Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Altoona, IA - On the Move

Back in 2001 we helped Cathy and Tom move to their new home, the one that was to be their last home. But it was a corner lot with lots of trees and took lots of mowing, shoveling, raking and maintenance. It was time for a townhome and we got a text message in mid-March with a picture of their home with a SOLD sign in front. And, the closing is 4/14. Hmmm - 3 weeks to go. And, they have no place to go. Not yet. They looked at lots of townhomes and lots of apartments since they might have to rent for a while.

On 3/17, they had found a new house and their offer had been accepted but with a closing date of 4/14 on both houses. The pressure is on. They told us that getting up at 4 am and starting to pack was not unusual.

We got back here on 4/4, took a day off to relax, a day to do errands and asked what we could do. We had our Jeep and they had two SUV’s that were just perfect for taking loads over to their new home. We helped them take apart Tom’s workbench.

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We packed, loaded and moved everything in this room but the furniture.

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We took load after load of boxes and plastic tubs over to their new home (I think we’re making grooves in the road.) Some loads were lighter. Here I am with Tom’s stuffed pheasant.

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The current owner said they could use the third garage and one of the lower level bedrooms to pile their stuff in.

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Boy, did we fill that third garage.

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These are the only pictures of the move that we have since we were all so busy. I helped Cathy take some stuff to the Salvation Army and to Habitat for Humanity and make some other errands. We also got an Invisi-brake from Tom from the RV he sold several years ago and we gave them a queen sized Mission style bed. Even trade but Tom had an easier time putting his bed together than Gary had putting the brake together. We have most of the parts but still need a new car kit and another part. Probably best to get it installed in Mesa.

Our Even Brake is still good - if it’s above 49 degrees but below that it needs to get warmed up to start. Not a good brake. And much bigger than the Invisi-brake. A good trade for all.

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Finally, they closed, were in and we visited them in their new home.

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Gary celebrated by tossing a rubber hammer into the air and catching it.

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Meanwhile, during all this, Gary, Cathy and I attended a funeral and put the spring flowers on Cathy’s and Gary’s parents’ graves. It’s in a country cemetery and we have never been there when the wind wasn’t howling around.

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You can see in back of them where their aunt Marian is going to be buried.

Funerals are such sad affairs but we do get to meet lots of Gary’s cousins that we might otherwise not get to see.

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Gary also fought the good fight against a bird that had built a nest in our slide cover. We looked up one day and noticed little bits of straw and dried grass sticking out. Hmmm. Not the wind. Must be a bird. Gary got out the ladder and moved before there were any eggs in the nest.

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The next morning we heard lots of little cheeping around. Sure enough, the original nest builders had brought in a full construction crew and they had not only remade the original nest but had made it into an apartment house. Then they sat out side our window chirping their defiance.

On the other hand, even though we had cool weather for the move, we also had some cold weather and some heavy rains. Note that the ‘feels like’ temperature is 29 degrees. And, even though the forecast was for 39 degrees, it was only 35. Wind was at 15 mph. The next few days don’t look much better.

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In our memories, April in Iowa was sunny, warm with flowers and trees all budding and leafing out. So much for our old memories.

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Note that in all the pictures above that there is not even a hint of sunshine.

‘You’ll feel better when it quits hurting.’

                Anonymous

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