Remember the song, “You’re so good to come home to?” That’s
how I feel about my new home now that Sasha, my cat, and I are finally situated
in it. The song may be about a person, but today it’s about my house. I left
condo land and moved into a real neighborhood with kids, noise of lawns being
mowed, dogs being walked, and my grass needing mowing.
It’s wonderful to
have a yard that I can do anything (legal) with without thinking about condo
association rules. It’s great to be able to sing in the house without expecting
commentaries from neighbors in my former condo building. Speaking of yards,
there is a rectangle of dirt where no grass is growing in my new back yard
where I think they buried Jimmy Hoffa.
I chronicled my move on Facebook, with postings about
different phases of the project. First I started to pack. Then, after hearing
bad financial projections from three moving companies, I moved a large amount
of possessions into a rented storage room in order to keep moving company costs
down. Then the moving company came and loaded my furniture onto their truck and
took it away. Steve and Greg were diligent and personable. I was not to see my
furniture again until the next day. Sarah graciously allowed me to spend that
homeless night at her home. The next day, after closing on the sale of condo
and purchase of house, Steve and Greg reappeared and unloaded the furniture. After
that John, Laura and Ian helped me move possessions from the storage room; it
was a big job. Finally, possessions were put in some kind of order, which is to
say, Dede, Sarah and I unpacked a mountain of books and a lesser one of kitchen
items, plus various other things. I had plenty of help. Dede and Sarah helped
with putting things in preliminary order. Daughter-in-law Sherry gave me dinner when my
children weren’t having meals with me.
It was stressful for me but worth the headaches and
sleepless nights. Sasha, my cat, had her own kind of stress. She spent the
weekend at the veterinary clinic’s boarding facility. I brought her home and
she sped to a spot under my bed. She has come out sometimes and is settling
into her new home by sitting on my lap and kneading my legs like a kitten. This
kind of affection is very unusual for her. I am sure she will get back to
biting soon.
Here are my Facebook postings that were the news reports
about how the relocation was going:
Packing up for moving can be
very interesting. You find stuff you forgot you had. You also wonder how you
ever could fit so much stuff into one condo. Garbage day is tomorrow and the
bin is full. It's almost time to move.
Whoopee! I am now in my new
house. The unpacking is beginning. Ate supper with Sarah Whitt, who brought in
Thai carryout, but we hadn't yet found plates. We had found some baking dishes
so we used them. Moving is such an adventure.
Tomorrow I plan to rescue my
perishable food from the freezer and refrigerator of Barbara Boone. Then maybe eating
can become normal again. Thanks, Barbara.
Posting from Sarah during moving: Here is a bottle of degreaser mom says
is older than Dede. It's from when mom briefly sold Am Way like 50 years ago. I
counted up & I think it's been moved 9 times - Preble, Allouez, Green Bay,
Beloit, Fond du Lac, Seymour, Madison Prairie Rd, the condo, and finally the
new house. Except it never quite made it to the new house. It now resides in my
trash bin.
Unpacking. Arranging. Happy
to be in my new home. Dori Becker is here to help today. Sarah Whitt was here last night when we put away
kitchen stuff, so now I can actually eat on a plate. Small things are so
important.
The Whitt family moving team
has been laid off. I spent a lot of time today shopping for curtains/draperies. They
don't make them compatible with the colors of my bedrooms: fuschia (really!),
lemon yellow, lilac. I found white curtains but not in appropriate size. Didn't
want black. I think I will be making curtains. Better than repainting the rooms
to match available colors of curtains.
Comment on same post:
I
considered hanging up towels. Not a good choice.
I'm considering trying the
Dig & Save next. I bought a $4.00 lamp at Goodwill yesterday and didn't
find a shade that is compatible with what the lamp will share the room with,
and I think there is some incongruity with buying a $30 shade to go onto a $4
lamp.
My cat's response to living
in a new home is to stay under the bed.
