Parting

We're here in San Diego, mostly unscathed by the move. Because this blog is basically my journal and because it's been so long since I've blogged (and how I have missed blogging! Amazing how this hobby is such an important outlet for me of late) this post will likely take the form of a travelogue. So, if that's going to bore you, quit reading now.

We got the moving truck (a brand new, white Penske truck) on Tuesday, the 25th, and had friends over that night to help pack. I went to work on Wednesday and finished up as much as I could (which wasn't everything, but it was everything essential) and then continued to pack late into the night. We still weren't done by 2 am, but both of us were tired and grouchy, so we went to sleep for a few hours and then got up and finished things. I called a couple of friends (the same friends who were so wonderful to help us pack on Tuesday) and they helped clean and then carted off all the random junk (random junk--oh how I miss you!) we couldn't fit on the truck and couldn't give away. We were on the road by 10:30 and started driving down to Birmingham.

We'd planned on leaving Birmingham on Friday, but we needed to rearrange a few things on the truck (the uber-efficiently packed forward left section was a tad heavy and needed some counter balancing to reduce the truck oscillating on its hinges every time it hit air turbulence or a bump). I don't think Derrick's mom minded, since that gave her more time with "Princess Sylvia."

At some point early on Friday I realized the small patch of poison ivy I had on my arm from an aborted attempt at gardening a week before was spreading. I didn't even think about cleaning the shovel I'd used and apparently during the move I touched it again and then contaminated my hands, arms, neck, and face with the poison ivy toxin. So, I spent Friday trying to manage the itching, basically using some hydrocortisone and scratching between the spots to satisfy the incessant itching. Saturday the itching was worse and a blistery rash started to radiate away from the original spots. By the time we hit Jackson, Mississippi, where we stopped for lunch at a Dairy Queen, I decided I'd probably reacted to one of the three hydrocortisone ointments I'd tried and needed something else. So, I got Caladryl and used that to cool and anesthetize my arms, hands, and face. I looked so awful. The rash on my face eventually spread over half of it so it just looked like I had a bad sunburn on half of my face, but my arms and hands looked like I had some disease that was turning me into something vaguely reptilian.

Itching is great for keeping one awake while driving, though.

We made it here by Monday evening and unpacked the essential things, like a mattress for Sylvia to sleep on and clothing and the like. This unpacking job was slow enough that we could unpack some things as we went along and never had nearly the entire surface of the floor covered in boxes like we did when Derrick moved to West Lafayette and I was left, five months pregnant and shell-shocked as he and his parents drove away. This was much better.

I can't say spending my birthday unpacking was fun--it doesn't feel much like a birthday when you spend all day working--but it wasn't a terrible day. My poison ivy started to heal, having pretty much crested on the drive, and we went out for dinner that night at a very nice restaurant in Little Italy. I had pork ossobuco with four cheese risotto, which I'd probably put on my list of the 10 best meals I've ever had. The waiters sang happy birthday to me and we had tiramisu for dessert (which Sylvia tried and almost caused her to vomit). I do want to say thank you to everyone who remembered my birthday, and wish a happy birthday to my friends who share my birthday. Wish we'd shared a birthday meal, or at least a cake together. Maybe someday.

We took Derrick's dad to the airport the next morning and then went back to unpacking. At this point we've unpacked pretty much everything we can without purchasing some storage, like some bookshelves and a solution for a kitchen pantry. I'd been telling everyone this place is basically what we had in Indiana for the great deal of twice the price. Actually, it's a bit smaller. Everything's just enough smaller our stuff doesn't quite fit, and just to make it that much better, everything is hinged opposite of the way things were in Indiana.

It didn't come with a washer and dryer, though it does have hook-ups. The space for a washer/dryer would work for stackables or for a laundry center--as long as they're 68 inches or shorter. Unfortunately, there's basically nothing that's that short and gas. So, we purchased a very nice front-loading washer and a drying rack and will probably install a clothesline. We're being forced into a greener, lower carbon lifestyle. We'll have to see how we like it.

Sylvia's settling in pretty well, though her energy level seems to be going up exponentially since we unstrapped her from her car seat. She was definitely happy to be done traveling. She's also recently enamored of cleaning, especially with the vacuum (pronounced "elmo"). We've been taking as much advantage of that as we can. Amazingly, my cat did pretty well on the drive--probably because we set up the trunk as a cat cave, and she just hung out there all day. I think she would have stayed in the car all night had we let her.

And that's the update. No pictures--I'll get some up soon, or at least once the house is presentable.