Done and Gone...

The last few days have been a whirlwind of activity.  And that is putting it  mildly.

I finished my homework at 3:00 AM Wednesday morning, but I got it all finished.  Patrick, the driver, was pleased until he was told how long I had stayed up and then he felt very bad for making me stay up that late.  But things were ready finish packing and loading the van.  I had looked around the house after he left and thought it was a very tall order.

He had added an additional worker and it seemed like they were moving right along, but it was not enough to get everything completed on Wednesday.

My brother, Andy, came up from Virginia that day and we visited while the packing and loading went on around us.  After the crew gave up the ghost and went home, Andy and I looked for a place to eat and once I realized it was Wednesday, we headed to Shady Maple for Prime Rib night.  It was well worth the trip as the Prime Rib was perfectly cooked and the server was cutting very generous slabs.

Andy spent the night, sleeping in the sewing room that was totally boxed up with a couple of spare sheets that had not been swept up by the packers.  While he was here, we removed the Ecobee Thermostat and put the old one back in.  We also put the old deadbolt in and packed the electronic one for Alaska.  We also took out the Ecobee switch in the sewing room and he took down the final Foscam camera in the kitchen.  He stayed until almost noon on Thursday before heading back to Fredericksburg.  He says that he and Carol will come visit.  I hope they do.

All day Thursday, the moving crew were hustling.  Boxes were flying out of the house.  Furniture was also disappearing.  As electrical cords appeared, I sorted the, rolled them up and took them out on the "Free Table".  As fast as they went out, they disappeared.  I also took out liquid stuff that the packers could not take.  Some of the places that the truck might sit my be in freezing temperatures and they did not want things exploding.  They finally got the last things loaded a little after 1:00 PM, I signed the paperwork and the truck, with all of my possessions save the few that were in the car, went off down the road for the first leg of the journey to Great Falls, Montana.

Last night I ran the vacuum all over the first floor.  There was dust that I had not seen for years.  Addie and John had said not to bother, but I just had to clean that all up.  Slept in the recliner and actually slept very well.  Danny and Marji arrived a little before 8:00 AM.  They wanted my living room TV.  Danny ended up taking all of the speakers, the receiver and the stand.  Then while Marji and Sheila (she brought me breakfast and coffee) chatted he continued to shop the "House of Jane".  He took stuff off the porch for cars and laundry and stuff.  Then he went through the refrigerator and took several bags of food.  Finally he shopped my pantry.  He may not have to go to Walmart for a couple of days!!!

As we were getting ready to leave... Danny had helped me get the spare tire on the car before he left... Addie Russel, the neighbor who bought my house, walked over to wish me well.  As I was helping Danny get Marji into the car, the mail lady was drving by and even she stopped to wish me well on my adventure.

I finally headed to the UPS store to get the Verizon Fios router and set top box returned to them so they will not charge me, then I zipped down to Goodspice Kennels and got the dogs.  They were a little confused to not be going home, but they soon settled down in the car and I drove all the way to Pittsburgh, where I got a room at a Red Roof Inn and crashed.

I do not plan to go too far tomorrow as I know I am still very tired.  I will get to my cousin's new home in Lake Villa, IL on Sunday.  I ordered an different length extension for the hitch tire holder.  With the tire on, the current configuration will not allow the hatch to open.  I got one 2 inches longer so i do not have to wrestle the nitch to get in the back.

It was quite odd to drive past the house knowing that it was no longer mine.  There are things I will miss about the house.  It served me well for close to 40 years, but I will not miss living on a well traveled highway with the noise and the dust and the traffic.  I have a long journey ahead of me, but I will be meeting Rob in Minneapolis where we will reshuffle things and make the last leg of the journey.  It will be nice to have someone to share the driving with.  Perhaps I will arrive at my new home a little more refreshed than I am now.

But I alreasy miss all of my wonderful friends.  I could not have gotten ready for this move without Brian cleaning out many things in the Spring.  I needed Rob to help in the summer.  And in the end, Patches and Sheils spent many hours keeping me focused on getting the sewing room organized.  The movers comments several tiems how well organized I had things when they arrived.  It was, but it took a village.

Stay turned for this netx adventure as we drive to my new home in Fairbanks.