Welcome to my perfumed garden

We handed over the keys to the house in Liverpool today after a busy morning emptying out the loft and all the last minute stuff you have to do. Mark spent a good while just walking through the rooms, sitting on beds, looking out the windows... He lived in that house, on and off, since he was a week old when his Mum brought him home from the hospital, so - a lot of memories. For me too. Mark was back living at home when I met him in '82 and I have very fond memories of that house, too.

I took cuttings from the apple tree that was Mark's Mother's Day present for 1968 - a really huge tree now, currently full of blossom, and where our 2 dogs are buried. Then we took a lot of pictures, at the house and in the neighbourhood in general; said goodbye to all the neighbours - then, just as we were leaving, the new people arrived to have their first proper look so we got to meet them in the end (first time we have). A very young, very sweet couple - they seem really nice.

We both had a cry on the stairs before we left. Closing the door for the very last time, knowing you'll never be back, was very strange. So, we're both a little sad and subdued. Now we have to get our own house done up and on the market... What joy.

We just got a call from the Agents saying the sale should complete on Friday!!! O:!!! We only saw the solicitor yesterday! WHY didn't he bother to tell us that then?! Bloody lawyers! Now the Agents are umming and ahing and saying, maybe Monday...? Which at least gives us the weekend to finish clearing the house. There's not much more to move; as previously stated, we're leaving most of the furniture - it's just a very nice Victorian chest of drawers and all the books and memorabilia of our mis-spent past in the loft, so not a big problem, but a little warning would have been nice!

Oh well - end of an era, and very sad - but at least we can now move on and start working a little harder getting our own house ready to go on the market.

...for most of the day, still taking stuff out of the house there. Talking on the way home, we couldn't believe it's been almost a year since my partner Mark's dad died, very suddenly and unexpectedly, just 2 days after Mark's birthday. The house is more or less sold now; contracts have been exchanged - we're just waiting for the lawyers to do their thing so we can get finally put it all behind us.

We both hate going there now - after the rennovations needed to get it on the market, it no longer feels like a home at all, it's utterly souless. I always come away from there feeling profoundly sad. It must be so much worse for Mark - he grew up in that house, and, even though he moved out almost 30 years ago, it's always been 'home' for him. ::sigh::

On the upside, my TS disks are finally here, plus a big 'sorry we screwed you around' apology-package from LUSH, and my Canadian copy of Decoys (with all the good stuff on it!) is arriving tomorrow. Life could be a whole lot worse :G: