Wednesday, May 24, 2006

Really quick...

The move went well, though we're still not completely moved in. We have do do some repairs and painting, etc before we can spread out and get settled. These last few days have been exhausting, but our upstairs bedroom is nearly ready to paint. We had to strip the wall paper and fill in cracks in the plaster, and last night we put the primer on. Looks good, but we are both dead on our feet.

We are slowly reclaiming the downstairs from the spiders. Last night I had a huge black spider about the size of a silver dollar lurking underneath my bath towel. Martin, my hero, smashed it for me. But he had to whack it a few times to kill it, it was that big. The kitchen and the bedroom are the only rooms we're really settled in to, but we ARE getting there. This has been a pretty good adventure so far. The best part is, it only takes Martin 15 minutes to get to work! It takes me about the same. We should have done this ages ago!

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Last post for a while--for real this time!

I am currently sitting in my mostly empty and nearly spotless Hogpenny Cottage. Martin and the missionaries are unloading a van ful of furniture at the new place. We've got one more load of bits and pieces, and then comes the fun job of unpacking everything again. I'm exhausted!

The move has been pretty good so far. We only got about 5 hours of sleep last night since we stayed up so late packing and we had to get up early to do some more, but all things considered we're holding up really well. The Elders have helped a lot, and I had a few sisters from church come and help me clean the kitchen, bathroom, and bedrooms. Now I've just got the living room to finish off, which I can't do until the rest of the stuff is loaded. I'm curious how much work we'll have to do at Fleetgate. I haven't been in there for about 4 weeks, and a lot can change in that amount of time.

Surprisingly enough, I am not sad at all to be leaving this place. Every other time we've moved, I've had mixed feelings about it. Hogpenny Cottage has been our home for the past 6 months, and there's not even a twinge of sadness today. It's been a long, cold, wet winter for us. Everything we own gets moldy and smells strange. We've had to leave our coats on in the house and wear hats and scarves. The neighbors are not friendly, we've had our car window smashed and our padlock on the gate stolen. I am so excited to move into our own house!

I think one of the main things that makes it easier is that we will still be going to the same church. I adore the people in our ward. Some of them are narrow minded, and some of them are downright strange, but they are starting to feel like family. It's nice to have some family here in England!

Anyway, I just got a call from Martin. They're on their way back now, so I need to get a few odds and ends taken care of . I'll try to post as often as I can, but our phone won't be hooked up for at least 2 weeks. If anyone needs to get in touch with us, call Martin's parents. Mom and dad should have the number still!

Thursday, May 18, 2006

Nothing new to say, really, but this might be my last posting for a few weeks while we get our new household set up. We are both really excited to get into the house! We have almost nothing packed, so tomorrow is going to be a really busy night.

I guess there is one new thing to report. I called the temp agency I'm currently working for and asked them to find me a new position as the working conditions atVolvo have become intolerable. They are going to let me know if anything else comes up. I did tell them that I'd stay on in the mean time, but I will call them if that changes as well. This way, I can find something new and still pay the bills! I will try to find something permanent as well, since I only stayed on as a temp for this long because I wanted a full time job with Volvo. That doesn't really appeal to me any more. Yvonne gets worse every day. What I'd really like to do is leave with no notice so they are hurting for staff and can't get anything done, but I don't think I'm quite malicious enough to do that. Yet!

Martin still hasn't heard on the promotion he applied for. They got the drug test results back and he stil has a job though, so that's good news. There's a lot to be said for clean living! I'd imagine that plenty of people out there would be nervous for a drug test. Anyway, he should hear tomorrow, or maybe the first part of next week. We don't quite understand the delay, but it's getting a little bit irritating.

Tonight has been a good night. Thursdays we usually go to choir practice, but I was asked to teach the young women in the ward how to lead music for their weekly activity. I was in with them for 2 hours, but it went so quickly. Those girls are so much fun--and have so much energy! I can't believe what a difference a few years make with kids. I had a much better time with the youth than I do with the Primary every week. Martin was on his own for choir practice, but I'm sure he enjoyed himself as well. He's been invited to sing in a special mens' group for Stake Conference this weekend.

Anyway, must go now. We still have to fix dinner before we go to bed. Miss you all!

Tuesday, May 16, 2006

I'm 27, and I'm being bullied!

That's so sad, but I've decided that's what is happening to me at work. Sarah, the nice girl at work, has injured both her ankles and can't come in. Yvonne is spending this time shouting at me, swearing at me, and generally just making my life miserable. She is, of course, not physical in any way. But I come home every night feeling like I just took an emotional beating. I am so unhappy at work right now. Every morning I sit in my car and try to work up the nerve to go in the building. I just try to sit at my desk and work and keep my head down--not draw any attention to myself. I don't ask any questions unless I absolutely have to, and we don't talk at all. I think I'm getting an ulcer.

How sad is it that a 45 year old woman is bullying me? The English are so friendly most of the time, but nobody can out-shrew a working class English woman!

Friday, May 12, 2006

Just a quick note as I am at work and don't have much time to spare...

Martin and I are closing on the house in Barton a week today--Friday the 19th. We will be moving in next weekend! I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I'm even looking forward to cleaning the new place from top to bottom. We are in the process of sorting out our utility switch-overs and I think we will probably go buy paint and heavy duty cleaning supplies this weekend. In between packing of course! The missionaries are coming over to do a "service project" at our house tomorrow (watching football), and we may put them to work packing boxes & painting!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006