They Call it Chowdah August 4, 2009

So did you know that movers have a term for all the unpacked crap that is unyet boxed when they arrive?  I did not know until last Tuesday.

Sweet shit moving is hard.  A lot harder 7 years, 2 kids, a mess of lbs, and a festering thrift addiction later I TELL YOU.

I am embarrassed to admit that I actually had visions a plan to set my craft room up (in it’s entirety) the first night.  I am laughing at my former, less exhausted self and her silly plans.

I think I was prepared for the physical strain of moving but it was/is the emotional stress that has clocked me.  The public-ness of the process was not enjoyable, it felt a little like going outside with your pants down.  First folks come in and throw your stuff around, exposing all kinds of crud underneath, then they march out the door, displaying your junk until it gets to the truck.  Then you turn around and put on a show of excess for your new neighbors.  Delightful.

I (kinda) wish I had gotten a photo of all the trash we left in front of our old apartment.  It was an embarrassing mound, an embarrassing mound that spanned the entire length of the property – double lined.  And usually I am a good donater or freecycler but time was falling on our heads and we just put it all to the curb.  A couple of folks pulled over (after my own heart) to trash pick.  So much “chowder” was left in our apartment and we needed the stuff out in  2 days if we wanted our deposit back, and we DO. (Hello sectional sofa!)

I will stop complaining now because these are good changes that are happening.  I will appreciate and embrace them with grace, right?

Random shots from around the house:

Newel post at the base of the front stairway.

Above the stove.

Bit of the kitchen floor, original to the house, which is almost 100 years old.

Don’t YOU have a toilet in your yard?

Vintage Photo in Kitchen (will hopefully be back to Vintage Photo Friday next week).

The Bromeliads are from our thoughtful neighbors!

Snippet of the craft room.  Excuse the blur but somehow a blurry photo of cameras made me laugh.

More display of my collections in the craft room.

I still have a crush on my Etsy Boyfriend there in front.  Isn’t he handsome?  Wish he could help me unpack though…

I started a Flickr group called, Just Moved.  Please join if you’ve moved in the last year (or ever in your life!) and share your thoughts and photos.

Before & After & More Before July 11, 2009

We found 2 of these chairs on the curb one night on the way to dinner at our friends’ place.  It was about 6 or 7 years ago and they have been in our basement since.  My husband and I toyed with the idea of reupholstering them ourselves but it is not a hobby for the dust mite allergic.  Now that we are moving from our very small apartment into a house, we finally got them restored and reupholstered.

Before

After

I also found a midcentury tile topped teak side table on the curb that I have since put in between the chairs.  This is basically the only furniture in the new place so far.

And Before Again:

Surprising thing I have enjoyed about the process of moving # 1 = getting rid of STUFF.  As you may recall, I have trouble with stuff, so weeding out has been freeing.  And yet, as I have been tossing junk at the thrift store as fast as I can, a steady stash of new treasures has been flowing into the garage.

Can I just say that I never thought I would post a photo of our garage on here.

Check out the door someone put on the curb!  It has it’s original door knob and handle and it’s just beautiful.  I have plans for this door in my new craft room.  Thrifted green chair also headed to the craft room, I have already cut off the skirt and vacuumed round 1 of the cat hair off it.  Peeking out from the back are some red lockers mined from Craigslist that we’re going to use in the entryway.  Can you see the Lucite bar cart or is it like Wonder Woman’s plane?  I got the baby scale and the chalk board at the same yard sale.  I think I got them both for 5 dollars.  The baby scale may make an appearance in the bathroom and the chalkboard either in the kitchen or rec room.  In the trash bag is a vintage croquet set I got at auction in NC for CHEAP!  We brought it to the new house last night for a BBQ and I heard myself telling the children, “Those are not HAMMERS!” as they used the mallets to beat the yard.  Maybe they will be tucked away on the porch or I’ll put my wine down, stop talking with my friends, get up off my butt and show them how to actually play the game.  One or the other…

So stick with me, this is probably going to turn into a house blog for a spell here!