The Drama of Moving

Change is never easy and moving is probably one of the most intense changes you can make…outside of the transition from physical to spirit.

First
I decided last summer to sell the house. With my mother now in a nursing home, I don’t need a raised ranch. I contacted my realtor and we talked about what price I’d start with, and all the work I needed to do before the sign went up in front of the house.

I washed all the windows and planned and executed the tag sale. Unless you are into self-deprecation and pain, don’t bother with a tag sale. You can donate all that junk to various organizations and make more in tax reduction than you can trying to sell the stuff. I had to do the windows myself because there was no money to have them done.

Now the house is spic and span; furniture rearranged to make the rooms look their best; contract signed; FOR SALE sign goes up. The house should sell in a matter of a few days.

And so I waited
The house was on the market just short of 7 months. Had a ton of people looking at it, but they all didn’t like things I could do nothing about: too many trees (surrounded by woods), a corner lot, busy intersection, no hardwood floors.

Before the successful offer, I had one ‘almost’ offer and two offers that were whipped off the table almost as soon as they were made.

Now
I am surrounded by boxes even though my kids came over last Sunday to move boxes into the garage. The boxes that remain in the living area itself cannot be sealed yet. I have found that if you tape a box shut, what ever is in that box is something you will need. Pack it. Tape it. Need it.

I have run the last load in the dishwasher and am now ‘camping out’ in my own home. What ever I need for the next couple of days is used and washed…to be used again. Today I will use the microwave for the last time so I can wash and pack the glass tray. I have stopped using salt and pepper…because the shakers are packed.

I have one box set aside for my ‘survival kit’, which will contain my daily supplements, coffee pot, filters and coffee, toaster, and personal hygiene items. That will go in my car along with the stuff already there…3 lamps that are very old and dear to me…one is fragile. Also going in my car will have to be the cooler, which will hopefully keep my food frozen until I can put it into the freezer at the condo.

SNAFU and FUBAR
So we are all set to close on May 18th. Everything has been going along very well up to now. THEN! My buyer’s lender started to screw things up. They kept changing their story about what the hold up was and kept telling us the buyer was all set, the mortgage was assured but they had to get this one last piece of information. That one piece kept changing.

It wound up that the buyer had given the lender all the necessary information for contacting his employer(s) in another country. The lender was not successful using that information but DID NOT TELL THE BUYER. Once the buyer found out what the problem was he gave the lender an international phone number (which he could have given them to begin with, but he didn’t know it was a problem!). By now, it’s too late to close on the 18th. My mover was not happy about having to reschedule. Now that we have settled on Friday, May 21st, my mover is desperately trying to get a crew and truck for Friday morning. If all else fails, they will load me up Thursday night…which will cost me more $$.

If they load up Thursday night, I will sleep at a friend’s house and go to the airport Friday morning to pick up my daughter, who is flying in to help me settle.

If they load me up Friday morning, I will have to find a way to get my daughter from the airport, do a walk-through at the condo at noon and get to the closing on the condo at 3 pm. The closing on the house is at 1:30 pm but I will pre-sign and not have to attend.

Gives me a headache
I like everything to be orderly and happen when it’s supposed to happen with no hitches or delays. Life is not like that and moving, for sure, doesn’t come close.

I swear I will never move again…at least not in a conscious state! ☺☺☺

What’s next?
Moving into a townhouse in a complex that hopefully is quiet AND it has an indoor, year round pool. Speaking of quiet, one thing I look forward to is hearing the trains that are maybe a half mile to the west and between the complex and the CT River.

Of course there will be days of chaos to come until I have placed all the furniture to my satisfaction. It may mean getting rid of some of my stuff…that’s a decision for ‘down the road.’

It will be nice to have lamps again…right now I have one floor lamp with a bulb in it.

And so, I sit and I wait, because I still don’t know when the van will be here. Gives new meaning to Poe’s The Raven. NEVER MORE!

Nine Days and Counting

I am surrounded by a chaos of boxes…some taped shut and others with gaping maws waiting for sealing tape. I have to leave some boxes open because I still need to use, from time to time, what’s in them.

Right now my buyers are waiting for the underwriters to approve their mortgage. They have commitment from the bank, but the underwriters are holding everything up. This creates great stress. I have utilities that need changing; address change with the post office; washer and dryer to be delivered. The assumption is: it will go through and we will have closing on May 18th. Uh huh.

On a happier note, today is Mothers Day and I did hear from all my kids and one grandkid. Paul actually called from his fishing vacation in Maine. I’m a happy mom.

Speaking of happy moms…my mother has decided she wants to stay at the nursing home where she is, rather than try to get into one that will be one mile from my new condo. From my condo to where she is now is 11 miles one way. She understands the trade-off is that she won’t see me as often. Her response to that: some people don’t ever have someone come visit. So, seeing me twice a week as opposed to almost every day is still better than not having any visitors at all.

She says she’s comfortable with all the staff and other residents and that everyone treats her well. I don’t feel I can move her against her will.

The beat and the count-down goes on.

Don’t look for much from me in the next two weeks. I’ll be strung out like an over-tuned violin string (ready to snap!). You can catch me on Facebook, however. If I know you, just friend me. If I don’t know you, friend me and let me know you follow my blog. Otherwise I will ignore your request.

Update on my rotator cuff
I not only have the rotator cuff problem, I have tendonitis. It's the tendonitis that's causing me the pain. So I am taking the ibuprofen 3 times a day and trying to remember to use the ice pack. I can't stop what I need to do, so the discomfort will have to amuse itself.

Slightly Torn Rotator Cuff

Is that like being slightly pregnant?

Yep! I did it. Too soon old, too late smart. I do believe that is an old Hawaiian saying Arthur Godfrey used to say.

Some time in mid to late March I picked up a plastic bag of groceries that was way to heavy…should have used two hands and cradled it in my arms to carry up stairs. Should have. Hindsight is 20/20 vision. Instead I carried it from the garage and up a flight of stairs to my kitchen with my arm fully extended.

DON’T DO THAT!

A few hours later I had this pain that would fire down my left arm…sometimes in the upper arm and sometimes in the lower arm. The best was when it fired in both at the same time.

I’ve had this before and my chiropractor has always been able to make it go away with adjustments. This time she did all she could and told me I needed to get x-rays to determine the damage.

I saw an orthopedist…and now I know. Slight tear in the left rotator cuff.

I had choices as to how to treat it. 1) do nothing and let it heal over several months; 2) take 400 mg ibuprofen 2 to 3 times a day for 2 weeks; 3) a shot of cortisone. He never mentioned therapy or surgery. Therapy I would do. Surgery…not on your life! What I did choose is the ibuprofen.

To be honest, it doesn’t make a difference…at least not yet. I have opted for 2 times a day since why take something 3 times if it isn’t working anyway. (Why take it at all?)

As far as what I have to do in order to move, well, that doesn’t stop. I pack and move boxes and actually, I feel better when I am actively moving my arms around. It’s afterwards that the pain comes on like an angry bear…and then subsides.

Oh, well. That’s life and it doesn’t stop for a slightly torn rotator cuff and a little arm pain. ☺

Extraordinary Day for a Bike Ride

Photos: (click on photo to enlarge, then click again and see if it will enlarge again)
Left: Dogwood
Right: Look at the top of this broken off tree. Is that the work of a beaver? Pretty high up and looks like a peg.

Temps in the 80s, brilliant blue sky, slight SW breeze and you know I’m hitting the road. Decided to ride the Windsor Locks/Suffield canal bike path.

I spotted a blue heron, but before I could get the camera out it flew away. Darn! Other birds, red winged blackbird and Baltimore Oriole were the most vocal. Didn’t see the Orioles, but heard them all over the place.

There was evidence of beaver activity right next to the path on the canal and river sides. That’s most unusual. Look at the photo at the top. Can't believe a beaver got that high, even in spring flood.

Flowers in bloom include: native and invasive honeysuckle, pepperbush, dogwood, buttercups, clover, and chicory. Absent was Shadblow. It is said: when the shadblow blooms the shad are running. Should be blooming and running by now.

Not too many people using the path which made for a nice ride and the opportunity to stop and talk to people.

Moving Saga Continues

I have so many boxes already packed and so many to go! One thing is for sure...you pack it, you tape it, you need it. There is very little I might not need. Sorry, I can't live for a month with enough clothes, and other stuff, to mirror a camping trip. I don't camp.

I have almost enough boxes...I need 3 wardrobes and I hope to get them FREE from the movers.

I've had plenty of time to obsess over where I will put everything, but until I get the basement finished a lot of stuff won't have a very nice home. AND I'm going wireless, so I can use my computer anywhere in the house. That's very important because as soon as I move I have to get out advertising for an open mic event at The Beyond Center in Vernon on June 6th.

I have yet to call the utilities and other such people about the impending move in order to get everything changed over. First I need to know when my closing on the house will be and then on the condo. So damned much to do.

Homes Sweet Homes

The sale of my house and the search for a condo have both come to a successful conclusion. The closing on both is May 18th, so if I seem to neglect my duties as an on-line journalist, you’ll know why.

It has been months (7 months to the day) that my house was on the market. I maintained that my house would sell when the right place for me came on the market. Back in March, this great condo came up and it looked beautiful in the pictures and I couldn’t believe the price. I said to my self that it wouldn’t last long under those conditions. Well guess what? It was where I was supposed to be…it lasted until I was able to look at it and make an offer.

After going through months of having to leave the house every time strangers wanted to have a look; after going through 2 near offers; after going through one offer that was whipped off the table just as fast as it was offered; after getting really irritated over the 2 or 3 year old wrecking crew that came through here; after all that, it’s all over.

Speaking of the wrecking crew, it’s her family that bought my house. I met her parents, her brother and her grand parents and they couldn’t have been nicer. The little girl can’t be more than 18 months old. She is a beautiful child that I fell in love with once I saw her. Big liquid-brown eyes. She’s going to break some hearts when she grows up.

And when she grows up she will be a world famous home decorator in the field of feng shui. She just knows that things are not where they belong (in the larger scheme of things) and it’s her job to move them! ☺☺☺

I have a lot of work to do now. Plenty of packing to do, but I am not taping the boxes yet. I know from experience: you pack it, you tape it, you need it.

Moving On...For Sure!

Yesterday, Wednesday, I signed a contract for the sale of my house. Closing date set at May 18th. Then, yesterday evening, I made an offer on a condo.

And for all the stuff I have already packed up, there's a load more that has to be done. The trick is not to pack stuff I will wind up needing before moving day.

I think I will wind up with more furniture and other stuff than will fit into the condo. Looks like another purge! This time I will try to do the giving through a women's shelter.