“Goodbye Penelope, and a lot of other stuff”
Monday was a sad day. I took Penelope for an inspection requested by Rick, a prospective buyer. They found a couple of issues, but nothing too bad. Rick and Lisa came over and closed the deal on Monday night. So sad to say goodbye to my companion of over 10 years. Logically, it was the right time to sell, with almost 80,000 miles and about to lose a lot of resale value. Emotionally is a whole different story. The whole sales process was very quick and smooth. Hoping the same for our house.
Tuesday was packing day with the movers. I owe a huge amount to Diana for getting everything organized and for all the packing she did. I was very little help at all. We got so fortunate with the moving company we chose. Keith, Fernando and the crew were wonderful.
At one point in the day, Diana appeared at my office door and I could tell she was in some kind of emotional state. Always a bit scary. Turns out Fernando had just found the very valuable and sentimental jewelry that she “hid” when we had the bathroom remodeled. She thought it had been hidden in the pocket of one of my suits, but didn’t remember which and hadn’t told me about it. We were pretty much resigned to the fact that if it didn’t show up as we were packing clothes, then it was likely gone. Fernando found it on the floor next to one of the wardrobe boxes she packed – apparently it had been in the pocket of some of her clothing. What a blessing that it was found!
Something else that was uncovered – Diana’s birth announcement. She thinks her Mom hand drew it all. The C major triad with the three names is great.
I also found this penguin that Olivia drew for me many years ago:
Wednesday was loading for storage day. The truck was half full by 10am, good news given the heat outside. Keith and crew were all over it.
Thursday was a partial day of rest from moving activities. Diana had Janelle over in the evening and broke news of the move to her. She couldn’t break herself away from her picture sorting crusade for too long. Days of poring through albums and stacks to determine what she can’t live without.
The painters started on Friday morning. All the colour is gone, to be replaced by “Worldly Gray.” That’s the colour of the family room and kitchen, and now the majority of the rest of the house. Rodrigo, Maria, and Jesus did a great job and were very kind. They will finish up on Monday.
I sold the pool table on Saturday morning. That turned out to be a lot more than anyone was expecting. Those 3 slates that make up the bed are very heavy. Cesar and his buddy spent 3 hours breaking the table apart into manageable pieces. What a lot of work!
The house is very empty now. Here’s the calendar for the first part of the move. It’s funny to think that we just made the move decision on June 11th.
While the guys were battling the pool table, a work buddy, Sean, was building a garage. Some folks just have a load of hidden talents. I can’t imagine taking on securing those roof trusses.
I was able to catch up on some backlogged New Yorker magazine reading while the painters were busy. This article on the multi-year development that ended up yielding my favourite, the CrunchWrap Supreme, tickled me.
I also enjoyed this article about a man who teaches elephants to play various instruments and records their orchestral performances. There’s a lot more to it – this guy is a psychology professor during the day, and a big part of the downtown New York avant garde music scene at night.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/04/03/david-sulzer-profile-neuroscience-music
I wasn’t able to start a new book this week. Hoping to make it to the library tomorrow.
I enjoyed this song from a band I haven’t heard of:
And this one from a band I know well. Those old Faces albums with Rod Stewart really are classics:
And another one from an artist I don’t hear too often that caught my ear:
Coexist peacefully with patience and kindness for all!