Moving Day to Chicago

Here's a summary of our journey. I'll post in stages, with photos if I have them. As we're now in Winnipeg, this story begins more than a week ago, with moving day, July 10. Before I go further...to answer an important question...our final box count was 362 boxes that we packed ourselves. The movers packed our dishes and other breakables, and that was about 9 more boxes. (and then there was the furniture...) Book box count was probably roughly 60+ boxes of the total, although we don't have an official number on that at this time. (It wasn't an important number for us for customs, so we didn't count it separately!)

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We've made it to Chicago.:) The moving truck arrived, we passed our keys to the new owners of our Kentucky home, and we drove 400+ miles today in our car. We're on the way!
Now the professor and I are holed up in a nice La Quinta hotel with two exhausted dogs. (It's been a rough couple of days to be a dog at our house.) Our journey is going well though. We've already placed an order for pizza, since we're in Chicago...!

Everything has really gone as smoothly as one could hope. We've had a couple of unsettling and stupid electronic moments today. One was when my car phone charger appeared broken and I couldn't find my regular charger either. (luckily, I discovered a backup in my briefcase, what forethought!) and the other? I loaded up several audio books on my ipod. I spent (no kidding) hours and hours on this. And?

Today I discovered that it just wouldn't work in my car plug-in itrip thingee, no matter what I did. It worked before, dang it. I got inordinately peeved about this. Luckily, the professor was able to fix the fuse that had broken in the car while we were in Minneapolis…but I get ahead of myself. This electronics thing seemed a sign that I was totally keyed up but can't find anything real to panic about. We did discover an actual CD audio book in the glove compartment that seems tolerable, if dull, so that's good. Bargain sales are good for something...

Yesterday, when the movers were in the house, the dogs had a rough day. I gave them both what I thought was a "vet-approved" sedative. Sally did well, it really helped. Harry had an adverse reaction, which included a lot of twitching, tail chasing, and barking and howling...for hours. I called the vet in the middle of the moving day and found out that there had been a mistake in the medication in the first place! Luckily, she'd also given us a few doggie valiums which didn't erase the problem but took the edge off Harry's reaction. It was still a pretty long day for Harry and he continued to act out until about 1 AM. He also appears to hate the zipper sound on the crates we are using. As best I can tell, that first medicine was like having a really really bad acid trip for dogs+moving anxiety.

All that was rough but we made it through with possibly the most efficient and professional moving crew we've ever had. Also, our friend Nic came over to sit with us/dogs and brought us lunch yesterday. That was just a godsend and added moral support to the incessant howling and barking Harry was doing...which totally rattled me. Meanwhile, Sally was a delight and slept calmly through most things. You never can tell which dog (or child) will have the meltdown, I guess!

Nic kindly made us (and our friend John, who drove the professor's car to Minnesota) dinner and it was so nice and civilized after a long day of movers/chaos. We then went home to sleep on the floor of our bedroom, in sleeping bags. I had to use a wool blanket and a dog towel and the professor's moving clothes to cope with it. The floor is harder than it used to be! Harry did not go along with the game plan though and I had to take him outside at both 11 pm and 1 am. Meanwhile, the professor snored through it all! I woke up by 5:30. I imagine I will sleep well tonight. I hope so, anyway.

This AM, we walked dogs, got breakfast take out at a local café, tidied up the last stuff, and our nice cleaning lady and her husband came over one last time to clean the house and give us a hug and say goodbye. Very kind of them! Then we handed off our keys to the new owners and went on our way. We were driving by 8:45 AM.
Sally demonstrates the portable crate with aplomb
The dogs did remarkably well today. We had a couple equipment failures...we have these neat canvas and metal collapsible crates for the journey. They weigh 10 lbs a piece and collapse into this tiny long rectangular case--it looks like tents for dogs...I thought it'd be easier for us than hard plastic crates. Unfortunately, they take up a lot of room inside our car and we had more extra human stuff than we'd planned. The luggage or the dog put pressure on the spring mechanism on one of the crates and Harry's crate imploded 2 or 3 times. He was ok about it and we fixed it each time. It was all slightly more difficult because we were in the middle of a big lightning storm and a huge downpour. We worked it out. Glad we brought our rain coats though...and that dog towel left in the car came in handy!

The cool breezy damp weather meant we could rush into a Cracker Barrel and eat lunch. We left the windows open and the car under a tree in the shade. The food wasn't anything exotic but they are fast and well, it may be our last chance for a "meat and three" (meat and three veggies) or a vegetable plate. In the South, of course, the four veggie plate I got included: mac and cheese, fried apples, turnip greens (cooked with meat) and cole slaw. That also came with a biscuit. We probably won't be getting that much in Winnipeg. :) (That may be ok since I can't for the life of me figure out why mac and cheese or that meat in the turnip greens are veggies...)

That is most of the news for now. Our Chicago pizza has been delivered! Hurray! This was the story from July 10-11. More on the saga of "The professor and Joanne move 1300 miles across the US and Canada" later...

(and yes. I finally have internet up and running at home in Winnipeg now. The latest is that our belongings will arrive at the customs depot --and then our home--tomorrow. Hurray! Finally, I can stop sleeping on the floor! I can't wait to sleep in my own bed!)

it's not the size of the box...

OK, I think this post is about other stuff, but I'm trying to be jokey here... and hence, jokes about box size. Please, add in your own joke to that subject header..I can't even think of one! Willow (I think it was Willow?) asked about our box sizes. The smallest boxes I have packed have been, roughly the size of a canning jar box from the grocery store. The kind with a dozen 8 oz jars--this is a big shoe box size. There are a very few of those, and they are usually packed in larger boxes, so don't count. The largest box size is called a "Wardrobe" box, and I packed cushions, dog beds, pillows, and a king size duvet into one of those. Most of the book boxes are liquor boxes, from our kind local liquor stores. Bowling Green is a "wet" city in a largely "dry" region...loads of liquor stores, all with extra boxes here in town, and people in the rural areas around just shop here for their alcohol, which they can't buy at home.

It's my basic rule that one should never pay for a cardboard box unless desperate. The professor has bought a few filing boxes for other moves through the years. Those uniform boxes seem to organize his moves. I reuse them as office storage until they absolutely die. Some of these are on their 2nd or 3rd move...and now, to a new country! (way more than you wanted to know about boxes, I bet. Who knew that these boxes would travel so far from their first purpose!?)

I've been worried about whether we'll be ready when the moving folks arrive. The packers come tomorrow to pack up the breakables, and the truck comes on Friday. (At least, I hope so, they haven't called to confirm yet...) The professor was packing and cleaning up his lab and saying goodbye to people at the university until yesterday. Today was his first weekday, packing at home. This has caused me great concern, as I was all on my own, but mostly, I just try not to think about it, and pack more boxes... I had 3 done by 10 AM this morning. Oh, and we're up to something in the range of 327 or something, so all estimates may be too low in our guessing game... Oops. I need to wrap this up and go pack up the Cusinart. I've got stuff to do...(but I need rest breaks, too, right?)

When I couldn't sleep last night, I finished the spinning "task" I'd set for myself. Then I closed up this box. I had a great feeling of accomplishment there. Look at all those neat little balls of singles, ready to be plied! Whew. Then I packed up the last spinning wheel...only spindles and a little wool and small knitting projects are travelling with me.

Sally the dog continues to be pretty anxious...very high strung. It's hard to blame her. The professor thinks it will all be just fine. After all, he seemed to infer, when is your desk ever this clean otherwise? (he's got a point.)

Harry's laidback personality continues to amaze me. He's a little more clingy than usual, but nothing interrupts his serious naps. The dog is a napping machine. I am jealous.

This morning I made our last meal here...tuna pasta salad with basil, parsley, garlic greens, kalamata olives, carrots, collards, and tomatoes. It tastes pretty good, which is a plus, considering we're likely to eat it for both lunch and dinner! Now the pots go into boxes, too. Oh--there's also still one last piece of pie...it's got my name on it.

Thanks (again) for all your good wishes, cheerful comments, and support. It's been an oasis of friendly comfort, the blog posting/reading of comments, during this chaotic period. I haven't gotten to write everybody back --maybe won't be able to, this time, but I really appreciate your kindness.

Now, back to packing...

the last days...

You never can tell...In the midst of packing, I read a great book. It was a 10 cent book I picked up at a used book store in Vermont. At only 10 cents, I started the book figuring it wasn't much of a risk. I didn't expect much. Instead, it lead me into a very thoughtful exploration of women's roles...how smart women cope when faced with frustrating options. The book was by Margaret Drabble, published in 1962, and it's called The Summer Birdcage. Although the scenarios have changed slightly, what struck me was this...all these intelligent, Oxbridge educated women finished school and were so disappointed by society's opportunities for women that awaited them. Although things have changed a great deal in some ways, I found myself thinking "Plus ça change, plus c’est la meme chose.." (the more things change, the more they stay the same.)

After all, why did I end up in Kentucky? (or am moving to Winnipeg, which I'm looking forward to?) The professor's job. I've gotten more used to this now but I was pretty upset the first couple of times I gave up very good jobs to move. We've also gotten better at negotiating this--now the professor knows more about how I feel with each move! (I've also reconciled the fact that I could have kept great jobs --or--the professor. In several cases, it was a tough either/or choice.) Anyhow...that book was unexpectedly packed instead of donated to the library. It was worth keeping--it's an insightful read. Willow asked how many boxes of books we're up to? We think it's a little over 60 boxes of books. After that, we stopped packing purely boxes of books, they are mixed in with other things. Yes, we've got a few books...

The box count is somewhere around 280 now. We continue to pack and things are going smoothly. I've discovered a few quirks that connect to your comments...

Willow also asked what I've been spinning. I finished spinning the chocolate brown Shetland, and I packed up the flyer/whorl and other small parts of the Canadian Production wheel. The way I move wheels is by packing all the small moving parts in boxes of wool or other soft things. Then I watch the movers like a hawk when they wrap my wheels! So far, they've come through moves just fine. (My piano, on the other hand, was dropped in the last move and needed quite a lot of repair work...insurance is a good thing!)

My very last unpacked wheel is the Majacraft Little Gem. I've been spinning CVM on that wheel, and it looks like this. (that's a skein before I've set the twist.) I've decided that I'll keep spinning that for a few days longer before packing up.

The quirk comes in here...I felt this enormous need to finish things I've been spinning. By finish, I seem to mean that I want to have all the roving/fiber spun for these specific projects. It's ok, in my weird "must be finished" world, to pack unplied singles and skeins that still must be set. (I hear they allow plying of handspun in Canada.) That said, I recognize this is entirely irrational, so whatever, I'm letting myself have this weirdness. A little spinning every day is probably good for me.

Mrs.J asked how the dogs were doing with the packing madness. Umm, that's another quirky thing going on. Although we've kept walks and feedings and crate and bed locations exactly the same, our dogs are showing some understandable stress. They've been blowing coat (losing lots of hair) at an alarming rate. We thought it was the hot weather but the vet suggested it might also be stress. We now know this to be the case...because last night, the combination of a thunderstorm, fireworks, and boxes made Sally growl and bark at our dinner guests. Both of our guests are over at the house all the time, so we know it was just her very immense anxiety. Crate training is a good thing--she calmed down immediately once crated but it was a rough night for her. I tried homeopathic medicine to relieve anxiety today when it was thundering--it did absolutely no good.

We're hoping things will be ok as the dogs travel (in their crates) with us across the country. If it's not ok and the dogs seem hysterical, the vet has prescribed some doggy valium just in case. The dogs (or we?) may need it. Harry the dog, by the way, is still totally fine. He's a type B personality--the only one in this household!

Dinner guests, you say? The "breakables" packers arrive Thursday and the moving truck is coming on Friday...and those people had dinner guests on Saturday night?! Yes, we're crazy. We had a couple of friends over for Independence Day celebrations in the midst of the boxes. I've admitted that will probably be our last set of dinner guests, so today I started packing up the kitchen in earnest. That's probably the last quirk. I want our household to stay normal as long as possible...so even with the packing up, today I baked a blackberry peach pie. More pie? (It's the new "normal." I can do it even without a recipe now--as the cookbooks are all packed!)

Got any funny packing moving quirks of your own? New box estimates? Do tell! I'll try to post at least one more time before moving day. (I hope.)

Whew!

It's finally gotten a little cooler here...our streak of very hot temperatures seems to have passed. That has been a relief!

In the box count sweepstakes, we're now up to 233 boxes, so I expect those of you with the higher numbers might be more in the ball park. Things are looking remarkably, well, boxy around here...packing's going well. I'll keep you updated on the box guessing sweepstakes, although by the time someone has "won", I'll have nothing left to send off as a reward!

Although I had a really busy weekend, I got a chance to email or comment on nearly everyone's blog. That was fun! I appreciated some of the exchanges we had. I learned a few things...Nancy and I have often exchanged blog comments, but for some reason I wasn't able to post there...I'm sorry, Nancy! I'm sure it's some sort of cyberspace blip. Another realization...Cathy, thanks so much for clarifying that there are two Cathys out there commenting! I was confused until you pointed out that my friend Cathy, who designed those marvelous crocheted socks in Fiber Gathering is that other Cathy! :)

Things are indeed gathering momentum now that the move to Winnipeg is upon us...less than 2 weeks until moving day. We had guests over for dinner both Friday and Saturday nights. I visited my friend, the farmer on Saturday afternoon. He is now home from the hospital and recuperating. Another friend came over to spin with me on Sunday. It was a busy time, but I've really enjoyed these social intermissions from the packing. I will miss these local friends.

One last, comment related realization...according to Alison, it turns out I have quite a high percentage of blog readers who comment! Thank you for all those positive things you bring to my corner of the world. I see my blog a lot like my cyber living room...it's a familiar concept in blogland--certainly not unique to mine.

For instance, for the first 6 months I lived in Kentucky, I hosted a spinning and knitting group once a month in my real living room. I loved having folks introduce themselves to each other and I welcomed them in. I liked hearing all the conversations buzzing together at once! After a bit, it became difficult to manage hosting this, as we also hosted the professor's lab parties and other events...but my temptation is always to try to welcome folks into my home and my life. As a result, for a long while, I left the "anonymous" option open on my blog comments, and it resulted in some wonderful contributions for quite a while.

In thinking about it, I've realized that I'd like my blog/cyber living room to be as kind and honestly compassionate a place as my real living room is--so I've switched off that anonymous comment possibility. I still welcome all your comments with an open heart so I can respond to you...and I hope this switch won't inhibit your comments. I like listening to what folks have to say! However, for me, reading blogs (and writing them) is about expressing oneself in a thoughtful and caring way--about making friends and sharing ideas and connections. People can be very different in their beliefs or ideas but still treat each other with respect and acceptance. Anything you might want to comment on here should be something you can say with your name attached to it, just as if you were visiting me in my real living room. Anonymity shouldn't necessary here! I want to continue to foster that openness to others and that respect, that positive tone while I move across the prairie spaces to my new home.

Oh, and Kristy, I can't wait to meet you and spin with you in Manitoba! Soyun, thanks for dropping by--you do beautiful work...I hope my other blog readers will check it out!
Now, back to those boxes...

understatements

We're trying to keep things, umm, as normal as possible around here. So, despite that, things are changing fast in the packing world and I'm having a hard time keeping up. That means I haven't managed to get back to most of the commenters...I'm sorry! After all, the moving truck comes in 14 days. 2 weeks. No wonder, right?

Here are some understatements for your entertainment.
We've packed some boxes.
(they are everywhere!!)
Over 200, at last count. The professor has revised his estimate of final boxes packed upwards to 250 or so. I hedged somewhere in the middle, between 200-250, but he might be right.

I gave a small book talk at the local public library.
Yes, very small. While I was packing, I forgot to try to convince all my friends in town to come. It was, after all, over 95F that day, a rough day for fiber arts...but air conditioned at the library... OK, only 2 people came. Lovely, kind ladies who wanted to hear me talk about Fiber Gathering, of course, but only 2. I talked my heart out to them, they both bought books, and I was very grateful.
Hint: If you want to support authors so they can afford to keep writing about knitting, buy those books! I hear that Knit Picks is having a big sale on books this week, or wander over to the right sidebar and click on those Amazon links. I am, as always, grateful for your support, and a little embarrassed to have to mention this stuff. Harry and Sally, the dogs, appreciate every effort towards affording their fancy duck and potato kibble. :)

We are now just tenants here in Bowling Green.

Yes, we are very lucky people. We've sold our house. Hurray! We're very pleased about that one, because carrying two mortgages is more than your average professor and writer can usually manage.

I hear that Knit Green is getting some good attention.

Right now, Knit Green is just a few packed boxes (seen here) of knitted projects and book proofs in my house. However, I hear from my editor that there is definite interest in this new book! It's coming out in late September--and you can actually already pre-order it...just click on that little book title to the right.

Packing requires some exercise.

I have no need for extra aerobic activity these days. I am getting muscles like Popeye. For instance, stuffing and containing 2 flannel duvet (comforter) covers in an overnight bag took such effort that I had to sit down, rest a bit, and write this post. Starting with that stomach virus I got in early May, I've been losing weight at a healthy pace... for me. I might even be fit when I am done unpacking all this. In any event, I'm stinky, sticky and sweaty. (It's hot here.)

I appear to have quite a bit of yarn.

You may note that I do not account for my stash on Ravelry. I don't show it all off to visitors. How much yarn is in my stash? That's MY business. (after all, excess is not an understatement...) So, here's a very revealing photo. There are 9 of these tupperware containers here. Full of yarn..both commercial and handspun. Oh, and that's not all my yarn. I cannot wait to start digging into it seriously in Winnipeg. More warm stuff! Immediately! For everyone!

The best part about this storage technique is that I just put tape on them, number them, add them to the inventory and move on. Already boxed! A brilliant thing. I'm saving that for a day when I'm feeling like I can't pack one more box...

In terms of final numbers, how many boxes do you predict? Is your stash bigger or smaller than this portion of mine? Anything else you'd like to add?

(I see that roughly 40 folks read the blog every day. Yet only 9 usually comment. Wonder why.....Is it because I don't manage to write back to every comment?) On second thought, I think it's because I smell bad after packing all day. Yup, that must be it!

across the way

First, Nancy definitely gets the most seriously funny/embarrassing award for the last set of comments. Wow, getting stuck in your cupboard with your Great Pyrenees beats my story any day of the week! However did you get out of that cupboard? (Oh wait, are you still partially stuck in there?!-- I worried I was never getting out of that dress, believe me.)

Now, packing continues over here, and the most interesting part are the professor's packing activities and observations. This is our 4th move in 11 years of marriage. It's different because we've lived in this house for a longer period than any other house (hence, more stuff accumulated) and because we're moving to another country this time. You can't believe the amount of bureaucracy involved in crossing a border. EVERYTHING has paperwork attached to it.

Every box in the household must have its contents listed, valued, and numbered as we pack so it's declared part of our household and no duty is incurred as we cross the border and go through customs. Both dogs need to have their rabies certification paperwork. (no problem there.) Both cars have to have a special letter from the car company (GM and Ford) indicating there are no outstanding recalls on this automobile. Everything is like this. The "things to do" list goes on...and on. (I'll try not to bore you with that.)

Each night I worry I haven't packed enough boxes that day. I'm averaging 5-10 boxes right now...and it's 27 days until we move. (I'm probably ok, right?!) The professor reassures me that, if anything, I'm more efficient about this now than we used to be. He thinks we have something like 200 or more boxes worth. I get rid of a lot...and the professor packs all his earthly possessions...yesterday, I think he packed 30 long sleeve shirts. (30!) --Stuff reassures him, so he has a lot of it. I have more fiber and yarn than I care to admit.... to anyone.

Anyway, as I pack, I've been watching the neighborhood. It's a quiet time of year. Most of the students are away. However, there was interesting activity across the street. You may remember, if you're a longtime blog reader, my stories in 2006 about the crack house? Well, that house was bought by a concerned neighbor in late 2004 or 2005. He's been renovating it, off and on, ever since. It looks great now, it's been rebuilt from the foundation up, and aside from occasional construction noise, it's been wonderful to live across from this house! It's still empty, but looking very good now. Maybe soon a family will move in.

So, I look out the window last week as I'm packing boxes. I hear noise and see they are tearing off the old gutters. The next day, the gutter repair folks come.

If you live near an Amish or Old Order Mennonite community, you recognize immediately from these people's clothes that it's either an Amish or Mennonite run business. I suspect it's Amish, since the countryside near us has several Amish communities. In fact, one of our Friday night dinner guests wondered if it was "Mr. Shrock's company" as he knows that family does gutter repair! (small city, right?!) Although these religious communities stick to old traditions, they use trucks and other modern things in their business lives.


I was careful not to take any focused photos of their faces--that's considered very bad manners in their religious tradition--to shoot photos of someone's face. However, you can just about see here that one of young men is talking on a cell phone. He's either doing business or he's in that period of an Amish teenager's life called Rumspringa. (literally, "running around")

Anyhow, it's amazing what you can see from one's second story window! After they left, I realized how much I've observed without leaving home here. It's certainly run the gamut from crack house to Amish gutter repair!

Any weird observations from your windows to report? How many boxes did you pack for your last move? Weigh in! Let me know...and Andrea, yes, I too have done drunk packing. It's not generally a good plan for me. Don't drink and pack! For this move, I'm sticking to pie!