We’re Tired – Can we Stop Now?

Who would have thought it – it must be “Murphy’s Law”.  The rain came down yesterday on our furniture moving day after days of sunshine. Luckily we had some help on the day.  Robin’s brother Gary (can you spot the resemblance?) and wife Debbie came to lend a helping hand.  They helped bubble wrap our table and the glass top, and then Gary provided some much needed muscle power in loading all those heavy items in the back of the furniture trailer.

Debbie and Gary

Dot and Derek called around to help too.  Must admit that we had more glass sheets that needed protection than I realised.  Here’s Dot on her knees wrapping up glass panels.  Derek meanwhile was quietly carrying one item after another out into the garage ready to be loaded onto the trailer.

Dot with newspaper and sticky tape

Then the heavy work began, with juggling the items around to best fit inside the trailer.  My supply of woollen blankets came in handy to stop things rubbing together.  With no beds or bedroom furniture to take, plus the multitude of crates and boxes already carried up to Levin, we thought that the trailer we hired would be sufficient for our needs.  But Murphy’s Law struck again, and we soon found out that we would need to make two return trips.  

Derek and Robin, with Gary inside the trailer

Off we went, on the long drive up to Levin, to open up the lock-up unit, and begin the task of taking everything out.  In went the two couches and armchairs, the wall unit, dining table and chairs, the fridge and filing cabinet.  Lighter items were poked into various nooks and crannies, or placed on top of stacks of boxes.  We knew we had to leave room for the last load.

It’s almost full now

Robin and Derek drove back to Upper Hutt to get the last few things, including my precious sewing cabinet and the washing machine.  Dot took me under her wing back at her new home and plied me with coffee and nibbles while we contemplated just how late our tired men would arrive from the second trip – about 6.30pm we reckoned.  With a hot meal awaiting their arrival, they staggered in the door, bone tired, just after 6.00pm. 

The balance of our things had been safely stored away, but there seemed to be something wrong with our tow car.  It had been making terrible noises on the return trip and Robin was thinking the worst.  What would we do now?  We had to get home to return the hire trailer – but would the car make the 100km trip home safely?  We’ll take the risk, Robin decided, and set out with our hearts in our mouths, waiting for that dreaded noise to reappear.  And it did, just down the road, but after that the car ran smoothly the rest of the way home.  Perhaps there was a stone caught up in the wheel assembly, he thought?  We collapsed into bed in the caravan, tired and weary with a head ache to boot, and pleased that the day was finally over.

And today was house cleaning day.  Robin took charge of the vacuum cleaner and ran it over the carpet in the empty rooms. And what about this dust on top of the pantry, we can’t leave that behind!

  Cleaning high

I had a bucket of soapy water and washed down the skirting boards, and the window sills.  It’s certainly easier to reach all these places when there is no furniture in the way.

And cleaning low

There’s just a little bit left to do inside now, and Robin will give the lawns their final mowing, so we’re almost done.   Then we will be able to stop, relax, and put our weary feet up for a while.  Whew – what a busy couple of days!

And as for that awful noise – Murray, our friendly mechanic, confirmed it was in fact a stone stuck inside the wheel.  Robin’s thoughts had really been running wild - thank goodness it was nothing more sinister, after all.