Truck Going West

The big day finally came. I had packed fast and furiously ... 9:30 A.M., the United Van Line, company of Wade Odell Wade.....had its 53 foot truck here. I had boxes packed up to the ceiling and my friends were popping in and out to help me with last minute things.

The men were very professional, and undaunted. They made a thousand trips in and out of this huge house. They wrapped up in a "bunting" every single chair from the dining room table...into a special chair padded wrap. Very nice, and it did ease my mind. The huge grand piano was wrapped up separately with it's legs and top parts wrapped up also separately. I could see it would be fine. Jim said that it did arrive in mint condition.

The china closets all went west, their family heirlooms being packed since last August, and some dishes that were in the cabinets under them done later.

Everything planned and executed to perfection. Book cases all packed, and Christmas in the attic waiting to go....little favorites from my children over the years ... and Jim's antenna.

All the clothing mostly gone, but some going west were in boxes.......

The trucking company said never to send pictures, nor jewelry or furs, so that was that. My pictures are my most important possessions and after that, the piano. I also did not want to send my banjo, guitar, violin and several other instruments out by that truck and I am still glad I didn't.

The kilns were packed and wrapped with care and lifted onto the trucks by hand, and the 5 fellas continued on. At 1:30 P.M., all came up for lunch and we ordered from the deli at the end of our street. They got the hot sandwiches and loved them.
Sidney, (our Realtor) brought chips, and I made dessert. Lunch was the high light of the day. The men never took more than a 10 minute break for lunch. They worked like horses, every one of them.

Each night by 6 P.M. the men left for parts unknown. Over the next three days, they returned again. That next day, I provided lunch and they went wild over it. Brownies for dessert, and of course they loved the sodas. Coffee, milk, tea, water, and sodas were offered, and sodas went every time.

Everyday the front door was removed from the hinges and the house was freezing. I kept the temperature up to 45 degrees as best as I could. The day outside was really cold. That day we ate in the living room and all sat around the marble coffee table.
We did not take any bedding, nor the living room sofa or chairs. So there was still the little coffee table that day to eat by.

I was so worried that my little Hummels might not make it west and didn't want to send them, but Margie (my sister) and P.J. my son, insisted that was just ridiculous. So before the entire basement was loaded, I did give them to the men to put on the truck.

Why am I not surprised that Jim can not find them. They were out in the 9 degree below 0 temperatures of Wyoming in the work shop (no heat) and he said that he would try to find them today. I do not know how that went as Jim is too busy now to speak to me. Tonight he was over at Clark's and said that he would call me when he gets home. He is visiting Mona and Clark at their ranch. A fairly new baby calf was licking his hand. I guess all of those crates were overwhelming him. When I go out next time, I will put them away. There is plenty of them.

So, since he is busy there, I am going down to work in the basement. I am cleaning it out so that I can put boxes on the shelves to have a yard sale here. A lot of things I did not send to keep the cost down, and I thought maybe a yard sale would bring in a buck or two. This time I learned to put the ad for it in the local paper.

While I was out today getting blades for the floor scraper, and the wonderful invention of a paste that you can use on a ruined linoleum (because the nail heads have popped up and ruined the linoleum... it flaked off over the last 26 years) I found a piece of the linoleum in the basement, and I am cutting out the square of 5" and replacing it with a 5" square from my spare piece. Looking forward to doing that. There are about 10 pieces that need the nails hit down with the hammer, and then replaced. I look forward to seeing that project finished. So! How hard can that be? Sort of like making my stained glass windows, but easier. That was only a few bucks for the gluey stuff, and it will make the floor look new again. If I have time I can cut and match them up tonight.

By the third day of the move, my P.J. had come over and had begun pulling and ripping out the carpeting in the living room, dining room, and main hallway. The floors were all 5 1/2 inch planks and the living room was painted Battle Ship Gray. How exciting can it get? There was even a nice trap door into the basement. Guess they used a ladder to go down, as there are no steps there. That floor was just perfect!!!

The hallway turned out to be painted a lovely beige, so I scrubbed both of those floors until they fairly glistened. P.J. brought over his Persian carpets to put over them the second day. How beautiful is that? Wow! Gorgeous!!!! He also brought over his pictures to lend me, as well as little side board cupboards. Beautifully preserved!!! He does have the antiques.

Today P.J. has gone to sell GOLD, and will be gone for the day. Perhaps I can see him tomorrow.

Tearing out the dining room floor was a travesty of the worst sort.....

The dining room was a horse of a totally different color. It had two layers of an ugly brown linoleum that were tarred together, and it is a beast to remove. We were working on it now for three days. P.J. doing the scraping and me doing the sweeping up and it has asbestos in it. The nice wide shovel is much nicer than the little dustpan, as it holds a ton more, sometimes I try my hand at the scraping, and it is a killer! We have already filled one huge carpenter's black trash bag (3 mills)filled up and are now on the second one. That bag weighes a ton!!!

Next came the stairs....now that was something to see.

When I have all of the staples out of the steps from the carpeting my Dad put in (which was so pretty in it's day) I will need to paint the stairs. Under the carpet, the steps were beige, tan, aqua risers, white edges, and a brown painted tread. Now that is Coyote Ugly!!! I probably will paint all of the risers white, and around the posts brown. The posts are white. The entire step would look good in the brown, as that is what all the modern books show old houses had. We'll see.

Meantime, it is back to work for me.

The moving van took four days to drive to Wyoming, to Cheyenne, and on the fifth day they unloaded everything at our new ranch house. I debated over taking my Ceramic and Porcelain Shop, but what else could I do. That was my way of life for about 30 years now. And, I am planning to still do my pottery, it is all connected in the art world...as well as the stained glass windows.

Next time, I write it will be about the unloading on the other end. Here, I continue with a great deal of repair work. Painting is a priority in the kitchen also.

Good-bye dear family and all of our dear friends...I hope your lives are all going well, we think of everyone of you all the time. You are so loved.

Until next time, scrape..scrape, hammer..hammer, paint...paint, spackle...spackle!!!! But my packing is done!!!!!! That is a load off my mind!!!!!!

Love ya! Sande and Jim