"I have been but little in," said Ninian hastily...

A mammoth rainstorm, a massive home win for DC United, and enough friends coming over that it was practically a party. But was that the big news? Nope.

The big news( Read more... )

I have such good friends, and such a great sweetheart! :-)

Well, that odyssey is over.

Wednesday I went down to my mum's in Virginia to help her pack up her belongings and move to a senior housing community near my sister in New Jersey. It's quite a nice place (basically single-level duplex apartments in a quietly semi-rural setting), but it was going to be much smaller than the house she's been living in for 42 years.

In the end, after about a week of work and 700 miles of driving, she is there, moved in, comfortable (more or less--the trauma of moving house hasn't fully set in, but the place is even nicer than I remembered--*I'd* like to live there!, especially for less than $600/month), and with family (my sister, her family, and her large clan of in-laws) *very* nearby (about a mile, instead of the 175 miles that it took me to get to her old house).

I couldn't have done it without soccer_fox and gr_c17. I simply couldn't. They were invaluable in helping to pack the truck, drive the truck, and help keep my mum sane. Quite simply, above and beyond the call, and I need to do something very special to thank them.

More about the whole thin later, but right now I want to relax, rest,a nd get ready for the rest of the work week...

Today's score at Highland Lane: One tub of spackling almost exhausted during the course of repairing one large and several minor bits of wall damage as well as patching innumerable nail holes. Two sections of carpeting (damaged by Nicholas) replaced. The guy who soccer_fox found to do the carpet work was on time, quick, and did good work; I would recommend him. Also five loads of paper brought up from the basement for recycling. Finally, eight loads of insulation board, beaverboard, shelving, piping, and other old junk brought up from the basement to the kerb for pickup by the Weee Haul Eeet Awwwl man tomorrow.

This in addition to the work that soccer_fox and I did at my mother's over the weekend, carting about half a dozen cartons of junk from my dad's study plus about fifty years' worth of Times Literary supplement (estimate: they filled up the back of a Volvo station wagon to the roof, and I know I saw some from the mid-1950s, which means that he *moved* them to Newport News!) And, of course, driving there and back in successive days, since N's WAWSL team ,the Vixens, had a match on Saturday morning (and a good thing she went, too, as she was their only sub!)

Exhausted! Time for a shower, a change of clothes, then in to work. Home after to unload bits and pieces we brought back from NN and do a bit of cleaning chez Scarpari/Spoor.

Hello, all!

Just a quick entry to say that Neta and I did survive the move, as did all twenty-seven of our cats. What's that? We only have four cats? Well, it feels like twenty-seven when they all troop up and down across the bed talking or hissing or arguing at 0-dark-30, or even when they settle down to sleep and instantly expand to take up four times their natural volume.

The move was an adventure, and we both still ahev a few things left at our former locations, but we have begun settling in. We got the masterbedroom squared away on Sunday, mostly, and the kitchen done yesterday. The second/guest bedroom or study will be next, then the living room and dining room (which I've made som progress on. I won't post much from home immediately because the free wireless is, like many free things "not all that" (it's a weak signal and slow).

Thanks to the massive packing job done by our friends, only one thing we've found so far got broken, and that should be easily repairable. The neighbours we've met seem very pleasant and friendly. The movers were quite a hoot (more about them later). The commute (given I've done it only once so far) is better than I had feared, much better, and the area as nice or nicer than I remembered it from my visits before. I saw a pair of wee woodpeckers yesterday morning from our bedroom window, and I saw a bird I've not seen before yesterday afternoon when I was backa t Highland Lane picking up stuff from the fridge &c.

OK, back to the moutnain of work that mysteriously appeared while I was off for one day. More anon!

OK, it's 1.15. Thanks to heroic efforts from Chris and Mel, the kitchen is packed. All the bookshelves are empty. The living room, hall (closet and dresser), library, and laundry room are all also packed (or one box away from). The bathroom goods are mostly stowed. There's still some stuff in the kitchen that needs to be sorted out (and food in the fridge), but it's nothing the movers need to take. The back room is reorganized, and I threw out a lot of stuff, including minis (yes, I actually THREW AWAY some minis!). What's there can stay in place and get brought over to the new place later on. A fair amount of stuff got packed that I would rather have disposed of (sold, freecycled, or recycled), but there simply wasn't time to do all of that before moving. The bedroom closets need to be packed, and my computer desk needs to be emptied out, but that can be done in the morning. Oh, golly, the storage boxes under the bed, or at least their contents, need to be hidden, too, before the movers take the bed away. :-)

The cats all seem to be pretty copacetic--I think the Feliway is really doing wonders. There was one fight earlier, and they are behaving more or less like their usual selves (I was afraid it might turn them into little cat zombies), but they aren't all fretty and worried.

Peter and Bryan, there are a pile of White Dwarfs and a couple of older GW books I saved out that I thought you might like.

I am so grateful to my chums who have been giving so unstintingly of their time. I owe you all a big dinner, chez Spoor/Scarpari, once all is moved and the place made presentable.

OK, painters probably coming around 7; movers coming around 10. Must get some sleep so as to be ready to finish packing the bedroom in the a.m.

OK, it looks as if Neta and I are going to try to move to our new place the 12th/13th of May. We are getting movers to carry things, but we are going to do the packing ourselves. So any friends who would care to volunteer to help with that over the coming week would be greatly appreciated!

Lots of stuff going on!( Read more... )

Everyone think positive thoughts for gr_c17, please. He's moving house today. john_arundel and I were up to his old place Tuesday and Wednesday until the wee hours, and I went again last night (I know Peter would have come again too, but he had kid duty). I'm pretty happy; we had B's hugely full closets all packed up, his dressers emptied, and his laundry room and reenacting gear all packed, in addition to the living room, kitchen, and miscellaneous stuff the three of us did the other nights. There were still a few small piles of things around, but there were also two empty moving boxes for all that to go in, so he should be set! The movers were supposed to be there at 8, so if all is well they are busy packing him e'en now.

Less than 18 hours of sleep in the last three days, and 32 hours of work. Tonight I am going to sleep long and well....

I think I've probably asked this before, but I would be grateful if any of my UK readers who are involved in the publishing industry (or work as proofreaders, editors, or technical authors in whatever field) and wouldn't mind my picking their brains could give me a shout, I would be most grateful.