Yesterday was Phase 1 of the move to our new home. Initially, we had reserved just one 26-foot U-Haul truck hold all of our belongings from the storage unit. However, mid-week, Steve got a little nervous about maneuvering such a large vehicle in the narrow lanes of Vonderahaes Storage so we canceled the one truck and and reserved TWO trucks – 15 feet and 20 feet – instead. Smart move. We easily emptied the 10 X 20 unit into both trucks. There were eight people to help and we got the job done in an hour.
(back row: Ryan Jenkins, Dan Crouch, Melissa & Elder Mack Jenkins)
(front row: Ronald Davis, Ray Stubbs, Steven, Jr, Steve Sr. already gone: Marty Bailey)
Steve and Steven (the Steves) drove the trucks and I followed in the car (which was packed with musical instruments) to the new house. We had eight people (four ward members and four missionaries) (Steven was also there) to help on the St. Louis end and they got everything unloaded in an hour and a half. Amazing.
( The only name I know is the one on the end - Steve Pister)
What is extremely embarrassing is how much STUFF we have! I sat in a chair by the door and directed traffic (that box to room one, that tub to the living room, that box to room three….) and, as the items just kept coming and coming, I just got more and more mortified at all our accumulated THINGS. And I thought we had purged already. Not by a long shot. Steve and I were talking this morning about this and we know it is going to take us weeks and maybe even months to go through all our things again and sort and eliminate. Returning the two trucks to the designated U-Haul location in St. Louis was a bit of a trick – a bad address and unfamiliar roads – but we got it done. We stopped by Emily’s on the way out of town, caught dinner at the Culvers in Wentzville, and we were back in Columbia by 9:00 pm. Quite the day! We were SO grateful for Steven’s help. We even got to sneak over to say hi to Beckie before unloading. She was preparing to work later on but she donated some cleaning supplies so I could wipe down the kitchen cupboards while we waited for the 3 o’clock moving help to arrive. Next week, I will write about Phase 2 (which will involve a grand piano).
Our walk-through and closing was Friday. The seller got most of the repair requests completed (from the house inspection report) but a handrail for the stairs was still missing so he had to have someone do that while we were signing papers. And, signing papers took forever. First of all, no one told us until that morning that we had to have a cashiers check for the amount (couldn’t just write our own check) so we had to find a Simmons Bank on the way to the title company. Happily, Simmons Bank is in both Columbia and St. Louis! What if it hadn’t been??? Why didn’t anyone email or text me with this requirement before the day we closed??? After it took a ridiculously long time to cut the check, we then had a hard time finding the title company because Google maps failed. And, once we arrived, we had to do all our signing in our car – in the sun – with a steering wheel in the way. We spent literally an hour in the title company parking lot signing our name to a stack of papers an inch thick. And, now we own a house.
Last Sunday afternoon, Steven and Tamara sponsored a “drive-by farewell” for us in the front of their house. They had a little pop-up gazebo and folding chairs and we sat for an hour and a half greeting friends who drove by to say good bye. So nice. A funny incident though was that the very first car came and they brought us a mylar balloon saying “Good Luck” and we had NO IDEA who the people were!!! We just smiled and said thank you and happily, they didn’t linger to talk or what would we have said to them???? Steven was out there with us and HE didn’t recognize them either. But, when we related the story to Tamara later, she said “Oh, I bet they are our neighbors up the street. I told the about this event and she is so nice and I bet they just wanted to show some support.” Ha Ha. One couple came twice – the second time to bring their two Bichon doggies (because I asked where they were on the first drive by).
Steve had a liver ultrasound on Monday and, on Wednesday, he had a visit with his pulmonary doctor. He had blood work done as well and the results that came back looked good – improving numbers on all counts. He got a call from the renal clinic’s office this week and his doctor wants to see him next week – in person – so we will be driving BACK to Columbia on Thursday, August 27th. Oh, well, it will give us a chance to return the piano moving equipment to Premier Moving and Storage and to close out our P.O Box at the Post Office. I will also teach Ethan a cello lesson. Ethan is going to continue to study with me – we will do two FaceTime lessons per month and then his mom will drive him to St. Louis the other two times! Not sure how long that will last but, hey, if they want to come all that way, I won’t turn them down. I had some dental work done on Wednesday. Two old fillings were failing so I am getting crowns for those back molars. But that meant the dentist had to drill out the old fillings and, OH MY, it was an ordeal. I thought he would NEVER stop drilling. Of course, I was all numbed up but I just felt like any minute I would feel some pain so I was pretty stressed through it all. And, with my temporary crown, I find I cannot bite down on that side without pain so I am worried that my trials are not over. I will call the office next week to ask if it is normal to still hurt.
We managed to watch four movies this week: “Enchanted”, “Glory Road”, “Deep Impact”, and “Phantom of the Opera”. The MU college students are back in town and they are in every store everywhere. Traffic is crazy. I am ready to stop driving and eager to stay put and go through boxes and more boxes…..
No comments:
Post a Comment