewed from a ship.
Things have stalled somewhat though, Bob is currently standing in the bar wondering what to do so its thinking cap on and lets see if we can get him moving into some adventures. All ideas gratefully received.

I'm a salty sea-dog

Its decided, I'm moving to Amble in Northumberland. I've lived in the country for a long time but when I lived in Southend on Sea I was by the Thames Estuary and liked being by the water. So, it's time to cut loose from Heddon and the country life and move to the seaside. The Northumberland coast is fantastic and I recommend that everyone should visit. Wait until I've bought the new Hall Towers and you can all come to see me and take in the joys of my new abode. I might even teach the kitties to swim.
Watch this space.

Merde je suis tomber!

I have just received through the post the book of the radio series 1994, sent via my good pal Mr N I believe. I have also picked up How Not To Worry by Paul McGee and  Elmore Leonard's Complete Western Stories so I am now well set up for reading, especially if you include the e-books on Buddhism I am in the middle of. There is of course the little matter of Baudolino by Umberto Eco which you may recall has been on the go for some time now. I'm in the process of digging in and trying to finish it but man, its hard. Its one of those books that you just can't get into, still I'll keep at it and perhaps it'll grow on me.
So there you are, not too bad a day really, some fresh reading matter obtained and some beer and Sailor Jerry rum bought. A night of literature and drinking beckons. Whoop! Whoop!

Ups and downs

Depression and stress are terrible and should be recognised as genuine problems but equally ups and downs are part of life and sometimes need to be seen as such. Time for certain bloggers to realise this and try to be a little less emotional about things, stop over-analysing. Time also to deal with problems by trying to put them into perspective; it is worth remembering there are people a good deal worse off. There are millions of people out there right now who'd kill to be able to downsize and de-clutter.
Complaining about not being able to cope with the pressure of selling a few possessions is probably one of the daftest things ever uttered. The lives some people have to lead knock any such whining into a cocked hat. Worrying about where the next meal is coming from or whether you'll see the end of the day because of war or disaster, those are things to worry about, not griping about a few trips to the tip.
So it's time for certain bloggers to count their blessings.

Struggling.

I'm struggling today. I'm trying to work but I really can't get going with it. The deadline is 8 October so I better get a weaving. I'll think some more this week and spring into action from Monday. The problem is my mind is elsewhere.

I'm worrying about the whole downsizing and de-cluttering process. The house sale is a real concern, I'm fearful that I'm not going to get enough to buy a decent place. I know most potential buyers are looking for a cheap purchase, which is understandable. My fear is that I will be falling short of what I need to do what has to be done.

The pressure is just building and building from all angles, work and domestic. I need to try and take a step back to gather my mental resources but it just seems there is no chance to do that and no-one to turn to.

Part of the problem is I'm still over-analysing everything. By trying to cover every angle in my head I end up going round in circles.

Basically:

1. Sell the house for the maximum possible.

2. Pay off what needs to be paid.

3. Divide what's left.

4. Find somewhere new to live.

Simple. 

Another area of concern is the de-cluttering, it's like one of those children's puzzles where you have move the tiles to get the empty square into the top corner. Each time one item or box is moved another appears to take its place and confuse the issue.

There are 4 elements to the puzzle:

1. Stuff to be thrown out.

2. Stuff to be self-stored for evaluation later

3. Stuff to be sold

4. Stuff to go into storage for the new place.

I'm not sure where to go because step one is obscured by steps 2-4.

Not to mention the future of the poor kitties!

I give up. My brain hurts and I wish I could just walk away from the whole thing.

Sorry for the miserable rant but this is the best outlet I have. Feel free to ignore all of the above. I just needed to get it out of my system.

Back to work now.