The Caterpillar Is Very Hungry

I know you don't see much of us here (even less of Ewan than me), but we're just having such a busy time. I'm building up my business as a life coach and group facilitator, and Ewan is in a full-time job, being a radio DJ and a very committed member of "A Band of Brothers" in Oxford (they're looking for men to volunteer, by the way). But we also have been meeting 4 Estate Agents within 1.5 weeks and are constantly letting go of stuff. We also look after a 'supported lodger' (a young person in leaving care, being housed with us) and have a dog. Well, and there's of course all those unimportant things like shopping, cleaning, tidying, cooking and keeping friendships up, going to the pub ..... You get the picture.

Ready to go to the charity shop

Most importantly, we are not yet living on a barge. So, there's not a huge deal to report from that position. Yet, we have contracted an estate agent to try and sell our house, it's going on the market (hopefully) this Saturday. Tomorrow we'll have taken pics of the house (God - I still need to hoover, dust, tidy, clear the garden from all those bl...dy leaves...), so, we're well on our way. We're hoping that we're going to sell real soon (within 4 weeks, please, dear Universe!!!), as we absolutely can't wait to live our dream. Yet, there is still just soooo much  S T U F F.  Absolutely unbelievable, what we thought we 'needed' to keep. It was only 4 years ago that we moved to Abingdon-on-Thames. We had let go of so many things then, as we downsized. I remember promising myself that I'd never accumulate so many things again. And here we are. I'm at the stage of "do-i-really-need-to-let-go-of-this?", so, at least I've rid myself from everything I didn't have any attachment to. Now I'm starting to feel the pain of letting go beloved and more meaningful things. Ewan has yet to deal with his man-shed (I think I'll take a holiday when he's attacking that one). But at least we've mostly emptied the garage. I won't be able to run away from emptying the attic, though. This will be my absolute biggest challenge, as I've got memories stored there, and old VHS cassettes with German films on them, CD collections .... Urgh! But we'll do it - I know we will. We're so focused and determined - if I was our friends I'd be admiring us. I believe we're doing an amazing job. We've done good research, we've spoken to people who've done it, we've spoken to friends and family, we've been following related blogs, we're blogging ourselves, we've started letting go before we even decided to go on a barge, and we're being very disciplined with the getting-rid-of-stuff. Once we've sold, we can move on without huge 'baggage', we'll be totally ready to find our dream boat and move in.

Why did I give this post such a strange headline? Some of you might have already guessed. I feel Ewan and I are in metamorphosis, stage 1 of 3, and we'll come out of the cocoon as beautiful shiny butterflies 😋

I would like to share with you the collage I made recently in a little workshop:

I love my creation, as it reflects my vision of the near future. I didn't find a barge, unfortunately, but even so, these pics reflect my longings. Sorry for the German words, I used German magazines. But I will translate them for you (in no particular order):
- Departure
- Beautiful Life
- I look forward to new pathways
- Onlookers welcome (that is snales, birds ....)
- Finding an oasis
- In time I recognised that I don't need to be perfect in order to be loved
- Seeking stillness and finding freedom
- Oozing love
- Coming home
- Together strong
Those words say it all. The snowdrops symbolise my wish to have moved by the end of winter 2017/18.

Wish us luck!