Final Move

The last three or so weeks have be strange to say the least. In spite of the fact that I had lots of works to do, a warm place to sleep and grandchildren to play with, I have felt somewhat disconnected to the world around me. I don't yet feel as if I belong anywhere. Part of that disconnection was because my possessions took so long to get here. I spent almost a month living out of a suitcase at either my daughter's or my son's house. I appreciate their generosity and openness but what I really wanted to do was to sleep in my own bed. It was an unusual feeling to get up at my son's house, walk to my new place and working. I did that almost every day.

I dislike painting. I am not very good at it and I find the whole business boring. Perhaps if I were more interested in it, I would find the act of colouring a wall more exciting and therefore do a better job.  I like the results - I just don't like the process. I did find a great paint store and in spite of the fact that good paint is really, really expensive - I got some good deals and some even better advice.  At the end of the two weeks, all of the rooms were done. I guess I am reasonably satisfied with the colour of the walls. I would like to say that the whole place is finished - but that would be untrue. There are a few more window mouldings to be done and most of the hallway still needs a coat. There are a few more shelves to be built in cupboards and or course, a book case needs to be designed and built. It was a tiring process. Some days I was done by 4:00 but on a few nights I stayed until 8:00 or so.  I never felt as if I had accomplished very much. My back was frequently sire from all of the bending and squatting.

I had rented a car for the first few days but it was expensive and not a particularly good use of my money. Having a car made it easier to shop for paint and the bits and pieces that I needed but I was not using it enough to warrant the cost. So for the next 10 days I walked everywhere. Walking to and from my new place, or downtown did take a fair amount of time but the walking give me a chance to become reacquainted with Duncan. Somewhat paradoxically, not having a car made it much harder to buy a car. Most car lots/dealerships are located away from the downtown core. Which I suppose makes sense in terms of the amount of space they require. But it meant that I had to walk a fair distance to see what was available. After considering a number of choices, I did buy a 2007 Hyundai Accent hatchback. I would have liked a slightly larger car but this one will suit my needs just fine. As I was struggling with the decision as to what to buy, I constantly reminded myself that one should consume what one needs - not what one wants. It is tough some days to practice what we preach.

"My" truck arrived exactly when I was told. The driver decided that he could not navigate the big truck through what in his mind were the far too narrow streets and sharp corners of the park. I think another driver would have tried but as he drives for a living - I was forced to trust his judgement. They had to rent a smaller truck from the local U-Haul folks and transfer the load. I was not happy about the extra cost.

I have spent the last five days un-packing. I have enough coat hangers to overwhelm a family of five, but I can't find my kitchen scissors. I have spent hours looking for cables for the stereo system and even more time looking for the bits and pieces required to make my computer work. There are still piles of boxes of books scattered about the place and my weaving room has become the holding tank for everything that I don't know what to do with. This place while it might be about the same size as my old apartment, has far less inside storage. I am having some trouble finding places to put away things that I think I need but don't use very often. To make things more complicated, I have no living room furniture - or rather I have lots of stuff for the living room but I am still looking for a couch and chair. It is hard to know where to put the bookshelves or the guitar stand or my grandmother's wicker trunk until I know what kind of furniture I am going to get. But I have my own bed, I have all of my music around me, access to a real telephone (as opposed to a cell phone), a computer with internet, Netflix to watch at night and all of my other stuff (even if I can't find it quickly or easily).

I guess I can declare that the move is finally done. It has been a long almost six months from the time I decided to buy something in Duncan until today. I think the cost and the hassle and the emotional and sometime physical pain has been worth it. But only time will tell.