Still Clearing

It took a lot longer than initially planned, and the heavy rain outside made the decision if whether to stop or carry on a bit more straight forward. We carried on until the rain subsided, just in time for some food.

It looked that the maids would have to return next weekend, and Anita had to stock up on more boxes and bubble wrappings.

Bundles of clothes tucked awayAll in good shapeStacks of old giftsThis was from our wedding in 1997Counting the cost I was sure ....Now that most of the items had been nearly stacked into boxes, we had to plan the logistics of getting them either next door to my brother-in-kaw place for storage, to apartment or to be disposed of to charity or sold off. Car boot sale? Nah! Don't really fancy that ......

Cleaning Cemerlang House

Puan Anita and the maid - I was on call being my excuse - spent the weekend clearing up our Taman Cemerlang stuff before the planned sale. And oh boy, did we have a lot of junk. I was there on Sunday lunch as some of the stuff may need selling, while some would be transfered later to our apartment.

It looked like we would be making a small fortune if we were to sell the old stuff. We even had plenty of our wedding present - from 1997 - which were still wrapped up in their original package. Then came the children stuffs, my old photography equipment - projectors, developing equipment and my old stack of slides which needed to be dispose of. So much junk!

There were three floors to clearFound Idlan's old walkerWe would be giving away the boys' old stuff to charity, but not before getting a proper lorry to transport them. Some of them we would pass to family members while some may be kept for momento.

The fridge, washing machine, TV and beds would be transported to the apartment in the coming weeks. We would need a lorry for that, and removal help.

Found stacks of old slidesThis was the mid to late 90s I thinkFound Irfan's old pramAnd our beloved 10-year-old DysonThen would come time to clean the house. Both inside and the surrounding landscape. The maid would have to work overtime .....

The Cemerlang House

Back in 2001, when we were still in the UK, we bought a house near the in-laws at Taman Cemerlang. The plan was to set up my family there when we returned, as the house would be located right in-between both our parents. But things did not go according to plan. We returned to Malaysia to spend time with my father-in-law who was awaiting a cardiac bypass. He wanted to wait until we returned home before he went under the knife.

Then Anita fell pregnant. My dad-in-law waited for Idlan to be born. By the time, we were based at his place in Taman Setia, and had been ever since. On the odd weekend, we would stay at the Cemerlang house, but over the years, with me changing my job, those occasions were getting few and far between.

Idlan when he was a babyIrfan at the living areaIdlan was close to tearsWe were now in the process of buying an apartment in Bangsar, and decided to let go of the house.

Even though we hardly stayed there, we and the boys had strong affinity to the house as they enjoyed spending time there. With the garden and all. Idlan actually cried when a buyer came over during the weekend. He wanted to still keep the house, but we thought that bit would be impossible to maintain so many properties. We thought about renting it out, but that would be more of a problem in the long run. We couldn't afford to spend much on the house, and it would be better for us to sell.

The kitchenIrfan at the dining areaFrom my travelsThe view of KL skyline from the loungeWell, it looked like it was going to be good bye house. We will miss you .......

Unreasonable Neighbour

Anita had a shock when she went over to our Taman Cemerlang house to let the cleaners in. The house opposite was doing some renovation and they placed the skip right in front of our house.

To make matters worse, the entrance to the house was blocked by a parked car! We had a car in the garage - belonging to my brother-in-law currently in Turkmenistan, but they probably would not care.

Good thing we rarely stay there. I liked the house, especially during weekends but in the last few years it had become crowded. I didn't think it would fetch that good a price if we were to sell it off either looking at the neighborhood.

A Mini Renovation

Before we return from the UK, we decided to invest on some properties back home and as a result now own a house not far from where we live with the in-laws now. There had been plan to move out, but since our parents were not really well, and Anita's brother was currently working in Turkmenistan, we decided to stay put. It was good for our boys as well. But the downside was, the house were empty. The unit next to our house was bought by the Anita's brother who working abroad, so from time to time, we do spent a weekend there.

A couple of weeks back, there was a break-in at our brother's place. We used to have an alarm installed, but due to regular lightning storms in the area, a short circuit actually damaged the system, so decided to do without them. Unfortunately, the burglars probably knew about that as well, and entered the unit. Our house was a bit more secure and the grill prevented easy access. Not so for the other unit.

Part of the renovation includes redoing the retaining wallLandscaping will be laterYes! It was Anita who picked the colour.Clearing up last year's door decorLastly Anita making sure everything was spick and spanThey managed to get in, and almost emptied the kitchen and the main bedroom. We decided after that to renovate both units to make them more secure, although we conceded that the best way to make the unit safe would be to actually live there and sort put the alarm.

As pa of the renovation, we also decided to paint the main gate as well as rebuilt one of the retaining wall - the house was built by a hill slope. The main garden were also being landscaped again. The whole thing would take another couple of weeks to be completed. Then we shall sort out the alarm. Will we move there soon? Very unlikely.