the things you see……

this made me wonder--who lived there.....

On a walk across the river today, I came across this building with the er–interesting balcony. Is it me or does anyone else find the design on the ironwork…..interesting…..

waving goodbye, saying hello.

I waved goodbye to my son today. He has been staying with me for a few days here in Paris. This is goodbye to ‘holiday mode’ too. I have spent a great summer with my children and friends, but that’s over and now I have to get down to learning and planning. I will miss said son and daughter very much, but they are adults now and can take care of themselves. Of course, I’m looking forward to seeing them again soon !

Sooo–it’s just me and the cat for the next year here in Paris. Hello to my ‘gap year, 30 years late’. I have a lot to do.

hey I’m still here !

Did you think I had given up blogging? I don’t blame you. I am so lazy. But busy too. In the last month I have:

sold my house and got rid of most of my possessions

moved temporarily to London

survived horrendous journey over to Paris (10 hours of VERY unsettled cat, despite the sedation and pheromone spray)

found 1 apartment for the year (lovely courtyard place in the 11th) and 1 temporary one for the 2 weeks in between this and taking over the one in the 11th

fought an almost constant battle with inept international bank who have STILL after a month, not provided me with the means to access my own money from paris. swines. I hate them.

Sooo–life has been full, if not always fun. When I get down about stuff, I remind myself that this move was MY decision and this is where I want to be. It’s all good, as they say.

‘I made my dream come true-I am in Paris’

That is the declaration on a pstcard my daughter bought for me yesterday in Paris. Yes–I made it. We arived here last thursday after a day of travelling hell. If it weren’t for the cat, we would have flown, but due to the damn Eurostar refusing to take felines-but considering this feline, could we really blame them-we had to travel by ferry. The poor cat was made to travel in no style at all on the car deck in a cage with our luggage bags. Both she and my daughter were distraught. However, both of them survived and we finally got to Paris after 10 hours travel from London. I will not do it again. When the time comes, I am flying her back. I don’t care how much it costs.

We are staying in a wonderful loft in the Butte aux Cailles. I will really miss it when the time comes to move out. It is such a characterful, stylish space. The wonderful woman who rented it to me is selling it. Oh, that I had the wherewithal to buy it, but unfortunately  I don’t have that sort of cash. I have it until September 14th, so I must find somewhere to live after that. i have a number of irons in the fire and I hope one of them comes out red-hot. Wish me luck.

almost there..

almossssttt thereeee…we’re almosssstt thereeeee….the house has sold, the furniture gone, I am sitting in my empty bedroom, with my laptop, waiting  for number one son to come back from his friend’s house. We can’t cook–the stove’s gone-there’s no milk because the fridge went this afternoon, I have a basket of washing I can’t do anything with because I have sold the washer. It’s been strange, this ”detox of my life’s possessions’. But what are possessions anyway? A security blanket-nothing more. The real treasures are people and  memories. We leave this house for good in the morning. 

at last

At  last. Contracts are exchanged and a moving date has been settled on–25th July. We are in a mad flurry of sorting and packing. Today my lovely old farmhouse table, a linen press and some pine drawers went to a really nice young couple from Sheffield, starting out on life togther. Good that they seem to appreciate the same sort of stuff I do. It was a bit emotional seeing the furniture go–there are lots of memories attached to it-the ‘Jack’ written under the table, where Erin was trying out a new pen and -unsuccessfully -blamed her brother for the damage, the glue, glitter and craft supplies accidental ‘collage’ on the floor of one of the drawers-a legacy of many craft sessions when the kids were younger and didn’t always replace the tops on stuff…..but now they are going to a new home. And so am I.

on the edge

As the title of this post indicates-I feel that I am teetering on the edge of the next step in my life. The conveyancing is progressing–albeit slowly. We would have exchanged contracts two days ago, but for my buyer’s buyer’s deposit cheque not having cleared. Again, it is the weekend, so another two wasted days when solicitors do not work. You know- I have the terrible feeling that solicitors just cannot make anything simple. Whether they do it to preserve the mystique of their profession or to accrue yet another hour’s work (£140 an hour!!!!) Whichever it is-I am not impressed at all.

Meanwhile-back at Entropy Cottage, life becomes more and more chaotic. The remains of a car boot sale littler the family room, no visitor gets out of the house without being practically FORCED to take something and, since I am freecycling like crazy, things keep winking out of existence like the tardis on Doctor Who. I now have a small step-ladder for a bedside table, the sofas are going this week and I am considering blowing the air bed up if I get rid of my bed. We shall be practically camping out in this house soon.

The clearing out of things is proving to be a sort of cleansing experience. I am a hoarder, so the first clear out was a bit painful to say the least. Sorting out a box  of school stuff took an age as everything brought back so many memories. But–bit by bit-things got done. I am keeping very little. The stuff I cannot part with will be stored by friends and family, or in the case of my Art History books, used by my daughter who studies that subject at university.

So–I am on the edge, waiting to jump.  Wish me luck and pray that I can fly.

conveyancing

excuse me if you’re a solicitor, or have family or friends who are. But my mood at the moment is that of a murderous psycho whenever I think about mine. The house is in the process of exchanging hands. The process is turning out to be the longest, most drawn out agonised scream in the history of the universe. My solicitor knows how much I need to move, how much I need to have SOME IDEA OF A COMPLETION DATE- and yet appears not to give a flying f–t about it. Just who is paying who here? She is -certainly- not doing me any favours and indeed appears to take a perverse glee in watching my blood pressure rise. I am cultivating a face like a cat’s arse (pursed lips and screwed up eyes) and an ulcer.

my first meme!

I’ve managed not to do a ‘meme’ yet, so here goes…..

Two names you go by:   

1.Gillian and….

2.madwillow
Two things you are wearing right now:    smarter clothes than I slob around in at home–I’m at work. Soooo–

1.my lovely comfortable suede boots from the ever-glorious Marks and Spencer. 

2.My Old Faithful navy blue cardi.
Two of your favorite things to do: 

the reurn of the feline.

Went to the vet’s this morning with the cat to get blood taken. I guess it was just too soon after the tooth operation for her to regard it as ‘just a nice trip out’. It had to be done though-if she is to be able to travel with me; her pet passport must be valid and this means a test to see if she now has an immunity to rabies.

She’s not the most patient of cats at the best of times, so I knew there would be trouble. As soon as she saw the Vet, she screamed in indignation and slashed his hand. She may be old(ish), but her reflexes are still razor sharp and so are her claws.

I held her at first but as soon as she heard the razor start up it was obvious that she was going to have to be ‘bagged’, as for the cat, this was the final straw. She was put in a natty blue and green bag which also went over her eyes and muzzle. It took a grown man (the vet’s assistant) to hold her down. Needless to say-I left the room.

We are back home. She has had something to eat and I am on the bed with a cup of tea. My head is done in. I can take the bandage off her leg (she struggled so much, she tore the skin) tomorrow. The hair on her neck (where they had the second and more successful try for blood) will grow back in a month or so.  My nerves will never be the same again.