Goodbye Naked Bloggers

Sad to say that this will be my last entry into The Naked Blogger’s. But all is not lost, we will be starting our new travel blog shortly afterwards.

Trying to think what the main theme to this one was. Our first one was a travel blog where we travelled around India, Shri Lanka and Thailand and upon our return Jim had it made into a book. Our second one was about the renovation of this house which culminated in us tying the knot whilst on holiday on the Queen Mary 2 around the Caribbean. Claire has just had that one made into a book that I am just reading at the moment. We had a second copy made which we have put into my mum and dad’s Christmas stocking. Thanks mum and dad for the money that we bought our Hong Kong Dollars, Australian Dollars and US Dollars with and still have some left to take in UK cash. I suppose that the theme of this blog was renovation and moving house. The first two blogs consisted of about 100 entries each, whereas this is the 286th entry for the Naked Bloggers. I suspect that when Claire has this made into a book it will cost a little more than the other two.

It all started with the renovation of our Two Mile Ash flat that we renovated with the intention of selling on but unfortunately this coincided with the UK (and world) property crash and we were unable to sell it for a fraction of its value before renovation. This stopped us in our tracks; we had originally intended to try and go it alone, rather than working for other people, to renovate and sell on a few times a year. We couldn’t have picked a worse time to start. Some say we should have seen it coming but it’s impossible to predict events like these. When I started buying the flats in the first place, on the other hand, it couldn’t have been a better time, just before they started rising fast. I didn’t start buying because I could see the future it was just good luck on that occasion. Once I had bought the first two and could see that you couldn’t go wrong it was only a matter of finding deposits and buying as many as possible. Why wasn’t everybody doing it? I soon found out that they were, it just hadn’t reached the press at that time.

The only thing for it was to rent the Two Mile Ash flat out for a year and see if things had changed by the next year. In the mean time the company that I had been contracting for about 7 years hit the recession and started making redundancies. You can’t keep a contractor on and make permanent staff redundant so I was the first to leave. Not very much chance of another contract in the current climate so Claire had the idea of renting our house out for a year. Our lovely new house that we had just renovated. The more I thought about it the better the idea became; it would give us an extra income at the same time as moving into the second flat on our sell list and thereby reducing our capital gains tax dramatically. The tenants had just moved out because water was coming through the ceiling from the flat above every time they used the bathroom which fused the electric. It was all a bit of a nightmare.

While we were there we renovated it to live in and sell, then we renovated our two Oldbrook flats completely with new kitchens and bathrooms etc while we put the city centre flat on the market which sold after a few months. Our original plan seemed to be back on but we somehow got there through the back door. I even managed to get a contract for a couple of months. Only trouble was it coincided with our first Oldbrook renovation. I was driving 200 miles at 4am Monday down to the South coast, starting work at 7am until 6pm for 4 days then driving the 200 miles home after work on Thursday so I could work 12 hours a day for 3 days on the renovation. It’s not possible to work like this for more than a few months or you will become ill. Luckily the contract came to an end and so did the renovation and we were able to sneak a couple of weeks in Goa before starting the second Oldbrook renovation next door. Around this time we sold the city centre flat but our house was still let out and we needed somewhere to live or rent. Good old Jimmy came to the rescue and said we could stay at Shirley’s house as she had moved back in with Jim again. Are you keeping up?

We had a couple of weeks before our house was due to complete so decided to get renovating immediately so we could have a couple of rooms done before we needed to move in. The bathroom was fine and we first only intended to make the kitchen good but as we found a cheap kitchen in the sales decided to replace it and tile the floor. It was the right choice and we had almost finished before we moved in. I guess it took us about 3 weeks in total; we are getting quite quick at this by now. It makes so much difference when you are doing it full time rather than in your spare time. Just finished that and moved in there and our Cranfield flat came back to us and we were able to renovate that with a new kitchen, bathroom and windows. We also managed to squeeze a few holidays in, to Turkey, Majorca, France, Germany and Cape Verde along with a few weekend breaks and canal boat trip. Just about finished now and I have almost told the entire Naked bloggers story in one entry; why did we need 285 other entries?

Thanks for following us and I hope that our next blog will be a little more interesting to follow; it will certainly be more interesting from a writer’s position.

Signing Off & Packing Up

I am conscious that I have been a bit of a misery guts lately so I shall try, on this cold Monday morning, to keep it light. I’d like to say that I’ve fully recovered from my cold but I haven’t. One day I wake up and I think I’m better and start doing things and then in the afternoon I get worse. What’s that all about? The only good thing about being ill is that I have lost my appetite, liquids instead of solids, does wonders for the diet. Mind you, I realised as I was lying in bed this morning that a diet of Lemsips & white wine, probably wasn’t the best for my bunged up sinuses which are terrible first thing. I think, maybe a detox and a massage are the order for this week. There is much to do and I need a clear head.

It was a shame that I wasn’t well because we had to cancel dinner with Jan & Steve on Saturday evening. Phil was miffed about this, but I know the trouble and the amount of effort that Steve puts into his cooking and it wouldn’t have been fair. Also I didn’t want to share my nasty germs. On Sunday, Phil was meant to pick up Georgina and take her to Melton Mowbray to see his mum and dad but in an email she said she thought she had swine flu, so of course she couldn’t go. Knowing that his mum would have brought all the vegetables and got the meat out of the freezer, Phil decided he would take me to Melton instead.

I was looking forward to a duvet day by myself on Sunday especially as I woken up with a banging headache and blocked sinuses and I didn’t’ want to infect Phil’s mum and dad, as being elderly, they are more vulnerable. But at the same time, I knew it would be the last time I would see them before our trip so I decided to take a chance. Phil’s mum cooked my favourite Sunday lunch, roast lamb with all the trimmings and very nice it was too. Not having eaten much all week, I couldn’t finish my plate which was a real shame. I’d taken down their birthday presents which fall in December and a couple of Christmas presents. I’d also taken down a copy of our flight schedule and Phil pointed out to his mum, all the places on the globe that we would be visiting. Bless her, we haven’t even gone and already she is worrying. Phil’s mum and dad gave us both an envelope full of money for our Christmas box as they always do each year. And Phil’s mum had written a couple of envelopes with paper inside so I could write them a letter. Bless ‘em.

We were both knackered after the drive home and both fell asleep on the sofa. Phil woke me up at 4 o’clock this morning as he couldn’t sleep because he was thinking about Australia. For some reason he made me get out of bed and swap sides, god knows why. I asked him whether it was because he wanted my anti-wrinkle silk pillow case which he is rather fond of. But he said no it stunk of Karvol and he wanted to see, whether a change of side would stop him thinking! Amazingly after this conversation we both did manage to go back to sleep so his strategy worked!

This is going to be my last posting on The Naked Bloggers. I’m only sorry that I have to end talking about coughs, colds and bunged up noses. Which is why, I am pleased that Phil will be doing one last final blog on Wednesday. He is so hyper about the trip that he’s bound to be upbeat and he is determined to have the last word! It’s all yours Phil. As some of you may know, we have had much deliberation as to whether to make the new blog private or public. The reason I made this blog private was because evidence popped into Phil’s email box when we were in Blackpool to suggest that Phil’s ex-wife had discovered our blog. Not just this blog but also the previous two. This totally F R E A K E D me out for ten million reasons, but not least because I felt so exposed. I do reveal some of my very inner most thoughts so you can understand the panic and the reasons for going private. I have calmed down a little now, but at the same time I have learnt some very invaluable lessons. What’s done is done and it can’t be changed.

That said, after much discussion, the next blog will be public. Phil does most of the posting when we are on holiday and I don’t think this trip will be any different. I still have a few issues but we have really enjoyed reading other people’s travel blogs that we’d like to share this trip, with no restrictions. It is a trip in a lifetime and we both know that we are lucky to have, not just the cash but also our health to enable us to embark on such an extended journey.

Now I must sign off for one last time and get started on the packing!

Anyone for Lemsip?

Shaun came out first thing on Wednesday morning and fitted the new pump. It didn’t take him long but he still charged us 180 quid. As soon as he’d gone Phil whacked up the thermostat, he hasn’t enjoyed being cold, it’s bad enough with him working out in the chilly conservatory. I shouldn’t moan too much though, Phil tells me that Jim cut through a pipe which has knocked out his central heating and hot water at home. Phil has given him Shaun’s number from Red Hot Heating so fingers crossed he can sort them out and get them heat for the weekend. Luckily, after the torrential down pours the weather has at least gone mild again.

I was glad in a way that the central heating pump stopped working beause it gave me a chance to put my airing cupboard in order and sort everything out. Phil put the wall cabinet back on the wall, and again, it gave me a chance to clean it and put all the glasses through the dishwasher before putting them back in the cupboard. A job well done, even if I do say so myself. In the afternoon I finished wrapping the Christmas presents, I didn’t have many to get, but even so, it is another job that can be ticked off the list before we fly away. I was beginning to feel much worse so we decided to go to the health club for a steam because I thought it would help me clear my head. We got there only to find that the steam room was closed for repairs. Just my worst luck.

Well, it really has been the most miserable week. My cold really decided to show its ugly head and I had a really bad night on Wednesday. Unfortunately so did Phil. I woke up in the small hours with a pounding head, a bunged up nose and was struggling to breath. Phil had to go out to the chemist first thing to get me more drugs. I virtually stayed in bed the whole day yesterday. Anyone that knows me well knows that this is very unusual for me, as I struggle to sit still, even for a minute. But I really did feel rough and Phil bless’im, fetched me drinks, tissues and was up and down the stairs all day long. He even made me pumpkin soup which I ate even though I had no appetite, it was delicious.

Phil went to Kiln Farm yesterday and picked up a shed load of post. The sat nav that Phil ordered for Oz turned up and so did my 2 blog-2-print books. I was pleased with them both although the second book has a better front cover and is perfectly bound. Perfect present for Phil’s mum for Christmas. I am feeling a little better today despite having got up at 2.30am. I came downstairs for a few hours and then back up for a doze but was forced to get back out of bed by a coughing fit. I’ve left Phil asleep and I’m hoping he can get some catch up with me out of the way. I am slightly worried because he was also drinking mugs of lemsip by the end of yesterday. What a pair we are but shouldn’t moan too much, this time in 2 weeks we will be landing in Hong Kong.

Moans & Groans

The week so far has been fairly bleak and I’ve not been having the best of times. After I’d penned and published my blog early on Monday morning, I suddenly realised that it felt chilly in the house and on checking, saw that the central heating hadn’t kicked in. When Phil came down the stairs he checked the boiler and although it was trying to boot itself up, it kept dying out. It was obvious we had a problem so Phil quickly put in a call to Shaun at Red Hot Heating, as he is the best corgi registered plumber for boilers. I was surprised at the boiler not working, it’s not all that old and we only had it serviced at the beginning of September and all was well then. It wasn’t freezing cold but nonetheless we got the fan heaters out and plugged these in round the house.

I woke up not feeling well on Monday and things got worse as the day wore on. Phil and I went round the NH before lunch to have a quick hoover up and clear some leaves from the front garden. The little house on the corner looks so sad, it’s such a shame it still hasn’t sold. After lunch, Phil got stuck into paperwork and I went to fetch Harriet. I’d promised to take her to Primark in Northampton because she had the day off. I nearly picked up the phone to cancel because all I felt like doing was curling up with the duvet in front the TV and the fan heater. But I kept to my word and we got to Northampton without too much trouble. We found Primark and I got some things for Georgina’s Christmas box and Harriet picked out a few things. It’s as cheap as chips in this shop and after we’d shopped till we dropped, we went back to the car and headed for home. Unfortunately it was a nightmare getting out of the town centre and we got horribly lost. At last I found a sign for Newport Pagnell and we got home on the back roads. Not the quickest of routes but I was feeling pretty awful by this point and just wanted to get home.

Yesterday I woke up really early and came downstairs so Phil could sleep. I’m not sure what kind of bug I’ve picked up but I just wish it would go away. I’m fed up of it. There is nothing worse then being up in the early hours especially with no central heating. Still I got washed and dressed when Phil got up and we were just about to go shopping when there was a knock at the front door. It was Kevin from across the road; Phil had quite forgotten that he promised Sandy that he would give him some tuition on his day off. Well that’s not strictly true, Phil had remembered the day before and he’d even been out to Staples to buy some materials in readiness for his lesson. Never mind, I went shopping and left Phil to pass some of his worldly knowledge on to Kevin. What a miserable day it was yesterday, the heavens opened and the rain was relentless.

Phil made us a shepherds’ pie for lunch and very nice it was too. Just a shame, that I had a mega coughing fit much later and threw most of my lunch back up. Very attractive. Shaun, the plumber, arrived just as we were about to go to the health club for a shower. To get to the boiler, and more importantly, to get the boiler housing off, we had to empty all the stuff from the wall cabinet and get this off the wall. My poor kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it. If that wasn’t bad enough, Shaun then made me empty the airing cupboard so he could get to the pump, so all of my linen was strewn all over the spare bedroom. Turns out, the pump is knackered and we need a new one. Shaun banged around a bit with a long screw driver and managed to get the pump going, so at least last night we had heating. He is coming back this morning to fit the new pump. I’m just glad the pump decided to stop working now, and not next month, when we would have been away. At least we are still in the country and can at least get it sorted.

Comfort Food

Nothing much happened over the weekend and I’m not sure I’ve got anything to blog about, but addict that I am, I’ll give it my best shot. Phil was reluctant to work on Saturday morning, but after a bit of nagging, he put up the new blind up in the bathroom, replaced the existing toilet seat for a self closing seat and then grouted the new tiles in the kitchen and bathroom. I cleaned up the tiles after Phil had grouted them but I was too eager and really I should have left them longer to dry and they needed to be wiped several times. My obsession with my ceramic tiles is not healthy.

Phil cooked us smoked mackerel with parsley sauce and a big saucepan of mash and cabbage. It was delicious! After waking up to the rhythm of the falling rain on both Saturday & Sunday comfort was very much in order for the weekend. On Saturday afternoon Phil watched the GP qualifying and I went to Kingston to do some shopping. Boy was it busy, not sure if it was because it was the end of the month and people had been paid or whether folks had simply started their Christmas shopping. Tesco’s was choc-a-block; thank goodness I’m only here for another couple of weeks. Saturday was X-Factor and catching up with Flash Forward. We resisted the temptation to order in a Chinese, mainly because neither of us had any cash.

We woke up feeling peckish on Sunday morning; it was pouring with rain so Phil went in the car to the shop to pick up the papers and get us some fish fingers for breakfast. Fried fish fingers with beans and a slice of bread and butter was on the menu for breakfast. More comfort food. We did odd jobs, emails and domestics and in the afternoon I went to Christine’s leaving Phil to watch the Grand Prix. I watched the start of the race but wasn’t bothered about the finish, all felt a bit of an anti climax to me.

The dogs went a bit crazy when Christine opened the door to let me in. They are very excitable. Luckily the rain had died away by the time we took them out for a walk. It was nice to be out in the fresh air. Having not felt great last week I thought I was on the road to recovery but yesterday I woke up with another sore throat and swollen glands. I have been taking pain killers for the last week but I think maybe I should stop and simply let this bug come out once and for all. Christine made me hot crumpets and tea and then it was home before it got dark. And that as they say, was the weekend. Only 2 more to go before we fly away. Scary !