Saturday October 20, 2012

I'm Back! After a busy two weeks I am back in GR and have a lot to report on about the last two weeks. My adventure began on Monday October 8. I got up at 0400 and Nancy and Ms P drove me to the airport. I had to catch a flight to San Francisco via Chicago. I got into San Francisco at 1130. I picked up my rental car from Hertz and drove down the 101 to Debbie's condo in Santa Clara. The purpose of my trip was to help Debbie move into her new house in San Jose. Nancy was flying out on Thursday to also assist. Debbie was taking the week off to make the move. When I got to the condo Debbie had already packed most of her belongings. Boxes were everywhere. Debbie had taken great pains to mark each box so that the movers would know where to place them in the new house. My job was to do anything Debbie wanted me to do to help with the move. I got to see the new house on Monday. Debbie was having new wood flooring installed. The flooring was tongue and groove solid black walnut. It was beautiful. The installer was very competent. In fact I was impressed with all of Debbie contactors. In addition to the floor she had to hire an alarm contractor, a gas fireplace installer, an electrician, a locksmith, and a couple to install new blinds and shutters. All the contractors arrived at the new house at the same time making it very hectic. In addition Comcast had to install the TV and the gas company had to check out her system. There were some tense moments like: could the new refrigerator fit in the space allocated for it. It fit with 1/4" to spare. On Tuesday and Wednesday we both made many trips between the condo and the new house. Debbie used the freeways but I used local streets. We did take some time to eat and Debbie took me to several restaurants near her home that had good beer and food. I even found a Starbuck's that was within easy walking distance of her new house. Thursday October 11 and the movers arrived at 0830. The moving crew consisted of 5 men and a very large truck. Also at 0930 I had to head to the airport to pick up Nancy. I was surprised at how easy it was to find a parking space near the baggage claim area. Nancy and I arrived at the same time. We got back to Debbie's condo about noon. The movers were almost done loading up. It took them 5 hours to load and 3.5 hours to unload. I was very impressed with the movers. They were very professional. Nancy really liked Debbie's new house. It is very open and airy. She has a fenced in back yard and a large front porch that runs the full length of the house. We got the beds set up for our first night in the new house. Debbie took us to the Brewery for dinner. We all slept well in Debbie's new house. The first thing I did, Friday morning, was to walk to Starbucks for my morning coffee. We then started unpacking all the boxes. Nancy and Debbie stocked shelves and I flattened the cardboard boxes and took care of disposing all of the packing paper. We had to make several runs back to the condo to use the condo's trash bins. We also made several trips to Home Depot and other stores to get wall hangers and other hardware needed to move into a home. Friday night we had dinner with Debbie's friend Jena at an Italian restaurant. Saturday we continued putting things away. We got a big surprise Saturday morning when Missy and AJ showed up. It was good to see them. Missy helped with the setup. For dinner a friend of Debbie's brought over enchiladas. We all sat around Debbie's dining room table and had the first evening meal in the new house. Debbie opened a bottle of wine and we all drank to her new house. It was nice. Sunday was kind of an easy day. We continued unpacking and did make several runs to Costco and Home Depot. For dinner we had some pinwheel sandwiches from Costco. Monday morning and Missy and AJ were up early and left for LA before 0800. Nancy and Debbie kept unpacking and I ran errands. Nancy and I bought Debbie a new TV for her bedroom. We bought it at Costco. Monday night we finished the pinwheel sandwiches. Tuesday we hung several pictures. We had lunch at a cafe that specialized in French dip sandwiches. The place was crowded with Apple engineers and technicians. The sandwiches were very good. For dinner we had Nancy's world famous scrambled eggs. Wednesday and Debbie has to go back to work. Nancy and I head to the airport at 0830. Our flight to Chicago was smooth. When we got to Chicago we found out that our flight to GR was cancelled. UA gave us a list of hotels that offered discount rates to distressed travelers. We stayed at the Wyndham in Glenview, IL. Thursday morning we get up at 0500 and take the shuttle to the airport. We arrived in GR at 0900. I spent the rest of the morning running errands. In the afternoon GRapids Irrigation stopped by and winterized our sprinkler system. Nancy had to work at the Gardens in the evening so I finished the pot pie left over from Nancy's Book Club. Friday morning and Nancy and I are back to normal. We both went to the MAC. I had to drive because it rained all day. Kim brought Ms P back home. In the afternoon Nancy and I headed to Costco. We bought a chicken for dinner. Friday night was a quiet night watching TV. Saturday morning I get up and ride my bike to Bill's. I was going to have their oatmeal but I was so hungry I had the pancake breakfast. After breakfast I rode the bike around Reeds Lake. Around 1100 I started cutting the grass. It had not been cut in two weeks but it was not too long. I did not edge or trim today. Ms P wore herself out chasing balls. Nancy also worked in the yard trimming flowers and getting ready for winter. I placed some mulch over the rose bushes. I took a shower and then a short nap. I got up in time to see the UM/MSU game. This game brings back memories of my youth when Mom, UM, and Dad, MSU, would harass each other about the game. My Mom was a real football fan and the type of UM grad that make MSU fans grit their teeth. I was glad UM was able to win. We finished the chicken for dinner and we each had a glass of wine. Tonight we will watch some TV before turning in.