The end is in sight!

The apartment will be moved out of tonight-- completely. About a backseat of things remain, as well as two monster cats.

Thank goodness.

I also have to clean the kitchen. EWWWWWW. And do small things like wipe blinds.

After all our trouble yesterday, I forgot the doggone drip pans at home for the stove. Drat! It's ok; I'm sure the landlord will find something else wrong with the place. They always do, right? So we'll have to come back on Saturday mid-day anyway.

Tonight before cleaning, I'm headed over to check this out:
Isn't it neat? I should add it's over 5 feet long. I like it, and it will nicely fit in a number of places, and will take up space on our wall without looking clutter-y. And it's CHEAP in price, so we can get it.
*
Last night B had dinner waiting for me. I love that man. Tacos with beans and rice. Woo! I had gone to the apartment, loaded up a bunch of things, grabbed monster cat Frankie, then went and picked up the rocking chair, wrapped the heck out of it, padded it, and tied the sucker into my car so tightly no way would it fall out on the interstate.
*
Needless to say, I was tired when I got home. But dinner! Bliss.
*
Tomorrow is Day 1 of trying out the vanpool. I hope it works out. All I could think about this morning on my way to work was "I could be sleeping right now." And tomorrow: I could be. I scoped it out this morning, and the park n ride is exactly where I expected it to be.
*
Knowing I can go back to sleep will make getting up much easier in the morning. Seriously! It is one thing to make yourself get up and then not have to be alert. It's entirely another to wake up and know you have to drive 50 miles.
*
Plus, this eliminates my immediate need to find the supplies for the coffee machine. I know they're in a box, in the garage. Which one is unknown though....

Vanpool

I may have found a vanpool. Part of me likes driving (freedom!)... the other part of me (the tired part) wants to die in the mornings.

And there's also the fact that the 110 miles a day will take a chomp out of our budget. I think it's going to be about 2 tanks a week... 4ish weeks a month = $320 a month, at least. Oy.

The vanpool is $10 a day. That is ROUND trip. So, 20ish work days a month: $200. AND, I get to sleep. SLEEP! Or do work, if I have to. Lovely.

We'll see. I try it out Thursday. It actually works pretty well with my work schedule.

The move.

I swear to goodness that I have pictures of all this. Alas, they're on our camera, with Bob, who supposedly has the camera cable (but he hasn't uploaded them). Sigh.

So photoless for now...

The move. Well, it sucked.

Ok, really, I'm conflicted when it comes time to moving. It's EXCITING! It's something new. I've always liked changing a room around or switching out furniture, you know? EXCITING! A new place! Especially when you're moving from an apartment to (finally) a house. EXCITING.

But then the move comes in.

Our move got moved up a week, so half our stuff is organized and packed and labeled. The other half is well-packed... but it lacks as much organization, and labeling was abandoned.

If you're like me, the stress of "oh crud, this doesn't fit into that box..." is coupled consistently with "Oh crud, where did I put that tape!?" Thank goodness I'm ok with using my teeth to snip the end of the tape because seriously, I would have lost the scissors like 20 times.

The scenario of "oh crud, this doesn't fit into that box..." resulted in a thin layer of random things throughout the apartment. I guess it makes sense. The awkwardly shaped items, the breakable items that needed to go with other breakable items but there wasn't space, the things you "need" before you move out, the things you want ot keep handy to use right away when you move in, the last of a category of items that didn't fit into the last box you packed up of those items...

All the leftover items gathered up on the floor, coutertops, etc. I finally packed up all my work clothes into a box (see through plastic so I could easily find it). I told myself I had enough shoes at work and I plopped all my remaining shoes in a random box. Everything else: Random boxes.

As the layers got thinner, we finally just took two big boxes and piled everything else in. All the weirdly shaped items, etc. All breakables got their own boxes, of course.

And then the cleaning. Oy. I keep a pretty clean house, but cleaning during packing, well, didn't occur, and then on top of that, this is CLEANING, wherein the landlord determines how much money to give you back.

Drat.

So it went pretty much like this. I was about 75% packed by the time B came home. I had the truck when he got there, and I had already put 80 legal boxes of stuff into the truck.

Yes, 80. No joke. No, I don't own a small museum. It just looks like you have 50 billion belongings when you move.

I should also add that it was in the mid-90s outside AND inside. And this was down 17 stairs. I seriously considered constructing a ramp.

SO by the time B got home, I was TIRED. But no resting for the packers. We continued to work work work. I packed and put on the top landing, B took down to the truck.

Then sleep.

Saturday morning, we got up early and finished packing the truck. We decided not to go crazy and play tetris to get everything to fit (we did 2 runs instead). B did a goodwill run, but couldn't fit everything into his car. Crazy.

Then we were off. Picked up the curio at my friend Margaret's (she stored it for us since she lived near the seller and the seller was willing to transport, but only a certain distance). THen we went and picked up a lovely mission-style, craftsman-y TV armoire, a small table with 2 mission-back chairs, and a lovely mission-style single-drawer filing cabinet.

Then down to the new house.

Walk-through with the landlord went well. Then unpack all into the garage. We took breaks because the house had AC, outside did not. Uck it was HOT.

At one point when B was resting, I choose to open the box that had my CD player in it (that one had been boxed pre-chaos and was labeled). I went to b's trunk to get a CD... and locked his keys in his trunk. And I didn't realize it until about an hour later when we were looking for his keys.

Oh crud. I had to call AAA next morning to get them to come out. B gave me a spare, but it wasn't on my keychain and God knows where it would be in all the boxes.

Anyway, we piled at that point into the truck and again headed the 1.5 hours north. Yay for unlimited mileage on the truck!

We were exhausted.

We packed up about everything else we could handle. I took my car back down, B took the truck. Of COURSE there was nighttime construction on the road (welcome to Oregon; it's summer which means road projects) and an accident (nothing too bad, just road/rubberneck blocking), so we didn't get in until after midnight.

B had made the request of me that since i was in the car, could I stop by some fast food joint and get something to eat. So I went to McDonalds, and found out that particular McD's did not have credit card/debit card abilities between 12-1. It was 12:04 when I rolled in the drive through. I knew B was really hungry and tired, so I found an ATM, got $20, then came back. GRUMBLE.

Went home, ate, konked out. Next morning, we had thought to go down to B's, but we hurt all over and we were tired. And, everything at B's could really be moved by a standard car. We know that because we used standard cars to move things into there. Plus, B doesn't have to be out of there until the 31st (and the landlord is not budging, even if he finds a new tenant he won't start the new one until after B's lease is up. punk).

So no going down to B's. I called AAA while B slept, went to the grocery store and got breakfast, brought it back and fixed up stuff. B was so happy to wake up to bagels, OJ, coffee and a newspaper. Cute. Oh, and extra strength Tylenol.

We REALLY didn't want to, but we realized that it'd be best to go back up to my old place and clean. Me doing it this week after work would NOT be fun. So we did.

All that remains now in the old place are the cats, a big box, and an unclean kitchen. All else is clean.

SO that's the scoop. We're tired. Still. The garage is full in the new place, and there are minimal things inside. It feels like we're moving in slow motion. But, last night I actually cooked dinner (no fast food). Woo.

There are a few quirks. The landlord had to fix a shower door, and a towel rod. So he's doing that and wil lbe done with all projects tomorrow. There's no hot water. No joke. The stuipd gas company. I spent a while on the phone with them yesterday to convince them to turn it on TODAY rather than late this week. Seriously. They should have had a work order from me with instructions for no lapse of service.

Today I'm headed to pick up a cat, pick up some belongings (tehre's one BIG box), and then head home.

Tomorrow I'm headed to clean clean clean, pick up the other 2 cats, go look at a neat sculpture thing, and then go home.

Thursday I'm headed almost directly home; just a pit-stop mid-way to exchange something a crate and barrel.

I'm tired. I cannot wait until Saturday when we get to sleep in. I know... someday I have kids and exhaustion will be normal. True true. But still, right now, I just want to sleep. I long for Saturday.

That's-a ticket!

Maybe I need to be more sympathetic....

My dad just emailed me. He went to Italy in January. Just got charged $80-something from the rental car company. Why? Because they provided his information to the police. Why? Because my dad got a ticket. For going 9 mph over the speed limit (supposedly), in Italy. And the $80 is just the car company finder's fee, not the fee of the actual ticket.

I thought the Italian road rules were merely suggestions? Apparently not.

Anyway, it's a partially serious, partially hilarious situation.

SO I MADE A SONG.

Sung to the tune of "That's Amore"
Whhhhhheen you drive in Italy oh so quick cuz mom has to pee
that's a ticketttt!

When you drive oh-so-fast and you-a press-a da gas
that's a ticketttt!

When you swerve hit da curb and blurt a bad verb
that's a ticketttt!

So don't mope there is hope cuz you didn't-a hitta da Pope
it's just a ticketttttt!

Apparently when my dad sung it to my mom she laughed so hard she snorted toothpaste. His fault for singing to her in a fake Italian accent while she was brushing her teeth...

New desk lamps

Saw these Frank Lloyd Wright (kinda sorta)-style lamps on CL yesterday and went for them. I've been looking for the right desk lamp both for my office and for home (see the fold up table in the posting before this one).

This morning, a lovely lit lamp sits on my desk at work. With my window curtain open and this lamp on, I don't need the bright overhead lights. Lovely.

*

Last night I didn't get much done. Well, I'm almost done with the office. Packed 4 boxes in there. Packed up a tub of coats, etc etc. Then feel asleep.

*

Tonight will be a bit chaotic. I'm leaving work around 3:30, picking up the truck, then going home. It will be nice to get home (hopefully) before 5. B will get up here probably by 8pm. We'll see how we feel about packing up the truck. He usually is pretty tired by the time he gets up here, but I'm holding out hope. I'd hate to wake up on Saturday to a LOT of loading to do...

*

A fabulous co-worker brought me a lock!!!! I'm so excited; now I don't have to buy one from the truck company. Lovely!

New litter box.

Today after work, I'm going to check this out:
Now, you may wonder why, if we like craftsman/mission-style architecture so much, we are getting a red, metal locker.

As per usual, we have a project for it.

We're making it into...... A LITTER BOX.

Really! Seriously! No joke!

*

I've been trying to find a long credenza-type piece of furniture, preferably with front doors like this for easy access to the litter. I HATE the litter box. HATE IT. They are really good about using it, but you get the grit/litter around the box, it smells, and where do you put it? There is not a good place to put a litter box.

*

So yesterday, I saw this article on ikeahacker. Another design for a hidden litterbox. Lovely, but I'm not spending $99 for something that may not work as a litter box. But then, at 5:30pm, it posted on craigslist for less than half that amount. WOOO! The SAME EXACT LOCKER!

*

We're going to change the design a bit. I think the entrance will be on the side via a little ramp. Our cats are not small; they're large (not fat, just they're large cats). I don't think they'll take to a hole in the floor of it. Plus, I don't want the hole; part of the joy in this design is that the spill-out litter is contained. A hole may ruin that.

*

So the design will be: entrance hole at one end, litter box at the other. Their mat will be next to the litter box, and they'll have to step into/out of the locker (thus further getting the little litter bits off their feet). PLUS, we can also stick some odor absorbers INSIDE the locker to further assist us, and we can put candles on top the locker.

*

It has ventilation, so it won't get stuffy, and the easy-access doors make it great for cleaning. We think the cats will really like it, as they generally like privacy when, um, using the litter box.

We aren't going to spring the new design on them for a few weeks though. We don't want too many changes for them, and they're already getting a new house next week!

New desk

After work yesterday, I went to check out this nifty desk. I love it. It's a little small, but, seriously, it will work wonderfully. The super neat thing about it is that it FOLDS UP.

No joke. It really does fold up!

Pretty neat, huh?

I like the folding up a lot because we're thinking of using the office as a spare bedroom when our friends stay over. Sometimes you want a desk, sometimes you don't. A foldable desk is pretty darn easy to move. Plus, if we need to move the desk for a temporary use somewhere else, we can, easily. Love it.

The wood color is perfect for us, as is the style. Hurray!

Hot.

In case you haven't heard, the Pacific NW is in a heatwave. Here, we almost beat the all-time high (not just for a particular day, but since 1890). And we tied the record highest minimum (basically: It didn't cool off at night).

I thought I was immune to all this.

But as I went from REALLY high AC to really hot outside again and again yesterday, my head began POUNDING. No way. I grew up in southern California. I should have a body ready to take on heat. The headache said otherwise.

As I drove home last night (to my non-AC, in boxes apartment) I was feeling better and rarin' to go on packing.

Yea right.

I changed into shorts and a tank top and flopped onto the couch as if I had suddenly become boneless. UGH. When it's 105 outside and your place feels not much cooler than outside, it's problematic.

The other issue is that up here, it gets to the hottest point around 5-6pm. 5-6!!! At 8pm it was still hovering around 100.

Finally, around 8:30, I lugged my sorry butt off the couch because, well, things HAD to get packed! I tackled both storage units. Cleaned out one completely and the other about 80% (the remaining items there are a bit awkward-sized and hard to put in boxes).

Got 3 of the 4 rubbermaid tubs inside and stacked.

Filled up 4 tubs with winter clothing (freshly laundered, huzzah) and one tub with sheets and towels.

Filled up an entire corner of the living room with stuff to be donated.

Filled 5 trashbags and 1 box with trash. No, I wasn't living in trash, but some things just can't be donated. Yes, some of the trash was recycling, so at least I don't feel TOO badly.

Gave the cats a few bits of cold cold-cuts because they were MISERABLE. Nom Nom.

This morning, I emptied out my car. Brought home another 9 legal boxes from work and about 15 flattened boxes. I'm thinking of using the flattened boxes for artwork, mostly because the heavy-box-with-lots-of-frames just doesn't work. It's HEAVY. And I often lose a frame or two (the glass).

Also got a neat desk (which I'll post about in a few minutes). Lugged that upstairs, along with a Costco 12-pack of towels. I love my car. She can sure lug stuff for me.

We're on a blog!

The artist who made my jewelry blogged about our wedding! So neat.
http://silver-soul-design.blogspot.com/2009/07/mermaids-secret.html

Wooo!

Moving update...

I'm always amazed at how many boxes your belongings take up. Yowza.

Now, I don't think I have a TON of stuff, but it's still quite amazing.

The kitchen for example: SO MANY BOXES. Maybe it's because things are pretty bulky in the kitchen. But still: Yikes. I easily used 20+ boxes on just the kitchen.

I'm storing all the boxes in the backroom. At what point do I need to be concerned with the floor caving in due to the weight? I think I may start also putting boxes in the living room.

Boxes remaining to be packed:
Kitchen: Probably another about 2-3 boxes, plus another box for the coffee maker/grinder and another box for the slow cooker.
Bathroom: Haven't really started on this, but I'd say 3-4 boxes.
Back office: Probably 2-4 boxes.
Bedroom: Probably 4-6 tubs (which I have)... I'm using these big plastic bins with lids for clothes because it's just easier.
Outside Storage Unit: Probably 3 boxes. Most of the stuff out there is in boxes anyway.

I also need to:
* Plastic wrap the wood furniture pieces so no scratches.
* Collapse the coffee table and bed frame.
* Deal with whatever is under the bed... I think it's mostly B's climbing gear, but still... Who knows!?!
* Take all pictures off the walls.
* Wrap the pictures in wrap, then package the pictures and frames in flat cardboard.
* Take down all the shelves in the apartment.
* Take down the spice rack.
* Possibly re-box all the canning supplies.

I should also add in here that we're going through a massive heat wave. It's supposed to dissipate come this weekend, but that doesn't help my packing. 105 degrees yesterday, which for the Pacific NW is quite miserable. And, no, I don't have AC. Monday tied a record: the highest minimum temperature of 74 degrees. In other words, it didn't cool off at night.

Luckily, where I am, there's an ok breeze. It also doesn't get too much direct sunlight. And, I own two big fans.

So, my process has been:
Morning: Shut all windows. Close all blinds. Fill 1 small bowl and one HUGE bowl with water for the cats.
Evening: Wait until it's about the same temp inside as outside, then open up all windows and all blinds. Set one fan by the screen of the sliding glass door, and one fan in the bedroom (so creates good air flow).

It's resulted in me not being too miserable. I go to sleep with just a sheet, and come about 2-3am, I need the blanket. woo! I also take a lukewarm shower just before going to sleep, so I'm a big chilled. It's worked.

The cats are miserable. Luckily, I've cleared out all the cabinets and whatnot, so they have lots of little hiding places to try to cool off on. But sometimes, they look like they're melting. I took photos of them all sprawled out and exhausted. I'm trying, guys! Hang in there! Tomorrow should be a little cooler, and the new place has AC!!!