Monday 25 January 2010

Happy Burns night

This weekend we put down the laminate floor in Ian's living room. The actual floor took about 4 hours to do, but clearing out the room, removing the carpet, taking it to the tip, levelling out the floor etc, took three times as long. At the tip, we were getting rid of our old carpet and another couple were throwing away their laminate floor. As I have said earlier, we are now thinking of our homes in terms of their rental potential as opposed to personal preference.

As the potential date for moving to France moves nearer and nearer and the plans become more and more real people keep asking me 'what are you going to do over there?' The honest answer is that in the short term I don't know. We have plans for the llama farm and bed and breakfast but they will take a year at least to get off the ground. I have also made some tentative contacts with regard to some possible teaching work that may or may not materialise. Ideally I think I would like to find a part time job locally in a clinical capacity as I think that would be the best way to integrate with the French community and would improve my French greatly. I am qualified but I have no idea what work is available and whether anyone would be interested in emplying me. There have only been two other times in my life when I have not had a job to go to. One was when I started work and the other was when I returned from travelling. In both cases I found jobs pretty quickly. When I was travelling I really enjoyed the uncertainty of not knowing where I was going to go the next day and what I wanted to do. The whole world was ahead of me and didn't scare me a bit. When I returned to the England I got more senior jobs, got a mortgage and although I didn't have children to tie me to one spot I did what most other people do; stayed put and settled down. My big move was when I moved to the coast from London 8 years ago although  the move was dictated by the job and not for any desire for a seaside retirement.

So now at the age of 51, I am off on another adeventure; the like of which I have not had since my 20s. I am a little anxious but really exited by the idea of the freedom . (I may not find the reality so great but watch this space!)

Tonight is Burn's night and I am off for a Burn's night celebration and to eat my first ever haggis!

(Overheard in Tesco: Couple buying lottery ticket. Her to him "if we win the lottery today maybe we can find somewhere nice to send your mother!")

2 comments:

Chairman Bill said...

Laminate floor? Cold! Do what you'd like in a rented property, not what the colour supplements are trying to push.

Lovely's Blot said...

Interesting but all of Ian's friends who rent love laminate floors (cleaner)! Ian likes tiles which are even colder although in France we are having underfloor heating so won't matter.

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