Furniture. Furniture is good, right? At least it’s all positioned more or less where it’s supposed to be. And my spinning wheel is out of its bag!

See? I don’t know when I’ll actually get to sit and spin at it, mind you, but that’s not the point, right? That, and the fact that I’m gaining some floor space is an encouraging thing. Even if my area rug is still rolled up in the corner! (In fact, I’m wondering if it’s going to fit in the room at all … I don’t remember the dimensions of the rug.) I’m sitting in my red chair right now, though, so … definite progress.

And then … yes, I know, this looks like a mess, but in fact, this is huge progress. All the different bookcases are lined up along the wall, just waiting for, well, the books. Because, before you can release the books from their boxes, you need someplace to put them, right?

And, what girl wouldn’t love this? A brand new pantry?

Of course, it came in pieces and needed to be assembled–which is always my job. Considering there were no actual instructions in the box, I did pretty well, huh?

Well, okay, I called the 800 number and they emailed them to me. (You’ve got to love the internet, right?) But, still. We’re really very happy with this. Nice quality for self-assembled furniture, even if the magnets to hold it closed should be a tiny bit closer to the edge, because it doesn’t quite connect to the ones on the door. The only complaint is that the latch/lock doesn’t work–that was the sole set of holes that didn’t line up correctly–there’s about 3″ between the lock on one side and the latch on the other door, but since we don’t plan on actually locking it, we’re okay with that. (And, well, the plastic handles could be a little nicer, I suppose, but so what?)

And, one of my favorite parts? We ordered this from Amazon.com, and since I signed up for the Amazon Prime program, the shipping cost me NOTHING. Every other website we looked at for a pantry charged a minimum of $70 for shipping. So–a $185 pantry with no sales tax, no shipping. A bargain!

And, then, there was this.

You know it’s my birthday. It hasn’t really FELT like one (though there’s no question I’m tired enough to feel a year older!), but still, it is 43 years since I made my debut. My sister came down again, and she, Mom and I went out for coffee. (Well, Mom and I had coffee, I had a cupcake, Mom had a cookie, and my sister had a glass of water.) It was the first time that I’ve been away from Chappy since we moved in, and even though we left him home with his favorite Grandpa, he apparently HOWLED, poor little boy.

On the plus side, he made two puddles outside today. That’s a start!

Here’s what Mom found tonight. The baby bracelets from the hospital. Two for her (one each for me and for my twin Susan), and mine. Which, since I was so tiny (3.1 pounds), was actually wrapped around my LEG because that was the fattest part of me.

It’s a little small these days. But, speaking of birthdays and baby hospital bracelets … my sister’s brother-in-law and his wife became a father again … today! We’ve got another November 6th birthday in the family! Welcome little Joshua.

I got some spinning wool, too, as a birthday present. 24 oz from the Sheep Shed that Mom bought at Rhinebeck. Two in a nice, olive green, and one in a lighter green. It will make a gorgeous 3-ply yarn someday.

Sooner, now, of course, that I’ve found my spinning wheel … if not quite as soon as I’d like.

Okay … really tired now… I’m older, you understand, and it’s been quite a week.

Is it really Friday, already? So soon? Where did this week GO?

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I’ve had this little porcelain angel for as long as I can remember, though she didn’t survive the move.

Still … since today is my birthday, it seemed like the perfect Eye Candy Friday photo–both celebratory and memorial.

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See? I got my chair ottoman down on the floor! And as of right now, those cubbies are in the closet where they belong. The knitting and craft books are all thrown on the bookcases … they’re at least out of boxes, and I’ll organize them and stand them up later on.

We put the two bookcases I’d had in my old bedroom in the little hallway between my two rooms, next to the wall/balcony/overlook by the cathedral ceiling. It looks like the perfect place for my African Violets and a couple family photos. The actual books may change at some point, but hey…

Unfortunately, when I peeled the blue tape off these little filing cabinets in my office/fiber room, it took the finish right off with it. So they now look just dreadful. I mean, they weren’t expensive pieces, and they’ve actually been sitting in our old garage for a couple years now, but still …

My aunt and cousin sent us house-warming flowers. Aren’t they pretty?

Here’s the view from my bedroom, looking straight across. Looking down is the entrance by the front door.

Chappy’s glad to have his little corner set up. Our chair-and-blanket, his basket of toys, and the ottoman from the living room furniture.

Chappy says he could use a tummy rub, though, please. Though the good news is that, while he refused MOST of the times I took him out onto the deck today, he did, in fact, go twice. That made us all feel much better, and we made quite a fuss! But still, a tummy rub for encouragement couldn’t hurt.

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What time did the movers finish last night? Well, let’s see … they had to go back to our old house around 2:00 a.m. to get a SECOND load of furniture. Yes, you heard me. Two in the morning … our neighbors, old and new, must just love us.

When did they finish the actual moving in process? That would be 4:00 in the morning … eighteen hours after they started.

Eighteen hours.

Now, we can’t complain a bit about the three men doing this move. They worked HARD. They were nice, they were polite, they were good humored throughout, despite being exhausted at the end. We felt really bad that we couldn’t give them the size tip that they truly deserved. They earned it! But, as you know, this move was necessitated by financial need, and considering that the move cost us $1100 MORE than the high end of the estimate, and about the same as a month of our new rent (which is a real stretch to begin with) … the best we could do was making them coffee and giving our sincere thanks.

Their boss, on the other hand? Well … you would think that a person that owns a professional moving company would be able to estimate a LITTLE closer than that. That they would send the four men they said they would, instead of just three. That they would send a truck big enough to hold all the furniture, instead of making that short-handed crew to make a second trip back at two in the morning … and thank heaven that it’s only 2.5 miles back. You would think that, if the owner said he was going to come on the day of the move, that he would … or that he would at least return his crew’s no doubt frantic pleas for more guys or a second truck.

Needless to say, we are not at all happy with the man in charge.

And we are really, really tired. I managed to sleep late this morning … I got a whole four hours of sleep.

Well, almost.

Chappy was WONDERFUL yesterday. Bringing him to the house early, before the movers arrived was definitely the right choice. We set up his ex-pen in the kitchen for when the guys got here, but in the meantime, we sat on cushions in the front window. (You know, before the house filled up with lots, and lots of stuff.) He relaxed. He napped. He was happy, if confused. The only time he barked was when the movers brought stuff right into the kitchen and walked past him.

But … by the time we got to bed … and I am SO grateful for having just rolled my feather bed, comforter, and pillows together, so that I was able to make my bed at 4:15 in the morning in about two minutes flat … By the time we got to bed, he was fidgety. He was restless. Of course, he was the only one of the 7 of us involved in this move that got to nap, but this is what he always does the first night in a strange place. And, since he’s having trouble with stairs and such lately, and our usual jump-on-the-bed ottoman now lives in a different room, I didn’t want to risk him jumping off my very tall bed in the dark. I was certainly too tired to deal with it! So, he got to sleep in his crate last night. Possibly tonight, too, I’m not sure.

Today, though? I can’t get him to go to the bathroom. Now, our old house, his whole life, he went on the deck in the back. Always. Sure, when we went for walks, he would take advantage of the amenities, leave messages and such, but his regular bathroom was a deck. This townhouse actually has two of them, and when he visited on Saturday, he used one as his facilities just fine.

Yesterday and today, though? He sits by the front door, and when I open the door for him to use the deck, he goes outside and sits down. Or runs right back inside and heads for the front door. It’s like house-training all over again. He looked so desperate this morning, I DID finally take him out front, but I held strong this afternoon (and felt like a terrible, mean person), and he did eventually make one, very big puddle. But, since then? Nope. He just looks miserable.

Sigh. I keep telling him that we’re all making adjustments, but it doesn’t seem to help! (And the point of him going on the deck is so I don’t have to take him out for walks just before work, or when it’s raining or snowing. Or so that my parents don’t have to–especially since Mom can’t hold his leash because of her hands. He HAS to take advantage of our simply opening a door for him. A leash and heading out the front door every time is simply not an option.)

So, some pictures? Here you go.

At this point, we’re all wondering why on earth our furniture is so BIG. There were a couple pieces they couldn’t get in at all. Which means that there are a couple things we were expecting to have but don’t … and things that we have that are way too big for the space available. And, um, no money to make changes, so we’re just going to have to deal for a while.

On the plus side, my bedroom–small though it is–is at least set in its essentials. We reworked the furniture arrangement this morning. I’ve only got about a foot between my bed and the closet, and the dresser drawers don’t quite open all the way at the foot of the bed, but at least everything is there. I just have to find my jewelry box for the dresser top, put out a couple pictures and get my mirror hung on the wall, and that room is set. And my toiletries are all in the bathroom where I can at least find them.

The rest? The kitchen? The living room? The entire downstairs where Mom and Dad’s offices will be, as well as the bulk of my books? Um … well …

Okay, really, really tired now!

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And, man, they are TIRED.

On the plus side, I got the living room television set up to play the World Series, which is making everyone a little happier. And my sister’s lasagna was very tasty!

Oh, and did I mention? We’re all tired, too.

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(I am dreading finding out how much higher this actual move is going to cost over the estimate.)

On the plus side, Chappy’s been napping. Mom’s over here now. But … they can’t possibly get that entire truck unloaded at this point before … what? Midnight? One a.m.?

Another plus, though? Not only did my sister bring down some baked ziti for us for dinner tonight, but … around 3:00, I thought I heard some noise outside, but figured I was hearing one of the neighbors. Chappy woke up from his nap and asked to go outside, so we did, and walked around a little, and then came back in through the garage …

Wait, where did those flowers come from? And … that wasn’t there before! A box of food from an Italian restaurant in Caldwell, with a nice card from two of my parents’ oldest friends. (Awww!) She came all this way just to leave something nice. (She’s been known to leave flowers in the mailbox, too. She doesn’t ring the bell, or come to the door, just leaves the treat and disappears.

Chappy’s napping again. I’m feeling jealous. And both Mom and I are a little concerned about how loooooong this day is going to be. Especially since there’s so much we’re going to have to DO!

On the plus side, I’ve got my bathroom essentials set up, know where my toothbrush is, and I brought my feather bed, comforter and pillows with me when I came over this morning. At least I know where I’m sleeping tonight!

And, wow, the moving men must be TIRED by now…

UPDATE: Oooh, wait, update … Dad just called  (5:40) and said the movers told him that they’ll have to go back for Dad’s office stuff and MOM AND DAD’S MATTRESS. Um … what are they supposed to sleep on tonight??

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Chappy is napping at the moment, which is GREAT because once the movers get here, I’m pretty sure he’ll get no more rest for a long, long while.

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I’m taking a couple minutes of quiet to say hi. Chappy and I have been here at the new house since about 8:00. The cable guys were here to get our phone and internet working (obviously, or I wouldn’t be here), and my sister’s been trundling back and forth between this and our old house with carloads of kitchen stuff. (Well, the lighter kitchen stuff.) I’ve been organizing the cabinets and fridge … and really banged my head on the freezer before! Our old one had them side by side, I’m not used to having to duck to get in the refrigerator!

The good news is that Chappy is MUCH calmer today, and has been ever since I put his leash on him this morning .. which is good, because he looked kind of worried when I packed up his crate and my bed!

Okay … back to work. Just wanted to check in! I needed the break, though … things are REALLY going to pick up once the moving truck leaves the old house and comes here!

And … there’s Patty with some more stuff. Got to go!

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The tape the movers used to pack my books is pretty terrible, but looks kind of cool.

Unlike the empty bookcases, which just look sad. (But not as sad as the fact that the movers didn’t know how to spell “downstairs,” or that the concept of keeping books from the same shelf together didn’t seem to occur to them. I’m really trying hard not to freak out at that–or worry about the way they piled some of the books into their boxes.)

Here are my clothes, waiting to move. I tucked them into plastic bags right on the closet rod and then carted them over to the new closet. They DO fit, by the way, though it’s a TIGHT fit.

Can you see the Chappy in this picture? Yeah, it’s pretty hard–he’s in his usual spot in the dining room window, but you can only see about half his face.

Oh, poor Chappy … as you know, we’re moving tomorrow, and today we took over some of our stuff. The clothes from the closets, for example. And my yarn/wool stash. My spinning wheels. Stuff that we could stash out of the way in closets over there so they wouldn’t be in the way.

So, the three of us loaded up our two cars this morning and headed over and lugged everything in. Mom and Dad finished first and came back about 15 minutes ahead of me, and Chappy, poor Chappy, was practically frantic! When I got home, he rushed to greet me like I’d been gone for three weeks … or three years! And he was panting so hard, we think he spent most of the time we were gone running around, hyperventilating.

For our second trip, Dad stayed home with Chappy, and called me five minutes later to tell me that he was howling…

This is exactly the reason that I’m going over early tomorrow, and bringing Chappy with me. If us taking stuff out of the house freaks him out this much, the movers would be even worse! And my being out of his sight is obviously that much worse. I’ve seen him on vacations, when we’re ready to head home, he starts worrying, so we always put him in the car first thing, so he doesn’t have to worry. Well, clearly, he’s really, really worried right now. Mom’s books are packed! Her yarn is gone! Her CLOTHES are gone! The end of the world is coming, and he’s not going to be happy unless he’s with me.

Poor little guy.

And, well, for a few hours in the morning, at least, the new house WILL be the quieter place to be!

I’m not sure when you’ll hear from me next–but probably NOT tomorrow. Hopefully Tuesday.

You know, the only real advantage to moving just now? Halloween (aka Barking Day) was barely a blip in the family-stress-level radar.

(And, of course, you KNOW I’m only showing you these disastrous, cluttered, messy house pictures solely because the house NEVER looks like that. We’re neat folk, here!)

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1. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult (405 p.) An Amish girl murders her newb0rn baby … or does she?

2. An Assembly Such as This by Pamela Aidan (218 p.)
3. Duty and Desire by Pamela Aidan (238 p.)
4. These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan (335 p.)– Pride & Prejudice told from Mr. Darcy’s point of view.

5. Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath (252 p.) Why do some ideas or marketing ploys stick, and some don’t? Fascinating look at why.

6. Fledgling by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller (375 p.) A couple years ago, the authors wrote this book live, without a net, publishing one chapter a week of the draft on the internet

7. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card (324 p.) What if you needed a boy to fight a war to save the world? You turn it into a game, of course!

8. Ender’s Shadow by Orson Scott Card (469 p.)– The Ender’s Game told from Bean’s point of view

9. Gateway by Sharon Shinn (280 p.) New YA book from one of my favorite authors. Except … I think this is the first book of hers I didn’t love. It wasn’t dreadful, but I thought it was predictable.

10. Knitter’s Book of Wool by Clara Parkes (207 p.) Clara’s excellent new book about wool, wool, wool. Review here at Knitting Scholar.

11. How I Learned to Cook edited by Kimberly Witherspoon and Peter Mehan (306 p.) It took me a while to get around to reading this, but it was fun–first-person accounts by a whole slew of professional chefs about how they got into the cooking business.

12. Joust by Mercedes Lackey (442 p.)
13. Alta by Mercedes Lackey
14. Sanctuary by Mercedes Lackey
15. Aerie by Mercedes Lackey–a series of fantasy books in an Egypt-like world with dragons, this tells Kiron’s story, from becoming a “dragon boy” to when he escapes serfdom back to his own country. The first one is my favorite, the next two are good and round out the story nicely. The fourth? Kind of a waste of time.

16. Skies of Pern by Anne McCaffrey (468 p.) Naturally, Anne McCaffrey’s dragon-rider stories are my favorites, this is the last of the “real” ones, written mostly by her, with her familiar characters. Even if it’s not the best, it’s good to see Lessa, F’lar, Jaxom, F’lessan and the rest again.

17. Jovah’s Angel by Sharon Shinn (389 p.) The second of the “core” Samaria trilogy, telling Alleluia’s story, when suddenly, Jovah no longer hears the angels and calamitous weather threatens everyone.

18. Swing, Swagger & Drape by Jane Slicer-Smith. Review here at Knitting Scholar.

19. Getting Things Done by David Allen (259 p.) Well! I wish I’d found this one about three months ago. (Or six … or even a couple years ago.) What a great system for organizing your time … it’s just … right now, with the current house-moving chaos, it’s impossible to put any of this into effect! It’s great though–definitely recommended.

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