moving day
i'm sitting in my new place with boxes piled on every surface and in every corner. of all the times i've moved in my life, and there have been many many times (this is my 6th place since 2001), this was probably the best move. first of all i was actually excited to move. that helps a lot. second of all i had so much help. when cheerful sturdy helpers bear your burden with you, a move becomes almost easy and not only that but an occasion to feel blessed and grateful. heather who selflessly pitched in with me on mom and dad's move just a month ago, came from squamish again--this time to be my rock. she made my move. she literally made it. :) my last two moves were different. i didn't have the friend presence, and the contrast with this move was stark. where before it was lonely, long and hard, this time was full of friendship, laughter and someone solid to count on. i'm so thankful i have a friend like heather. loves to her! also brother roeder my faithful home teacher, came with his minivan, and brother hutchinson n' son, with a truck, and brother hogg and ken. i love that i had a group of seasoned men, high priests moving me. they were cheerful, efficient, wise and fast. they put together my table, helped me arrange my living room furniture, advised me to put a bar in my window and fussed over a loose board on my covered porch. heather said "you had a bunch of dads moving you." it was great.
some moving memories:
1. friday afternoon was dark and stormy and wet. not long after heather arrived, we left on our pilgrimage to surrey in my work cargo van--a blessed van that has moved me many a time, to pick up a table and chairs from mom and dad's storage and grampa and renee's un-namable teak furniture thing with sliding doors on each side and drawers in the middle, long and low. anyone know what you call it?? anyways we picked 'it' up at jordan and tracy's garage.
a.) storage station was a nice enough storage space, clean, well kept and well lit, but heather and i found it creepy as we walked the aisles looking for mom and dad's compartment. the lights turned on as we turned down the different aisles, just like the freezer sections at price smart. i told heather about a creepy episode of rookie blue that takes place in a storage locker. we agreed that bad stuff always happens in storage lockers and underground parking. enehweh, mom assured me that the table and chairs were near the front but i might have to climb up to get the chairs. sure enough there they were way at the top of the heap. with standing on the first chair which was easily retrieved, i got the rest but we had to do some shifting and moving, to get the table base. it was lodged behind a garbage can which was tucked behind a dresser, which had duffles and boxes of various rusty saws on top of it. you get the picture. on the way out i took a wily nily route. heather kept saying "i don't think this is the way we came." "i know," i admitted, "but it doesn't mean we can't get back this way." and then upon reaching a dead end, "and it doesn't mean i won't have to back track a little." then i laughed a demented cackle and she rolled her eyes and the table top after me.
b.) maria heard my helloing and ran to hug me at the top of the stairs. isaiah wasn't far behind, quick to show me his ball. tracy was with her mom in the kitchen and jordO was at the dining room table on the computer. jane and maria were watching a show on meer cats. a snake was chasing a baby meer cat but his brother saved him much to our relief. jord helped me lug 'it' to the cargo van but not before refusing to acknowledge the fact that there were cars blocking a good angle for me to back into the drive way. i began to have an inkling of how difficult it was going to be for me and heather to carry it up to my new place by ourselves. maria helped.
2. wendy's. heather has become a wendy's obsessive over the years. she says it reminds her of the old fun days, general conference etc. and she didn't eat it the whole time she was exiled in the heartland even though there was one by her. and so when she came back to the hinters, she was always suggesting wendy's. "are we going to eat at wendys?" "what about wendy's?" "i was thinking wendy's because i want fries." these are common things said by heather. after picking up the 'thing' we made a stop at wendy's. we went through the drive-thru and did seperate orders. heather ordered a bacon cheeseburger meal with a frosty instead of a drink. i ordered a bacon junior cheeseburger meal with a frosty instead of a drink. "so the same thing." said the voice in the console. as we drove to the first window i asked heather if she meant to order a bacon jnr. because she usually doesn't. well she hadn't meant to, but i told her that's what they thought. "but i don't want a little burger! i want a big burger!" she said in this pouty voice that i found quite funny and repeated quite often throughout the weekend. we corrected her order at the window but after eating it she groaned and said "i wish i got the smaller burger." and we laughed.
3. heather almost vomits wendy's on my back stairs. the 'thing' was quite heavy. heather maintained that there was stuff in it, but it was wrapped in a blanket and plastic. we almost dropped it by the time we got to the back corner of the house because our forearms simply gave out and we were carrying it an awkward angle. we rested panting in the rain at the foot of the stairs. "maybe we can leave it over there tonight." said heather hopefully. she was pointing to the entrance way to my downstairs neighbour. of course we couldn't. we decided to get the other stuff and come back to the furniture-without-name conudrum. so we did. and we frankly dilly dallied. finally we had to face the music. after some consideration we came up with a better way to carry it and began to lug it up the stairs. i was on the bottom because that was the heaviest. heather was at the top bent over and lugging up at the same time. at one point she exclaimed that she was near to upchucking her wendy's all over the fwn (furniture without a name). as a person on the end of the fwn, i'm glad she didn't. eventually we did get it up and unwrapped and it did indeed have stuff in it.
i) just before we left my front neighbour came by because we had parked behind him and he needed out. but first he said that i was going to be so much better than the previous people, which my downstairs neighbour also seemed to dislike, so i said "what was wrong with the people before?" and he said "oh they wewe just unfweindwy and unneighbourwy." !! mr. p does not say his ahs and i find it very amusing. i kept saying to heather all weekend "unfweindwy and unneighbouwy" and then giggling my head off. priceless gem.
4.an eventful night. we packed all the last minute things we could and then fell asleep watching the finder on my computer. heather left to go sleep on the couch after 1am. around 2 i think she awoke with a start when my upstairs neighbour lady screamed out the window above where heather was sleeping "STOP THAT OR I'LL CALL THE COPS!!" i slumbered peacefully unaware in the back of the house, but all throughout the night the drama unfolded. at different pee breakes (h. pees about 4 times a night sometimes) heather woke up to sirens, flashing lights, a copper interviewing my neighbour, a staggering man across the street, and our whole road in front of my house being taped off. the whole time she is stewing and wondering as only my friend heather can. by the time i got up at 6:30 all signs of the night's drama were gone. 10 minutes later heather got up and found me in my room bagging my sheets and bedding. "you do not know what kind of night you slept through." it makes me wonder what else goes on while i'm sleeping. later i found out from my neighbour what happened. some kids were beating up another kid and she yelled for them to stop or she'd call the cops. they ran off so she didn't call but then they came back and beat him to a bloody pulp, (her words), with a golf club. it all happened across the street. she called the cops and so did the lady across the street. the boy was on her lawn. they said he could walk but who knows how injured he was because he was drunk.
5. cheerful men come move me. we were all loaded up in 25 minutes and only had to come back for a few things.it was a super super super windy day but thankfully no rain. at one point heather walked into the wall with a box, which knocked her glasses askew and sent us into peals of laughter. when we arrived at my new place i realized that i forgot my keys. fortunately we broke in easily. unfortunately we broke in easily. you know what i'm saying. apparently a lot of members live in this area including bro. roeder and the hutchinsons.
6. cleaning faeries. so h. and i went back to the old place to clean and evelyn came and joined us. i'm lucky to be loved by evelyn. she's just took me under her wing since i first moved into the ward. if she isn't my visiting teacher, she should be. but it wasn't long until i had to leave them and go to my new place to wait for the telus guy. he didn't show up until the latter part of the time window. so i was puttering about in my new place basking in the sunshine that poured through my windows and screen door, setting things up, un-packing, you know. meanwhile h. and evelyn almost single handedly cleaned my place spic and span head to toe. when i got back i found an exhausted heather with the glow of good deeds about her. evelyn had just left. nothing needed to be done but the oven and washing the carpets. i didn't have oven cleaner and i was cleaning the carpet on monday so, we gathered the last junk, the litter box and the kitties and left.
7. dinner with friends. i tried to make myself look better but i was pretty grungy and only a shower would help my hair but we had no time. while i was gone picking shauna up from the skytrain, scott arrived and the 4 of us went out to dinner at the white spot. heather and i hadn't had lunch. i used this as an excuse to get a chocolate shake which i devoured in seconds of receiving it. we had a nice time and when it was over, scott went his way, heather and shauna came back to my place because shauna left her bag, and then they were gone and i was alone in my new place with my skittish cats. the cats laid low under the bed. i watched some tv, tried to sleep but couldn't because of new place weirwdness. it was worse because of the wind and the banging of the loose board on my porch. when it stopped i fell sleep.
today i set off the fire alarm while making an omlette. sorry neighbouws. i don't mean to be unfwiendwy.
some moving memories:
1. friday afternoon was dark and stormy and wet. not long after heather arrived, we left on our pilgrimage to surrey in my work cargo van--a blessed van that has moved me many a time, to pick up a table and chairs from mom and dad's storage and grampa and renee's un-namable teak furniture thing with sliding doors on each side and drawers in the middle, long and low. anyone know what you call it?? anyways we picked 'it' up at jordan and tracy's garage.
a.) storage station was a nice enough storage space, clean, well kept and well lit, but heather and i found it creepy as we walked the aisles looking for mom and dad's compartment. the lights turned on as we turned down the different aisles, just like the freezer sections at price smart. i told heather about a creepy episode of rookie blue that takes place in a storage locker. we agreed that bad stuff always happens in storage lockers and underground parking. enehweh, mom assured me that the table and chairs were near the front but i might have to climb up to get the chairs. sure enough there they were way at the top of the heap. with standing on the first chair which was easily retrieved, i got the rest but we had to do some shifting and moving, to get the table base. it was lodged behind a garbage can which was tucked behind a dresser, which had duffles and boxes of various rusty saws on top of it. you get the picture. on the way out i took a wily nily route. heather kept saying "i don't think this is the way we came." "i know," i admitted, "but it doesn't mean we can't get back this way." and then upon reaching a dead end, "and it doesn't mean i won't have to back track a little." then i laughed a demented cackle and she rolled her eyes and the table top after me.
b.) maria heard my helloing and ran to hug me at the top of the stairs. isaiah wasn't far behind, quick to show me his ball. tracy was with her mom in the kitchen and jordO was at the dining room table on the computer. jane and maria were watching a show on meer cats. a snake was chasing a baby meer cat but his brother saved him much to our relief. jord helped me lug 'it' to the cargo van but not before refusing to acknowledge the fact that there were cars blocking a good angle for me to back into the drive way. i began to have an inkling of how difficult it was going to be for me and heather to carry it up to my new place by ourselves. maria helped.
2. wendy's. heather has become a wendy's obsessive over the years. she says it reminds her of the old fun days, general conference etc. and she didn't eat it the whole time she was exiled in the heartland even though there was one by her. and so when she came back to the hinters, she was always suggesting wendy's. "are we going to eat at wendys?" "what about wendy's?" "i was thinking wendy's because i want fries." these are common things said by heather. after picking up the 'thing' we made a stop at wendy's. we went through the drive-thru and did seperate orders. heather ordered a bacon cheeseburger meal with a frosty instead of a drink. i ordered a bacon junior cheeseburger meal with a frosty instead of a drink. "so the same thing." said the voice in the console. as we drove to the first window i asked heather if she meant to order a bacon jnr. because she usually doesn't. well she hadn't meant to, but i told her that's what they thought. "but i don't want a little burger! i want a big burger!" she said in this pouty voice that i found quite funny and repeated quite often throughout the weekend. we corrected her order at the window but after eating it she groaned and said "i wish i got the smaller burger." and we laughed.
3. heather almost vomits wendy's on my back stairs. the 'thing' was quite heavy. heather maintained that there was stuff in it, but it was wrapped in a blanket and plastic. we almost dropped it by the time we got to the back corner of the house because our forearms simply gave out and we were carrying it an awkward angle. we rested panting in the rain at the foot of the stairs. "maybe we can leave it over there tonight." said heather hopefully. she was pointing to the entrance way to my downstairs neighbour. of course we couldn't. we decided to get the other stuff and come back to the furniture-without-name conudrum. so we did. and we frankly dilly dallied. finally we had to face the music. after some consideration we came up with a better way to carry it and began to lug it up the stairs. i was on the bottom because that was the heaviest. heather was at the top bent over and lugging up at the same time. at one point she exclaimed that she was near to upchucking her wendy's all over the fwn (furniture without a name). as a person on the end of the fwn, i'm glad she didn't. eventually we did get it up and unwrapped and it did indeed have stuff in it.
i) just before we left my front neighbour came by because we had parked behind him and he needed out. but first he said that i was going to be so much better than the previous people, which my downstairs neighbour also seemed to dislike, so i said "what was wrong with the people before?" and he said "oh they wewe just unfweindwy and unneighbourwy." !! mr. p does not say his ahs and i find it very amusing. i kept saying to heather all weekend "unfweindwy and unneighbouwy" and then giggling my head off. priceless gem.
4.an eventful night. we packed all the last minute things we could and then fell asleep watching the finder on my computer. heather left to go sleep on the couch after 1am. around 2 i think she awoke with a start when my upstairs neighbour lady screamed out the window above where heather was sleeping "STOP THAT OR I'LL CALL THE COPS!!" i slumbered peacefully unaware in the back of the house, but all throughout the night the drama unfolded. at different pee breakes (h. pees about 4 times a night sometimes) heather woke up to sirens, flashing lights, a copper interviewing my neighbour, a staggering man across the street, and our whole road in front of my house being taped off. the whole time she is stewing and wondering as only my friend heather can. by the time i got up at 6:30 all signs of the night's drama were gone. 10 minutes later heather got up and found me in my room bagging my sheets and bedding. "you do not know what kind of night you slept through." it makes me wonder what else goes on while i'm sleeping. later i found out from my neighbour what happened. some kids were beating up another kid and she yelled for them to stop or she'd call the cops. they ran off so she didn't call but then they came back and beat him to a bloody pulp, (her words), with a golf club. it all happened across the street. she called the cops and so did the lady across the street. the boy was on her lawn. they said he could walk but who knows how injured he was because he was drunk.
5. cheerful men come move me. we were all loaded up in 25 minutes and only had to come back for a few things.it was a super super super windy day but thankfully no rain. at one point heather walked into the wall with a box, which knocked her glasses askew and sent us into peals of laughter. when we arrived at my new place i realized that i forgot my keys. fortunately we broke in easily. unfortunately we broke in easily. you know what i'm saying. apparently a lot of members live in this area including bro. roeder and the hutchinsons.
6. cleaning faeries. so h. and i went back to the old place to clean and evelyn came and joined us. i'm lucky to be loved by evelyn. she's just took me under her wing since i first moved into the ward. if she isn't my visiting teacher, she should be. but it wasn't long until i had to leave them and go to my new place to wait for the telus guy. he didn't show up until the latter part of the time window. so i was puttering about in my new place basking in the sunshine that poured through my windows and screen door, setting things up, un-packing, you know. meanwhile h. and evelyn almost single handedly cleaned my place spic and span head to toe. when i got back i found an exhausted heather with the glow of good deeds about her. evelyn had just left. nothing needed to be done but the oven and washing the carpets. i didn't have oven cleaner and i was cleaning the carpet on monday so, we gathered the last junk, the litter box and the kitties and left.
7. dinner with friends. i tried to make myself look better but i was pretty grungy and only a shower would help my hair but we had no time. while i was gone picking shauna up from the skytrain, scott arrived and the 4 of us went out to dinner at the white spot. heather and i hadn't had lunch. i used this as an excuse to get a chocolate shake which i devoured in seconds of receiving it. we had a nice time and when it was over, scott went his way, heather and shauna came back to my place because shauna left her bag, and then they were gone and i was alone in my new place with my skittish cats. the cats laid low under the bed. i watched some tv, tried to sleep but couldn't because of new place weirwdness. it was worse because of the wind and the banging of the loose board on my porch. when it stopped i fell sleep.
today i set off the fire alarm while making an omlette. sorry neighbouws. i don't mean to be unfwiendwy.
Comments
I have a huge bruise on my left knee from the unnamed piece of furniture.
I'm glad I could help. Good times and good memories!!
H
I'm so glad you had so much help and it went so well!