Well - get out your packing tape, your bubble wrap, and head on over to our place because boy do I have some work for YOU! Anyone who has known me for more than a handful of years is familiar with the following quote:If I am sent to hell when I die, it will be called "Moving" and I will have to pack up boxes, load it all up, unload it, and unpack it for eternity"
I hate it. It's horrible. And I have done it so many times. In my most recent count, I realized that including the dorm years in college, I have moved 15 times since I turned 18. This makes 16.
Thankfully, I have had some help along the way. Most especially, my father-in-law Bill flew in from Kentucky and our friend, Seth, from Sonoma county drove down to meet Kevin here for three days. Their mission was to do some of the hard core packing in the Man Cave, the wood shop, the storage shed, etc. It was the dirty, heavy, outdoor stuff that is hard for me to get to with Analiese. Here are some pictures of those generous souls and the evidence of their hard work.
Here's Papaw Bill working hard....wait! What the heck?
Well - we'll scroll down here to our friend Seth at least he is...um...er...
Jeez Louise! Isn't anybody working around here?
Hmmm... Okay. Well -thankfully, Kevin came home with Papaw Bill and Seth, so we'll see what he is packing...
No help there.
I think my family just showed up to help so we'll see what they are up to...
I guess all that hard work made everybody hungry!
Okay. Okay. I admit, the power of editing changes everything. The men did a fantastic job - muddling their way through dust, spiders/webs, and miscellaneous cockroach infestations in our storage boxes...blech! And they did the work that I had no interest in being a part of . It was a huge help and it was so wonderful to spend time with them. We miss them!!!
Here is Papaw Bill spending some time with his new granddaughter.
And here are three generations of Thompsons right before they had to drive back to La Quinta.
Once they left, the Whittier clan stepped in to help. My mom came day after day to spend time with Analiese so that I could get things done. When it became clear that I wasn't going to get things done in time, she split her time between helping me to entertain Analiese and helping me to pack up whatever was on my list for that day. It was a life saver.
Memorial Day weekend arrived in Tehachapi on a gust of wind - along with some rain, sleet, and even a bit of snow! But the family trucked on and filled up the Uhaul we rented. Thank goodness Uhaul was out of the size we ordered and had to comp us the next size up - - as evidenced by the finished product - - stuffed to the brim!
Here are, Adam, Ale, and Jared, ready to drive down to 90 degree Palm Desert...what a difference a couple hundred miles make! Our parakeet Clover, and our dog, Marshall, rode along with Granna Nancy in her car to stay in the new place for the rest of the days that I was home wrapping things up.
After the truck rolled away, I had the pleasure of cleaning the house :-) However, I am a very blessed girl and the day before we needed to be out of the house, my Yoga Tribe rallied the troops. They helped me clean the house from top to bottom - even the baseboards, back of the oven, and window sills were wiped spic and span. I neglected to take a picture (which drives me nuts b/c I had the camera!!!) - but a huge thank you goes out to Shanan, Barbara, Howard, Sally, Ginger, Jodi, Connie, and Andrea. Without you, I would still be in there cleaning and muttering angrily to myself about the pro-rated June rent we would have to pay!
It was a very sad farewell to the house on F Street. If we could have rolled it on over to La Quinta, we would have. It was a farewell to many things: the first home we lived in as a married couple, the home our beloved dog Tilley was lost from, a home that served many cups of tea, several dinner parties, and most of all, the home where our first child was born. We thank our little F Street House for being a good one!
