"Moving Day"
“All mankind is divided into three classes: those that are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.” -Benjamin Franklin
I never enjoyed moving house: the packing, the organizing, the boxing, the missing items, the damaged items, the stress. My idea of the best way to move used to be to leave the country and come back when moving was done. I am serious.
Two things made this move from condo to cottage positive instead of negative:
1) Golan's Moving, whom I've used before and who are the best movers I've ever had anywhere -- they are also packers and unpackers if you wish, and they do a first-class job of that too; and
2) I've set up my summer arrangement to be nowhere near a full move, just a light logistical reorganizing of a few possessions, and a fun furnishing of a new place largely by shopping new and vintage items online and at yard sales (such as excellent Etsy shop BeVintageTreasure for vintage Spode and more)!
So when "moving day" came on June 3, I was already organized and feeling good. The move consisted of several boxes of books, linens, and decor items; a few suitcases of clothes; a couple of favorite chairs and small furniture items like a bench and a nightstand that fit the Great Lakes theme I'm creating at the cottage; some art; and that's about it.
I listed everything I was moving, numbered the boxes and other items, Golan's came, Golan's moved, and that was that!
The only dramatic moments that occurred did not involve the actual packing or unpacking of boxes. One dramatic instance came when sweet Jorji the cat, who had been supervising packing, you might say, in part by sleeping on the suitcases, decided she wasn't clear on what was happening -- as she and I ended up staying at the condo a little while longer until I could get the cottage properly cleaned with a combination of my own scrubbing plus the work of a professional service. Jorji communicated her distress through stomach upset, which was soon soothed. Cats like moving house about as little as I do.
Another dramatic moment occurred after the movers left in their truck after loading the items from the condo: I couldn't get a taxi or Lyft in order to meet them at the cottage.
This was a regular Thursday, and a sunny day, and while it was rush hour which was unfortunate in terms of traffic -- Golan's was due to arrive any time between 12:00 noon and 4:00 pm, and arrived toward the end of that window due to a busy day at their end -- and while Lyfts and taxis aren't as plentiful as in the old days, I'd never not gotten one recently, and I didn't see any reason for cabs or Lyfts to be completely unavailable. I was paying the movers by the hour, and didn't want them to have to wait an hour or more for me to show up at the cottage!
The Lyft app was not finding any available drivers, although I'd taken Lyfts to the cottage twice before, at around $30 each way. I tried to book a Flash cab, also with no results.
I was on the pavement outside my building, refreshing the apps to no avail, and wishing I could have ridden in the moving truck somehow, when I saw a Flash cab drive right past me. It is rather rare to see a taxi nowadays. I shouted, with a reflex from the old days: Taxiiiii! It felt for a minute like the old days, when you could hail a cab on the street. The driver stopped, and hesitated without backing up or turning around. So I shouted again: Taxiiiii! A DHL delivery man who happened to be nearby also shouted for the taxi to come pick me up, and I thanked him.
The taxi driver made a U-turn and stopped across the street from me. He looked at me somewhat anxiously. This wasn't a taxi I had booked, as booking wasn't working; this was a modern-day miracle, if the driver was really available and would take me as far as I needed to go. I crossed to him and he asked where I was going. I told him. He said: that's far! I said: I know! He asked: cash? I replied: card? He asked if I'd gone there before and how much it cost; I replied yes and it was $30 in a Lyft. He said he could do it for cash. I said I didn't have any on me but let's make a deal: drive me to the ATM around the corner, I'll get cash, and I'll give you $40 to take me there. Deal!
I got the cash, gave it to the driver as soon as I got back into the car, he thanked me profusely, and we were on our way! Sometimes barely inching through rush hour traffic on beautiful Lake Shore Drive until we got past downtown, but still on our way!
When I got to the cottage, it turned out that the moving crew hadn't arrived yet. I was concerned, as they had had quite a head start. It had taken the crew of three hardly any time to move my small selection of items down the freight elevator and into their truck; I'm the one who had a delay. I texted them; no answer. I phoned; no answer. I got a text back from someone else at Golan's, who said the movers stopped for food, would be on their way soon, and I wouldn't be charged for that time.
Perfect! My transportation delay hadn't caused any delay for the movers or added any cost.
When the movers arrived at the cottage, they unloaded the truck as speedily and professionally as they had loaded it. It almost took longer for me to sign and initial the many pages of paperwork they had for me, than it took for this excellent crew to get their job done.
I checked my boxes and items against the list; everything was here, and nothing was damaged. I am not a paid spokesperson for Golan's; I paid them. But if you need to move house or part of a house or one item, across town or across the country, I recommend Golan's.
My Tuft & Needle mattress had arrived (which may not be non-toxic after all?? oh dear...), and the movers kindly carried it upstairs. I slid it out of the box -- I've never had a mattress in a box before! -- and it puffed right up. I wouldn't have minded sleeping on it without the bed frame yet, instead of going back to the condo for another night of roof noise and vibration, but it was too late to do any more cleaning and to get sweet Jorji the cat and bring her back that night.
I'd already organized a few items and done some pre-decorating with other items I'd had sent to the cottage, but hadn't done too much since I wasn't anywhere near done cleaning since I'd started two days before when the lease started, and the professional cleaning crew hadn't arrived yet. (Did I tell you the professional cleaning crew ultimately turned out to be just one person? Oh dear.)
So, as "moving day" became moving night, I lit a Bee Lucia beeswax and crystal candle, let it clear the space for a little while as the lovely blue hour darkened into night, then blew it out -- and had no trouble booking a Flash cab online to go back downtown!
As for Golan's, they're coming back in three months for the return move from cottage to condo. Will the condo still be uninhabitable due to roof noise and vibration problems? If so, I'll need to move somewhere else. Can you imagine!
For now, here's to peace and quiet at the summer serenity cottage. Which came with an organ (see below) and which as discussed a bit above and more in a prior post was in need of extreme cleaning (see my expressions below: shock and horror / laughing or crying / deciding to keep smiling).
Still to come: more decorating, great finds at a local yard sale, sweet Jorji the cat settles in, a small housewarming party, more!
Here's to moving onward and upward!
Your friend in decorating,
Valerie
Feel free to say hi via email as well: valerie.beck@post.harvard.edu.
Thank you!
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