Today we moved, I hope for the last time. (I will not be moving to a retirement home or some such place any time in my life!) Our small apartment, aka the garage, has been transformed into an elegant, 1000 sq. ft. living space. We are several steps away from our daughter's house. The movers brought dozens of boxes and large pieces of furniture from the storage unit where they were awaiting this move. We hadn't seen this stuff for eight months, and never missed it.
After lots of going back and forth with our truck and the movers, dropping off large pieces to friends, the rugs to the cleaners, we settled in to unpacking and figuring out where to put everything and thinking about what to discard. We couldn't believe how much stuff we had that we didn't want or need. We are paring down, going light. Break down those cartons, take the old t.v.s out to the alley, trade tables and lamps and couches with our daughter. I start to unpack the kitchen and put everything away and wonder what I was thinking when this stuff was packed up months ago.
What still astonishes me is the beauty of the place, especially the stairs to the top floor. The stairs are of the same soft cork flooring we have throughout and they are wrapped with bamboo edgings. The ground floor has a fairly low ceiling (this was once a grotty garage!) but oh, how lovely it is now with the compact kitchen and the wonderful lighting. We kept on unpacking so that we could see the entirety of the living room and the dining room. And why do we have so many tables? The top floor with its high ceiling under the rafters looks great and spare.
After a full day of this, we were dog tired and had to go home to the ranch to regroup. Tomorrow we'll go back and finish unpacking all the cartons of dishes and books. Lola, our little dog, was pleased to find her old couch and her passel of toys.
Still nest building, even as seniors! But the best thing is that Quincy, our grandson, lives so close and will be here on a regular basis.
We worked all day, and at the end of it there are still six large cartons to unpack.
A tufted titmouse is building a nest in a bluebird box which I refurbished last week. His nest is composed of a pinestraw base, then grass,
ReplyDeletemoss and lichen. Today I installed a copper entrance-guard to keep the predator squirrels from enlarging the entrance hole. The bird does not know what to think of it, he investigates it by tapping on it. I secrued the bird house to the fence using plastic cable ties. It's Easter Sunday, 2009.