Day 1 of the house move

Ok, well not exactly day 1 as we’ve been moving boxes in the evenings, but it’s day 1 of the moving long weekend.

Things got off to an average start. Met the gardener, took him through to the nursery to get some weed killer? Yup, wedd-killer. Coming from a city slicker who’s never really had to worry about grass, my gardener is throwing bottle after bottle of the stuff into our trolley. One for rose bugs, one for broad leaf weeds, one for weeds in grass, one for weeds on paving…good thing I took him with me. Or not! Then onto Mica to buy a weed-eater. He’s insisting that he needs one (850 watt electric to be precise) if he’s going to maintain the garden to the standard of the previous owners. Into the trolley the following items, along with the weed-eater: extension cord, rake, garden broom, pressurised container to mix and spray the weed killer, extra gut for weed-eater, plastic bags, wire. I reckon he’s pretty sorted now – for at least a year anyway.

Next up, the alarm guys. They’ve delayed the installation by 2 weeks because their supplier only got back from holiday this week. Fantastic! They thought they’d come across and tell me in person. Thoughtful of them. They also pointed out the 35 metre’s of trench that I’m going to need to dig (through manicured flowerbeds, around trees, under paving), so that they can lay their cabling and whatever else they need to install. The real reason for their visit I suspect.

And finally, the fridge guys arrive. They’re a little later than I had hoped, but they arrived on the agreed day, which is always appreciated. Time to get that double door puppy into the space between the two cupboards. It’ll fit guys – I measured. Oh Shit! I didn’t cater for the height of that piece of metal protruding from the top of the fridge!

Wave the delivery guys off, and now sit down trying to figure out how I’m going to sort this one out. I could always cut some of the cupboard away. Or better yet, rip some of the tiles up and dig a trench for the fridge to sit in. It only needs to go down 5cm. I though they had adjustable legs on these things. After 30 minutes of irrational thinking, I figure that all I need to do is dismantle the cupboard above the fridge, take it out, and shave the 4-5 cm off that.

So that’s what I’m going to do. Tomorrow. With hired help!

I’m wasted. Its pizza tonight, and then we start with the next set of challenges. Getting the couches through the 1^st floor sliding door of the townhouse, into the garden below, and onto the removal truck. I’m paying for that though. I did it manually once before. This time I took the attitude of “if you throw money at the problem, it’ll eventually go away”.

Time to move on...

Its difficult to leave a place that has given you so much happiness for so long.
This was the feeling that I had last night, sitting on the couch and looking at the bare kitchen and walls in our townhouse of the last 6 years. I remember the day we moved in - Dec 15th, 2001. K and I used a cooler box as a fridge for about a week whilst our fridge was in the process of being delivered. We put up some terrible pink hand-me-down curtains in the lounge whilst we hunted for fabric and waited for our new curtains to be made up.Over the years however, we accumulated, decorated and shuffled our things around, turning an echo'ey space into a comfortable home - one that we have loved since the day we took the plunge and signed our lives away. So its with a hint of sadness that we pack up our memories into cardboard boxes, and move onto a new echo'ey space - a space that will require lots of time and attention, but that will hopefully reward us with many more happy times. Its exciting. Its new. The nostalgia will quickly evaporate. Its time to move on.