Monday 28 September 2015

Stuff and sentiment

As Clavering (now) purports to be an occasional diary piece rather than a monthly blog I suppose I should start to record our leaving of the colonies. 

We are about three weeks (plus) into our seven week (plus) stay here and we are well into the throes of making all the arrangements we need to leave.

So far we have seen two realtors and we signed with one at the weekend.  Two days before they came we spotted a leak in our lanai ceiling, suggesting a leak in the roof!!  We have also seen a roofer who says he will submit his quote to our Master Association (so no cost to us as the insurance for buildings is in our fees) and, once approved, he will get to the job as soon as he can.  This may well be after we depart!

quite a bit of water damage around it covering a good part of the ceiling

At that point we decided we had no choice but to change our flights home (at huge cost and to what date?) so we could follow through the roofer's work and then the subsequent repair and repaint of the ceiling (also huge cost to us).  Oh happy day!

As it turned out the realtor will oversee it all at no extra charge.  We still have to pay the 'decorator' part of course.  Try that in the UK.  So our leaving date remains at 25th October.

Ray the Mover came this morning and suggested we use a 'pack and ship' company instead as that would be cheaper.  that was a kind thing to do after spending time here working up a quote.  He said he was a 'Rotarian' and that was their mantra.  

Ken rang  two pack-and-ships and both arranged to come out and quote today (!).  Boy, will I miss the service over here.  One packer has been and is talking about $1,000 (probably more as it goes by weight) for about 400 cubic feet of 'stuff'.  We are selling turnkey so all we are thinking of taking it is the cherry pickings of the contents of cupboards and drawers.

This is where sentiment v. hard cash comes in.  Absolutely nothing we are shipping is of any value and I doubt very much that their total value is anything like $1,000.  Right now I think the more sensible option is to pack four cases with as much as we can and abandon the rest.  Indeed if we bought two more cases ($100) and paid for those on the flight ($100) plus cab home ($100) for us and six large cases we are still quids in!

chair from mom,mom's plate, card from family, bottle opener from France, flowers from my son

To do this means leaving things like a tea set that I will probably never use but love, gifts from various people over the years including a miniature chair from my mom - all of which have no display area in the UK.  I also have endless 'favourite' pots, dishes, gadgets.  I have a ton of bedlinen and towels that I am 'attached' to but don't need and don't really have storage space for in the UK and, again, I could buy something very like if I wanted to for less than shipping them home.

Another argument from me is that we have lived half our lives without them for ten years so they can hardly be vital to our existence. They are a bit like stuff you keep in the loft and never use but it is comforting to know its there.  No I don't do that - hard-hearted Hannah!

A huge part of my soul is so against 'stuff' so I can genuinely walk away from most of it, but I can't quite squish that little sentimental me who finds excuses to keep this and that.

One way or another, ship or take, it is all systems go.  The realtors will be showing the place after we leave so we don't have the inconvenience of clearing off when they bring people round.  We don't have to come back for the closing as all that can all be done from the UK by email.

As yet it is still hard to believe that the 25th October will be the last time we are in 257 Robin Hood Circle.  Ten years is a very long time to be in one place for me!  We got this apartment and our current UK house around the same time, so will this mean a move at home too?

Meanwhile I am taking sentimental photos just in case we leave the stuff.: Leaving 257  ...  loads more to come



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