Home, again

It doesn't feel right, having a post about the move without pictures, but what can you do? It didn't cross my mind once to get out the camera during the process. Saturday night, after everyone was gone and everything was dark, John called me back to the living room and bade me sit on the couch and look out the window. We could see all the stars! That was the first time I thought about a camera, but was too tired and sore to go get it.

How about a recap, of sorts?
Things went as smoothly as they could for a Michigan day with snow showers and low temps (in the 20s, not counting the wind chill factor). Several people came to help, which was great. They all couldn't make it for the unloading portion of the day, so that half was a little tougher, but we persevered. John and I were still sick. We filled U-haul’s biggest truck, front-to-back and top-to-bottom, plus a few carloads and had to leave a lot of stuff behind. It’s about a 90-minute drive each way, so we won’t be making daily trips to get the rest of the stuff, but maybe a couple a week. (We have a lot of books and DVDs!)

HerdingMoving Cats
I got some confirmation from Steph that my original plan was pretty good, and used a couple of her suggestions as well. JDub had offered to transport all the cats, so when it was time to start packing the bedroom (where most of them were hiding (it would have been better to trap them all in one room, but that wasn't possible)), we grabbed carriers and, eventually, found the six regular residents. We already knew that getting Lily, aka Basement Cat, was going to have to be done separately.

We set up the master bath as the cat room, with litter boxes, water, food, baskets, blankets and cat nip, then let them out to wander while we unpacked the truck. A couple of them were traumatized by both the capture and the 90-minute trip and didn’t want to get out of the carriers for awhile, but I didn't rush them. After everyone was gone, I made the bed and tossed a couple of our blankets over it (the ones the kitties sleep on a lot), shut the bedroom door and opened the bathroom door so they had two rooms to explore.

None of the cats like traveling, but Sheldon, who is the oldest, has had more experience. When he first came to live with me (about sixteen years ago), we visited my parents' house pretty frequently; plus he's moved once and gone on a couple of road trips. He was rarin’ to go, wanting to explore, immediately, but we were resolute (plus, there were some complications that required the bedroom door to stay closed -- more on that later). On Sunday morning, after we caught up on some sleep, we opened the door and let them explore the main floor (none of them are getting into the basement until it's been swept clean).

Each at their own pace, they've been roaming and exploring, and, in some cases, ripping up and down the entire length of the house. (Our old house was much smaller.) Neo, who has been with John since she was a couple of days old, isn’t exploring, but she’s ecstatic because she gets to sleep with him again.

One little hitch (of course there's a hitch)
The furnace wouldn’t stay on, so it didn’t get above 60F degrees all of Saturday. At first, we thought it was because the door was constantly open. Finally, around midnight, we got dressed and took the long drive to Meijer to get a space heater. (Why the bedroom door had to stay closed.)

Thankfully, due to a couple of issues, our real estate agent had purchased a home warranty for us (we would have done it if he hadn’t), so there was a repair truck in the driveway by late Sunday afternoon. Took him five minutes to fix it! (We couldn’t have done it, and it turns out the previous owner, who thought he knew what he was doing, had been repeatedly replacing the wrong part! (Condensation line was clogged.))

Basement Cat
John went back to the old house Saturday night after he returned the truck, and Lily wasn’t in the trap we'd set for her (humane trap, of course). We went last night, and it was still empty, so we went on a little hunt. We cornered her twice, and almost had her, but she got away. The third time, I got a sheet over her and got her wrapped up quickly. Not before she bit me, but she didn’t break the skin (she got the nail, so it felt like I’d jammed my finger in a drawer).

She’s set up in the guest bath, now that we have the master bath back. She’ll have to stay there for several days so they all get used to each others’ scent, and she calms down. We’re going to try to keep the basement blocked off, hoping she’ll consider staying up with the family. (The two youngest cats are hers - we couldn’t find a home for her, and didn’t want to put her back on the street after living with us for a few months, so she became the basement cat.)

Technicalities
Our stove won’t work in this house*, so we’re stuck with microwave, Foreman grill and crock pot until we can buy a new one (already ordered, due Wednesday). I have my first ever crock pot meal going right now, and SIL C. is providing recipes for future use. We couldn't bring our washer/dryer with us, and can't quite afford new ones right now, so I'll be going to a laundromat for the first time in my life (not counting the machines in the dorm at college). Should be interesting.

Next
I have to make curtains and continue unpacking. Kitchen first! I love my kitchen. Even without a stove.


*Silly me. I knew there was a gas outlet, so I assumed we could have either gas or electric (this is only my second move - I’m not “up” on appliances). We couldn’t afford new appliances right away, so we brought our old PoS appliances with us, including our electric stove. There isn’t an adequate outlet for the stove. Oops.