Moving Day!
So the plan didn’t go exactly as I had predicted (does it ever?). We ended up sleeping at the condo Friday night instead of the house to get some last-minute packing done, but everything else went pretty smoothly. We’re in the new house! It feels…. like home! Messy and unorganized and chaotic and dusty… but home.
The movers were supposed to arrive at 8 AM on Saturday, so we had set the alarm for 7. Of course I was up every other hour with something new on my mind throughout the night, and by 5:30 I was restless and ready to start the day. I wanted to get the bed stripped and get the final few boxes ready for the move, I wanted to have some breakfast and make coffee made for David, I wanted to fold the laundry I had done the night before, I wanted to bring over a few smaller items to the house myself… basically, I was typical me.
The movers showed up bright and early, and we were out of the condo and all moved in by about 2 PM. They worked their asses off and even hauled off our old couches to the dump for us. It was a really hot and muggy day, but we had to keep the doors open for the movers, so now I think every fly and mosquito in Montgomery County also lives in our house.
moving van at our new place
My parents sent flowers “To Ali, David, Jerry and Baby E” which was very sweet and of course made me cry. They are beautiful and we sat them on the dining room table where we ate our leftover pizza for dinner. On Saturday night we rented a movie and watched it while laying on our makeshift couch (a mattress and some throw pillows) while Jerry chased a moth around the living room. We got so many calls from family and friends to wish us luck in the new place; it was an exhausting but great day.
our "welcome home" flowers
Unpacking is coming along nicely, I’m trying not to work too hard or lift too much. We don’t have phone, internet or TV yet; it’s amazing how productive one can be where there are no distractions. David spent yesterday painting/touching up the baseboards in the hallway, living room and dining room so I spent most of the afternoon out of his way in the basement filling up our storage space and fixing up the guest bedroom.
kitchen
By the end of the weekend we had taken care of half of our clothes, the whole kitchen, hallway and linen closets, upstairs bathrooms and most of the basement. You'd think I would have started unpacking our clothing and bedroom stuff first... but no. Jerry is adjusting well, he has a favorite sunny window he likes to sit in and he’s also found our bed to nap on. I was worried our new bed was going to be too high for him to reach, but he's able to jump up no problem.
bedroom
We still need to make an appointment for Verizon to give us an estimate and find a landscaper/gardener. I’d say the lawn is half grass and half clover, weeds, crabgrass, etc. I don’t really want to use chemicals but I also want to knock out the crap and get the lawn into shape. The guy who has maintained the property for the last 20 years came over and met with us on Sunday. He seems nice and will probably do an ok job, but I think we might be able to find a better price from a friend of David’s. He did tell us what all of our shrubs were, so that’s a bonus.
dining room
back patio
Yesterday we went back to the condo for a few small items and I actually got really emotional. Seeing the empty place… I don’t know… it just got to me. It was the end of a chapter. I know I’ve written about this before, and we have so many new things to look forward to, but I couldn’t help but feel a little sad. I swept the floors and collected the kitchen gadgets while David vacuumed the carpets and packed up some wine. We will be back a few more times to oversee the work we’re having done before our tenants move in, I wonder if it will get any easier.
Jerry making himself at home
upstairs guest room
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