Thursday morning

Good morning all it is bright and breezy this morning and I am recovering from a long day yesterday.  The garage is partially empty and is now full of black bags awaiting collection on Friday when the job will be finished.  Although I was not actually doing the clearing it was hard mental work sorting what to keep and what to throw out and the guy went away with an entire van load of stuff and by my calculations, he has another van load to go.  Anyway once it is done I can get a broom in there and clean it out a bit.  Over the years we have had it fill with leaves and we also had a rat problem at one stage so you can imagine the mess.

I tried the trick with setting the timer while I clear out the flour cupboard and it worked really well as I made myself stop.  The trouble with me is once I start something I don't know when to stop and get deeply involved in the cleaning process. Then I am exhausted and it will be months before I have another go.  

Today the gardener is due but they have only given me a date, not time so I am not sure when he will turn up.  He has a garage key so he can let himself in if I happen to be in the shower or something.  Tomorrow is also going to be a busy day as the man is due to come and mend the coffee machine and the other guy is coming at 8am to finish clearing the garage and shed.  It was sad to see some of the stuff go but I suppose it is a bit like downsizing home when moving.  I know when my mum and dad moved from a large house to a spacious bungalow they found packing cases which had come home with them from Nigeria which got put in the loft where they stayed unopened for many years.  The only good thing was that the packing cases were made of mahogany so Dad kept the wood and made bookcases and chopping board out of them.

The coffee machine man is due tomorrow but as yet I don't know when.  This matters as he will be in the kitchen so I can't be in there cooking when he comes.  The meat that arrived from Riverford included a 1kg of chicken carcasses which are now 2 litres of stock and several dog meals as lots of meat was left on the bones.  Besides that and the odds and sods of rice, the dogs are doing really well out of my spring cleaning.  

In the process of clearing the shed, I found some TFR [traffic film remover] which is used to clean lorries and I used to use to clean the caravan and I think it might just be the answer to a prayer for the embossed tiles in the bathroom which so far have resisted everything I have tried except tons of elbow grease and a scrubbing brush.

Denzil came home with loads of salad and a victoria sandwich so that is what we had with the sticky wings I had made.  There is still a load of salad left so I think today I will use one of the lovely Iceland fish things to accompany it.  The stock is now cold and I can put it in the freezer for later use.

This is all a slow unending process as I sure you know but you certainly feel better when you open a cupboard and it is all clean and tidy.

OK so that is today's plan I hear the shower calling and I need another cup of coffee before I get my shoulder to the wheel.  Have a good one and I can recommend the setting of a timer as a good way to motivate yourself without exhausting yourself.