Saying goodbye

After a long period of limbo, it's time for us to pack up and leave. We are doing our best to make a holiday a stressful experience by shifting house at the same time as going away. We've been in the same apartment for around 5 and a half years, but just can't justify paying three months rent on a place that we have never really liked. So it's time to pack up.

It's surprising and almost embarrassing to discover how much stuff we have accumulated over the years. But to our great credit, we are also good at chucking stuff out when we don't need it. It just seems that we now 'need' a whole lot more than we did when we moved in.

It's also nice to have an opportunity to dispense with medications, herbs, spices and sauces that all reached their expiry dates back in 2009. I'm not sure that Dettol can actually go off, but I don't fancy treating an open wound with a product that could potentially have gone rancid. Well, not my own open wound.

Although we have had many happy memories in the past few years, this house has also been our home during some of the most stressful times in both our lives. Symbolically erasing some of those memories will be satisfying.

I'm sure there'll still be some time for nostalgia. It will be particularly sad saying goodbye to Russell's room and to the house where Pepper and Other Sizzles lived. And our red feature wall will also be missed.

Yesterday we also had to temporarily say goodbye to Sizzles. She's going to be well loved and cared for in her new home, but it's still hard to let go. The poor pooch was scared stiff yesterday when she got to my friend's place. As mentioned in an earlier post, Sizzles will be sharing a house with a very energetic black lab called Roxy. Roxy is such a lovely dog, and abundantly friendly. Unfortunately she is just learning to understand that not every dog shares her enthusiasm for running around and playing. Sizzles could certainly be described as 'not sharing enthusiasm'.

When we reintroduced them (after having done introductions a few weeks ago), Sizzles kept trying to get away. When that failed, she went for the tried and true method of standing dead still with her head stuck in a corner. She was going with the "if I can't see you, you can't see me" theory. This met with limited success. We coaxed Sizzles into a little more civility after that. Nobody likes a rude whippet.

We sorted out some happy sleeping arrangements and the dogs were separated throughout the day today. They will continue to get used to each other and will probably end up snuggled up together on the couch at some point - they just need to get each other's vibe. I'm pleased to know that Sizzles is in the best place possible for her, with a loving family, a warm house, and another pooch for company.