Monday 5 June 2017

Ukulele class.

First and third Monday afternoons means Ukulele Class - six of us in the class and an hour's really hard work.   I practise the bits at home - playing and singing (no you would definitely not like to hear them) but when I get to the class and have to play them up to speed I tend to panic and miss quite a bit of the strumming out.   Still I am determined to get better.


 Then after tea there will be one more box to pack.
I make myself  pack two boxes a day.   The house is now full of boxes (very unsettling) but |I just cannot leave it all until the last minute - I am too old to spend the whole day doing it and two a day suits me fine.  It is very unsettling seeing all the boxes packed and stacked against the walls - after all, this is the longest I have ever lived in one place (twenty four years) and it will be hard to leave a place where I have been so happy with my beloved farmer.

Off now to make my sandwiches and sit down with them and a cup of tea to watch the antiques programme.

 

26 comments:

Derek Faulkner said...

It must be really sad and tiring doing all that packing on your own and no one to share it with - really feel for you.

justjill said...

Your playing of the ukelele is just amazing. Wish I could hear you! I understand about the packing. Soon you will be able to 'play' and unpack.x

Morning's Minion said...

Packing for a move is dreadfully unsettling--even if the move has been planned well ahead and not part of adjusting to a sad change of circumstances. At such times, whether those final days in my old home or the arrival at a new one, I try to maintain a corner of sanity--that place where I can sit with a cup of tea and attempt to regroup.

Sue in Suffolk said...

I wish I was one of those people who always have the right words at the right moment, but I'll just say keep on jogging along a box at a time and send you a virtual hug from Suffolk

A Heron's View said...

I think that you are doing remarkably well by managing to learn how to play the Ukulele and in packing up for the move at the same time.
What will happen to the farm when you move out will it be sold or will another family member take it over ?

Beverley said...

Very sensible doing a couple at a time.

Heather said...

I know just how you feel and am in a similar situation. I am longing to get a completion date yet dreading it at the same time. Will I be ready in time?! I cheer myself by thinking how nice it will be when it is all over and I am resettled. Glad you have your ukulele classes to take your mind off things.

jinxxxygirl said...

I have moved many MANY times in my life Pat and i celebrate 50 this month.. Its never easy... seeing a life packed in boxes.. I have seen it many times in my family where the husband has passed and the wife has to pack up and move because she cannot afford to stay in the home they shared.. I swore that would not be me but here i'am in a home that if something happened to my hubby i could not stay here..... Theres not much we could do to change our situation except sell and move now.. but neither one of us wants to do that..... Instead we live life day to day... Hugs! deb

Sue said...

Unsettling times for you Pat.

Mac n' Janet said...

So hard seeing your life in boxes, can't imagine going on without my Mac, I would be lost, I admire your bravery.

Thickethouse.wordpress said...

Peace and comfort to you, dear Weaver of Grass...This is a difficult time of your life, but I am so inspired by you and how you remain engaged with life and your friends and family. I moved into my house in 1980 and don't know how long I will be here, but am struggling to move things out! Donate, recycle, trash...Staggering problem, really.

donna baker said...

That is hard having the boxes taking up space, much less having to pack. I taught myself to play the ukulele on you tube and if you could have seen me strumming along. I've forgotten the chords now and need to go back a relearn them. I'm going to learn Cat Steven's IF YOU WANT TO SING OUT, SING OUT. All in all, it sounds like a good day.

Rachel Phillips said...

There must be something strange about me but four years ago after 30 years together Peter and I moved our stuff here on a tractor and trailer and no packing. (Immediately prior to that I had cleared over 60 years of my mother's "rubbish" and my father's belongings 40 years after he died that my mother never touched, and thought to myself "nobody is ever going to have to do this for me". This might have had something to do with it. I had a lot of bonfires and a lot of giving things away. I am now ever more self contained and my belongings would fit in a suitcase. The furniture can go on a bonfire.

angryparsnip said...

Packing is always hard. The last move I made was the worst. I loved the little home by the ocean.
I started packing right away as my home sold so fast (even at Christmas) had to find a new home to move into a state away.
I was very happy there for four year till what I had to live on from the divorce could only support the home or my children and dogs.
So I chose my family and moved from the ocean to the desert.

cheers, parsnip and thehamish

The Weaver of Grass said...

Thanks everyone. The thing about all this is that I have so much to do that I hardly have time to sit and think - and that is good in one way.

Iris said...

Yes, moving out of a home that you shared with a loved partner is difficult. You seem to be a positive person and I hope that you will be able to set up your new home just the way you like it and feel like the queen of your new castle licketysplit!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I imagine your armchair squeezed in between huge towers made from boxes and you sitting there eating your ham sandwiches. Being in limbo can be unsettling. It will be worth it in the end.

Virginia said...

The longer you're in one place the harder the move is, and that's without the added complexity of grief. You are an inspiration keeping going so systematically Pat. We did our "big Down-size" move ten years ago and it really is time to have another cull. We say that we only bring something into the house if something else goes out, but we're not strict enough, and the BOOKS multiple all by themselves I swear! I love the Antiques Road Show too, enjoy it. I wish I was close enough to offer a helping hand.

Alphie Soup said...

Packing and moving.... one of the most difficult, time consuming and mentally draining activities on the planet. I can see why people hire professionals. Anyway, I think you are tackling it in a good way, a box at a time.
As for the ukulele playing and the singing - it's a great distraction.

Alphie

Librarian said...

It is so reasonable to do it your way, at your own pace. And I am truly glad you still do the things you like, such as going out for lunch with friends, and not skipping ukulele class. Being busy is a good thing, and you seem to get the balance right between work and play.
Certainly not easy to leave the home where you were happy for so many years, but I am confident you will soon settle well in your new place.

John "By Stargoose And Hanglands" said...

That's it. Keep on strummin'!

Tom Stephenson said...

Are you going to perfect a George Formby voice as well? (Or was he bangolele?) So you like antiques programs as well?

Linda Metcalf said...

A house holds so many memories...it has to be difficult for you.We are all holding you up along the way.

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

As hard as it is, keeping busy makes the day easier. How wonderful that you give yourself the time and the joy of learning to play the ukulele.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

Me and a ukelele are against the Geneva Convention

Pamela Terry and Edward said...

I think the ukulele has the sweetest sound.
Good for you for taking it up!
xo