Skis, Motorhome, Diwali, Blinds and EBay - things are looking up!

 After a rather difficult few weeks when ‘stuff’ was just taking over I am feeling a little calmer and more positive.  There is a degree of having managed to wrestle piles of ‘stuff’ to the side to be dealt with later but nevertheless ‘stuff’ is no longer weighing me down.  This is a good thing.

Our skis have been dropped off to be waxed and have their edges sharpened by a man who has clearly set himself up with a very nice little side line in retirement which, no doubt, covers a sizeable chunk of his skiing costs each year.  This is what I call a bright bloke.  Would that I could identify a niche for myself but it is eluding me so far.  

The motorhome part has arrived and subject to successful MoT and habitation check we will be picking it up in the next couple of weeks.  There is a long and quite expensive list of things we need to get sorted but these are being worked through and hey, we were saving for something and at least the, not insignificant, expenditure we have had this year has come about while we still have a decent income.  If we had left everything until we actually retired I think this would have really freaked me, possibly straight back to employment.  As things stand, however, we should be ready to head out to the Alps for our first trip skiing from a motorhome this season.  

Amazon are trying to sell me stuff for Diwali.  I wonder, on a fairly regular basis, what their algorithm is up to.  I am not an obvious target for Diwali merchandise.  It is not something that is celebrated much, to my knowledge, in fenland.   I caveat that with a friend, who lives locally, has a son and his family based in India and the children’s school do a Diwali dance competition every year.  The video is always a treat - straight out of the Exotic Marigold Hotel but with teenagers. 

When we had the house in East London (Newham) the fireworks every year were quite a treat that extended out from Bonfire Night.  In our earlier days there Bonfire Night fireworks were celebrated, courtesy of the local authority, on Wanstead Flats.  We were lucky enough to have a house that backed onto the Flats and got a great view, in the warm, without any parking issues.  That may be cheating but it worked for us.

The local Diwali celebrations were rather more ad hoc over several days but there were always some amazing fireworks illuminating the sky above the rooftops. 

Unfortunately I doubt we will be seeing much by way of Diwali fireworks at home but we may get a few for bonfire night and there is always the chance of catching sight of some when in London.

The kitchen has a new blind (not that it had an old one) which finishes things though a touch up re paint work would not go amiss.  We have a new blind (again it did not have an old one) for the bathroom but that needs properly decorating first.  Time is in short supply and, for now, it is slipping down the ‘to do’ list.

I have managed an eBay sale - woohoo!!   That is not entirely fair.  I sold some boots, earlier in October, that had been listed for a some time.  This week’s sale was for some 

Laura Ashley trousers that have been on the site for quite a while with no interest and suddenly they sell.  One item out of the house.  Two more have gone to a charity shop.  Both are lovely but for photographic reasons I expect might be tricky to sell online.  I have listed a further four items.  Hopefully, they might renew some interest in the other stuff I have on eBay that has been failing to grab anyone’s attention.  We shall see.  Nothing is going to make me a fortune but a few £s in against the tide that is heading out right now will do no harm.  

All in all I shall be ending October on a positive note.