A Gardeners Forum Forums Members History Forum Life 2006 The Move

Merme...that seems like a place where you will be much happier than you could have ever been at the old place...not even being able to keep your blinds opened because of the attorneys...and not to mention the landlord.

I know the whole thing has been rough, but it seems like having to move might have been a blessing in disguise for you.

I'm glad it's almost over...and you can get settled in and be comfortable.


Cindy

Am thinking about you today Merem as it is big moving day. I hope all is going smoothly and that lots of people came to help out!

I can't compete with that Banana but I'm doing my own happy dance for you. Hope the move goes off without a hitch and you love every minute in your new place.

For all of you who like lots of details, here is the saga of the move...

Me 'n Angel were exhausted by early Saturday morning and there seemed to still be SO MUCH to do before the Movers arrived at 8:30. I was remembering all the sage advice you guys had given me, and tried hard to remember to breathe and to trust the day to God.

Well, as it turned out, the movers I hired were scam artists of a sort and I am thankful to all of my local friends who showed up that day.

I had contracted with the movers front office for 2 hours at a certain rate. One hour to load, one hour to unload. My church had cut a check to pay the movers for me.

So when the truck rolled in, I started at the front door and pointed out all the furniture pieces I wanted them to take and then said if there is any time left, add as many boxes as you can in the time allowed.

SURPRISE, SURPRISE! They START the clock the moment they leave their parking lot before they arrive at the house and don't stop it until they get back to the office.... so they cut 1/2 hour off the moving time for their travel.

Then they said I MUST pay cash... coz if they take longer to move than the agreed upon 2 hours, the check wouldn't be enough. Well, my friends flipped out saying they HAD to take the check because it was from a church for heaven's sake and signed by a priest, so it wasn't going to bounce!

So they called the office... another 15 minutes gone.

THEN they announced that NONE of my friends could help load the truck. So everyone just had to stand there, bringing stuff to the front door to try to make these guys go faster because they kept doing things like one waiting inside while the other tied something down outside rather than to keep moving.

So in the end, all they were able to take was the furniture and not a single box.

Well, my friends stood there a moment and somebody said "Load 'er up!" and the caravan of cars, a minivan and one small pickup truck got underway.

I'm telling ya, my friends worked like dogs all day long and that is so NOT what I had planned for them! I hired the movers so they wouldn't have so much to do!

By 1, I was wiped out, and told Angel it was time for me to be taken to the new place. A friend had promised to cater morning Coffee Break and also lunch, and by then, everyone was really ready to eat!

So we got here, and the friend had showed up with just a small amount of wierd food -- not the sort of things needed to feed a crowd of starving hard working folks!

So I dug in my purse to see what cash I still had on hand, and Angel ran to the market to get bologna, bread, chips, as I already had the cheese and the mayo at the new place.

We took a much needed break, had some food and coffee, and those people still remaining to help got the rest of the to and fro-ing underway just after 2.

By 5, everyone was completely done in and everything was here except one small 1/2 load for a pickup, which we arranged to get on Monday.

Before they left they made sure my bed was set up and that I could get my wheelchair through each room.

This is the least stressful move I have ever gone through and all my friends were as considerate as possible. That Hurclean effort was done with much good humor and grace from start to finish.

Merme

Merme, I am so glad you are moved now and pray that you will be settled in soon. I am sooooo excited for you!

Dianna

PART TWO: MOVING HUMOR

Ok, so here are two amusing things from that day...

I had stayed up until 2 AM on Friday night finishing the laundry so I could tackle the dishes before they got packed on Saturday morning. But as it turned out, I never did get to the last of the dishes.

So my pals (down to earth, on'ry girls, both o' them) told the teen helping us to pack the dishes dirty and we'd wash them in the dishwasher at the new place to save time.

I screeched NO! There were two very nice, nice ladies from my church helping out with the move and I did NOT want them to see packed dirty dishes, I just so did not want that!

So Ange said to pack em up, seal the box, mark it D DISHES D DO NOT OPEN.

So when the nice ladies left to take the next load to the new place, the teen loaded up a big box with all the dirty stuff and Angel marked it. The teen kept asking why nobody could know what was in the box? Angel explained "OH, WE can know... we just don't want the ladies to know!"

So that box got hustled into Lori's van and brought to the new place. As soon as the ladies were back out the door to go get another load, Angel ripped open the box, stashed everything in the dishwasher and turned it on and then stood there looking completely nonchalant and well, ANGELIC! Dirty dishes? Where? I didn't see any!

So the dishes were saved (and washed) and my reputation was spared and my friends got such a kick out of the conspiracy.

Late in the day when we were all so exhausted everything was striking us as funny, a condition my mother used to refer to as "Punch Drunk", Angel said something quite innocently that put us all on the floor.

Everyone knows I keep a rolodex. I live my life out of the silly thing. Even when I call 911, the rolodex is the first item into my hospital bag.

Well, people consider it a privilege to be added to my rolodex and the week before I had told Angel's boyfriend Rich I needed the rest of his contact info so I could make a card for him. He was so proud! Unfortunately, I wrote it all with a big red marker on the back of an envelope on my desk and never made the card...

So as they were leaving on moving day, Rich offered me his cell phone to use for the week when my phone was disconnected. I had to admit I didn't remember the number AND that I hadn't recorded it in my rolodex.

Angel picked up the rolodes and said "I will put him on my backside" meaning the flip side of her card.

When she said that, I started to chuckle. As soon as everyone heard me laugh, they all thought twice about what she'd said and the whole room was just cracking UP. The situation went downhill from there, with everyone making any silly comment that came into their heads from there.

Tired can make the whole wide world seem funny.

Merme

PART THREE: MAXI

Maxi was brought home on Sunday night. He was thrilled from the minute he walked in the door.

We spent about an hour together while I showed him all the switches throughout the place and he learned how to lock our new front door locks. Then we sat and talked for a bit and he was delighted to get into his own bed with the brand new mattress all made up just for him -- no more pullout couch!

On Monday I showed him how to use the dishwasher and he thinks that is a very MANLY task because it is a machine, mommy, not for ladies!

On Tuesday he was well-connected with the other boys in our complex. Nice kids who are apparently used to parental supervision. They open the door and ask "May I come in?" and "Where do you want me to put my stuff?" then they strip down, boots, snowpants, parkas, hats, mittens, into a damp heap by the front door and come in all dry to play.

They always ask first if they can play Maxi's piano keyboard and I let them if they wash hands first.

Tuesday night one of the boys brought his take out supper over here to eat with Maxi. Wednesday night he got invited over there. Now they've all got plans for the weekend.

One night they showed him the bike trail and everyone went sledding.

The cable guy came on Wednesday morning to hook us back on. We upgraded to digital and the guy was showing me how to use the parental block after Maxi had left for school.

He said "don't pick something he will guess at the first try!" and I jumped a bit because I was thinking of using the word "glad" which I had once used on a now defunct bank account. So I picked another word.

When Maxi came home, he complained about the blocks and said "I know your password! It is GLAD!" the little stinker! Good thing I had changed my mind. And here I haven't had that bank account in over a year, so how did he even remember it or even know it in the first place?!

The guy also told me not to worry about teaching Maxi how to work the thing because he assured me the kids sit with the remote and figure it all out within a few hours. Sure enough, that's what happened.

So the kid has slipped into a nice routine, happy as the day is long. Getting up and preparing for school is easy. Coming home and accomplishing chores is easy. Having buddies to fool around with is lovely. There just seems to be much peace and delight here for us both and he is sleeping so well -- so very well.

This weekend we hope to put his bedroom entirely together for him and even get his red curtains hung! Oh, he'll feel in paradise then!!

Merme

Hi Merme,

i am so happy for you, its sounds like you have found a great place. i can sympathize with you, moving is exhausting, your new place sounds really great for you both.
congratulations
Penny

MERME!

I am so glad to see you back online!

I'm happy you are finally moved, and now have such a nice place to live. And so happy to hear about Maxi's new friendships already.

You have some awesome friends that helped you!

Cindy Faye

Hi Merme,
So very glad you made it thru the move and Maxi is so happy... playing with buddies will wear him out- may just help all his sleeping problems.
His new room sounds really neat- bet he will be thrilled with red curtains too-
Now you don't try to get it all done in one day either--- though I bet just everyday stuff is a lot easier for you now.
Nana

Merme, I'm so happy for you. And now I'm happy for me too, Because you're back.

Merme I am so happy for you. And Maxi too. I hope you are both very happy in your new home.

Oh Merme..so very happy that you are settled both physically and emotionally..only great times for you two ahead..

Great to have you back

Today Maxi went on the shopping expedition with Angel and he returned with two houseplants. I had left the choice up to him, specifying the price range only.

The kid got some bang for his buck, too.

He got a very handsome miniature rose in a deep orangy red that looks quite good on the plant stand in the living room. I should have remembered that RED is his favorite color and so he would never think to buy yellow to coordinate with the room! But it is lovely, none the less.

For my bedroom, he lugged home a giant Boston Fern in a hanging basket. It feels a bit dry to me, so I will TLC it with a steamy bathroom during our showers tonight and a good big drink.

We sat my antique telephone stand that got broken in the move right in front of my double window in the bedroom. I had planned to put it elsewhere, but until a furniture man can repair the leg, I don't want it where it will be sat on. So since it is in front of the big windows with nary a phone in sight, I asked the kid to buy a plant to put on it. He did a great job with the fern and told me the Bakery guy helped with the choice! I think a few small books on the seat and perhaps a big swatch of lace thrown carelessly on the back will do much to diminish the brilliant color of the upholstery my mother added to that bench 40 years ago. Someday I will reupholster it myself, but for now disquise is the key!

And what better disguise than a real plant I might ask?

Gee, I'm a happy girl in my new home.

Oh and all of Barley's AV's survived the journey in their little pots on the trays... as well as all the cuttings in their small vases.

It's looking like home to me!

Merme

Merme, I'm so glad that you go in there and love it so much.

Sounds like Maxi picked out some nice plants!

Merme, What a nice treat for me to come back and see that you are all setteled into your new home. I am so happy for you that it all worked out and that it is going so well! And I am thrilled to have you back. You were very much missed while you were gone!

welcome home merme... so glad you are in the nice place, with room to move about.

This little place is just perfect for us, it really is! Again this morning I was just so impressed that I was able to simply get ready to go out and not have it be such a major ordeal. I got to do everything needful in much less time and I wasn't exhausted and frantic when our ride arrived! This is GREAT!

A friend came and hung the curtain panels in the living room for me this afternoon. The only window in this room is the big sliders out to the porch and they are divided into panes... 15 for each door. The owners installed white vertical blinds, which are okay but I wanted fabric added to soften the look.

Modern construction just seems so BOXY to me and is usually NOT architecturally interesting, so softness and interest has to be added with fabric, plants, furnishings, etc to make it have a more habitable human-like appearance. In my opinion.

So he used my special hardware. It is the kind in which only one end mounts to the wall and the other end swings free, with a small ball on the free end to hold the panel in place. The panels are a color I think of as a "dusty" or muted blue, made of silk, with handwrought ribbon embroidery into pretty darker blue daisies with yellow centers. We hung the hardware arms above the valance for the blinds, placing them 6 inches in from each end, so the panels conceal the door frame on either side, softening up the entire look of the area. I am very pleased!!

Those sliders are about six feet from my desk to my right and face East. I spend much of my time right here and I love sitting here watching the morning sun creep up over the horizon through the trees and streaking in a little bit past those vertical blinds. It makes it very pleasant.

I am anxious now to find the box that has my indoor fountain safely packed inside. I really want to get it up and running as I miss the sound of it so much. I am thinking of placing it on the credenza that we placed between the kitchen and living room in order to divide the space up a bit for me as I dislike "open concept" rooms. I'm thinking it would be really nice there, especially if I add a plant that does okay with low light.

Of endless discussion among my friends is the topic of where to hang our artwork.... I'll let you know what we finally decide!!

Merme

Things are really shaping up. So glad about that.

Sounds awesome. Looking very forward to pics once you get the hang of the camera!

Triss ~

My computer guy asked me not to even fool with trying to hook the camera up to this old computer. He is going to replace this computer in March and thinks it will be much better to do it then. We are waiting until March when his Technical College has its annual sale -- he says you can get the BEST deals then!

The plan is to upgrade to 2000 and add a CD burner and some sort of thumb memory thing for my creative writing files. He thinks the software for the camera will do much better on the upgrade.

But I'm hoping one of my friends will bring a camera at least to the Open House and get some good pictures for all of you...

Oh, and my pal the Chef told me yesterday that he can get mountains of 5 gallon plastic buckets with or without lids for me to do some of the planting projects for our porch that Lynne gave me the link for.

Now I am REALLY psyched!

Merme

It sounds like you and Maxi are settling in quite well From your descriptions it sounds like a lovely apartment and I can't wait to see some pics.

When is your open house?

Merme - I'm so happy that you are so at home in your new place!
It sounds like things are getting well organized, and that before you know it, you'll have a lovely porch with all sorts of blooms and greenery to sit back and relax among.

I, too, am anxiously awaiting pictures!

Congrats on your new place Merme! You sound really happy there. I am looking forward to seeing pics also.

Shirl

I would love to see the great group of super hero's that took care of you Merme, they are very special people and what an Awesome job they did.
It would be sooooooo much fun to get to see some faces of those who worked so hard..