Busy Busy.

OK, so car MOT booked, tablets for various cat maladies ordered, self storage rental looked into, spare house keys and paperwork dropped off at estate agent. This de-cluttering is harder than I thought. I need a hand, any volunteers? 

This weekend will be made up of a series of trips back and forth to the tip with the intent of dumping as much junk as possible from the garage. I will then be working on de-junking a room at a time over the following weekends with a view to be completely de-cluttered by the end of October, 2012 that is, though with the amount of stuff lying around I'm beginning to wonder. I am however not daunted (yes I am).

Still it will all be worth it in the long run, no more debt, clutter, old house or huge garden to worry about. 

I hope to be able to concentrate on writing my Grand Opus, it started out as an Opus but seems to have expanded so I think it deserves the title of Grand, and show Mrs H that it is worth her coming home from the US to a more settled and less fraught lifestyle with the new literary me.

More later. TTFN. PAAA

The stiff upper lip.

The stiff upper lip famed throughout the world as a strong British trait is not all its made out to be. I know, I've tried it and its a silly idea which has probably caused more situations to get out of hand when they could have been rectified with the input of a little emotion.
As a case in point, Mrs H has gone to the USA to work. Now, at one point I resigned myself to the stiff upper lip tradition of what has to be will be and I can do nothing about it so just suffer and get on with things, you'll get over it. Utter bilge. I realised that by conforming to the stereotype and accepting the whole thing as a fait accompli I was the author of my own misery and downfall.
Had I continued on the road I was on all that lay ahead was debt and a miserable existence on my own until I finally slipped off this mortal coil still working to pay off debt and mortgage to no benefit for anyone but the money lenders.
No more! I said to myself, release yourself from this, try to save the wreckage of your marriage and move forward. So forward I moved, putting the house on the market, selling all the stuff accumulated over the years and never looked at let alone used and throwing out all the things that 'might come in handy someday'. Goodbye to pack-rattery, hello to unclutteredness.
Still having said all of that, I do feel a little bereft today as I'm not certain where we (Mrs H and I) go from here. However, I hope that Mrs H's US move is merely a temporary one and that we can sort ourselves out without the monkey of my debt on both our backs and get back to married life together wherever that may be.
It may be that the lack of a stiff upper lip has saved the day, and the marriage, or it may have no effect at all and the whole game will be up anyway, whatever happens, had I clung on to that lip it would have been a definite goodbye Mrs H. At least now there is a modicum of hope, says he as he clutches at another straw. No, really some hope is better than none at all and a little give and take can work wonders. Let that be a lesson to you young folk out there, a stiff upper lip has its place, war, disaster and desperate rescue situations at sea but not in the world of relationships.
TTFN. PAAA.

Things move fast...

don't they? We've had a veritable flood of folks wanting to look at Hall Towers, 3couples in half an hour today, the place only went on the agents website on Tuesday. Just hope someone will offer boat loads of moolah when the time comes so Hall Towers 2 can be purchased in time for the Yuletide festivities.
Much of life seems to go quickly nowadays, said Methuselah. I suppose everything is so instant what with broadband and mobile phones we have come expect everything to happen about half a second before we think about it. I often wish for a chance to slow down and smell the roses now and again. Perhaps following the de-clutter and downsize I will get that opportunity. I'll take a slow train to Inverness or something like that, watch the world go by, drink beer and shoot wild haggis. That's the plan I think, a haggis hunt over Christmas, anyone want to join in, bring beer, a desire to chill out and a blunderbuss and you are welcome to tag along. I will also be making time for the grand opus which may or may not see the light of day but will keep my mind occupied in my old age, or even my middle age, I'm nearly 54 you know (doesn't he look well for his age?).
Still enough for now, must get to bed as I have to take Mrs H to the airport in the morning for her trip to the US. I hope it's a shorter trip than I first imagined but we will have to wait and see.
So, TTFN and PAAA.

The benefits of good friends and beer.

I've been away for a couple of days in the great city of Glasgow. As part of this walk on the Glaswegian side  I had a very enjoyable evening the The State Bar with my old pal Ian. A more erudite man you would not wish to meet. He helped me put a lot of things into perspective although by the time we finished drinking Farne Island beer I would have been hard pressed to spell perspective. Anyway, it was a grand night and helped me no end. My new writing endeavour has been given new impetus thanks to his advice and encouragement. I was even writing a few lines of my grand opus on the train down home, pretentious? Moi?
I always seem to come away from Glasgow happier than when I arrived, I have a couple of good friends there who always talk sense and buy beer, what more can you want?
Still, it's been a long day, so I'm going to relax with a rum and coke and say goodnight.
TTFN. PAAA.

It's 4 in the morning, no, really...

...well it was, but now it's 09:45 as I couldn't work out how to write on my Android phone. I am a technological genius. I can't remember what I was going to say at 4am so really reading this will be a waste of time, as will writing it I suppose but as I had the title it seemed like a good idea to say something. I'm beginning to wonder now though, perhaps it would have been better to have left it in draft and written on another day when it was actually 4am and I had something to say. Look, a squirrel!

It's four in the morning...

Well actually it's 23:23 but give me a break, I've been to the pub so I'm allowed a little poetic licence, or is it license? Who knows, or cares?

So, that was my last night out for a while with Mrs H so I'm glad we managed to get blootered, just like the good old days.

Time now to think about the logistics of the great de-clutter. Sensitive papers first, that is those that could be used to steal my or her identity, these will be put to the torch. Then sort out what I will need to take to my new abode. Closely followed by the stuff she will need for her sojourns in the UK. Stuff for sale, storage or destruction next. Then find a place to live until the money comes through from the sale of the house and finally, find a flat, move in and put the remaining stuff into a self storage unit Mrs H and I can decide what to do with it.

Simple really. I'll keep you informed of progress.

TTFN PAAA.

Onwards, fellow beings part 2.

Just a thought that struck me. I held out and held out for I don't know how long so that I could hang on to a building when I should have realised that there are more important things in life than bricks and mortar or possessions. Stuff is great as far as it goes and obviously you should strive to keep a roof over your head and provide as best you can for your loved ones. When push comes to shove there is a time to say, 'enough!' and move forward rather than hang on to the things that make you unhappy whilst losing that which brings happiness and contentment.
TTFN PAAA