The final Frontier
I’d just like to report that after another day of cleaning, the house interior is spick and span. Well, I thought it was until I noticed a high windowsill full of dead flies that I missed!
It’s our last day at the house and we have mixed feelings about how close we’ve come to having it ready for occupancy but no occupants to fill it. We still have some minor things to sort out, like new mixer taps in some of the bathrooms, a couple of doors that need trimmed, and some broken light fittings that need to be replaced. There are a few bigger jobs to be looked at, but they will take more time and effort to sort out.
I’ve had my share of cleaning products, sponges and mops this week – today was the final push to get things in a reasonable state before we head home tomorrow, and I think we are winning.
We timed our day well, and managed to finish all we needed to do around 20 mins before we were heading out for dinner with Steve and Lilliana. Unfortunately I had forgotten to wind my watch forward and hour – so when I realised I had about 20 mins to get ready instead of 1hr 20mins, I had to make a decision about my own cleanliness! To shower and wash my hair, or nor not to shower and wash my hair – that was the question.
As we left (with my hair scraped back and in a ponytail and a quick change of clothes), we decided not to speak about any of the disappointments of the week (there have been a few), and only talk about the things that had gone well and that we were grateful for. It made for an altogether more pleasant evening.
We travelled to Darabani and arrived at Complex Fecioras to find Monday was their quiet night so we had pick of the tables. It was a beautiful restaurant with a typically Romania menu, in Romanian, with no English translations. We chose our meals by looking at the pictures and hoped we hadn’t ordered anything that might upset our tummies on the flight the next day! I had a stack of ribs and Simon went for a slow cooked ham hock. And of course, I had a pudding – poached pear with more pear and ice cream! All 4 of us ate for the princely sum of 40GBP!
Home, final bit of packing done, and ready for bed. There is something very peaceful about this house. I’m not sure why, but it definitely has a good vibe. We want refugees to feel it too.
The lows and the highs
As I mentioned above, there have been some lows and some highs on this trip. The lows comprised mainly of being let down by people and tradesmen over the last few days. So jobs we hoped would be completed before we left have been left unfinished.
Hearing the harrowing stories of the refugees who have been looked after by some of our friends has been pretty awful – some of those will stay with me forever.
Trying to get Broadband and TV installed has been another tricky one. We were all set to have the engineers arrive on Monday, but only when we enquired about the installers not turning up, we found out that allegedly we needed to be resident to open a new account. So we left to come home without the installation that the house terribly needs.
Another low was finding out that the refugees had temporarily stopped crossing the border from Moldova to Romania. But this one is a bit mixed as we know that flow will start again. We just don’t know when that will be.
The highs? Knowing that people we love and value were back home cheering us on!
Meeting up with friends here and hearing about the situation with the refugees that have been passing through – although the stories are wicked, we are thankful for people who care enough to help.
Getting the pump and heating fully working were massive jobs and we are so thankful that they are done!
Having Steve and Lilliana serve and look after us has been such a blessing – her cooking is pretty awesome. Being well enough to do all the hard work that was needed despite suffering for months with long-covid. Listening to Simon order food, ask for things, and try to hold conversations in Romanian – that’s always fun to listen to!
