This is a rentable villa in Sanur. Complete with housekeeper couple.

They wanted $US25,000 for 12 months. I laughed.

Aaaaah, this is the last day I have to worry about that damned house. This is settlement day, handover day. Thank goodness.

This past six months, and especially the last month, have been the hardest period I have ever been through. Physically, mentally, emotionally, I am exhausted. All my muscles ache with weariness. My back hurts in one particular spot. My feet ache with tiredness. I’m sleeping 10 hours (with pit stops) each night but still I feel tired.

Yesterday I felt awful, but I knew I had to push myself and I did. I got all the benchtops cleared, I cleaned the toilet, I sorted out what was rubbish, loaded my car for the lockup and I was just near finishing the vacuuming when Barry arrived a few minutes before 2pm dressed in his business white shirt and tie. Final inspection! I hadn’t realised – the buyers were coming at 2pm to do their handover inspection. Lucky I pushed myself, then.

As it turned out, they delayed until 5pm but I skedaddled out of there – I was exhausted, and the day was soooo hot! I did a biit of grocery shopping, especially dog food. I have no cooking facilities, so I’m buying things that don’t need heating. It’s easy – no problem. In fact, I’m eating better than I usually do – lots of gourmet salads and oatmealy things.

Then back to my friends’ place to wait out the evening. That was one of the hottest evenings I can recall – no wind, just oppressive heat. I had a cold shower before bed – it’s a long time since I’ve felt that need. Poor Minnie. She was panting. I wanted to hose her down too, but she’s sleeping in the garden dirt and this would have made a huge mess. I can’t do that in this immaculate house. I can’t let her inside at all. I might try to sneak her into the laundry on the cool tiles, then get her out before they come home.

So, last day today, one more trip to the lockup. I might just load the car and leave it until tomorrow when it’s cooler.

Then I’m outa there. Nearly 27 years. Regrets, I’ve had a few. Great area, great memories, great place for my dogs in the Trigg bushland, but we’ve got too old to cope. No money to fix it up, and boy, it needs fixing. Too much for me.

So as of today, I no longer have to worry about it. I can relax for the next 5 weeks and try to regain my rest. Before the next major hurdle —–

I will have a garage piled to the rafters with boxes at my new place. Months of opening them, finding places for all the “stuff”, sorting good stuff from rubbish and dragging the good stuff inside. Buying IKEA cabinets and assembling storage. Setting up shelving in the garage. Trying to make room to move out of the chaos. Fun, fun fun.

This is absolutely, definitely my last move. I couldn’t go through this again.

I must pay tribute to Barry Wood, so cheerful and generous as always, Brian his fitness trainer mate, and Keith Geary, generous to a fault. Thanks, guys, from the bottom of my heart.

2:30pm – Well, that’s it. I’ve handed the keys over and my car is full to the roof with all the remaining stuff. I’m out and I can’t go back. Mixed feelings. It’s weird to not have that as my home any more, but I’m also glad to be free of it. If I could have done it, I would have demolished it and rebuilt. It was a rotten design from the very start, and fairly poorly built, too. No lintels! How could any self respecting builder do that? So much wasted space! How could any self respecting architect have designed a house like that? It was a botch of a house and I’m glad to be out.

But the memories! Of Boopsie running around her race track and finishing by leaping into my lap. Sitting by the lounge heater with Boopsie in the chair next to me, responding to my stroking. Minnie crawling under the kitchen cabinets as her cave. And digging a real cave under the concrete path to the workshop, peeking out. I’ve got a photo. “Little dog” Boopsie, small enough to walk under the cabinets. Minnie coming inside and seeking refuge beside my bed when there was thunder.

Me being fit enough to get up on the roof and walk around, even slipping between the tile battens to get into the roof space. Not a chance now.

Having a real, smooth lawn at the back. Remarking to the lawn mower guy, gee, it looks pretty good, doesn’t it?

Making all my own cabinets in the workshop, on a saw bench I made myself. Pretty neat work, if I say so myself. I was really into it.

The turning point? Sleep apnea in the mid to late 1990s, then redundancy. Never really recovered. Computers took all my interest. I was still walking well until 2009, but something changed then and I sank into depression, I think, long term. The walking slowed, then stopped. Minnie developed arthritis, so it was hard to take her out, and I stayed home with her. I attempted to escape to Bali, but that went wrong, and here I am. Still plenty of things to do, and the means to do them, but physically I’m struggling.

So months of work at the new house to come, and then I can finally get started on my next interest, model railways and DCC control. Digital control. Endless possibilities.

I also have at least two travel goals: Viet Nam, Hanoi, to see my cuz; and a return to the UK to knock on the door of Croft Castle, Herefordshire, and say, “Hi, my name is Croft and I claim this brick.” And a return to Bali in a better state of mind and health. Gotta get working on both.