NO MORE SHOWHOUSES

It seems strange to have a Sunday where there will be no showhouse.
Normally a Sunday morning started with everyone getting out of bed and helping to smarten up the house for a showhouse. 
It went something like this:
Started in the lounge - polished all the furniture and wooden floors until you could see your face in them.   Covered the chairs with the trhows - kept especially for Sunday's.  Put down the cream carpet - also kept for Sundays only, lit lavender or vanilla candles for special effect and then closed the doors and warned everyone not to go in there.
Then started on the bedrooms -  changed the duvets and pillowcases to the Sunday ones, and cleaned the floors and furniture again.
Changed the towels in the bathroom to the Sunday special - the brown ones.
Packed everything away in the kitchen and put out the Sunday dish cloths - the black and white ones.  All this despite the fact that the maid had been on the Saturday.
If the family wanted anything to eat, they had to make it early and eat it OUTSIDE.
The last thing we did was wash the passage, bathroom and kitchen tiles, and then stood outside waiting for the estate agent to arrive.
Then the fun began - 3 hours of either driving around with 2 small dogs in the car as well, or camping in the neighbours backyard until it was time to go home.
At 5 we trooped home to hear what the comments were, and to see if there was an offer in.

On the first showhouse day, an old lady wanted to see why our shower door still runs, as she has one the same and it has come off the runners.  Well needless to say the agent found her in the shower with the door in her hand, she had lifted it off the rails to see how ours worked.  Poor old girl had to stand there until the agent's husband could get here to lift it from her.

The second showhouse found 2 old budddies who walk past everyday visiting to see what the inside looked like, as they knew what the outside looked like and were just curious.

The third showhouse was done by Ken the agent's husband, also an agent, as her Mom had unfortunately passed away on the Thrusday - this was when the council played nasty and removed his 2 feather banners from outside our property, and them having to pay a R1500 fine to get them back.

Showhouse no 4 - Cheryl phoned an hour befor to say she had fallen and broken a bone in her foot at was still at the hospital waiting for the results of X-rays etc, and  that she would sentd Ken in her place.  At 2 I got a call from her to say she was still waiting at the hospital and would I please tell her husband  when he arrived that it was a definate break.

Showhouse no 5 very uneventful and thankfully the last one we would have to have.

As I start the packing there are lots of tears being shead, as there are lots of memories being packed up.  Photos of celebrations we have had here - weddings - anniversary parties -  birthday parties - Christmas lunches.  The sad part is that half the people or pets in the photos are no longer here to join us in our final milestone, but we will remember them all and the good times we had together.
God bless you all, you all mean so much to us!!!