Today we moved my family's things into the new place. I've already blogged about it, but after the incident with the fire, they put most of their possessions into storage. Since none of us drive, they weren't able to move everything in on the first day of their lease.
They have some things that they've accumulated during their stay with us for day to day necessity, such as mattresses, blankets, sheets and laundry hampers, as well as a few things they decided not to put in storage, mostly electronics like laptops, but also some paintings and books.
They've since got some survival stuff to make the mostly empty unit more livable in the short term, such as dollar store cookware; a frying pan, baking sheet, casserol dish, measuring spoons and cups, and cutlery. Lee-Anne and I went to a few thrift stores and got them some things, like a bread bin since their cats love bread for some reason. Maybe not to eat, but they love to carry and drag it around.
We also got a bean bag chair. Not exactly something we went looking for, and it was kind of inconvenient to travel over the light rail. But it was just comfortable, cheap, and light enough to make it worth it. Hitching it over my shoulder made me feel like Santa Clause, as it gave the impression of his giant sack of toys. I am also a decent likeness of the Christmas icon.
I gave them my two folding tables and one folding chair that I used to use when I painted, and some plates and bowls from back in my bachelor days that somehow survived this long. They got their wooden bowls, made by the same guy that made mine and Lee-Anne's.
I also gave them our birch tree painting, which I've posted about on here when I was speculating on why artists love them so much. I got it from a thrift store when I discovered the concept of decorating. This ushered in a phase of just throwing random things I thought looked nice on walls. The birch painting was the only piece that has survived from that era. No sentimental value, but looks just a little too nice to get rid of.
We found some yellow wooden chairs that someone was throwing out. We also came across a couch that looked in good repair, but it's harder to tell with softer furniture if it's safe or not. It could be infested or broken in a way that isn't obvious. Also, it was snowing and while it looked fresh, it had been left to the elements at least a little while. Still, at various points each of us walked by and it looked good enough to make each of us think about taking it.
Anyway, today a family friend helped us move the items from storage. He's one of the people that took my mother and brother in after the fire and helped us salvage as much as we could from the old place. He rented a truck and me, him and my brother moved everything in one go.
It wasn't as difficult as I was afraid it could be. Worst thing that happened was a box full of books broke open, but we just put them into the empty chest freezer. Getting all the new stuff into the new apartment was easy because they're on the first floor. Instead of moving everything through the lobby, we were able to bring most of it via the balcony. There were a few larger items that we needed to move through the front door. All told, it took about four hours.
Some of their old stuff is sort of obsolete at this point. They may eventually need their mini fridge and chest freezer, but the place is currently sparse enough that it's hard to imagine. They brought in a toaster oven, but that was mostly a replacement for their oven at the old place, since it had become unreliable. The one here is brand new, and the office staff seem attentive enough to help out if the need ever arose, unlike the landlord where they used to live. The unit came with a microwave, so they won't need the one they brought from storage.
They didn't manage to get much furniture out of the old place. What they had was already pretty worn in, and most of it was damaged by water and smoke during the fire. But recently, Lee-Anne's grandmother moved out of her old place and is downsizing, so her family has offered a couch and an armchair. I've got a coworker that has offered to donate a coffee table. The only large-ish thing that's still unaccounted for is a computer desk, but it's all coming together.
As an aside, if you've been following the blog, my work's audit went fine. Apparently the person that came to inspect only had nice things to say. I shouldn't say I'm surprised, but it was still a relief to hear.
No comments:
Post a Comment