We're heading into Day 2, but not quite there yet. We survived and that is the important thing. The crankiness levels are beginning to subside.
The movers actually showed up on time, and it never rained. It's hard to ask for more than that. It started to get hot towards the end of the move, and I really felt for them, as they had another move scheduled. We managed to get the move done in only 15 minutes over what they had originally quoted us, which is fantastic. Normally, these moves go long, as people are frantically scrambling to pack up things and forgetting this or that. Actually, I did run out of boxes for the art books, though my wife brought a few back mid-move. We did end up scrambling a bit, mostly so that I could try to have them get as many of the basement boxes as possible. On the other hand, I had already moved the kids' beds over.
And we now have the luxury of another week to clean up and move smaller things that weren't worth boxing up.* For instance, I went over tonight and picked up the computer and a bag of clothes and some kitchen stuff. I had planned to pick up posters and paintings (not that I know where any of them are going to go, but they still have to be moved), but it started to rain. Now I will have to aim for Thursday or Friday.
In addition to my wife straining herself, I was putting the bed together in the new place, and the headboard fell down right on my leg. It felt almost as if it had been broken, though it was just badly bruised. I actually hardly feel it only a day later, but I was pretty steamed at the time, as my leg really hurt, but I couldn't take a real break, if I wanted to assist the movers by taking boxes downstairs for instance, so that they could basically dump almost everything in the living room.
The biggest problem is that things are just a bit too small. We couldn't get the overstuffed chair upstairs, which is a huge problem, since I think it looks ridiculous in the dining area. I agreed not to do anything radical like give it away until we have all the books on shelves and the boxes out of the way, but I think we'll have to donate either that chair or the love seat. There is another chair that was too big to go upstairs, but that one may squeeze through after I take the bottom part off. (Another task that I didn't really want to take on.) On the other hand, I am extremely relieved that the bookcase did fit in the basement, as that will make it much easier to clear out a bunch of boxes (and I don't need to try to construct 2 or 3 smaller bookcases).
We thought that we came through the move with nothing broken, but actually the door on the wardrobe fell off, narrowly missing my wife's foot. I can't really blame the movers, as this had always been a bit of a dodgy piece of work, held together with a lot of glue. I tried to fix it just a while ago, but honestly, I think we'll have to toss this out and build a new one.
The biggest issue was that the desk just wouldn't go where I wanted. It was about an inch too long. I was starting to measure and to break out a handsaw, when I decided to be more like the bending willow and to see if there was another way (that didn't involve tearing up the molding). I decided that I could reorient the desk, so that it faces the sliding glass door. It's starting to grow on me and actually I will almost certainly like the view more, at least when the sun isn't staring right into my eyes. I suspect if I ever have the luxury of working on my own writing on the weekend, it might be quite nice indeed.
So that solves the last major problem (aside from the chairs), and I just have a bunch of books to unpack over the next week or so (or sooner if my wife has her way). And figuring out where paintings and posters might go.
Now unfortunately, the contractors that I contacted took a long time to get back to me, and the quote was a bit higher than I was expecting. So I am going to break the job in two, as well as do a bit more myself. So we won't have absolutely everything done all at once (and obviously not before we move in), but I guess as we do expect to be here for quite some time it is reasonable to do this work in smaller pieces over time.
On the plus side, the cable/internet folks turned up and were able to get the internet working within a day, so we didn't go all that long without it. A few snags aside, this has been one of the better moves we have gone through. But I'm still glad that it is essentially over, and I may well not be moving for another 15 or more years. Now that is really something to celebrate!
* We're somewhat relieved that the landlord has found somebody to rent, though they aren't starting their lease until mid-July. I suppose if we absolutely must take a day or two in July to finish cleaning we can, though that should not be necessary nor is it at all desirable.
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