(Tuesday, 5 May 2020)
This morning it was a bit on the damp and murky side, although there was again an interesting formation of clouds sitting on the mountain tops. We weren’t expecting anything exciting in the form of weather, so it was another day of admin for me and Mark was planning to get a few little jobs done.
We decided that since neither of us had much in the way of energy or enthusiasm, we would just do a few random bits and pieces for the ‘feel good, have actually done something factor’ and declared in advance an early finish to the day and a bit of sofa and lit fire time so we had something to aim for.
Mark decided to tackle the first of the runs to the tip, since there was a high chance of ‘feel good factor’ associated with it. He also need to pop out to get some new work boots. His old ones had long since passed their ‘best before’ date and there was a very real danger he would have to resort to using his decent walking boots and that would not be an economical use for them. He is now the proud owner of a pair of proper work boots, with toe caps and everything and is a much happier bunny as a result. I think he’s earned them to be honest! 😉
The dump run went very smoothly, since it was a bit of a rainy day it was quite quiet, there was no queue and the staff were on hand, smiley and helpful (from a suitable distance) and having prepared all his vocabulary in advance, he was able to ask the questions he needed and deposit the items in the correct bins.
You may have noticed in some of our photos that we have inherited some dismantled and dumped asbestos sheets. This is always a headache and it’s bad enough trying to get rid of them in the UK, when you can understand the process and the rules, we’d tried not to think about how the hell we were going to get rid of them here. 🤨
But it turns out, it’s easy! The tip has a dedicated area for it, provided you don’t have loads, you just rock up like any other trip and put it in there. Mark checked with the nice lady at the tip and yes, it really is that easy. Of course, there are precautions you need to take transporting it, but that’s reasonably simple and we can wet it down/wrap it etc etc.
What an unexpected joy! The Austrians are quite often very pragmatic where the UK is over regulated – ‘Elfin Safety is just one of these things – and it is often extremely refreshing not to be living in a nanny state. It’s one of the things that we really appreciate about living here… it’s largely up to you to take responsibility for yourself and the consequences are therefore your own. Love it!😍
Upon Mark’s return, we were having a coffee and chatting about all this when the postman arrived. He is without doubt one of the most cheerful people on the planet. I don’t know what it is about being a postie, but they always seem to be the loveliest people! Always smiling and friendly and taking a brief moment to exchange a few words, today was no exception. Today, he asked us about when we could open and with a cheery laugh and wave, he departed having left us with a letter and a package.
Mark handed me the package and raised his eyebrows in that ‘what have you ordered from Amazon now?’ way that he does. 😆 I held it for a moment, wracking my brains…. I don’t know… I can’t remember ordering anything recently. 🤔
Having poked it a bit, trying to guess… I still do this with presents too, prolonging the moment of holding it in your hands and not knowing.. I’ve never grown out of that. 😂 Eventually, I opened it. 😯 Two t-shirts, his ‘n’ hers! We love them!!!!! 💕 😁 💕
There’s no clue on the packaging, we have no idea who sent them, but whoever it was.. what a completely outstanding, lovely, thoughtful and generous gift!!! We were gobsmacked and oh so touched! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Whoever it was, please identify yourselves… privately if you prefer.. so we can thank you properly. But what a lovely, lovely surprise, it completely made our day! 💕 😁
Stay safe everyone xx
