Two weeks ago I should have vacated the house and in all honesty there was no way I was anywhere near ready to do so… Tokyo and I had been up for already 30 hours and I was completely swamped and totally overwhelmed by the whole procedure.
It was entre auto thanks to my bestie Brigitte, who started to get things done, I do not know how she managed! One of my best and loyal friends Dieric called and I burst in tears and all he said was: I am coming. leaving Amsterdam now! His wife Ewa came along and helped me conquer. Dieric also dealt with all the official stuff, I was long past it and completely lost and the new owners were brilliantly understanding,
I am them forever grateful! I think they will become a huge asset to my former neighbours!!
Brigitte went 9 times to the rubbish dump, in order to get rid of most of the stuff, Dieric and Ewa, started to load everything else in their own car and into Katja’s who very gracefully loaned her big car, going up and down endlessly to get it cleared!
Mitchel, my bonus child, turned up with his big van with a huge cart hitched onto it and started to load till it could carry no more. Jaison and I were all over the place, at the home and at the newly ordered storage place, running around with carts filled to the hilt, trying to put some order and sense into it all.
My eldest came a bit later to take down all the stuff which was not suppose to be there!
My youngest having left only days before, after helping me for almost a week just before his semester exam time, while warning me that there was no way I would manage this within the timeframe. Incidentally he got through!
Unfortunately I did not recognise it, I have moved many times, always in a very controlled orderly fashion, well organised and dealt within a day, but this was no ordinary moving home, this was saying goodbye to my old life and although not having anything to live in at that point, moving into a new life, being completely overwhelmed by the whole situation.
That night we went to sleep after being up for forty hours, we sneakily got ourselves some burgers on the way, we finally allowed ourselves and the dogs to eat and drink and probably fell asleep in our temporarily caravan within 3 minutes, totally exhausted.
The next morning we got up early and started to clear, anything in Mitchell car and cart we more or less chucked with the exception of a few items.. It was devastating but it had to be done.
Meanwhile Mitch has done another run for us and we have found our camper, I changed my mind at the last possible moment and am very glad I did.
The extra storage is almost empty and so is my original one, I have become very selective what I want to keep. It is mostly photographs, little furniture, camper stuff, shoes and clothes. There is far to much Christmas stuff, but I love my stable and Angel far to much to get rid of them. i however do hope I can see them one day again…
I am being supported by my lovely friend Joke, who is sorting out my bookkeeping and admin and washes my stuff whenever I turn up yet again with dirty laundry. She is another of my rocks!
As is Katja, I know that she has enough on her mind, having just become a widow the week before my moving. Still whatever she can do, she will, full of brilliant advice and a listening ear!
And she is also carefully washing my gorgeous newly bought blankets for the camper and keeping them, till I have everything sorted on this end!
Yesterday and this weekend Tokyo has had other prior appointments, which gave me the chance to rearrange my worldly goods in my camper, thus that it all fits…
I have to get some help with changing the taps in the kitchen, bathroom and shower, hopefully the electric guy comes today at the appointed hour, in order to change the rear side camera, install my electrical/usb points, change the navigation system which is far too complicated, Google maps will rule the roads and will install some safety precautions which I will not tell you about…
I will finally wash my sheets, who on and off have been in use for at least three weeks and have to go the almost empty storage to get the washing powder and the other sets of clean sheets and on my way I will stop by the dogpark so my dogs can be dogs again instead of extra ballast and at times almost a nuisance by just being there. There is obviously no better loyalty than dogs, cats would already have found a far better, more reliable and caring owner! I am glad they are still here!
I have started to take back the walking tours from Tokyo, who really has been my star. I do not know how he managed, but he has supported me time and time again, looked after the dogs, taking them for a walk, feeding them, giving them endless water while he rearranged my original storage, reloaded my youngest storage, rearranged my eldest storage and found the photobooks from before the war back, lost in the bottom back of that storage, I am sooo grateful!
He has managed to persuade me to get rid of a lot of rubbish, i do not really need or ever needed and diminished my storage by half…
I meanwhile have done the same in the camper, so that when he comes back, we can actually find our stuff quite easily.. You would be surprised how much can get lost in 18 square meter.. again and again thus giving an extra incentive for tidying up…
I still have to sort the food and spices, get a rack in the garage of the camper for extra (safety) stuff and another for the bikes and on Monday I have an appointment with the guy about the heating, Thursday if all goes well the electric guy comes back to install everything and hopefully I have been able to change the taps meanwhile.
Then one more weekend here for the final touches and we will start finally to travel!
I hope I have mentioned all the names that helped me in the past period, for I am incredibly grateful and would have never come to this point if they would not have been there!
I am a very lucky person!
Have a great day !