New arrival

Thanks to the generosity of some friends, our backyard 'Hillbilly Heaven' now has some new color visible..

Gnomes 'R Us

We've managed to accumulate a number of gnomes around the house.

They didn't want to pose for pictures so I had to shoot them 'in situ'

Enjoy the show

Part II of a Moving Story

For better or worse the moving of our stuff was done on Thursday, June 26. Our story picks up on Friday night. Vib is going away early Saturday to attend the American Library Association Annual Conference in Anaheim, California.

Our hero, Nick, is home alone to run a yard sale, complete emptying out the house, and getting it ready for the new owners to move in on Monday, June 30. Our Liz has to move from 417 Cherry Hill Blvd. to her new place in Collingswood on Monday as well.

How does our hero fare? The saga continues...

The Story of Our Move, Part 2

Not so short a story.

(By semi-popular demand, some inaccuracies/omissions surely crept in in the six weeks since the actual move)

So, as we left our hero, he was just sighing a big breath of relief that the physical move had been completed.

BUT THERE’S MORE TO BE DONE.

Much more.

The movers had come and gone.

They had NOT emptied out 417, as the old house will be referred to from this point forward.

Friday night, upon returning from a full work day in Manhattan, there was to be the first session of a moving sale to get rid of a large number of items including two or three hundred books.

Quite a few people showed up, some sales were made.

I had decided to have a Friday night session so I could attract the professionals who might not have time on Saturday to make it to the regular sale.

But, at the end of Friday night there were a ton of items left and they should move on Saturday. Or, so I thought, somewhat naively.

In addition to the moving sale there remained to be cleared out…

The storage shed, which had the usual assortment of junk, garden tools, assorted packing materials for shipping books and three large boxes of NASCAR items pending sale/disposal that I got from my friend Jon.

The kitchen, which had lots of canned goods and other ‘assorted items’.

The laundry room, which had a variety of items including the contents of some cabinets.

Piles of books(maybe 300) from my office that had not found their way into boxes in the pre moving period.

The large(this becomes important later) solid wooden desk from my office.

The two piece entertainment center(original cost $ 1,700)

The 32 inch Sony XBR TV, still working great after a mere 12 ½ years of service, and its stand.

I was hoping to sell both the entertainment center and the desk at the moving sale but that didn’t happen.

The TV was to go to the daughters Natasha and TKs apartment.

The kitchen, laundry and shed contents were mine to move to Knight Ave.

“Drop dead” time for all of this to be done 0300 on Monday. This also becomes important later.

Friday night I pack a few things into the car and return to 417.

Saturday morning.

It’s a nice and hot day. Apparently not a day a lot of people want to go to moving sales. At least not the one at 417.

It’s now almost noon and many, many items still remain. But, they can’t remain in 417.

Craigslist comes to mind.

Did I mention I hadn’t packed up my computer yet, either?

So, I jump on the South Jersey Craigslist(southjersey.craigslist.org) and post ‘come and get it for free’.

I start carrying stuff to the curb for people to pick up.

People come and start rooting through what’s left and, not surprisingly, take a number of items.

I have maybe one third of what’s left at the curb.

Around 2 PM I get an email from someone who said they will take away everything I have left, just please wait for them.

So, I stop carrying stuff to the curb and heave a sigh of relief, a very premature sigh.

Now, just to make it interesting, a quick rain shower dampens what’s at the curb but people still show up to root through and take stuff.

Xxx shows up around 3:00 with his girl friend and a Toyota RAV 4, not large enough to hold everything left.

He packs as much as he can, promises to come back later that night to finish getting what’s left.

The 3 large items are still where they can’t be much longer.

I decide to rent a small truck for Sunday to move the TV and the leftover kitchen/laundry and shed items I can’t take on Saturday.

The local “Rent-a-Wreck”(yeah, real name, a Budget franchisee now) says they have no trucks for Sunday but if I call early, they’ll probably be able to accommodate me anyway.

So, now back to packing the van with as much stuff as will fit. Lots of books from the office, not enough boxes available so I end up using some trash bags.

Now it’s Saturday evening and I’m waiting for XXX to show up any minute to get the remaining yard sale items.

He calls me to inform me his girl friend is sick(apparently the owner/sole operator of the RAV 4) and he can’t come back to get the stuff.

Now (pick one) in a moment of inspiration, a moment of desperation , a moment of temporary insanity, I ask “Do you have access to a pickup truck? Are you interested in the $ 1700 wall unit and the desk?” “Sure, let me call my buddy and call you back”. He calls back and says he’ll see me in the morning and will take those two items as well as the remaining moving sale items(remember them?)

The rest of Saturday is a blur of more moving kitchen and laundry items to Knight Ave.

Sunday arrives and I go back to 417 blissfully unaware of how ‘interesting’ the next 18 hours will prove to be.

Then, at 9:30 I am able to pick up a truck from the aforementioned Rent-A-Wreck. I also rent a hand truck.

I start loading assorted items into the truck.

Around 10, XXX shows up. In a 1970s vintage(and I stress vintage) red F150 Ford pickup truck. I notice that ‘the friend’ is wearing a baseball cap embroidered “WWII Veteran” . He appears old enough to be John McCain’s much older brother.

Turns out it is XXX’s uncle who has been basically coerced into lending the truck. He obviously won’t be any help loading the truck but will turn out to be a crucial cog in solving a fairly vexing problem.

The uncle seems to be on a deadline. Not to mention it’s also very hot, especially for someone in their 80s. Time is of the essence.

We easily load the wall unit onto the pickup.

Then I ask XXX to help with the 32 inch TV which weighs 80 to 100 pounds. We start to load the TV. As we are trying to maneuver it, the plastic case literally starts to shatter in places. The case had had a small crack/piece missing from when it was last moved six years ago. Now the case is literally disintegrating around the picture tube/electronics. We hoist it into the truck along with the stand.

OK, now let’s get the desk onto the pickup truck.

Mmmm, desk won’t fit through either door, no matter how we twist or turn it. Nor does taking the door off the hinges help.

Let’s take the top off. Only held on by maybe a dozen Philips head screws. Oh, you need a SCREWDRIVER to take these out? They’re all at Knight Avenue. I decide to ask our soon-to-be-ex neighbors, the Merlino’s if I can borrow a screwdriver. Turns out only Marie is home, about 20 minutes from leaving for a trip to Italy. But, she lends me several screwdrivers.

I get back to my office and the WWII vet has had an inspiration that would save the time consuming task of removing the top from the desk. The desk is only about ¼ inch too wide. Solution? Take out the trim strips inside the door frame!!

So, he very carefully pops out the trim piece and we are able to slide the desk through with at least a millimeter to spare. The trim piece fits back on and you really can’t tell it has been popped off.

Desk plopped onto pickup truck.

Phew.

It’s getting close to noon and the uncle is antsy about leaving. Meaning no time for XXX to remove what’s left from the moving sale.

I finish loading up the truck with about as much will fit including several bags full of trash and head for the daughters’ apartment to dispose of the TV. It is now longer usable as a TV.

Natasha is not awake, nor interested in being awakened.

I draft her sister to help. She will come to Knight Avenue to unload the truck despite her back problems where she’s not supposed to lift too much.

We move the truck over by the apartment complex dumpster. There are three dumpsters and people have discarded two or three apartments’ equivalents in furniture directly behind the dumpster.

So, I unload the trash and throw it into the dumpsters.

Oh, yeah, how about that TV?

How do I get it off the truck by myself? It’s a small truck with no ramp.

As much as just kicking it out of the back appeals to me, the resulting picture tube implosion would probably draw all the Homeland Security folks from within Burlington County so that’s out of the question.

Several young males are working on their car in the parking lot? Would you like to make a few bucks helping me unload the TV? No, we’re leaving.

They stay and watch, however….

I unload the stand. Position it directly below the TV. Slide the TV off the back of the truck and it just needs to be ‘dropped’ maybe 18 inches to hit the stand.

SUCCESS.

Hey, Dad, you’re bleeding. Yeah, all over the ground from my hand.

Grabbing the TV to steady it I had apparently caught a finger on the jagged edge of what remained of the shattered case. I was afraid I had sliced off the top of a finger and would need to go to the ER to be fixed up.

It looked much worse than it was and a daughter-supplied Band-Aid solved that emergency.

Off to Knight Avenue to unload the truck with TK.

She helps me unload the truck by carrying all of the boxes and bags into the basement adding to the many put there during the move two days earlier.

It’s now around 5 PM and it’s been a somewhat eventful day.

We decide to have something to eat. We decide to have some dinner at Villa Barrone, the local restaurant that launched the Collingswood renaissance. We enjoy a nice dinner and finally notice how exhausting and draining a day it has been.

I recharge my batteries and TK then goes home having made a significant contribution.

I then take the truck back to 417 and look at what I am still facing.

Many more things to discard unsold from the moving sale.

The kitchen and laundry room had been emptied onto the truck previously.

Now “only” my office and the shed remained. Looking inside the shed I notice there’s really much to deal with there.

It’s time to bring in one more helper. Natasha comes over to help.

She packages what I deem to be trash from the shed.. There’ll be 25 bags of trash by the end of the night.

We both work on moving stuff onto the truck, the trash piled next to the truck to be put on at the end. I concentrate on my office.

About 9:30 o’clock Natasha leaves and I take what he have to Knight Ave, leaving the trash behind as well as other items for me to load into the van when I come back

I unload the truck and, by now, it’s almost midnight.

Time to take the truck back and get the van. First I need to refuel the van. Turns out I get to drive an extra few miles looking for an open gas station..

I finally get rid of the truck and go back to 417.

The van is filled to capacity with the remaining items, mostly books.

Now it starts to rain. Not heavily.

How about those 25 bags of trash?

They get dragged over to the curb and put into nice piles.

Now it’s approaching 2 in the morning. I have to be at the bus terminal by 4:15 or 4:30 to get to work.

Take time to survey the house, look for anything left behind unintentionally (not totally successfully, it turns out, but close).

Unintentionally left behind means just that. There was a pile of boxes, bags and several pieces of furniture left that daughter Elizabeth would pick up on Monday to move to her new apartment.

I take pictures of all of the rooms to record that the house was clean when we left it.

Go back to Knight Ave to take a shower and get dressed for work.

So, now everything we own is in Collingswood.

Now it’s a matter of redistributing the contents of the 200+ boxes to where the stuff will properly fit in the new location.

To be continued...

Pics by Nick - interior and exterior shots

http://nickcherryhill.smugmug.com/photos/swfpopup.mg?AlbumID=5664205&AlbumKey=QSUon

Stay tuned for the "seed or sod" debate.

Living Room Paneling - Before and After

Paneling was hiding damaged wall. When we took down the curtains found out that there was no glass in the window (on the paneled wall) - just plexiglass!!!

Before, Middle, and After - House Exterior

Before and After Pics - Master Bedroom

Before and After Pics - Anna's Room

Before and After Pics - Dave's Room

Before and After Pics - Mike's Room

Before and After Pics - Kitchen

Before and After Pics - Dining Room

Before and After Pics - Living Room

Carpet is hiding a beautiful hardwood floor. Curtains hiding some window problems.

Tom Johnstone, our contractor restored the Craftman woodwork around window and doors. Floors refinished (Bayside Floors) and walls spruced up with a fresh coat up paint (Ryan the Painter). Our damaged stained glass window is waiting to be taken to the window hospital.
: - (

It's like butter!

The Story of Our Move - Part I

The Move According to Nick

Thursday, June 26

(I wrote this Friday morning, 6/27, as sort of cathartic relief and sent it to a couple/three friends. Originally in two parts, reflecting on move to that point)

I could write a book just on the last 48 hours, but will spare some of the details in the following long and rambling.

When we last left our intrepid heroes they were in a packing frenzy on Wednesday night for the Thursday move.

Grossly misunderestimating the amount of time/effort/boxes required to finish packing, the rush was on to finish.

I passed out from exhaustion around 1 AM after finishing what was absolutely necessary. I left a ton(well, not literally) stuff in my office to be moved by me over the weekend.

Vib worked feverishly packing up a seemingly never-ending series of items, mostly relating to offspring. She worked until after dawn. Got a 1 hour cat nap after I woke at 06:30 to get ready to meet the COMCAST installer at 07:45 at the Knight Ave house.

I head over to Knight stopping for fuel at the local Dunkin’ Donuts.

House looks basically beautiful, if you can look past the works in progress(as in, must be finished by folks AFTER we move in, a headache for all) Pictures, eventually.

Painter was able to paint the walls in the bedrooms, my attic office and the living room, the bare minimum in terms of how disruptive(read more $) finishing would be.

Handyman still has to hang all of the ceiling fans after the painting is done. Did I mention the new kitchen floor to be installed, too?

The painter finished around 9 PM the night before(a crew of four), leaving a trail of plastic drop cloths I had to remove.

So, to summarize, contractor tools/supplies in various locations to be moved around so movers can put stuff where it’s needed. The bathtub is occupied by two of the ceiling fans.

The two new beds(Anna and David) were delivered around 10.

COMCAST installer arrived around 9:30, left around 2:30. He had to install four new cable outlets, all of which required drilling holes through the outside of the house.

We bought a refrigerator, air conditioner for my attic office and dishwasher from Sears. Due for delivery between 9 and 11. Oh, yeah, the dishwasher required a pricey install, the refrigerator needed a water line run. Water line install due 2 to 4 and they dutifully showed up.

Lost in all of the confusion, literally, was any thought of the dishwasher. Certainly, by me.

Around 8:30 Vib discovered it wasn’t actually due to be installed, we’re supposed to get a call from plumber/installer.

WHAT ABOUT THE ACTUAL MOVE?

OK, let’s talk ‘ACTUAL MOVE’.

There’s our poodle, Fang and the two cats to be moved, too. Fang goes along with Vib. Cats drama at the end of this overly long missive.

I had piled my car full of items I needed to be able to go to work on Friday morning(not arising until 03:45, an extra ten minutes earlier for the longer trip to the bus). Also packed were some of the myriad electronics(cable boxes/DVD players, etc. SIX SETS of these, I only took one along in car).

While at the house, I take on the task of installing the air conditioner. Narrow window, worried about securing AC against falling out. RTFM reveals unit is actually inside a mountable casing secured to sill prior to installing actual AC. With a little side trip to the local ACE hardware store to buy nuts/bolts to replace those supplied that didn’t fit where they were supposed to, I manage to get the AC installed.

One other task is to assemble five garment racks to hold clothes.

Our movers are the intrepid team led by the Reverend Odom. Really. He brought along four helpers.

They showed up early and start loading their moving van, “Korean church van”(13 passenger van) w/large flatbed open trailer behind. There’s more to be moved than can fit into these three conveyances.

Vib is ably directing them in making sure that the right items are taken. Quite a few furniture items are left behind. Some are for Liz’ move on 6/30, some are for disposal via moving sale, some are for trashing(old beds).

It’s not until around 3:00 that they actually show up at Knight and Vib has to play traffic cop directing where things are to be put.

Did I mention we have WAY too much stuff? I estimate the new house has LESS than half the floor space(square footage) of the house from which we moved.

Over 200 boxes had to be moved. 25 or 30 are targeted for my attic office(about 10 actually end up there). The other boxes are put into the basement. Only a picture(coming later) can begin to show how much space these boxes/filled trash bags take up. I’ll have to find the office boxes and move them upstairs later.

Movers have to struggle to get stuff to 2nd floor bedrooms.

Movers have to REALLY struggle to get stuff into the attic through narrow 24 inch-wide door. Lots of office furniture goes up there. There’s a 15 x 10 closet up there to be filled with assorted clothes on hangers. Packed into about 30(!!) trash bags pulled over them like the plastic bag packaging from the dry cleaners. They are not thrilled about this. I remind them to think what it would be like had I not gotten the air conditioner working. It would be 90+ and humid instead of the 80 and not humid.

While this is going on, I make another ‘electronic retrieval’ trip back to 417. I wait long enough for Reverend Odom to come back with the van/trailer.

Upon return, park car in front of moving van and put flashers on. ‘Flashers on’ becomes important, soon.

We have A LOT of stuff, movers are making very slow progress with Vib continuing to play traffic cop.

Somewhere in here(time sort of lost all meaning), Anna and David come over to see the new digs and to share a Chinese dinner with Vib..

I take that as an opportunity to return to 417 for more electronics.

Notice the flashers aren’t flashing.

Turn key in ignition; not even an audible click.

Hmm, HOLY CR&P, dead battery or bad alternator.

This care needs to be jump started/possibly towed!!

Call AAA for jump/tow.

1 hour later, guy shows up to jump car. Assures me it was only my stupid use of flashers(about 90 minutes) managed to fully run down battery, no other problems.

PHEW, bullet dodged. Vib would have had the unenviable task of taking me to the bus in the very early AM.

This little ‘side issue’ meant I had to just move stuff around at the house until the sheriff arrived in town to rescue vehicle.

A quick jump, 20 minutes idling without the AC on, car seems fine.

Arranged for daughter TK to pick me up from repair shop in the ‘thought very likely scenario’ tow and/or repair needed.

I mentioned we are having a moving sale. Actually, Nick is having a moving sale as Vib has to leave for Anaheim ALA conference very early on Saturday. Should have had the sale an earlier weekend but logistics wouldn’t allow for it. So I maintain.

Our daughters Natasha and TK wanted a crack at what we were getting rid off and add a bit to the pile.

So, at 8:30 I go over to 417 to meet them.

They help set up SOME of the moving sale items, select some stuff for their way overcrowded 2 BR apartment.

Also, the Reverend Odom shows up on a THIRD and final trip to pick up some items forgotten.

While I’m here, Vib calls to inform me that our large dresser(well, her large dresser) will NOT fit into the bedroom so it’s moved into the garage for a later sale.

Then the daughters are enlisted to fulfill the last remaining major task while I work on moving sale stuff.

Cat rustling.

Neither cat went into the container willingly, the second in caused several bleeding wounds in TK. That would be 15 pound Pepper, normally very docile. Her feisty buddy, Cleo, the mean Siamese, was expected to give the most trouble but she was captured first with no injuries. When they went to stuff Pepper in the crate while keeping Cleo from escaping, Pepper put up a fight which she lost but not before inflicting aforementioned injuries.

Accompanied by the expected cacophony of agonized meowing, cats transported safely to next way station in their little lives.

Reverend Odom and crew finally depart around 9:30 after putting in a 13+ hour day counting their commute, etc.

Phew, basically done.

Let’s get ready for work.

Oops, need a shirt to wear to work, overlooked in earlier needed supply gathering. Make a quick trip back to 417

Get back.

Need ‘temporary lighting’ because ceiling fans w/lights uninstalled provide major lighting(lamps living in the van until morning)

Manage to quick hook up just basic cable for Vib to have today.

Asleep around 11:30, alarm set for 03:45.

This marks the end of a rather interesting moving day with many more to come.

Further adventures?

Stay tuned.

Painter's comment to neighbors

Our painter lets the neighbors know that this lovely, but rather intense, color was temporary. It says: "This is not the yellow."

Mellow Yellow...too yellow

This is not quite the way we thought "Banana Yellow" would look.