Thursday, May 2, 2013

Sofa in the Rain



Today was a perfect moving day for tadpoles. The movers arrived on schedule at 9:00 and rain was coming down in a hard and steady drizzle. Though that didn’t deter the two guys who at first I thought were Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Chris “Thor” Hemsworth, men who obviously make their living lifting and carrying very heavy objects. My 900 pound sofa was little more than an afterthought and was carried to the truck mummified in plastic wrap as if it were a spindly Louis XIV chair. One of them hoisted a queen-sized bed frame in one hand and in the other wheeled my giant bicycle off to the truck. I had to hustle to get several quickly packed bins and bags out to my car before they finished loading the truck with all the big stuff, plus a dozen plastic bins and three lamps.

Looking into the master bedroom half-straightened

Little surprise that as soon as the truck and my car were ready to go, the rain stopped. Or at least until we were halfway along the twenty-one mile drive from beach to country. I couldn’t help worrying that the mile of dirt road leading to my new house might be a mud pit by the time we got there, but it turned out to be okay. It also happened that unloading and getting everything inside was even easier than the first half. The big sofa came through the back porch screen door without even touching the edges of the frame, and the double door from porch to living room made it a snap. I couldn’t help but be amazed by the efficiency and friendliness of the movers, John and Brian. The whole job took four and a half hours.

Looking across the living room to the kitchen

When I had a moment to look around at something other than the inside of the house and the piles of boxes and furniture, the wet and sparkling green of a freshly mowed yard caught my eye. Neighbor Manny did the job yesterday and judging from the look of things now, it definitely needed a cut. Beautiful job and now a broad swath of back yard less inviting to native serpents with long teeth. The photo at the top was taken through the screen and looks a little blurry, but it gives a hint of the mowed backyard. 

Corner with table; double doors look out to porch and backyard.

Meanwhile, I'm close to being ready for physical rehab. Just like the rain, moving day came on a day when my poor body is wracked by the coughs and sneezes of a spring cold. Think I have risked overdosing on Excedrin and Kleenex. At least I can take a slow pace in getting the house in shape after the arrival of the furniture. Mostly, books to be shelved and the fun of making it all look like home. 

From kitchen looking across the living room

4 comments:

  1. I am truly amazed that you are already so organized. Things look great so now it is time to rest and nurse the cold. Rome wasn't built in a day.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I hope that's a heating pad on the back of the living room chair.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Looks just like the comforts of home. You will soon be ready for visitors!!!!!
    Take care of yourself,
    Karen

    ReplyDelete
  4. So glad you posted the photos. Those of us who have mentally made the move with you wanted to know how the country estate would shape up. Well, it did so with aplomb and plenty of appeal. It is so important to have a comfortable nest of one's own to enjoy the time that belongs only to you, to read, write, and to study a squirrel for the ten minutes it takes for him to figure out how to get into the bird feeder. Rest and enjoy.

    ReplyDelete

About Me

My photo
Oak Hill, Florida, United States
A longtime expat relearning the footwork of life in America