In Search of An End To This Madness

It’s been two weeks already. The photos I have taken make it look like it’s till Halloween. We didn’t dress up for Halloween but any of these get-ups would have worked quite well.

I’m the holder of the balance pole. I

Ninja painter? Scary job

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I have moved a great deal. I forgot to mention that many of those times my children moved with me. It’s become contagious. They have moved more than most of their friends too. Obviously, I don’t think they are done either.

What is it about moving that stirs up so many contrasting emotions? Delight at new possibilities, fear of the unknown, grief over lost friendships and familiar surroundings are all part of those emotions.

My son did the entire job by himself. There was no tub in the master bath.

He had a good start before I got here with the important stuff…books

I was discussing with my son the other night after packing his glassware under layers of baking pans that I should hire myself out as a packer. I pack to get stuff where it’s going undamaged. He reminded me of all the times I helped to move him and his sister as well as my own sister from their places of residence.

In the beginning. The top started out backwards.

It’s complete now but no photo.

How do two small women move an extra heavy king sized mattress down the stairs and across the parking lot to a waiting rental truck? My daughter and I couldn’t lift it so we slid it down the stairs to the front door. Then I started laying out cardboard boxes one in front of the other. As we slid the mattress over one set of flattened boxes, I’d pick them up and place them in front of the mattress again and keep sliding. Then we tipped the mattress into the truck with brute force. Yes, two little women can conjure up brute force when the conditions are right. That was another long story that I will tell one day.

Spray painting is the way to go in very high places

Here’s how I pack artwork without paying for expensive packing. They always make it to their destination safe if properly wedged in somewhere.

Painting slid into still flat box and all the edges taped.

When my last husband and I moved from the home he originally shared with his first wife, we moved a 58 foot 18 wheeled truck jammed full of stuff. They put an 8 foot box on the back of the trailer and we drove a pickup and car…filled. That was the pared down version of my ex’s collection of stuff. I’m living a much simpler life now and never moving it again… I hope. My books are happy just where they are.

So our next project before inspection and appraisal is the moldings around the doors and floors. The main bathroom has had the slow drain problem repaired after the wall had to be cut open. The plumbers installed a clean-out valve so the new owners don’t have to go through that again. It was 90 degrees here today. I’m ready to go home and watch it rain. And rain. And rain.

The hole in the wall bandit at work.

We took the slow way home so nothing blew off. The box lifted molding up for better visibility and we needed one that size.

Moving is madness but sometimes it’s a must. Things happen and we must adjust. Are you dug in deep or still feeling the pull of wanderlust? Can we bring an end to this madness or must we go bust?

From my heart to yours,
Marlene Herself

In Search of What Can’t Be Left Behind

Blogging 101 gave us another assignment that I’m tardy in completing. I tend to get bogged down with the technical assignments as in widgets and the blogroll vs blogs I follow. This assignment is to write about what prompted my comment on a new blog I’ve read and link you to it. This assignment was easy since a new blog I’ve started following inspired many thoughts.

Shaku Dreaming has so much fodder for thought I almost didn’t know where to start. We have a few things in common. We both left our country of origin leaving much behind. I was only four, she a grown woman. My mother had the same issue of what had to be left and what would be brought along. Mom snagged two pots her mother used to make the much sought after bread balls that go under luscious meat gravy. I don’t think she asked her mother before packing them. My toys were left behind as well.

I keep these within reach now.

As a person with ample belongings, I wonder if the start we had here contributed to the collecting of stuff. Shaku takes us through her reasoning process of what had to come along on her journey and what was left behind. While reading, I was reminded also of another time that decision was forced on me. Moves always bring those thoughts about but so does a fire evacuation. We experience that during Arizona’s Rodeo-Chedeski fire in 2002.

We at least had some warning and time to think about what to take and leave behind. When you are filling vehicles you look real hard and ask a lot of questions. Mostly, what can be replaced and what is irreplaceable. I have to be very forthright here. I never expected the fire to get to our neighborhood. The Governor had a home right across the road in a gated community. We also backed up to the Apache Reservation. I have to admit I was a bit casual about it at the time but evacuation wasn’t a choice.

Welcome to the parade. Thank goodness for tail lights.

Obviously there are photos, family videos, personal papers that can’t be replaced like my naturalization papers, passports and insurance documents. Computers but not sewing machines found their way into the vehicles. Dog food and blankets to make sure my best friend was always cared for. We brought very few clothes. It turned out we were evacuated for a mere 10 days. We also brought a cooler filled with some food and drinks. That came in handy in our drive across the desert in 110 degree heat. My daughter was following us in our pickup when the AC quit. We had her drop towels into the ice water and wrap them around her neck to keep heat stroke at bay.

It’s fire proof but too necessary to be left behind unless necessary

In my new house, those pots will soon find a spot on my wall with the other artwork created by my mother. They are no longer cook worthy but very much a memory. I think my car will be much lighter if I have to pack it again. Go by and see what Shaku found important.

There are many situations in life that bring us back to basics. What is really important? Have you thought about it lately?

From my heart to yours,
Marlene Herself