A long time coming

Well, we made the move from one house to the other successfully. I am forever grateful that the move was complete before the snow that arrived with a vengeance on Tuesday morning. The movers arrived on Monday by 8:45 a.m. and had dropped everything at the new house shortly after 12. They were fast and efficient and having the boxes in the garage was a good thing. We had them drop the boxes and bins in the new garage, though my organization didn't work quite as well on this end. The charge wasn't much more than I paid 13 years ago, when the three of us (D, C and I) moved into that house. Of course, there was quite a bit less now than then. But either way I was happy. M

We did some unpacking (mostly items from our vehicles and a few necessary boxes with dishes/glassware, towels, and bedding) and C went off later in the afternoon to pick-up the mattresses and bed frames. Of course, there had to be another hiccup with the Brick. Though he had the invoice, his last name is the same as mine, AND he had his identification with him, the fourteen year olds who rule the warehouse initially argued with him as I wasn't there. He had borrowed a friend's truck - she came back with him, and we had dinner together and visited for about an hour or so. We didn't get the bed frames put together so the mattresses were simply put into their respective bedrooms and made up. By 9 p.m. I was done and had crawled into bed.

Awake at 3:30 a.m., I stayed in bed until nearly 6 before heading upstairs. Poor C heard all the noises through the night (fridge, furnace, etc.) while I slept through it all. Then he heard me as I moved around upstairs. I may have to offer him my ear plugs. :)

By 7a.m. Tuesday,I was on my way over to the old house. I packed up the food from the fridge and freezer, and loaded it with the packaged food items that hadn't been moved the day before. I'd thoroughly cleaned the fridge a week or so ago, so it didn't take much to ensure it was cleaned. For some reason, I didn't think to eat before I left here, so was happy to find a piece of pizza in the fridge and a banana on the counter. It made a good breakfast!

I wandered around the house and made sure nothing was left behind. There was a box left in the garage with small propane bottles - I'm assuming the movers wouldn't/couldn't move those- a night light, a mat, a some cleaning supplies and my carbon monoxide detector. Just after I finished packing the car, the cleaners arrived. We did a walk through and while they got to work indoors, I swept up debris in the garage.

By this time, the snow was coming down in earnest! My realtor arrived around 10 to do a quick walk through and mentioned that traffic was moving slowly. Not long after he left that the garbage haulers arrived. and filled their trailer. My work there was done, so I found a spot to sit out of the way until the cleaners finished up about 12:15. They did a great job and I hope that having the house cleaned will make up for the fact that the driveway didn't get cleared! We got close to 5 inches in just a few hours.

The route that I take from the east side of the city to our new neighbourhood has a train crossing. We've been stopped a couple of times since we first saw the house. It happened again on Tuesday. I groaned when I saw the train actually stopped on the tracks...it was a wait of over 10 minutes before it started moving again. 

Wednesday started early again at 3:30, when the noise from the water softener woke me. I caught up on some news, read blogs, and then managed to doze off until just after 6 a.m. I heard C moving around upstairs. I'd parked behind him on the single driveway so I got dressed. YUCK, more snow on the driveway! I moved my car out in front and he took off for work while I cleared the couple of inches that had fallen over night.

Then I tackled the pile of boxes in the garage. I took four boxes at a time into the house and made four or five trips in total. In addition, I organized the boxes that will remain in storage in the garage. The kitchen and bathroom boxes have pretty much been emptied and everything in its new place. I may not remember where I put things for awhile though!

The fellow who leased the garage from the old owner, came by to remove a few items left in the garage. I think he'd hoped we'd keep them, but they were heavy metal tables, and old desk, chair, and a filing cabinet. Nothing we need nor want. (As a result I wasn't able to get to Stitch and Chat that afternoon.)

Meanwhile I received an email from the lawyer indicating the sale was complete and the cheque would be deposited to my bank account that afternoon. When I had a chance to check it at 3, the money was there. BUT, the bank had put a 7 day hold on a lawyer's trust cheque, or at least 90% of it. I was able to move some of the funds over to pay off the line of credit, and to put a bit in savings, but the balance was sitting there looking pretty but inaccessible.

I had an appointment downtown on Thursday so made a stop at the bank branch to discuss this with someone there. At first, there didn't seem to be anything they could/would do, but when I explained I had a small loan (from the renovations) to pay off, and I would be asking them to pay the interest for the extra week, they acquiesced to my request to release more of the funds. I walked over to the other institution to drop off a cheque, then headed to my appointment. While I couldn't make the deposits that day, arrangements have been made to move the funds when they are released next week. 

From the appointment, I went to do a bit of grocery shopping on this end of the city. I've never lived in this area so it was a bit of treasure hunt walking around the stores. The rest of the day was spent relaxing at home. No unpacking...I was still tired from the day before.

Friday I tackled more unpacking, though most of it stayed in it's boxes in the store room downstairs. These include extra glassware, some small appliances, and extra bedding. There simply isn't enough room in the kitchen for anything else, and to be honest, most of it isn't really needed. I vacuumed the basement, used the dry mop on the walls to get rid of cat hair and cobwebs, and washed the bathroom floor and the back door landing. In the afternoon I did a quick run to Walmart to get a new rug for the landing - the old one shredded when I pulled it up to wash the flooring. It was stuck down...I'm wondering how long it has been since that floor was cleaned! (I could say that about much of the house, to be honest). 

On a happier note, curling is being broadcast this week (Thurs-Sun) so I've been able to watch several games, with more to go. It's been nice to take a break, from unpacking and cleaning, to curl up on the couch with Saku, and watch the draws. There will be more of that today, but we have some things to get done today too. The bed frames need to be assembled, the rest of the boxes of clothing and bedding need to be brought indoors, and I want to get the living room vacuumed and floor washed. I haven't been able to do that just yet. Those boxes contain the unassembled bed frames. Far too heavy for me to lift!

I'll be taking a moment this morning too, to remember those who fought for our countries in the world wars to allow us to live in peace. In particular, I am thinking of my uncles Wilf and Bob, who went overseas in WWII. Neither came home unscathed, though they did make it back. 

Have a great week ahead everyone!