The Big Move-- Phase 2
(posted from home)
(This post covers 31 January – 15 February, 2010)
----------------------------------
Monday, 15 February-
Today is President's Day. Labashi and I took the day off from our daily trips to Bethany in order to fabricate and stain the boards for the shelving uprights. I cut the boards to size using Labashi's sliding miter saw, then Labashi stained them this morning. They'll need another coat this evening.
Around lunch time we drove into York for groceries. We had lunch at Fuddruckers and I bought some wireless cards for Mom and Dad's PCs at Best Buy. We then did our grocery shopping at Walmart and hit the Starbucks on the way home as snow flurries began.
I spent the evening catching up the blog and posting it. Labashi and I watched 'Girlhood', a documentary about two young girls in the juvenile justice system in Baltimore.
---------------------------------
Sunday, 14 February-
Believe it or not, I'm still shoveling snow each morning. Today I finally dug out the mailbox well enough for the mailman to drive up to it. I had dug a walkway to it but the mailman wouldn't take the hint. I don't blame him. If everybody only cut a path to the mailbox, you'd spend all day getting in and out of the delivery vehicle to make deliveries and pickups.
This afternoon Labashi and I went shopping for boards and fasteners for Mom and Dad's Herman Miller shelving units. These are modular shelving units which depend on upright poles running from floor to ceiling. But the ceiling in the new apartment is a foot higher than it was in the house. We need to fashion 'extenders' to take up that extra 12 inches.
After supper Labashi and I installed one of the shelving modules in Mom's bedroom. The plan had been to put it in the nine-foot-ceiling area but this room also has a ceiling step-down to eight feet near the bathroom.
That evening Labashi and I finished 'The Corner'.
---------------------------------
Saturday, 13 February-
I spent an hour this morning digging out a trail across the patio and across the back yard to the barn, then digging out around Mocha Joe.
In my workday at Bethany Village today I installed a cable modem on Comcast and got Dad's computer working. He has been champing at the bit to get to email and on the web. I went with him to the complex's Technology Center yesterday and checked email but it's not the same using the clunky web interface as it is using Outlook.
That evening Labashi and I watched two more 'The Corner' episodes.
-----------------------------------
Friday, 12 February-
I still had some snow shoveling to do today just to clear away snow off the top and around the vehicles. I'm having a hard time throwing it over the snow I've piled up in the last few days.
We spent another day at Bethany beginning at mid-day. I took Dad shopping at the Giant and then resumed unpacking.
We again went to the fancy restaurant in the complex and had a special Valentine's Day meal.
That evening Labashi and I started watching 'The Corner', a predecessor to 'The Wire'. It's very interesting to see some of the same storytelling devices used in 'The Corner' that we saw in 'The Wire'.
------------------------------------
Thursday, 11 February-
I had another four or five inches of snow to dig out of this morning, then we headed up to Bethany Village. We spent the day unloading boxes and in some cases, RE-loading boxes. The reloads came from Mom deciding she really didn't need all that 'stuff' from the other house. Despite the paring-down we had done on the Southfield end, there's still far too much for the new apartment.
That evening we ate in the fancy restaurant before Labashi and I headed home.
----------------------------------
Wednesday, 10 February -
Today turned out to be a snow day. We got POUNDED today. We had twenty inches or so overnight and it just kept coming. I went out several times today to dig us out but it seemed a bit ridiculous since the wind was supposed to blow up to 40 miles per hour later in the day.
I did get some unexpected help, though. In mid-afternoon I heard a knock on the door. It was two local teenagers-- Travis and Steph-- who asked if it would be alright for them to shovel snow from my driveway. I suspect they were sent down here by their Mom and/or Dad. Travis and his buddy Nate showed up in much the same unexpected manner two winters ago when I was in Florida and Labashi was here. I think the parents had noticed I was away and sent them down. I imagine much the same thing happened this year but Travis and Steph would only admit to wanting to shovel snow for 'fun'!! That's hilarious--- but much appreciated.
Travis, Steph and I worked for an hour or so and then Nate joined us. We finished up clearing away the snow from two cars and by then there was a new inch of snow where we had started. I paid the kids and went in to my laptop. Just before dark I went back out and cleared away the six inches of snow that had fallen since I came in.
That evening Labashi and I watched a few eps of '30 Rock- Season Three' and then I slept incredibly well.
-----------------------------------
Tuesday, 9 February -
With the rental truck returned yesterday evening, the pressure was off today. We just kept plugging away with the unpacking and furniture placement. I also installed the television, DVD player, and phones.
Late in the day we enjoyed one of Dad's patented 'mostly ice' Manhattans before heading down to the cafe for sandwiches.
After supper we worked until about 2030 and then headed home in a snowstorm.
-----------------------------------
Monday, 8 February -
This morning we met with the marketing director at Bethany Village and she coordinated with Maintenance folks to determine whether we can move Mom and Dad into the apartment despite the ceiling leak and how that will be handled. We learned we can move in and whatever work has to be done to dry the ceiling and carpet, fix the leak, re-do the drywall and re-paint will be done as soon as possible. Mom and Dad will sleep in the other bedroom for now but we can place most items planned for the affected bedroom at their planned locations. We can't put down Mom's wool rug, though, and we can't put Mom's bed in place for a few days. Also, we were assured that any labor associated with moving furniture or whatever will be handled by Bethany Village staff.
We then talked with our helper in the Washington area and told him it's a 'go' and then started unloading. He estimated arrival at noon.
We began unloading and an hour later learned our helper won't be able to make it. After being stuck in his development, he had to be towed out to the main road only to learn the main roads weren't much better. He had to give it up.
I had considered hiring someone locally but the more I thought about what was in the truck, the more I thought we could do it ourselves. We of course had a LOT of boxes but if we could manage to get the dressers and desks and bookcases and mattresses off the truck, I could most likely get them onto a furniture dolly and into the room.
The high today was only in the mid-Twenties but the 10-15 mph wind wasn't blowing into the truck so I was working without a coat and was very comfortable-- so long as I didn't spend too long outside! I'd get overly warm if I spent too much time in the apartment and too cold if I stayed outside too long but keeping up a steady pace of unloading worked out very well.
My pace of unloading worked out pretty well. Labashi worked in the apartment most of the time and I'd just keep stuff coming. We were using a furniture dolly, a doorman's dolly, and a standard moving dolly which converted into a four-wheel cart. If one or the other couldn't be unloaded right away, I had the others to keep the flow going.
By 1630 or so we were starting to run out of gas. But we took a break for a meal and that helped us get right back to work.
Around 1730 I realized I was going to have to step up the pace if I was to return the truck yet tonight. I wasn't required to have the truck back until 0800 tomorrow morning but didn't want to get up early to come in just to return the truck. So Labashi and I moved the remaining items off the truck so I could sweep it out and and return it in time. As it turned out, we had 20 minutes to spare.
We finally wrapped up the long, long day around 2100 and were very glad to see our beds that night. Good job, team!
------------------------------------
Sunday, 7 February-
We had a bit of a shock this morning when we attempted to load the last few items in the truck. I had thought we'd have plenty of room for our last few items. But last night we realized we had missed a half-height filing cabinet. It was grouped with our inflatable beds and everyone assumed we didn't want to load it until we deflated the beds in the morning (the beds were against it). Also, we had five boxes of plants which we couldn't put in the truck for the mid-teens night.
Between those items and the mountain-ette of personal gear we had, we were in a spot. After using the inflatable-bed pump to deflate the beds, we joked about needing to hook it up to the moving van to suck the air out of the back to make room. I began strategically placing items in the small spaces inevitably left between furniture and building the stack up closer to the overhead door than I liked.
As I worked, Labashi picked up her parents from the Marriott and we then had a few extra cubic inches to fill in the back of the little Honda and that did it. We had the cab of the truck filled with plants and some of our luggage. I had pulled out several small chairs to get the filing cabinet in and somehow managed to turn them around enough to find a way to stuff them back in the truck. And by 0915, we were off!
Our trip down to the Ohio Turnpike was uneventful and, in fact, very easy. The snow had fallen east of us yesterday but here along the west side of Lake Erie, the roads were dry and traffic was light.
Once we headed east on the Ohio Turnpike we expected to see snow buildup and perhaps some slushy roads. But they too were clear and dry and the roadside snow only a few inches deep.
Once we hit PA, the roadside snow increased dramatically but the road was still dry! It was white with salt but I only had to use the windshield washer five or six times the whole way to Mechanicsburg.
When we were about two hours out, the sunset on the snowy scene was quite striking and beautiful. We were using little Motorola radios between the moving van (me) and the little Honda (Labashi and her parents) and in this beautiful area we kept saying 'Wow! Look at THAT!!!-- OVER.”
We also played a road-game. “Welcome to Pennsylvania. The governor of Pennsylvania is ?? – OVER”, “The state tree is the ???-- OVER?”, :”The state bird is the ???--- OVER”, “The state flower is the ????? --- OVER”, etc.
We finally made Mechanicsburg by 1930 and drove to the local Isaac's sandwich shop for supper. Labashi then took Mom and Dad to a hotel while I took the plants to the new apartment. Imagine my surprise when I opened the apartment door and found water dripping down from a ceiling vent in Mom's bedroom.... the one we're moving into tomorrow!
We reported the problem to the front desk and talked briefly with the maintenance staff. Buckets were set up to catch the drips and we headed home after a long day.
Unfortunately, we couldn't sleep. Our help for unloading tomorrow (one of Labashi's brothers-in-law) is to come up from the Washington, DC area. And they have two feet of snow.
We talked at some length about our problems. I started checking craigslist's labor/moves category for last-minute help. I found several possibilities and made a list for tomorrow. But I wasn't happy with the idea. If I hire someone, the point for them is to get in and get out. A typical ad was $100-140 for two guys for two hours. What would happen in those two hours?? I'd have an empty truck and the large pieces placed but most likely a chaotic apartment filled with boxes of stuff.
We finally headed off to bed around midnight with a lot more questions than answers. Were we going to move in tomorrow or not?
------------------------------------
Saturday, 6 February-
This morning I picked up the U-Haul truck and we began the loading process. Labashi and I had it to ourselves for the morning and that was a bit of a strain. We planned to leave the larger items until we got some help but then found we needed to get some of those items in and strapped to the walls before continuing. Around that time her sister arrived with our two nephews and that was a great help. It was a wonderful luxury to spend my time strapping down the load and trying different combinations of stacking and placement to fill all the space I could while the nephews hauled in the furniture and boxes.
Late in the day two of Labashi's brothers showed up. One was very helpful in staging stuff outside the truck and the other did a magnificent job of finishing up the garage cleanup. Heck, he even swept the floors.
By the end of the day the truck was filled and we were all surprised to see everything fit. Several of the crew said they thought it would never fit but thankfully I didn't have that worry. In looking at U-Haul's recommendations for truck size and having done Part 1 of the move, I thought I didn't need this much truck but decided too much is better than not enough. In this case it was 'just-enough'.
That evening we all had a very pleasant farewell-to-Detroit meal at El Nibble Nook. (I'm going to miss those Ultimate maragaritas!)
------------------------------------
Friday, 5 February -
Today Labashi's sister and our nephew came over to help pack all the kitchen. Labashi's brother cleaned a van-and-trailer load out of the garage and for a change it looks like we may make our schedule.
That evening we took Mom and Dad to the local Marriott for the night and had supper with them in the restaurant. We stayed the night in the house on our surprisingly-comfortable inflatable beds.
------------------------------------
Thursday, 4 February -
Today we packed up Dad's office. The biggest challenge was finding the right boxes for the computer and printer. We found some previous-generation computer boxes in the garage loft and they had sufficient styrofoam packing materials for the job. After a bit of judicious cutting with my pocket-knife, that seemed to do the job. I guess we'll find out at the other end.
------------------------------------
Wednesday, 3 February -
What next? Here we are only a few days from moving Labashi's parents out of their Michigan house and the furnace quits. A few days after listing the house (several weeks ago), the garage door opener quit. And the next day a ceiling light shorted out. That same week BOTH Labashi's watch and her mom's watch suddenly died.
But perhaps I shouldn't complain about the furnace failure. If the failure had waited a week, the house would be empty and we wouldn't have known about it, possibly until we had damage from frozen pipes.
This failure apparently happened around bedtime last night. Everything had been fine through the evening but then the furnace didn't seem to be able to start. Also, I noticed the humidifier overflow was running abnormally. I thought the furnace might have gone into it's overnight program and I just hadn't listened closely before. But by 0100 or so, it was evident the house temperature was dropping too far. Not long after that Dad woke and we talked it over and decided to call in the morning rather than have an expensive repair call.
The furnace company dispatched a guy within about an hour and a half of our call. And this guy was a good one. If all techs were as good as this guy nobody would complain about tech services. He quickly sifted through several problems and went ahead and corrected some small problems which had apparently existed since the original installation in 2007. He noticed a hose clamp that hadn't been placed quite correctly and was putting excess pressure on a hose in an unsupported place. He fixed the programmable thermostat which had been programmed incorrectly when the original installer had failed to recognize that sometimes he was setting the clock on an AM setting and sometimes a PM and they were intermixed. All in all, we were very lucky to have this all resolved before our departure.
We spent the rest of the day packing Mom's office. It didn't seem like a big job when we started but seemed to drag on and on into the evening.
----------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 2 February -
Today we got up at 0530 for the drive to Michigan. We had to be sure to get the rental car back by 1800 and there was supposed to be snow in Toledo and around Detroit. But our trip today went very smoothly. The little rental, a Chevy Cobalt, had no problem running 70 and 75 while we listened to podcasts of 'This American Life' and 'RadioLab'. We kept the breaks very short and found ourselves in Detroit by 1500.
After dropping off the car and visiting with the parental units for a few, I walked down to Starbucks for a bit of exercise and to say hello to my barista-buddies and read the paper.
That evening we settled in and caught up on the news and I had a bit of time to catch up the blog.
-----------------------------------------------
Monday, 1 February-
This morning we had our appointment with our tax prep specialist. I usually try to get this out of the way the first thing in February so I can head on down to Florida for a month or so. But we still have to get her parents moved back here and settled in. I've not given up on getting some Florida time but it may be limited to only a week or so-- We'll see.
The rest of the day was spent packing for our trip back to Michigan tomorrow. That evening we drove over to the Harrisburg Airport to pick up a rental car. I decided a one-way rental would make more sense than taking our car only to have to put it on a trailer to bring it home. The rental of the trailer alone is close to the cost of renting the car. And given the difference in gas costs, turnpike fees, wear-and-tear on my car and the hassle factor of dealing with the car trailer, this approach is very worthwhile.
After picking up the rental car we dropped our car at the senior community for us to drive home next week after we're dropped off the U-Haul.
That evening we watched a few more eps of '30 Rock – 3'.
-----------------------------------------------
Sunday, 31 January -
Today drove to Chambersburg to visit Maypo et famille. After chatting for a bit we went into town for lunch at Bistro 71 and were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in the middle of C-burg's Ice Festival. Ice sculptures were positioned along the sidewalks about every 10 or 15 yards and they were really well done. Some were big enough for kids to pose on and parents were snapping away--- very cute!
The nice little bistro was crowded but just enough to give it a friendly feel. I've only been here a couple of times but have found the food good and the drinks relatively strong. After I had a drink or two I hailed one of the owners and asked her to tell us 'their story'. She gladly obliged and we learned about their efforts to build up the downtown area. When she mentioned the artwork on the walls and said they are happy to display the work of area artists, I said I have an artist for her--- my father-in-law. When I mentioned his name, she shocked us by asking me to repeat the name, then saying her husband used to work for him! She called him over and introduced Labashi. They jumped right into talking about the families involved in that business over 30 years ago. What a coincidence!!
After lunch we took a quick tour around the Ice Festival and then went back to the house for more talk-talk-talk into the evening.
************* END OF POST **************
(posted from home)
(This post covers 31 January – 15 February, 2010)
----------------------------------
Monday, 15 February-
Today is President's Day. Labashi and I took the day off from our daily trips to Bethany in order to fabricate and stain the boards for the shelving uprights. I cut the boards to size using Labashi's sliding miter saw, then Labashi stained them this morning. They'll need another coat this evening.
Around lunch time we drove into York for groceries. We had lunch at Fuddruckers and I bought some wireless cards for Mom and Dad's PCs at Best Buy. We then did our grocery shopping at Walmart and hit the Starbucks on the way home as snow flurries began.
I spent the evening catching up the blog and posting it. Labashi and I watched 'Girlhood', a documentary about two young girls in the juvenile justice system in Baltimore.
---------------------------------
Sunday, 14 February-
Believe it or not, I'm still shoveling snow each morning. Today I finally dug out the mailbox well enough for the mailman to drive up to it. I had dug a walkway to it but the mailman wouldn't take the hint. I don't blame him. If everybody only cut a path to the mailbox, you'd spend all day getting in and out of the delivery vehicle to make deliveries and pickups.
This afternoon Labashi and I went shopping for boards and fasteners for Mom and Dad's Herman Miller shelving units. These are modular shelving units which depend on upright poles running from floor to ceiling. But the ceiling in the new apartment is a foot higher than it was in the house. We need to fashion 'extenders' to take up that extra 12 inches.
After supper Labashi and I installed one of the shelving modules in Mom's bedroom. The plan had been to put it in the nine-foot-ceiling area but this room also has a ceiling step-down to eight feet near the bathroom.
That evening Labashi and I finished 'The Corner'.
---------------------------------
Saturday, 13 February-
I spent an hour this morning digging out a trail across the patio and across the back yard to the barn, then digging out around Mocha Joe.
In my workday at Bethany Village today I installed a cable modem on Comcast and got Dad's computer working. He has been champing at the bit to get to email and on the web. I went with him to the complex's Technology Center yesterday and checked email but it's not the same using the clunky web interface as it is using Outlook.
That evening Labashi and I watched two more 'The Corner' episodes.
-----------------------------------
Friday, 12 February-
I still had some snow shoveling to do today just to clear away snow off the top and around the vehicles. I'm having a hard time throwing it over the snow I've piled up in the last few days.
We spent another day at Bethany beginning at mid-day. I took Dad shopping at the Giant and then resumed unpacking.
We again went to the fancy restaurant in the complex and had a special Valentine's Day meal.
That evening Labashi and I started watching 'The Corner', a predecessor to 'The Wire'. It's very interesting to see some of the same storytelling devices used in 'The Corner' that we saw in 'The Wire'.
------------------------------------
Thursday, 11 February-
I had another four or five inches of snow to dig out of this morning, then we headed up to Bethany Village. We spent the day unloading boxes and in some cases, RE-loading boxes. The reloads came from Mom deciding she really didn't need all that 'stuff' from the other house. Despite the paring-down we had done on the Southfield end, there's still far too much for the new apartment.
That evening we ate in the fancy restaurant before Labashi and I headed home.
----------------------------------
Wednesday, 10 February -
Today turned out to be a snow day. We got POUNDED today. We had twenty inches or so overnight and it just kept coming. I went out several times today to dig us out but it seemed a bit ridiculous since the wind was supposed to blow up to 40 miles per hour later in the day.
I did get some unexpected help, though. In mid-afternoon I heard a knock on the door. It was two local teenagers-- Travis and Steph-- who asked if it would be alright for them to shovel snow from my driveway. I suspect they were sent down here by their Mom and/or Dad. Travis and his buddy Nate showed up in much the same unexpected manner two winters ago when I was in Florida and Labashi was here. I think the parents had noticed I was away and sent them down. I imagine much the same thing happened this year but Travis and Steph would only admit to wanting to shovel snow for 'fun'!! That's hilarious--- but much appreciated.
Travis, Steph and I worked for an hour or so and then Nate joined us. We finished up clearing away the snow from two cars and by then there was a new inch of snow where we had started. I paid the kids and went in to my laptop. Just before dark I went back out and cleared away the six inches of snow that had fallen since I came in.
That evening Labashi and I watched a few eps of '30 Rock- Season Three' and then I slept incredibly well.
-----------------------------------
Tuesday, 9 February -
With the rental truck returned yesterday evening, the pressure was off today. We just kept plugging away with the unpacking and furniture placement. I also installed the television, DVD player, and phones.
Late in the day we enjoyed one of Dad's patented 'mostly ice' Manhattans before heading down to the cafe for sandwiches.
After supper we worked until about 2030 and then headed home in a snowstorm.
-----------------------------------
Monday, 8 February -
This morning we met with the marketing director at Bethany Village and she coordinated with Maintenance folks to determine whether we can move Mom and Dad into the apartment despite the ceiling leak and how that will be handled. We learned we can move in and whatever work has to be done to dry the ceiling and carpet, fix the leak, re-do the drywall and re-paint will be done as soon as possible. Mom and Dad will sleep in the other bedroom for now but we can place most items planned for the affected bedroom at their planned locations. We can't put down Mom's wool rug, though, and we can't put Mom's bed in place for a few days. Also, we were assured that any labor associated with moving furniture or whatever will be handled by Bethany Village staff.
We then talked with our helper in the Washington area and told him it's a 'go' and then started unloading. He estimated arrival at noon.
We began unloading and an hour later learned our helper won't be able to make it. After being stuck in his development, he had to be towed out to the main road only to learn the main roads weren't much better. He had to give it up.
I had considered hiring someone locally but the more I thought about what was in the truck, the more I thought we could do it ourselves. We of course had a LOT of boxes but if we could manage to get the dressers and desks and bookcases and mattresses off the truck, I could most likely get them onto a furniture dolly and into the room.
The high today was only in the mid-Twenties but the 10-15 mph wind wasn't blowing into the truck so I was working without a coat and was very comfortable-- so long as I didn't spend too long outside! I'd get overly warm if I spent too much time in the apartment and too cold if I stayed outside too long but keeping up a steady pace of unloading worked out very well.
My pace of unloading worked out pretty well. Labashi worked in the apartment most of the time and I'd just keep stuff coming. We were using a furniture dolly, a doorman's dolly, and a standard moving dolly which converted into a four-wheel cart. If one or the other couldn't be unloaded right away, I had the others to keep the flow going.
By 1630 or so we were starting to run out of gas. But we took a break for a meal and that helped us get right back to work.
Around 1730 I realized I was going to have to step up the pace if I was to return the truck yet tonight. I wasn't required to have the truck back until 0800 tomorrow morning but didn't want to get up early to come in just to return the truck. So Labashi and I moved the remaining items off the truck so I could sweep it out and and return it in time. As it turned out, we had 20 minutes to spare.
We finally wrapped up the long, long day around 2100 and were very glad to see our beds that night. Good job, team!
------------------------------------
Sunday, 7 February-
We had a bit of a shock this morning when we attempted to load the last few items in the truck. I had thought we'd have plenty of room for our last few items. But last night we realized we had missed a half-height filing cabinet. It was grouped with our inflatable beds and everyone assumed we didn't want to load it until we deflated the beds in the morning (the beds were against it). Also, we had five boxes of plants which we couldn't put in the truck for the mid-teens night.
Between those items and the mountain-ette of personal gear we had, we were in a spot. After using the inflatable-bed pump to deflate the beds, we joked about needing to hook it up to the moving van to suck the air out of the back to make room. I began strategically placing items in the small spaces inevitably left between furniture and building the stack up closer to the overhead door than I liked.
As I worked, Labashi picked up her parents from the Marriott and we then had a few extra cubic inches to fill in the back of the little Honda and that did it. We had the cab of the truck filled with plants and some of our luggage. I had pulled out several small chairs to get the filing cabinet in and somehow managed to turn them around enough to find a way to stuff them back in the truck. And by 0915, we were off!
Our trip down to the Ohio Turnpike was uneventful and, in fact, very easy. The snow had fallen east of us yesterday but here along the west side of Lake Erie, the roads were dry and traffic was light.
Once we headed east on the Ohio Turnpike we expected to see snow buildup and perhaps some slushy roads. But they too were clear and dry and the roadside snow only a few inches deep.
Once we hit PA, the roadside snow increased dramatically but the road was still dry! It was white with salt but I only had to use the windshield washer five or six times the whole way to Mechanicsburg.
When we were about two hours out, the sunset on the snowy scene was quite striking and beautiful. We were using little Motorola radios between the moving van (me) and the little Honda (Labashi and her parents) and in this beautiful area we kept saying 'Wow! Look at THAT!!!-- OVER.”
We also played a road-game. “Welcome to Pennsylvania. The governor of Pennsylvania is ?? – OVER”, “The state tree is the ???-- OVER?”, :”The state bird is the ???--- OVER”, “The state flower is the ????? --- OVER”, etc.
We finally made Mechanicsburg by 1930 and drove to the local Isaac's sandwich shop for supper. Labashi then took Mom and Dad to a hotel while I took the plants to the new apartment. Imagine my surprise when I opened the apartment door and found water dripping down from a ceiling vent in Mom's bedroom.... the one we're moving into tomorrow!
We reported the problem to the front desk and talked briefly with the maintenance staff. Buckets were set up to catch the drips and we headed home after a long day.
Unfortunately, we couldn't sleep. Our help for unloading tomorrow (one of Labashi's brothers-in-law) is to come up from the Washington, DC area. And they have two feet of snow.
We talked at some length about our problems. I started checking craigslist's labor/moves category for last-minute help. I found several possibilities and made a list for tomorrow. But I wasn't happy with the idea. If I hire someone, the point for them is to get in and get out. A typical ad was $100-140 for two guys for two hours. What would happen in those two hours?? I'd have an empty truck and the large pieces placed but most likely a chaotic apartment filled with boxes of stuff.
We finally headed off to bed around midnight with a lot more questions than answers. Were we going to move in tomorrow or not?
------------------------------------
Saturday, 6 February-
This morning I picked up the U-Haul truck and we began the loading process. Labashi and I had it to ourselves for the morning and that was a bit of a strain. We planned to leave the larger items until we got some help but then found we needed to get some of those items in and strapped to the walls before continuing. Around that time her sister arrived with our two nephews and that was a great help. It was a wonderful luxury to spend my time strapping down the load and trying different combinations of stacking and placement to fill all the space I could while the nephews hauled in the furniture and boxes.
Late in the day two of Labashi's brothers showed up. One was very helpful in staging stuff outside the truck and the other did a magnificent job of finishing up the garage cleanup. Heck, he even swept the floors.
By the end of the day the truck was filled and we were all surprised to see everything fit. Several of the crew said they thought it would never fit but thankfully I didn't have that worry. In looking at U-Haul's recommendations for truck size and having done Part 1 of the move, I thought I didn't need this much truck but decided too much is better than not enough. In this case it was 'just-enough'.
That evening we all had a very pleasant farewell-to-Detroit meal at El Nibble Nook. (I'm going to miss those Ultimate maragaritas!)
------------------------------------
Friday, 5 February -
Today Labashi's sister and our nephew came over to help pack all the kitchen. Labashi's brother cleaned a van-and-trailer load out of the garage and for a change it looks like we may make our schedule.
That evening we took Mom and Dad to the local Marriott for the night and had supper with them in the restaurant. We stayed the night in the house on our surprisingly-comfortable inflatable beds.
------------------------------------
Thursday, 4 February -
Today we packed up Dad's office. The biggest challenge was finding the right boxes for the computer and printer. We found some previous-generation computer boxes in the garage loft and they had sufficient styrofoam packing materials for the job. After a bit of judicious cutting with my pocket-knife, that seemed to do the job. I guess we'll find out at the other end.
------------------------------------
Wednesday, 3 February -
What next? Here we are only a few days from moving Labashi's parents out of their Michigan house and the furnace quits. A few days after listing the house (several weeks ago), the garage door opener quit. And the next day a ceiling light shorted out. That same week BOTH Labashi's watch and her mom's watch suddenly died.
But perhaps I shouldn't complain about the furnace failure. If the failure had waited a week, the house would be empty and we wouldn't have known about it, possibly until we had damage from frozen pipes.
This failure apparently happened around bedtime last night. Everything had been fine through the evening but then the furnace didn't seem to be able to start. Also, I noticed the humidifier overflow was running abnormally. I thought the furnace might have gone into it's overnight program and I just hadn't listened closely before. But by 0100 or so, it was evident the house temperature was dropping too far. Not long after that Dad woke and we talked it over and decided to call in the morning rather than have an expensive repair call.
The furnace company dispatched a guy within about an hour and a half of our call. And this guy was a good one. If all techs were as good as this guy nobody would complain about tech services. He quickly sifted through several problems and went ahead and corrected some small problems which had apparently existed since the original installation in 2007. He noticed a hose clamp that hadn't been placed quite correctly and was putting excess pressure on a hose in an unsupported place. He fixed the programmable thermostat which had been programmed incorrectly when the original installer had failed to recognize that sometimes he was setting the clock on an AM setting and sometimes a PM and they were intermixed. All in all, we were very lucky to have this all resolved before our departure.
We spent the rest of the day packing Mom's office. It didn't seem like a big job when we started but seemed to drag on and on into the evening.
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Tuesday, 2 February -
Today we got up at 0530 for the drive to Michigan. We had to be sure to get the rental car back by 1800 and there was supposed to be snow in Toledo and around Detroit. But our trip today went very smoothly. The little rental, a Chevy Cobalt, had no problem running 70 and 75 while we listened to podcasts of 'This American Life' and 'RadioLab'. We kept the breaks very short and found ourselves in Detroit by 1500.
After dropping off the car and visiting with the parental units for a few, I walked down to Starbucks for a bit of exercise and to say hello to my barista-buddies and read the paper.
That evening we settled in and caught up on the news and I had a bit of time to catch up the blog.
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Monday, 1 February-
This morning we had our appointment with our tax prep specialist. I usually try to get this out of the way the first thing in February so I can head on down to Florida for a month or so. But we still have to get her parents moved back here and settled in. I've not given up on getting some Florida time but it may be limited to only a week or so-- We'll see.
The rest of the day was spent packing for our trip back to Michigan tomorrow. That evening we drove over to the Harrisburg Airport to pick up a rental car. I decided a one-way rental would make more sense than taking our car only to have to put it on a trailer to bring it home. The rental of the trailer alone is close to the cost of renting the car. And given the difference in gas costs, turnpike fees, wear-and-tear on my car and the hassle factor of dealing with the car trailer, this approach is very worthwhile.
After picking up the rental car we dropped our car at the senior community for us to drive home next week after we're dropped off the U-Haul.
That evening we watched a few more eps of '30 Rock – 3'.
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Sunday, 31 January -
Today drove to Chambersburg to visit Maypo et famille. After chatting for a bit we went into town for lunch at Bistro 71 and were pleasantly surprised to find ourselves in the middle of C-burg's Ice Festival. Ice sculptures were positioned along the sidewalks about every 10 or 15 yards and they were really well done. Some were big enough for kids to pose on and parents were snapping away--- very cute!
The nice little bistro was crowded but just enough to give it a friendly feel. I've only been here a couple of times but have found the food good and the drinks relatively strong. After I had a drink or two I hailed one of the owners and asked her to tell us 'their story'. She gladly obliged and we learned about their efforts to build up the downtown area. When she mentioned the artwork on the walls and said they are happy to display the work of area artists, I said I have an artist for her--- my father-in-law. When I mentioned his name, she shocked us by asking me to repeat the name, then saying her husband used to work for him! She called him over and introduced Labashi. They jumped right into talking about the families involved in that business over 30 years ago. What a coincidence!!
After lunch we took a quick tour around the Ice Festival and then went back to the house for more talk-talk-talk into the evening.
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posted by Bezabor&Labashi | 19:31
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