Little blue book

I've lost it, my little blue book with cutesy white spots. I've lost my to-do list. The one I often ignore for weeks on end but usually glance at just in time to avert major financial disaster. I've lost my shopping wishlist. This is the one that tells me the Stuff I think little man or I could do with so that when I get the urge to spend money I spend it on something that might actually be useful and not a pile of pointless junk. And not more tunes from a well-known digital music store where it is far too easy to splash the cash without really noticing. I've lost my list of crafty projects I'd like to do, or should do - like the curtains that I haven't made for seven months now.

Other things in our lives right now:

• The boy has purple nail varnish on his toes.
• I can't stop listening to Biffy Clyro.
• We've had so much torrential rain it has been impossible to even think about doing any work at the allotment.
• My courgettes are turning into marrows.
• I once again have library fines to pay, exacerbated by the fact that my nearest library doesn't open on a Wednesday, a fact I discovered after walking there with all the books and boy in tow.
• I am becoming increasingly bothered by the hideousness of my gas fire.
• This is a three cups of tea morning.
• I am not that keen on runner beans.
• I am being politely requested (read: bashed over the head with the magnetic drawing board thingy to wails of pig, pig, pig) to draw a picture of Peppa Pig so had better go and get on with it.

Empty

My house is now empty. The garage is not empty, but only because my buyers have put a lot of their furniture in there. My grandma's garage, on the other hand, is very full. It is full of my stuff. Including all the stuff that should have been binned years ago. And her spare bedroom is full of my mattress, settee, bedding etc. Fortunately, my grandma is currently in hospital. That may not sound fortunate, but she's had her hip replacement rebuilt so she doesn't have to wear a body brace for the rest of her life, so it is fortunate for her too. She's in her ninetieth year you know, as she likes to remind everyone at frequent intervals.

Unfortunately, I now have to sort through all the junk and get rid of stuff: freecycle, charity, tip. I have ditched the big box full of recipes that I ripped out of magazines years ago and meant to file. It was a very big box. Another thing: keys. Why are there always keys that don't fit any lock?

A small and not very amusing aside: I managed to twat the side of the Luton van I hired into the back corner of my parents' next door but one neighbours' car. Ho hum. I can't find it within myself to get very much more stressed. Particularly about a purely financial matter. And, obviously, they were parked really badly on a bend.

Stuff, Stuff and more Stuff

The Children's Society shop in Runcorn is about to find its stock increasing. A lot. I have so much Stuff, despite not being a person addicted to the acquisition of Stuff.

This morning, in the couple of hours between going out for morning coffee (it's a figure of speech; I only drink tea) and going to work after lunch I had a sort-out in little man's room and my wardrobe.

I ditched the clothes that are too small for little man (and the clothes that are too small for me). I ditched toys, I ditched books, I ditched bedding. I ditched those boots that are about ten years out of fashion with heels that are about two inches too high (I find that babywearing and heels don't mix). But I kept the heeled shoes that I actually used to find really comfy for work and which may come in handy if I am ever required to look vaguely smart again. I wear jeans to work now, so yes, you may feel jealous. Though if you are a SAHM, I am jealous of you.

I ditched some old jumpers and then, in work this afternoon, rediscovered the blog post with this excellent pixie hat. I wonder now if little man is too old for it; being a boy the bonnet look might not work on him any more? But I have kept the too-small t-shirt that has a monkey design on the front which I'm going to cut out and applique on a new top.

My dad, meanwhile, managed yesterday to transport three compost bins full of lovely, rotting, nutritious-for-the-garden Stuff to his allotment, and, today, to sort out all the empty pots littering my garden. Little man helped him and got thoroughly dirty and damp. My mum has been shredder-in-chief. And has taken the rug home to wash which little man pooed on last night. Yay, one less shitty job for me!

Five things...

...that are stressing me out right now:
1. Moving house.
2. Moving house.
3. Moving house.
4. Moving house.
5. Moving house.

That'll be all the stuff to be packed, the chickens to be moved, all the organisations I have to inform, the small chance that everything could still fall through and the mystery over how little man will take it all. Ok, more than five: wondering if my new house will be ok, worrying about little man getting less attention while I'm trying to sort everything out, wanting to get my name down on the allotment waiting list right now, feeling too tired in the evenings to get anything useful done and hoping that the old asbestos-based roof tiles in the new house will last a bit longer.

It looks like I have a little over two weeks to completion day. So most of the rest of life is going on hold. And I'm thinking of my favourite shade of Ecos paint: Bengt, from the Swedish range.

Life laundry

I know I'm supposed to be telling you about my holiday, but instead I'm going to tell you about the contents of my garage. Bet you can't wait.

I need to empty it. Fast. We're looking at two to three weeks before I move house. And it is a double garage that was until recently very full of Stuff. Lots of Stuff. Now, I'm not keen on Stuff, but while it has been in the garage it has been easy to ignore for the past seven years. Here's some of the highlights:

• My record collection of 80s and early 90s rock, goth and indie albums. It's about to be listed on eBay... The only one I'm keeping is The Levellers. Which, bizarrely, I heard on the radio in a shop yesterday.
• My 1989 stereo with record player. I plugged it all in and it actually works. I've had three offers on freegle for it already.
• A drawer full of old newspaper cuttings. I mean stories I wrote, not ones about me! Recycled, as I am not planning on ever writing for a newspaper again and I'm not sure that front pages about the latest big thing to hit Congleton would be particularly helpful anyway.
• That Ikea china teaset that I bought years ago with the idea of giving it to one of my nieces with some ceramic paints but never got round to it. One for little man in a year or two.
• An old pair of brown Doc Martens, two pairs of hiking boots that seem too small, two pairs of old, scuffed black shoes and one pair of adjustable crampons (used twice). Crampons freegled, decent footwear to charity, knackered ones binned.
• Payslips from when I worked weekends at Comet as a student many years ago. Shredded and composted.
• A mouse nest made from the nylon of my comfy camping chair. The one that was stored on top of a cupboard about seven feet off the ground but obviously too close to the roof timbers.

What I can't find is the electric cable for the exercise bike I would like to eBay. And what I'm glad I didn't find is another flat mouse, like last time I ventured to do any sorting out in the garage.