Landing on Our Feet

So the trucks pulled into the driveway, mats went down everywhere to protect the flooring and they began to unload our goods.  Now unloading is a much faster process and so there was a constant stream of men with box loads on dollies asking where does this go?  And where do you want this piece of furniture and how is it to be arranged?   Frequently being asked all three questions at the same time and needing to be in three rooms and the front door all at the same time!  Understandably there were no pictures taken that day, or for several days...... but we did take some of Calli enjoying her new back yard. Taken Oct 11th and note the all leaves on the trees.

The yard is fully fenced but somehow she has managed to get out twice. So no unescorted yard visits until we find out where the hole is!  Trust me, Bruce has looked and she never tries to use the hole when we are there with her.

We knew we would not have a formal dining room furniture for a time so that empty space became the default zone for anything we didn't know or were unsure of.   So you can imagine how full that floor space became in a hurry!

Even if you have similar named rooms in past and present homes, it doesn't always translate through the same, depending on many variables such as door positions, the room's shape,  and windows etc.  Large furniture is placed by the movers and so you must at least try to get that right (or close to it).  We had tried to envision major furniture placements the night before when the house was totally empty but the reality of when they physically bring in the goods is a whole other deal!  We'll be tweaking and fine tuning things for a time, as and when we have some extra manpower to hand.

Moving is never easy  but somehow at our age it is simply exhausting, so we woke late on the first morning in our new place surrounded by heaps of boxes everywhere and no coffee maker in sight!   I set to opening and getting the kitchen in place. Trying to figure out the best work flow and where stuff will best fit.  Next up were the bathrooms, then the linens.... and day after day went by in a blur!  Finally, after Bruce had taken *many* loads of crushed packing paper and collapsed boxes to the recycler,  we seemed to turn a corner and it felt more home than box warehouse.

We have also found groceries stores, got a new doctor set up and introduced ourselves to our usual banks.   Found a pizza place too....

So here are some pictures of the new place and studio:

This one shows the boxes, loom parts and such dropped into the studio space.  Technically its supposed to be the master bedroom but it made sense to use the second bedroom room for us and this room for the studio. There are also two closets that were also crammed full of boxes too.

So, where to start?    I had to empty out the closets, open up the boxes and then refill the closets with shelving  and then as much yarn and equipment as I could reasonably fit in there. Which was quite a bit!  I would then know what I had left to deal with in the main room.  That space is unique for its alcove with windows at one end, a French door that runs diagonally across one wall  ..... and ends with an ensuite bathroom at the opposite!  More pictures on that later.

Calli enjoying the view out front through the full glass doors. I foresee an almost permanent line of nose prints to clean for some years to come. 

On October 12th, we had the formal dining area finally cleared and our new rug down and movers brought in our 'new to us' dining room suite.   We had gone with pro movers (with insurance) as there are several pieces and lots of glass and mirrors.  To their credit, they had managed to get it down a curved spiral staircase, into a truck and driven here safely and in one piece.... only to break the curved glass door as they were about to unload the cabinet. The second cabinet has straight glass which would have been so much simpler to replace too.  The moving company immediately got the claim set up and a woodworker came to examine the damaged wood from falling glass, cracked door frame and miscellaneous scratches.  He can work his magic on all of that and took away the good curved glass door and it was on its way to a glass blower on the southern part of the island to make another new door!  There's no time frame on when we will see the new door so we are patiently waiting.  I suspect it will take some time. That means several boxes of fine china are waiting for the repairs and new doors for unloading.... 

Calli likes all the new rugs  :)

Below shows the studio in a stage of unboxing.... books on shelves and some order is starting to show. It seemed to be a lot of shifting stuff around for the longest time.

Below is the view from the studio alcove windows.  By this point we had more than a few storms blow through and some torrential rains. The chestnut tree, on the left, shows the predominate wind direction!

We just kept on chipping away at the boxes and finding new places to squirrel stuff away.  Or at least organizing them into logical piles in the garage. Occasionally we would take a day off and go into town.  Overall, we're slowly working out what we might need to buy and add to the home, and also discovering what doesn't work and we'll part with.  This house is quite different from our last and somethings just won't make the transition! Last house was built late 1970's and more 'country' feel.... and this one is built in the late 1990's and more modern in design. (Yesterday the house was filled with sunshine but it didn't come through very well in the pictures. I will retake them with full lights on another sunny day.... which maybe a while given the Pacific storm tracks right now).

The kitchen

The breakfast dinette

The formal dining room (the white door is the entry to the studio)

Opposite the dining room and some 'stuff' that needs to have some decisions made on. You can see the openness of the upper structure.

Then to the left, a lovely area to sit quietly or read a book. We are going to be re-inventing this space soon.

Then, there's the new studio... which was formerly the master bedroom. We are using the second bedroom.  This is looking towards the alcove which has windows on two sides.

...and this is the view from the alcove windows....

and down the other end of the room....

Yes, that's the ensuite bathroom you get a peak of down there at the end.  A bit odd I grant you but what the heck! Then there is the nice side benefit of a walk in closet for the yarn.  I added more shelving to the existing shelf units and then packed in as much as I could!

Meanwhile, I have started re-assembling the Megado but this is as far as I can go with it for now. There are four long carriage bolts that secure the front portion to the main loom and I'm missing four barrel nuts that seal the deal.  There was nothing left in the old studio and the parts are not in my container.... so I can only assume they fell out later and are rolling around in the back of the moving truck, or swept out as junk.   I have four new ones coming from Louet and hopefully it won't take long to arrive.

I can move on with loading the Spring or fringe twist some scarves, but re-working the tie up is an issue for me.  I can't get down on the floor and the crates I normally use to lift the loom up so I can do the tie up are all under the Megado!    Oops..... so I'd best start with the fringe twisting. 

Lucky you.... because that means "show and tell" next in the next blog post!