Moving

That's it, the big word for today

Is moving,  to a new place.

Well, moving the furniture, that is to say 

And four hundred boxes

Which have been in storage

For almost a year.

The removalists have called

To get the access code

And I have been waiting

For two trucks and four men,

 It's a big one, man!

It won't  all get inside this four bedroom house

Hopefully the double garage

Will be spacious enough.

I've been able to empty the contents

Of two bags and suitcases in the WIR

I've got my own ensuite

But the beloved has a proper bathroom!

My only issue is to know where

I am going to put it all ?

So far the only noises

Have been the screeching

Of the Cockatoos when sighting a cat

And a far away dog barking.

Bliss really!

No more traffic noise, no more trams

No more helicopters coming and going.

L. Bailliet©

11/09/2012

Déménager, c'est ça,

Le grand mot pour aujourd'hui,

Dans un nouvel endroit.

Déplacer les meubles

Et quatre cents boites

Qui ont été en garde meuble

Depuis plus d’un an.

Les déménageurs  ont appelé

Pour obtenir le code d'accès

Et j'ai attend deux camions et quatre hommes,

C'est un grand événement!

Nous n’arriverons pas à tout caser

A l'intérieur de cette maison de quatre chambres.

Espérons que le double garage

Sera assez spacieux.

J'ai été en mesure de vider le contenu

De deux sacs et des valises dans le WIR

J'ai ma propre salle de bains

Mais le bien-aimé a une salle de bain convenable!

Mon seul problème est de savoir où

Vais-je mettre tout cela?

Jusqu'à présent, les seuls bruits

Ont été le crissement des cacatoès

Dès qu’un chat est aperçu

Et un chien qui aboie au loin.

Une vraie bénédiction!

Plus de bruit de trafic, de trams non plus

Pas plus d’hélicoptères qui vont et viennent

À tout moment !

L. Bailliet©

11/09/2012

Unpacking memories

Everyone knows of the role played

By the taste of famous madeleine in

Proust involuntary memory,

But I discovered another source

While unpacking boxes

During this week move.

I have rediscovered moments

Of my past life, past friends,

Past trips, past holidays,

Through everyday objects

That have been stored away

For almost a year and forgotten.

A sugar pot from Normandy,

An ashtray and a vase from Spain,

A market impulse buying of a jam spoon

With my daughter on a wintery day

They have all brought up in mind

Younger times and emotional souvenirs.

It has often a bitter sweet feeling

Associated with it, of something gone

Forever but worth remembering

All the same.

L. Bailliet©

18/09/2012

Omen

When one is in the mist

Of a defining moment

One is looking for an omen

And this morning

Lighted by the clear sun

Of an early springtime

Three hot air balloons

Were floating high above

The university

Promising serenity

Or so I thought.

While waiting for the removalists

One blue candle at the bottom

Of one of the boxes we brought

From the flat called to me

To be alighted and to perform

A cleansing and blessing ritual

This has been duly done.

The new house is now protected

It is waiting for the furniture

To become a home.

L. Bailliet©

15/09/2012

Doing lists

It's only a question of priorities

Doing lists, going through them

When one is moving.

It is stressful, for it works

At so many different levels

Each important in itself.

Time is of course a luxury.

 Packing will be minimum

As we shall take our furniture

Out of storage, but where

To put everything is going

To prove a major headache.

Thankfully some will have

To be stored in the double garage.

Too many boxes that despite

All the built-ins wardrobes

They will certainly take a large

Part of the floor space.

But let’s start at the beginning

And get through those lists.

L. Bailliet ©

3/09/2012

Il s’agit seulement d’une question de priorité

Faire des listes, et les suivre religieusement

Quand on déménage.

C'est stressant, chaque étape fonctionne

A tant de niveaux différents,

Chacune importante en soi.

Le temps est bien sûr un luxe.

Cette fois –ci l’emballage sera minimal

Comme nous allons prendre nos meubles

De l'espace de stockage.

Mais où va-t-on mettre tout cela ?

Ceci va se prouver être un véritable casse-tête.

Heureusement, certains meubles pourront

Être entreposés dans le double garage.

Trop de boîtes et malgré

Tous les placards encastrés

Elles vont certainement prendre

Une grande partie de l'espace au sol.

Mais commençons par le début

Et avançons pas à pas. 

L. Bailliet©

3/09/2012