stash in the attic

The clear out is going well, we are learning to be ruthless and can see light at the end of the tunnel - not to mention the floor under the bed and in the attics.

There are some things though which have to remain as "treasures". We are allowing ourselves one old suitcase each to keep our selection.

Memorabilia of a life so far?
My case holds the shawl my Mum made when I was born which I also used for my children, some school books from my infant years, school ties, badges and the university scarf, the teenage angst ridden diaries, a bundle of letters from TC from before we were married, the wedding outfit (rescued from the kids dressing up box), one or two bits and pieces made by the kids when they were small and mementoes from teachering days (that has taken a while to select) as well as certificates ranging from first aid and grade 1 piano to post graduate efforts.



There are some things which don't count as suitcase treasures - I really can't throw out photos and we have a dozen albums of the kids growing up, a drawer full of boxes of holiday photos and now discs storing digital files - these will be kept safe of course and serve to remind us of our treasure trove of memories and cheer us up on future rainy afternoons ( even in France!). There are some things that will always have a place!

In the meantime the suitcase will travel to a new attic with its little hoard. It may amuse future generations to see what was selected - no point in them hoping for anything valuable though, this is definitely not cash in the attic!

The end of the tourist season

It's all gone a bit quiet on the house selling front.

I'm not sorry to have ceased the role of tour guide for nosy locals and it's good to be at the stage when we can say we are definitely going to be here till the end of the year when TC leaves work. Now if we get a definite sale we can look to moving in the new year even if we have to rent a place to start with. It is a bit unnerving though having nothing at all happening and I keep meeting people with tales of houses for sale for over a year. Right at the start of the process the estate agent did warn us that the first sign of tinsel drove all thoughts of moving out of peoples minds and sure enough its October, the shops are all baubles and glitter and the phone has stopped ringing.

There has been progress though. He HAS given in his notice and WILL be leaving at the end of December. On the appointed day I was unsure what his reaction might be but he came home in celebratory mood and a bottle of bubbly was opened! I have also given advanced notice that I will not be available for any more tutoring work after this term so we are both on countdown time.

We will be off to France again at the end of this month and maybe we will be able to devote a few days to some serious househunting. We will also be taking a car load of bits and pieces uncovered during the continuing decluttering to store at Pavillon, nothing too precious but we might as well fill the car and make the space here.

Our car boot experiences continue to be somewhat disappointing. Last week a profit of £10 did not seem worth the effort (even though I didn't go) but it was a wet and cold morning so we can use that as an excuse this time. BUT we are making good progress on clearing the attics and we can now see the dust under the beds! ( slight panic this week when the new vacuum cleaner stopped working but it turned out to be just a blockage in the pipe - I have to admit there was a serious amount of dust under the junk)