Friday-
The team worked overtime on the house this week, to get ready for our Saturday Move. Paul got most of the fixtures wrapped up on Friday, with the exception of our Meison raditors (for bathroom, master bedroom, and mudroom), and the 1st floor bathroom sink. Terry from Viking worked on our lighting, but needs to add two dimmer switches, and a couple more lights. Jeb, Shane and Jason managed to get all the odds and ends on their punchlist complete, so spent most of the day just picking up and taking care of little odds-and-ends. Michael continued to work on the chimney, but has about 3 more days to go. (
PHOTO: Shane, Jeb & Jason of OSB.)
My Mom took Friday off from work, and along with my Grandmother (Who is 80!) and her friend Doris, spent the whole day cleaning. What a help! It was such a daunting task; Really, we should have reserved one weekend just to clean- Every surface was covered with a film of dust. (
PHOTO: Emma & Kate Wall)
That morning, Loralee brought coffee and breakfast up for everyone; I swung by that afternoon to thank them, and to touch base. Jeb and I chatted for a while; He is such a craftsman, we will really miss working with him. We could not have asked for a nicer group of people.
That evening, Loralee and I stayed to continue cleaning, and get ready for the next day’s move. Chris arrived from New Hampshire around 6:30 and helped out, but we broke by 8 and hit the Trout River Brewery for the requisite pizza and beer. Any time Chris comes up alone, we try to hit there as his Wife, Wendy cannot eat pizza. Poor Wedny. Dinner conversation focused on how best to move the piano.
Saturday-
Back at our rental, 6 Westview, the dogs are anxious and know something is up. Boxes everywhere. The day dawns cold and drizzly. Unfortunately, there was not a rental truck to be found in the area, so we’re stuck with a U-haul cargo van. Chris walked the dogs while I ran errands and grabbed the van. Loralee wrapped up packing. Did I mention the rain? (
PHOTO: Tucker, worried he'd be left behind, packed himself in the car)
Dale came by 10 AM… Thank God, his truck has a cap on the back. Earl was not far behind. We started loading, then took the Van, Earl’s jeep, Dale’s truck, and Chris’ half-ton up to the new house with the first load. Luckily, it’s only a 4 mile ride. Loralee was joined up at the new house by our friend Sarah, and they stayed there to unpack and shuffle boxes. My Mom came back and helped them by continuing to clean.
Back at the rental for the second load, Dad came with his truck and the piano moving equipment. John Young, who is the band leader for the Slant Six Swing Band which played at our wedding (They ROCK) is a piano tuner and let us borrow his equipment. This consisted of a heavy steel ramp, padding, and a piano dolly. We proceeded to ignore the piano while loading the other vehicles.
The piano would not fit in the cargo van—Therefore, we decided that despite the rain (sporadic and drizzly at this point) that the best way to move it would be in Chris’ truck sandwiched between two queen sized mattresses. WARNING: this method is NOT recommended!
We lined up Chris’ truck to the front door, and it what here that Dale earned his name for the day, “Mcguyver.” He suggested that we take the tailgate off the truck, as it would not handle the weight of the Piano AND the ramp. As we got the piano on the dolly (all 5 of us lifting), then lined it up to the ramp, Earl remarked “So, why didn’t you get Loralee a flute, instead?”
Pushing the piano up the ramp was stressful enough, but not as bad as Chris’s drive with that thing in the back of his truck. It was big, tippy, and awkward. Every time he hit a bump, the piano would sway violently from side to side. We had it sandwiched between two queen sized mattresses and wrapped in a blue tarp to keep the water off, and must have been the worst piano-packing job ever. With five vehicles now in the caravan, we crept the four miles across town, Dad leading in the big red one-ton with Chris following, and Dale after that to watch the load.
The climb up our driveway from the road was rough, and Chris had to feather his brake as well as stay on the gas to maintain a slow steady speed without spinning out. He made it, though, and we backed up to the house to unload. That was another crazy process, led by Dale and involving belaying ropes and cardboard, but suffice to say that the piano made it safely into it’s new home. That piano will never move again.
The rest of the day was a flurry of moving furniture, unpacking boxes, and getting settled. Earl,
Dale, and my Father hit the road, but Chris Lor and I went over to my grandmother’s for a home-made. lasagna dinner with meatballs and sausage. She had also baked a fresh apple pie, which was delicious. We didn’t walk out of there—We rolled! After picking up the dogs, we got back to the house by 8:00 PM.. Full, exhausted, and drained. Mostly, we spent the next hour sort of hanging out, staring at the house, the beams, the braces, the cabinets and floors, and the masonry heater. All three of us dragged ourselves to bed by 9. (
PHOTO: Chris in post-move decompression mode)
Loralee and I are very lucky people. We cannot express how much the love and support of our friends and family mean to us, not only through this big ‘move weekend’ but throughout the entire home-building process. For this weekend, I want to especially thank:
Mom, Nana Wall, Sheri and Doris- For all their great help cleaning and helping get the house ready for us to live in.
Dad, for picking up all the heavy-duty piano-moving equipment, and helping with the most difficult job of the day.
Chris- For his can-do spirit, incredible time commitment, and cutting wit to keep things real. There is no better friend.
Dale- For coming back up to Vermont 3 days after through-hiking the Long Trail just to help us move. His common sense ideas were a huge help.
Earl- Despite a bad back and near-allergic reaction to physical labor, Earl was a HUGE help and made us all laugh the most throughout the day. I promised not to tell his wife how hard he worked, it might raise the bar at home.
Sarah, because her drive and no-nonsense approach was an inspiration to Loralee as they got things unpacked and settled at the house; It really helped us get the house ready to be lived in!
(chimney, mudroom tile, fridge, etc) but nothing major. However, we did have two minor crises... Firstly, stairs off the dining room doors had to be installed-- This was on my 'to do' list to save money, but on tuesday night after the inpection, I called Jeb to come and complete it. They are wrapping it up to day.
