Post Eighteen: A Moving Experience

A day after I wrote the last entry, we received an offer on our house.  About one percent below our asking price.  We countered with an offer of a half percent below, and the deal was done.

Having recently experienced the purchasing of a house, we are familiar with the process.  And, this time was infinitely easier than 20+ years ago when we were selling our house on Tampa Drive in San Rafael.  Suffice to say, it was not a seller's market at the time.  I know we are not done yet, but it's clear that this transaction will be significantly simpler to conclude.

So, now the reality of our situation begins to become clearer.  Assuming this transaction goes through as planned (and we have no reason to believe it will not) we have just over two weeks from now to have vacated the home we have been in for almost exactly 19 years.  Luckily (conveniently? thankfully?) we had scheduled to have the last large pieces of furniture moved up to Madrone Haus just after the Fourth of July, and we took advantage of that to pack up and move almost all the rest of our personal belongings as well.  The timing was actually motivated by the end of my time off work, which concluded.....  this morning. 

Our experience with Tana Movers last winter when we transported the Music Box and other treasures from Ray's old house to Nevada City made them the natural choice for this move as well.  I got things arranged with "Eric", mostly over email. 

Loading up at Carnoustie

A break in the unusually long heat wave was most welcome.  A long and bit chaotic Friday the Fifth packing boxes and loading the truck, was compounded by our buyer and her agent being there with their Home Inspector and a Sewer inspector, in addition to two gentlemen buying our bedroom dressers and a visit from our good friend Dan Hixenbaugh.  I was relieved when everyone was gone, and treated myself to a mani-pedi and mini-massage at Crystal Nails before cleaning up the house as much as possible and then sleeping on the couch.

Navigating the driveway at Madrone Haus

Next morning, I drove to Nevada City for an uneventful Saturday the Sixth - Eric and George arrived with the truck at the new house around 2:30, and unpacked in 1.5 hours what it had taken four of them over 8 hours to load up the day before, leaving a tidy but daunting collection of small furniture, boxes and bags. 


Eric and all the people working for Tana Movers were so great to work with, working hard but in good spirits,  impressing us mere mortals with their ability to pack and organize and lift and maneuver.




Backing up in time just a bit, on the actual day of July 4th, we helped Neil move his furniture into his new place in Sausalito.  His studio apartment is in a quiet part of the south end of town, a 10 minute walk along the waterfront from the ferry and downtown.

As is happening at Madrone Haus, furniture, artwork and other belongings all seem to fall into place.  We sat and read the Declaration of Independence, had some beer and pizza, and then watched the fireworks from the Sausalito shoreline.

Even though in both new residences, there are still unpacked boxes and empty walls, Carnoustie is now all but empty, and certainly now does not feel like "home."  On Sunday, I got to really set up my new office, and boldly declared on Facebook that "home is where the iMac is" and that the setup of my trusty computer meant that Madrone Haus was now truly my home base.

One more weekend of packing and cleaning up and a few more Craigslist scores, and we should be nearly set.