What used to work, doesn’t, not anymore. The way we organized our two homes was based on living in two places, the future unknown. Here we are, in the unknown future, merging two completely separate households. For instance, we used to keep the cutlery here in clean used tomato tins on the table, always available, taking up a little bit of space. We used to keep the cutlery at the country house in the kitchen drawer, we had four good sized drawers there. Living at Mist Cottage is an altogether different set of circumstances. There is no longer any room for the tomato tins on the table, there are only three tiny drawers in the old fashioned kitchen cupboards. The cutlery has ended up in a drawer in the butcher block cart, at least for now; the former set has been bundled together with elastic bands. And so it goes on, and on, and on. I imagine there will be several rounds of reorganization, of which this is the first. I have started a “camping” tote, where I put duplicates that might be used for camping, such as the cutlery bundles, the rest of the duplicates are in the “yard sale” tote.
Yesterday Attila received word that he needed to perform an online test for a promising job application here. He has an old flip phone, with pay as you go minutes on it; the tests were totally beyond the capability of his technology. He decided to drive home last night, yes, five hours home, so that he could do the online test on my laptop. As soon as he was off work he set out, and arrived around 9:00 p.m. It took until midnight to install the necessary software, configure the computer, do the tests, have a bite to eat, unload the boxes that he brought in Tank, have a much appreciated bath, and lay down to rest until the alarm went off. Attila arose at 2:00 a.m., made coffee, packed a bit, ate a bit, and waved goodbye as he drove off to the north, at 2:30 a.m. He made good time, arriving for work at 7:00 a.m., when he texted me to let me know he had arrived safely.
I did not go back to sleep after he left, perhaps due to all the excitement. Occasionally I feel waves of weariness, so I sit quietly for a little while, before my whirling mind has me on my feet, and puttering with something interesting I found in a box.
After breakfast there were errands to run in town. The modem from the country house had to be returned to Bell, who mailed a shipping label, which was brought to Mist Cottage last night. That necessitated a visit to the Post Office for a shipping receipt, for proof of shipping. The morning jaunt also included visits to the banks, to request change of address on accounts. The last stop was the grocery store for some milk.
The rest of the day was about unpacking the boxes brought down in Tank last night, which will take another few days to complete. Every time the kitchen counters become relatively clear, another box is emptied and the clutter is back. Eventually, one would think, the steady parade of boxes will diminish!
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Worldly Distractions
Weather
Camp Tank
26°C
Date: 2:00 PM EDT Wednesday 16 September 2015
Condition: Sunny
Pressure: 102.6 kPa
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 26.2°C
Dewpoint: 13.8°C
Humidity: 46%
Wind: W 13 km/h
Humidex: 29
Mist Cottage
22°C
Date: 2:00 PM EDT Wednesday 16 September 2015
Condition: Mainly Sunny
Pressure: 102.6 kPa
Tendency: falling
Visibility: 16 km
Temperature: 22.3°C
Dewpoint: 19.3°C
Humidity: 83%
Wind: S 22 km/h
Humidex: 29
Quote
“You’re never too old to become younger.”
Mae West
1892 – 1980
Good luck to Attila on the test! The country house looks adorable, outside and in.
And eventually the parade of boxes and duplicate supplies will be gone, and Mist Cottage will be cozy again.
I keep you two in mind whenever I think life is getting a little rough. Such determination!
The country house is much grander than I had ever imagined it.
Sounds like things are more up than down, in spite of adjustment pains. Keep a good heart!
Thanks Lee Ann, Attila seemed to sail through the test, they will review the results with him during his interview next week. Fingers crossed!
It will be cozy again, although it is hard to imagine it looking at it right now, lol!
Steve-Paul, the country house was not so great when we bought it, a lot of love and hard work went on there. Maybe sometime I will post before and after pictures, the bathroom in particular was a disaster, broken cabinetry, curling floor tiles, a real mess. A shame to leave it, but location, location, location. 🙂
Right now things are what I consider up, I think it is because at this point I am optimistic that Attila will find some kind of employment here, and be home a bit more as a result. Of course, reality is another thing altogether, but it will be a while before it catches up with me… or maybe it won’t! 🙂
You made that country house into a beautiful dwelling, and I’m sure the house in the city will be beautiful, as well! Good luck to Attila, though he probably doesn’t need it!
Sending you both massive vibes and prayers! I worry over Attila, as I’m sure you do. Two hours of sleep is not a good thing.
DH reminds me that about 10 years ago we were combining houses. Most of my things went into storage and stayed there for a couple of years, until we moved here. Then the two households truly got combined. Thank goodness at that time we were renting a 2-story and basement townhome so we had lots of room until we could pare things down. We were lucky to have that basement so we could set up household reasonably on the two upper floors while having a work area in the basement for the boxes.
Sounds like you’re getting things done. You must be or you wouldn’t be finding that empty table periodically. 😉 You two are good workers.
Thanks Joan! We have plans for the little house, they will take time, and the house is perfectly livable as it is. I will pass your good wishes on to Attila, he is pretty determined!
Teri, it sounds like you know what it is like to squeeze two households into one, :).
Mist Cottage is one third the size of the country house, and it is already furnished comfortably. I made a floor plan, before the move. We followed it carefully, and got all the furniture in, but it isn’t a comfortable fit. It will all get done eventually, faster if Attila manages to find work here, then we will both be working on it.
The ladies above said everything I was thinking… so ditto. Amazing Attila for driving 10 hours after work AND reconfiguring a computer AND taking a very important test for a new job. All Wow factors. But then you are the Wow Couple anyway. I’ve never seen anything like it… not in the current day World.
The country house is so pretty, it must have been hard to leave it. But” inch by inch, row by row, you can make your garden grow… ” and all will be well. As they say “grow where you are planted” – BTW what’s the garden situation at Mist Cottage? I seem to remember you mentioning gardening at some point but can’t remember… will it be good for growing things to put up in jars?
love.
Needs must Bex, and so we do what we can to survive. Attila drove five hours to get here and almost five hours to get back in the a.m., ten hours in total. I just talked to him this morning, he bunked down in Tank at about 8:30 last night, and I woke him up as requested at 6:00 a.m. this morning. He has two more nights that he can sleep long hours before he faces the next drive home. He sounded much better this morning than he did last night. I truly hope he doesn’t have to do that again! Truth be told, I did not go back to sleep when he left, just lay awake waiting from him to call saying he had arrived safely.
We loved the country house, but it was not in a place meant for us. We had some very happy times there, and put a lot of love into the place, and were so very pleased that a family was moving into it to carry on where we left off. We knew that although the location was wrong for us, it would be perfect for someone else.
Ah yes, the garden! The next post, I promise, will have news of our little garden.