To my surprise and delight, both children slept through their first night here in the new house without a peep or a problem. We were all awakened this morning by the contractors (which may explain why the neighbors haven't come over to greet us, because before we moved in there probably wasn't any pounding happening at 6:30 in the morning on this block) and Monkey came downstairs and hopped into bed with me and Otto. "Hello!" he greeted us. "I had a good sleep!" As if he'd slept here a million times and hopped up to start the day with us the same way for the last year or seven. "Good morning...
Hey, we're all moved in now. I know this because the boxes are piled up to the ceiling, I have vowed never to speak to anyone at the moving company ever again, the children have arrived and bounced off the walls and declared their closets secret clubhouses (hey, did you know that in Georgia most people do not have basements? and so there are many many closets, as a pitiful excuse for storage, instead?), and there is no paint or anything having to do with paint sitting around on my floor anymore. So, yeah, it's simply lovely, and if you don't mind getting lost in the Magical Box Labryinth or...
... because I can no longer lift my arms. Maybe next week. So. Um. We bought this house, and then we pretty much went over there and painted for the next forty eight hours straight. Otto managed to lure various friends of his over to assist, which was nice, but it was still a whoooooole lotta painting. AND we're not done yet! Because the copper wall takes TWO coats of base color and TWO coats of metallic overlay, which means we have one more metallic layer to go tomorrow, after which I suspect the living room will be six inches narrower than it was before we started, because HOLY HELL four...
As of around 5:00 this afternoon, Otto and I are now the proud owners of three houses. We think it's good to have a couple of spares around, just in case, you know. He did carry me over the threshold, though he didn't throw me in the pool... probably because the pool was still looking a little scary. (The pool people are coming tomorrow to finish readying it, which I hope means they will be vacuuming up the fuzzy stuff floating all over the bottom, because EWW.) I didn't accidentally sign my old name even once on the mortgage paperwork! A good way to learn your new name is to sign it...
Today marks a momentous occasion: For the first time in weeks, I have nothing to say about the packing of boxes. Hooray! I have to admit, however, that the "oh yeah, throw that in the back wherever, I don't need it" bag which Otto wedged into the trunk behind everything else did end up being the back into which I'd put my medication. WHOOPS. He was a very good sport about retrieving it for me when I pointed out that PROBABLY I could go without my estrogen without turning into a man for quite a while (and then my dad looked at his watch and said, "Probably not before 4 this afternoon,...
Hello! Did you know that most people, when they move, hire some people to come move them, and the people come, and their stuff gets moved, and other than maybe a missed box or a broken chair or something, it's pretty straightforward and uninteresting? Those people do not have blogs. Also those people are not me. If you are me, it has to be a long involved process which may or may not end with your stuff being loaded on a truck for later delivery. Who knows! It's an adventure! And we lived, so I guess it's okay. Last Friday a nice lady came to my house to pack up my grandmother's china and...
Dude, I was NOT KIDDING when I said if you come over and help me pack, you get to leave with fabulous prizes. Today Otto's brother Wild Thing came over and did an amazing impression of the Tazmanian Devil in my basement; what I'd feared would take us well into the night to pack was DONE before dinner. His stipulation before coming over was that he get to leave with his pick of three things. We'd agreed, of course. He ended up with 6, I believe, or even more if you count that I made him take the remainder of the Easter mix candy I had floating around here. A friend from church came (twice!)...
You know what would be a great idea, when you're trying to pack up your remarkably clown-car-like house which is---despite appearing to be nearly empty, now---crammed full of stuff everywhere that needs to be packed and you only have like two days left to get it all done? Why, have a party, of course! Duh. Not here, though. Of course not. Not unless you want everyone to split up the last case of Diet Coke with Lime and eat spaghetti sauce. (I stocked up during a sale. So sue me.) No, ideally you then go have a party over an hour away, taking you away from the house that needs to be packed....
Things you cannot put on a moving truck: Detergents, aerosols, propane, live animals. Things I can stuff into Otto's car, should I so desire: Detergents and aerosols. Things I would like to take to Georgia with me, because I PAID MONEY FOR THAT, DAMMIT, which are rather large to take in the car given everything else we have: The propane tank on my grill. Solution: The propane tank has got to be nearly empty... let's just leave the grill running until it's empty, and then the movers will be willing to put it on the truck! Hey, guess what! I think I must've had the propane tank filled at some...
