Creating Interrupted

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I’m currently packing up my house for the re-building work that has to take place thanks to a sneaky, slow leaking hot water cylinder that has rotted out a large part of the floors in the utility rooms and possibly further areas as yet unidentified.

Several large and burly men from different trades have been through to identify their part in the reconstruction and renovation required. Almost all of them have stamped a big burly boot somewhere on the floor causing further collapse to occur, making it increasingly difficult for me to negotiate my way through my tiny house without twisting an ankle or inadvertently going completely upside down .

We won’t discuss here the amount of stress this has all caused, but we can celebrate the fact that Siddy, Orlando and I get a holiday with our dear Danella. None of us is sure how her kitty George will handle this influx, but time will tell.

George

Due to the need to move things from places of immediate danger – and the original idea that work would be started some four weeks ago – my makings room has been untenable for that amount of time. I rummaged through though and I’ve packed up a large amount of painting/crafting gear, a change of clothes and all the food, toys and etcetera that the furry chaps might need and we move on out today.

I found this as I was sorting through – it’s my version of Yoda in his forest. One of the few photos I’ve remembered to take of work in progress – it’s a bit blurry 🙂

The weather has been worse this summer than last – but here is a pic from a walk we took one day when the wind wasn’t howling and the rain had yet to tumble down

Taking the High Road Feb 2020

I don’t think I’ll be posting here much, but I am on Instagram as ‘contentedcrafter’ if you want to see what might go up there as the days pass by. I’d love you to join me there.

Thanks for coming by today, I love that you do!

91 thoughts on “Creating Interrupted”

  2. I really like your blog. A pleasure to come stroll on your pages. A great discovery and a very interesting blog. Fascinating and beautiful. I come back to visit you. Do not hesitate to visit my universe. See you soon 🙂

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  3. What a challenge. Hope all goes well with the fur babies and the reconstruction. Will miss you posting here. Sending hugs to you, Orlando, and Siddy.

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    • I’ve missed you too! It’s going well here SS, we are half-way through thank heavens. I know you were dealing with a bit when last we visited. I hope life is going okay for you now. Note to self: Must post more often 🙂

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  6. Pauline, what a stressful time. So glad your sweet girl is taking such good care of you. I hope your repairs go well and quickly and the bill is smaller than you think. I admire your attitude. And if the kitties get on reasonably well, that will be a great weight lifted. I am still so thankful every time I walk through the living room and everyone is sleeping peacefully. No snuggling yet, but the new kitten and the old cat both sleep in our bed every night.

    I hope you’re not there long enough for that to happen. : I

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  8. All the very best, at i will keep my fingers crossed the work at home goes quickly and with great success.
    Enjoy the time as much as you can, and I hope the weather is nice too. It is an overcast Tuesday here in Johannesburg, with the usual afternoon thunderstorm expected later, just before we head on home, and if it comes down hard, we can expect some flooding.
    I am popping over to IG to find you. 🙂

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      • 🙂 We had good soft rain, the thunderstorm did not happen, so no flooding for now.
        Still lovely and cool for now, bit of clouds still hanging around.
        Love your IG feed, so many nice views. Love seeing what you see when out for walkies.
        Keep cool and dry and have a great day.
        xxx

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  10. Oh dear, what a mess your sweet little palace has gotten to, but all new floor will look fabulous. I hope George will be welcoming to Siddy and O. New floors will be healthier too, you don’t want to breathing molding flooring!! So happy you’re on Instagram so I can easily pop by for a hello xo<3

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  12. It’s always great to hear from you, Pauline 🙂 I’m not on Instagram, so I’ll miss your updates.
    Home construction work is very stressful. Here’s hoping that the rebuilding work teams do a great job for you and your furry companions.

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  13. We’re all feeling your pain and hoping for the best possible outcome. I hope you’ll be able to find ways to nurture your creativity during this stressful time. Or at least that the cats will all get along!

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    • Hello Magpie Sue 🙂 Thank you for coming on by and joining in too – that’s so nice! I’ve started a painting already so I am feeling very pleased with myself. The cats however are still circling each other and making noises. Hopefully they will settle down after another evening together…….

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  14. Oh Pauline,so sorry to read this. What a nightmare. How long do they think it will take? Have a lovely holiday with your daughter and tell Orlando and Siddy that I said go easy on George. I will miss you, if this does keep you away from us, and look forward to your return xxx

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    • There’s a provisional finish date two weeks hence, depending on what they find and how things pan out. When you start renovating old houses you never can be sure what you’ll find. I’ll still be around the blogs I hope. I might even get to make updates here as well as IG. The move went far more smoothly than I thought it would. Danella has taken charge and looked after us so well!!

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        • I’m not betting on that two week completion date, but it would be nice so I’m keeping it in mind 🙂 You didn’t really get the wrong end of the stick – I was expecting full on cat sitting duties for at least three days – so in theory I might not have been around if that was necessary. However they have settled in very quickly and are sorting things nicely. Just now we had all three animals snoozing in close proximity for over two hours – I’m happy with that 🙂

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  15. I am so sorry to hear about your woes, Pauline! This must have been a very stressful experience and it sounds like it will be a while before you get your lovely little home back. I was pleased to see that you are on Instagram as that’s where I have been these past few years. I will definitely be looking for you!

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  16. Try to think of it as a lovely, prolonged holiday with your daughter and, when you return home all will be well and ship shape once more.
    I must admit – I feel for George. I hope Siddy and Orlando behave themselves as guests should.
    xxx

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    • We feared George might be the argumentative one as Orlando is generally so mild and accommodating. But no, it appears Mr O has decided he will not be second fiddle to any cat any more and has stalked about with a bushy tail and done a fair amount of mild hissing and growling. I think we are going to have to let them sort it with some helpful interference from Siddy (who is a lover not a fighter) and copious amounts of treats in close proximity and cooing sounds of approval 🙂 Otherwise all goes well 😀

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      • That’s funny about Siddy. We had a kitten show up in our yard in October, and since we have only a few neighbors, and none of them knew the kitten, we figured he was ours. But Brippy (our current cat) did not approve. Guess who kept the peace? Our 100 pound dog, Riley. Any time there was any hissing or swatting, Riley leaped off the couch and stuck her nose into the fray and broke them up. And she never once got scratched. They saw her coming and raced in opposite directions. Funny that Siddy takes it as his responsibility to keep the peace as well. bless his heart.

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  17. Oh dear… how horrible. I know that when Kerry was homeless (living in a hotel I seem to recall) she did her one and only crochet project, so perhaps you too will be able to at least find a creative outlet that way. I don’t do instagram, but will look out for you on fb. If I write to your normal address, will letters find you?

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    • I’ll still collect any mail Jan if you send it 🙂 I don’t post on fb unless I get riled up by some ecological or environmental thing. And I’ve only just come back onto IG. I’ll still be trying to keep up with reading blogs – it is already less fraught than I feared it might be. The kitties are circling each other and trying to figure out who’s going to be top cat. When they get that sorted peace will rule – we hope 🙂 Dogs are so much easier in these circumstances!

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  18. Oh, Pauline, That’s unfortunate news about your house. When you return it will be all ship-shape, and it will be lovely to have a holiday with Danella. She had one with you not so long ago. I hope it all goes well with the fur babies too. I’ll try to remember to see what you get up to on Instagram, but no promises. Look after yourself, stay well and relax, knowing your house is in safe hands. Best wishes for a quick and successful repair.

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  21. What a challenging time you have had, so glad to know you have a friendly place to stay. Well done for keeping positive and creative. Looking forward to hearing how things pan out for you all. I’m hopping over to IG to follow you now. 🙂

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  22. Oh, goodness. I thought it was the bathroom and not the whole place! Yipes. I’m so sorry. I hope it all gets fixed well and expeditiously. George looks, very sweet. Let’s hope he doesn’t mind visitors. I hope your time with Danella is good for all.

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    • Yep, that’s what we all thought until the last big boot came in and found other patches in the hallway and he is sure further afield too. They won’t know until all the underfloor insulation is opened and the flooring exposed and as there is black mold there they have to take extraordinary health precautions too. Hence my complete ban. We have settled in quite easily – the cats were our major concern and they seem to be working that out quite well. Fingers crossed!

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  23. Once the stress is done, and the rebuilding, it will be wonderful to have it done. That’s one thing that isn’t likely to break again in the near future! Hopefully, there will be no unrecognized leaks! Thanks for that last picture. These are the only views I’ll ever have of foreign-to-me countries, just what you all show me, and I love seeing what’s there.

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    • Hello Susan, thanks for coming by and joining in – that’s always so lovely. You are quite right and it will be a relief to know all is repaired and renewed and whole again. Which country do you live in?

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  27. Oh good grief what a mess. It seems to have gotten much worse since we spoke, Pauline. Moving house (or part house) with animals and under unplanned duress sounds stressful. I’m so glad you can take up residence with Danella and I do hope Sir George tolerates things reasonably well. Do they have any idea how long it will take to make the repairs? I’m grateful that things have been found before you put a foot through a rotted floor or worse. I will make a better effort to follow along on Instagram. For a long time, many folks that I follow post identical content on Facebook so it seemed redundant, but now that I know I can catch a glimpse of photos of Siddy, Orlando, George and your work in progress, I’m excited. Best of luck with it all.

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    • I know, right Alys – Good Grief!! It just went from bad to worse and then nothing happened while everyone got together the bits they needed I guess but now it’s underway and I can check in to see progress but can’t live in the house while everything gets ripped apart. It’s all gone quite well, introducing the cats. Orlando has been the one to tell George to hold his place which surprised us. O hid under the bed until everything quietened down in the evening and then he emerged all proud and pleased with himself and proceeded to tower over poor George and give him whatfor. Who knew my gentle old kitty could be such a bruiser!

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      • I’m pleased to hear that the shuffling of cats has gone better than expected. Good job, O!
        What a surpise, though, that the visiting (and older) cat would dominate. I hope all continues to go smoothly. I’m sure Siddy is in his element with two adoring adults.

        As for the work being done, will they offer you a small stipend per day for the inconvenience of having to move out? I should hope so. What if you didn’t have a daughter nearby? You’ll need the emotional support of additional art supplies and that can get pricey. 😉

        Seriously, what a hassle. I hope things are moving apace without delay of missing parts or labor strikes or such. Sending a big ol hug your way. xo

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        • I don’t know about your situation with tradesmen but here we pretty much know there will be delays. For some reason they seem to think it important to give the amount of time it would take to do a job if absolutely nothing went wrong, if every trade was standing in line waiting for their turn with all possible necessities to hand and a spare man for those difficult moments when three hands are required. If the rain stays away and everything is easy and no-one has a personal crisis to attend to and no other customer has an absolute disaster that requires immediate response. In these circumstances we could reasonably expect a two week turnaround. But there’s always Sod’s Law to bear in mind. The kitties are doing well, all three have been snoozing peaceably in close proximity for a couple of hours. I’m thrilled 🙂

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          • Pauline, you’re right, of course. They should make an estimate and double it and then they would be closer to accurately predicting when the work will really be done. I’m sorry for all the mess, but I’m happy for the safer, healthier and soon to be revitilzed outcome.

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  29. It must have been such a distressing time for you. I hope that, now there is action and a way forward, you are feeling less stressed about it. When you are back home you will be able to find all you creative things and your creative mojo. ~hugs~

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  30. It sounds like things are in a state of upheaval, but I’m glad you’re well and have a safe and comfortable place to stay. Who knows what creativity a change in scenery will inspire. I hope you have a wonderful time at Danella’s place with time for fun and laughter. ❤

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  31. I’ll Like, because I always like to see fortitude in the face of adversity! I wish you a peaceful visit for all, whether cleanskin or furry, success in creativity, and a positive and speedy resolution of the trade-invasion. Hugs!

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    • Thanks so much Kate – it’s all gone quite smoothly so far and everyone seems to be finding their place…… well, a bit of jostling with the cats is going on but it’s not too bad and Siddy runs peacemaker at all times. They will keep him busy!

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  32. I didn’t want to click like due to the circumstances of your evacuation. Glad that it was found and will be repaired. I don’t have Instagram and know not how it works but will see what Miss Tech can do to help me. I’ll be thinking good thoughts for you all. Hugs to Danella and hopefully George will understand. LOVE Yoda and his forest. You still can get email, right? Hugs and love to all of you.

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