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.)

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!

packing up the office

Since I last posted, I have made inroads in packing. In fact, most all of my clothes that hung in the closet are completely packed. This involved many hours of emotional honesty. I tried on all sorts of clothes and reminded myself...This does not fit. It probably won't fit again. It needs to be given away.

I reached an all time low this morning while dealing with the closet. I tried on a black flowered dress I have had for (ahem-this number blanked out)-- years. I'd sewn up the front button placket so it did not gap while I was teaching in it. (note: I last taught full time in Buffalo, in 2003. This dress dated from teaching high school--right after college...and before I married the professor. A while back.)

The dress, though flattering, has the tendency to gap in unfortunate places. This morning, I put on the dress and while tight, it appeared to fit. Then, I could not get it off again. It's hot here. I was totally stuck. I considered ripping the dress, calling the professor at the lab to come home and get me out of it--and the hotter and more frustrated I got, the tighter the dang thing fit. (laugh here, it's ok. I was sort of laughing.) Finally, I found my sewing scissors. I cut those carefully hidden stitches on the button placket. I unbuttoned the damn dress. It came off, not overly damaged--and went right into the "give to charity" pile. The pile is large now. I will miss that dress, but obviously, the 10+ lbs I've gained in the last 10 years mean it is no longer "my" dress!

So, actually, packing up the closet hasn't been as rough as packing up any part of my office. I feel absolutely panicked by the idea that I won't have something--anything-I might need in the spinning and knitting department. I've been slowly gathering up projects for this moving trip. (note Lady of the Lake sweater photo--a Canadian design, I might add-- for my voyage northward.) Symbolism. I got knitting symbolism.

The projects have to be totally ready to go, balls wound, proper needles inserted. They have to be simple, even mindless projects, so I don't make silly mistakes and feel bad while moving my household. The last rules are: These have to be for me. I'm not designing them for sale. I'm taking July and August off. That's it. Only fun knitting. (this, because a lady asked at my last book talk--do you ever get to knit recreationally?!) Uh yeah. Right now, in fact. While I'm moving to another country and brain dead...

I'm also packing up some of my needles and spindles. The professor felt you needed to see what a box of "extra" needles look like...just the ones that I can probably do without for the next couple of months... I bought the bright fabric needle holders at Great Yarns, the yarn shop right near Quail Ridge Book Shop. These holders organized a few things--and maybe I need that now.

I'm averaging several boxes packed a day...and we have a month to go. Still loads of time, so each time I close a box, I've made sure to get rid of things we don't need. From experience, I know that won't last long. The closer I get to moving day? The faster I throw everything into boxes. For now, though, I leave you with that image of me, stuck in that black flowered dress in my 85F (or 90F) degree bedroom. Please. Go ahead and giggle. :)

To spare me more embarrassment, please share your funny clothes and packing stories below. Otherwise, it'll just be me here, stuck in that dang dress!

rest and relief

Thanks for all your kind congratulations regarding the cover for Knit Green! It seems weirdly appropriate to mention here that the basket featured on the cover of the book is knit out of my grandmother's old duvet (comforter) cover...see more information about my grandmother, below.. When I ripped it up to create the "yarn"-- (instructions for that to follow in the book, I promise!)--I saw her neat mending stitches in more than one place. It was soft with age and wear. A great sheet to recycle into something new...and still a really comforting, Laura Ashley like print with blue flowers. Very sweet. This basket is currently in my guest room, holding (you guessed it) wool roving for my great wheel.

Yesterday I sent off the proofs for this book to the editor, and I'm very relieved. I'm also relieved to say that this horse is feeling better and his human, my friend, the man in the red suspenders, is on the mend. My friend will apparently be leaving the hospital soon, now that he's had surgery (on his brain!) and is heading to rehabilitation. They think he will recover just fine. Whew.

I'm also relieved because both my baby nephew and my grandmother are home (in Virginia) from stays in the hospital. Healing is Good news. I've been pretty worried over here.

In other sources of relief, it looks like the purchase of our new Winnipeg house is going forward. We've learned in the last week that:
1) International money transfers can be wired, but they don't happen instantly. They happen in 2-3 days. (but no one warned us of that)
2) During that time, it looks like you have completely lost your savings, as the money doesn't appear in the old bank anymore, and isn't in the new one yet either.
3) It all turned out ok. We were on tenterhooks.

I can't speak for anyone else, but this amount of relief makes me feel plain old tired. Sally the dog also apparently feels this way. (note photo.) However, I'm off tomorrow to North Carolina, and I'm really looking forward to it!

In the meanwhile, I'm spending some time today packing. Each day, I try to pack at least a box or two. This "getting ahead" is enormously useful at the end, right before a move, when packing is an all day and night affair. Today, I started my box packing in style. I packed all the paperwork from writing Fiber Gathering, and I padded the box with washed fleece. Wool padding. I'm moving in spinner style. Totally cool spinster here, don'tcha think!? (snort!)