I've never had a garden before. I should probably do something about it before the grass is waist high. There are a few hurdles to get over first tho. The main one being that we dont have a lawn mower. We have several offers of second hand ones but I think we need to mow sooner than we can get hold of them.
The plan is as follows:
Rope sister into pulling up all the weeds and dandylions.
Borrow lawnmower from neighbours (a bit scared I might break it as I have never mowed a lawn before)
Call granny for advice about what to do next (she is our garden designer)
Lie on freshly cut grass and enjoy sunshine
Today I feel very happy. I have a job I love, a new wonderful house, a great church, fantastic friends, they kitty is home and the sun is shining. I also am excited about a meeting I have tonight about doing some voluntary work in an area I am very interested in. Life is good.
Strangely, I also feel very sad today. A good friend of mine has been going through a very tough time. Her mum has been hospitalised after a recurrence of bipolar (manic depression). Her medication was changed and after 15 steady, if somewhat sedated years, she kind of lost the plot again. Then, suddenly, on Tuesday night, she had a heart attack and died. How do you deal with that? Please pray for friend, S, her dad C who is a local vicar, and sister B who is 5 months pregnant with her first child.
It happens to all of us. We get roped in to doing things at work that are nowhere near what is on our job description. Some of them turn out to be fun, some of them are a waste of time and some of them are downright annoying.
Chief Year 11 Prom organiser certainly wasn't on my JD. I offered to be involved in some small way and then a letter was sent out to all Y11 pupils and parents giving my name for all information and purchasing of tickets. Tickets! Noone mentioned tickets to me. I was asked to collect money, and now I am being harassed by students who were expecting tickets. A morning with Publisher beckons.
Neither was Trolley Dolly in my JD. I have somehow now become responsible for this new initiative after being asked to help out one day. The bonus is that I have got to know the kitchen staff from picking up and returning the trolley every day which means I occassionally get preferential treatment at lunchtime. The downside is being made to do sums early in the morning.
So, what extra jobs do you do at work that were never mentioned on the JD?
Special kitty came home yesterday. He is already causing chaos but its nice to have him back.
The inlaws are here for the weekend too and its not nearly as bad as I thought it may have been.
Its Mr WFs birthday tomorrow. He is very very excited about the present that I have got him (yes, he knows already. I had to check I was getting the right thing), although he wont get it for a while due to a very complicated delivery process (ordered from USA, delivered to the house of a friend of my mum who is coming to the UK next week for a graduation in Cambridge. He will pass it to mum, mum will deliver it to me). Its Logos Bible Software. I'll get Mr WF to write a review for you when it finally arrives here.
Did I ever mention that I have a very clever mother. She is graduating next week from her PhD at Cambridge University in something to do with theology/environment/old testament that I dont understand. From now on, she will be Dr WF and I am vwery proud of her.
Yesterday I went on a school trip to the centre of Birmingham with year 7s (aged 11/12). Never again.
For a start, it wasn't made clear to me that once we got to the centre of town, I would be resonsible for a group of 12 kids.
Secondly, the organisers didn't really take on board the fact that I have only been into the centre of Birmingham once or twice and certainly didn't know any of the street names or landmarks that we were meant to point out.
Thirdly, they didn't provide me with a map. Or a paper bag to breathe into when I found I couldn't see any of the other groups and had no idea where we were supposed to go.
It was quite a stressful morning but I did manage to return all the kids to the coach with no missing limbs, coats or clipboards.
I'm sat at work trying to to do any (actually, I'm looking for a greener/cheaper gas and electric provider who will subsidise cavity wall & loft insulation for my new home). The day was looking dull and uninspiring. It still is to be honest but I have had a bit of a giggle.
For those of you who don't know or don't remember, I work in a secondary school in a pastoral role. So here I am, sat at my desk, trying to plan the day ahead when the phone rings. I answer the phone 'Good morning, tutors office'. A young woman on the other end of the line says awkwardly and rather embarrassedly 'err, hello. Can I please speak to an incontinence nurse?' I try to hold off laughing until I have put the phone down.
We do have rather tempermental phone lines here that randomly transfer you to another number but that is the most entertaining one so far. I do hope the nice lady who phoned has the courage to try again and gets through to an incontinence nurse this time!
On Sunday I met one of our neightbours. We were having a little chat over the garden wall, as you do.
Unfortunatley, my parents dog escaped from the house and didn't reyurn when we called her. She ran straight into our neighbours front garden, did a wee on their lawn and came back inside. Much apologising and red faces followed.
My family came to stay for the weekend. On saturday afternoon my mother and I went to recycle a car load of card/paper (an adventure in itself - the recycling bins are on a dual carriageway where you have to stop on the inside lane, put your hazard lights on and try to unload the car without any paper items blowing into the path of passing cars!).
When we got back, we went tried to get into the lounge (where dad, sister, granny and parents dog were all having a sit down). Unfortunately the door would open. We turned the handle one way and then the other it it still wouldn't open.
I unscrewed the knob in the outside and fiddled with the mechanism but the door still wouldn't open. Tried to pass the screwdriver through the window in the lounge but it was the only window in the house that was left locked. Tried then to push they window key under the door but the gap wasn't big enough.
Eventually brute force and a bit of luck opened the door.
Mr WF is away this week and after a long weekend of moving, decorating, unpacking and building furniture I am more than a little tired. The last few evenings have consisted of coming home from work, eating tea (made a big batch of pasta & veg with tinned tomato soup for a sauce) and retiring to bed to watch TV (would never normally have a TV in the bedroom, but sometimes it is just neccessary). Unfortunately we can only seem to get channel 5 and I have lost the TV remote. So, every night at around 7, I give my mum a call and ask her to look in their TV guide and tell me what is on 5 that evening.
Tuesday night I watched Big, Bigger, Biggest (not as dodgy as it sounds, it was actually about the development of aircraft carriers) and fell asleep halfway through.
Wednesday night I watched Monster Moves (about relocating buildings from one place to another in America) and fell asleep halfway through.
Last night I rejoiced because House was on and I stayed awake for the whole show.
Have no internet, just a a friends picking up some laundry (someone dropped the washing machine during the move and it no longer works :( ), but wanted to let you all know that the move went well. Love the new house, especially the kitchen. Am knackered. WIll upload photos soon (but probably not very soon).
This afternoon we are going to London to assess the damage to our flat and to pack up and move our belongings into storage. Its a sad day. Not coping with it all today.
In addition to the events that I blogged about last week, I had a small accident in the car which is going to cost a few hundred pounds to fix and our buyers solicitor still wont speak to ours so we may or may not exchange tomorrow.
Sometimes I wonder when it will all end. But it does seem trivial compared to what so many people go through. We are both safe and healthy, we have enough money to live on and a roof over our heads and we have an amazing new house to look forward to. I keep having to remind myself of these things.
In the words of a delirious? song that has kept me going for the last few months,
'Everything little thing's gonna be alright, every little thing is gonna be ok'
Found on Wednesday that the people who had tried to break into our flat were not deterred by someone staying there. They broke in while he was out by smashing the glass in the front door. They rifled through our stuff but we dont have much of any value. They did, however, steal our firends laptop.
I must have spent hours on the phone trying to sort it all out from afar (I was in Cambridge visiting my Granny, Mr WF was in Brum). We were amazed by how supportive people were. We are now going to pack up all our belongings and move them into storgae in Bru, on Mon/Tues next week, thanks to the removal company who rearranged their schedule to fit us in, the Bank of Granny for paying the costs until the sale of our flat goes through and we can pay her back, and to the lovely people from church in Brum who investigated the storage options here and arrange it all for us.
Still reeling from it all but we're still hoping to be in our new house next week and none of it will really matter then. Once again we feel so blessed by the amazing friends and family that we have who suppot us, uphold us, and pray for us.
This week it is our wedding anniversary and as we had hoped we would be moving this week we arranged to celebrate it at the weekend. On Sunday night we went to stay in a lovely B&B in Warwick.
Those that know me well will know that I am a bit of a tea freak. I have to say that what made it the best place I have ever stayed in is that along with the normal tea making facilities in the room, there was also a fridge on the landing where you could get fresh milk for you tea. Glorious!
We then set off to explore Warwick. We had planned to go to the castle but it was nearly £20 a head!!!! So we thought we would mooch around Warwick. But everything was closed. So we hopped in the car and drove to Stratford-upon-Avon. But there we encountered heavy sleet/snow and soon gave up. So then we headed to a National Trust property to use the membership we had been given. But there was a 2 hour wait to get into the house. At this point we gave up and went home. Via a pub with an open fire that provided hot food and beer. Not such a bad day after all!
Spent the Easter weekend with the inlaws in snowy Croydon. It was a joy to be reunited with the special kitty who has been living there since we have been migrant wanderers in Birmingham. Hopefully he can come and live with us soon.
Since I have been trying to lose weight (or just trying to to put too much weight on!), Mr WF bought me a non-chocolate related Easter present. It was also a non-Easter related gift but thats beside the point. I was very excited. It was Cool Runnings on DVD - one of my favouritist films ever. I am now happy and not too overindulged on chocolate.
There has been a lack of bloggage of late due to a variety of circumstances. I will now let you know what has been going on for the last few days in a series of separate posts in the hope that you wont die of tedium from reading one long rambling post. Here we go...
We may or may not move into our new house next week. I should find out tomorrow if we can exchange this week and therefore complete next week (apparently there has been a problem because the plan of our flat was in the wrong colour).
In other news, I have been doing lots of shopping in preparation for the forthcoming move, my whole family has gone to visit my brother in Kenya for a 3 week beach/safari holiday and term ends in two days. I am happy about two of these things and slightly miffed about the other.
I've had just about all I can take of living in the same house with a 17 year old boy. He rules the roost (obviously!) as he is the only child still living at home.
When he is home, the lounge is virtually out of bounds as he is playing on his PS2 whilst simultaneously watching at least 2 TV programmes. He screams and shouts at Pro Evo Soccer as if it were a real football game.
I seem to spend my time in my bedroom or trying to be out. Saturdays should be for chilling at home, not trying to find somewhere else to be.
On a brighter note, the wool arrived today for my knitted tea cosy. I am very excited and have started it already. I also have finished 1 sock from pair A, 95% of 1 sock from pair B, 75% of a tank top and 65% of a scarf. I possibly have issues finishing something before moving on to the next thing!
This is going to be an entirely non-whingey house-related post.
We're nearly there. Should be able to exchange next week and get the keys and move in during the Easter holidays.
Feeling an awful lot more positive now that we've decided not to rewire straight away but to move in and enjoy our house for a little while first. Excitement is building. We have ordered a sofa & armchair, I am hunting for a lovely bed for our guest room and I have my eye on a beautiful throw for our old sofa.
Can't wait now (but in more of an excited than stressed way).
Just thought I ought to warn you all that most posts for the next few weeks are going to go along the lines of 'we're nearly moving/have nearly got a date/have postponed date for some measly bit of paperwork/need to find removal company/need to find electrician/I'm so stressed/so near yet so far/I want my own house and am fed up of living with other people.'
Apologies now if it gets a little tedious and monotonous. As it stands, we're waiting for our mortgage offer letter which should arrive early next week (pleeeeease God let it arrive then). Then it should be 10 working days until completion and moving date. So we could be looking at the week before Easter, which would be perfect.
But everyone keeps saying 'don't get your hopes up' etc, which I know is true but makes me want to sob and hit them because I need something to cling on to.
I have had enough. But it will be over soon and I will have the biggest ever housewarming party (to which you are all invited to compensate for the ear- (or should I say eye-) bashing that you're going to get over the next few weeks from me.
Sorry for whingyness - hopefully, very soon, it will turn to excitement.
Here I am... 
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