Housekeeping

August

August is the month that I will call “housekeeping!”

Rick and I moved into our new flat and organized our closets…yes, I did say closets although technically they are called wardrobes in London…but whatever, we now have five of them...we are practically giddy!!! We also have a proper kitchen and a garden…it’s really just a small enclosed patio on the lower ground level and a deck on the ground level but here they like to call any outdoor space a garden.

I flew to Atlanta two weeks ahead of Rick and after just a few days at home my ground floor air conditioner was struck by lighting taking with it the garage door openers, telephones, and cable modem. So the next several days were spent with the insurance adjuster and the installers.

Meanwhile, we were conducting a covert operation to put the final touches on our plans for Erin’s surprise party celebrating the end of her year of Breast Cancer treatment. This was actually the highlight of our time in Atlanta and the reason we chose to be there in the scorching month of August. Erin was surprised as 75 of her family and friends gathered to remind her once again just how much we all love, admire, and support her.

Another of my tasks was to meet with the movers and packers and gather and organize the additional goods that would be our one and only shipment of stuff from the US to the UK.

There was time to visit with family and friends although not nearly enough as I do miss you with all my heart.

Returning to London in September, I got to meet the movers and unpackers and get the rest of our stuff situated in our flat then spent the better part of a day having a satellite dish installed.

I purchased a few necessary items to make our guest room comfortable for our first visitors (Erin and Matt arrived just 8 days later) and added a few items to my list of “things you should not carry home on a 13 block walk”…these include a floor lamp and lamp shade, linens for two bedrooms, and 6 bottles of wine when you already have 3 bags of groceries!!!

Finally, Rick and I purchased 25 plants to fill the containers in our garden. Rick is obviously the ‘brains” of this operation as he hailed a taxi for our trip home from the garden center. This activity was worth all the effort as our garden is now neat and tidy with lovely plants that remind us of home while embracing our new environment....camelias, hydrangeas, ferns, lavender, and herbs.