Moved In - Still Unpacking

After four long days of moving, cleaning, driving, and staying in grotty motels, we finally arrived at our new home earlier this week. The country through which we drove was beautiful, with lots of winding mountain roads and riverside highways. The little black cat was a trooper; after one day of wailing she settled into her life as a nomadic cat, crying only when she wanted out for a stretch or when something startled her (like the first hairpin turn, or when we drove by some plant belching out disgusting chemical smells). She bonded with her carrier to the point that now she will sleep in it of her own accord. Turns out that the hardest part of traveling with her was dealing with the heat; in some places it was so hot that even when the car was parked in the shade with the windows open I could only leave her for about 15 minutes before having to go back and run the AC.

The movers came mid-week, and heroically the driver and his wife did most of the unloading themselves. They'd thought that the to-hires around the main company lot looked sketchy at best, and so decided that, since we'd been an easy move back at the start, they'd be able to handle it themselves.

They did a pretty good job, given the number of books we have, and the grim fact that most of them were going either to the basement or up to the third floor. It was also quite warm, though overcast, and we'd only been able to get AC installed in three of the rooms. Eventually they developed that thousand-yard stare one gets, and decided to hire two local guys to come help. With the infusion of new energy, everything got into the house between downpours of afternoon rain, and without anyone developing heatstroke or having a heart attack.

Other things that have kept us busy are dealing with window-repair people (several panes had been cracked), unpacking, exclaiming in disgust at the latest bit of neglect by the previous tenants (the broiler was disgusting), having an electrician come in to re-wire one outlet so the living room could have AC, and to replace the broken kitchen light (which exploded when he turned it on!), taking the cat to the vet to have her stitches out, getting a library card, neglecting a book I'm reviewing...

You could say we've been busy!

This week: dealing with the DMV. Joy.

Comments

[Keri]

Glad to hear you arrived safe and sound! Have fun settling in to your new place!

[jo(e)]

Glad to hear you made it!

[Jill Smith]

Very glad you're in and safe. SBC sounds like a delightful kitty.

[Rana]

Thanks, all!

It is indeed good to have arrived, and to have all our worldly goods in one place. Unpacking's been tiring, but okay - there's always that moment of discovery, when you discover something cool you'd forgotten (or the weird thing that makes you raise an eyebrow at yourself and wonder "Why the hell did I pack this?!").

It's also tricky figuring out how to rearrange one's spatial habits to accommodate the new space; we've gone from a one-floor house with basement and garage to a three-floor duplex with basement. And many of the rooms are oriented mirror-wise to what we've been used to - the stove on the 'wrong' side of the kitchen, that sort of thing. Mostly, though, there has been a LOT of going up and down stairs. My legs will thank me later, I'm sure, but they're rather tired now.

[beth]

Good luck with all of this, Rana, and the kitty stuff especially. Moving is so exhausting! And I'm sorry I've been so scarce.

[Rana]

Yes, yes it is. And it never seems to be done!

No worries about not being around; it's not like I haven't been busy and neglectful of other bloggers myself. I'm just glad you were able to drop by. :)