Packing Progress - Installment #1

Thursday we got an estimate from a local moving company. I met the rep-woman here at the apartment over my lunch hour, and the cats were quite interested. I think what got them going was her saying she is allergic to cats. Elwood expressed his sympathy by jumping up onto her shoulders, about midway through her assessment of the living room. That may or may not have influenced her estimate - four men, two 26-foot trucks, 8-10 hours. I know we're a city block and a half away from the elevator, but I also remember that it was me, Janice, Frank, and a coworker of mine who moved Janice out of her place from the far opposite side of this building and it only took 4 hours to do that. Hmmm ... I may get another estimate. Or John, if you still have your big truck and it would make it out here and back, you and Sandi and Jake and Dee and Lori and Brad, et al, and whoever else would fit are more than welcome to drive out for a little ... ahem ... "visit" on June 3rd. Jane, Marion, Dave, Susan, Eric, Samina, et al ... you are more than welcome to attend the "party" as well! The more, the merrier, after all! LOL

Anyway ... Last night we began the packing process in earnest. Probably we're a little late on the start date, but at least it's not like we don't have until the 30th of June to vacate these premises.

Janice has been replaced by an alien life-form that looks just like her and talks just like her, but doesn't really act just like her. I got a call from her at about 4:40 pm yesterday, saying she was getting ready to leave work. Unbelievably, I got another call around 5:00 pm, and she was already in her car and on the road home. This is not the Janice I know, who typically works until 9:00 pm ... I have to watch "her" closely ... it reminds me of the Steven Wright joke "I came home last night and found that everything in my apartment had been replaced with an exact duplicate. I asked my roommate 'What's going on?' He said 'Who are you?' "

We had our DVD player die on us last week, and no housework is really enjoyable without some background music. Yesterday at lunchtime, I picked up a new 5-disc DVD changer and installed that when I got home. It's nicer than the old one, I think, and was the same price. Oh well ...

So, our progress over three hours last night is as follows:

• Department 56 Village Houses - packed
• Department 56 "Twelve Days of Christmas" figurines - packed
• Department 56 custom-built display shelf mounted on wall - partially dismantled, to be completed today, spackling to commence thereafter
  
• Department 56 Village lighting system - dismantled and packed
  
• 1 box of cookbooks - packed
• Turntable - disconnected, ready to move
• Tape Player - disconnected, ready to move
• Classical Music CDs - packed
• 1 CD rack - ready to move

Jake and Elwood are very curious about what is going on. We keep reassuring them that we are ALL moving, not just "Mommy" and "Daddy". I guess they understand. They do seem to enjoy it when we tell them that they will have not just pidgeons to "stalk" at their new home (here's Elwood, ready to leap out at a pidgeon)

, but probably a lot of other wildlife as well. We've been told that "them thar hills" also contain Black Bear (which I seriously doubt, although in Avon, CT, a 7-foot black bear did wander up onto someone's front doorstep recently, and that area doesn't have roughly 3,000 acres of mountain woodlands behind it ... maybe one of you might want to come hunting), Red Tail Deer (again, maybe one of you might want to come hunting) and Eastern Timber Rattlesnakes and Copperheads. At least we're not in Florida, where one might not want to jog (as if I would do that anyway).

All for now ... more "Packing Progress" installments to come. (Aren't you all excited? LOL)