Monthly Archives: April 2012

Packed

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This is Amarillo, my moving truck.  The name just came to me and I think it suits him.  This is his best angle.

My dad and I packed up Amarillo all day today and I am pooped.  My back is broke.  On the bright side, my biceps are now bulging.  Kinda.

We started out filling up the truck with all of the boxes I had ready to go.  Things were going swimmingly and it seemed like I was going to have a ton of room in the truck.  My apartment is not a whole lot bigger than Amarillo so this was good news.

I finished packing up boxes and then we put in my colossal disassembled work desk.

Satisfied with our progress and how much room we had left, my dad and I went to lunch.  I had to have one last fix of Mexican at one of our favorite lunch spots (more like one of my favorite lunch spots, but my dad is a good sport and went with it (for the second time in a week)).

When we got back, we decided we should go ahead and put all of the pieces of my bed in the truck.  Moving a queen-size mattress without handles is like trying to move an enormous piece of Jell-o (as my dad put it) or trying to give my cat Scarlett a bath (the first comparison that came to mind for me).  It just ain’t happenin’.

I would also like to note at this point in time that shrink wrap is not my friend.

After many nearly fatal moments, my dad and I wrestled the mattress into the truck.  Although I did not enjoy moving my bed components, I did learn a new trick from my dad.

As he was tying up my mattress, headboard and box springs to secure them to the truck, he showed me a way to pull the rope really tight.

“This here is a hay-hauling knot.”  -my dad

I had not seen this technique or heard of the abovementioned application before, even in all my time as a farm hand.

I hope you enjoyed that farming/physics lesson.

Somehow, I managed to fill Amarillo completely.  I’m not really sure how that happened or where all of this stuff came from or how I am going to have any room to circulate in my apartment after I unload all of these things…

…or why I need all of this stuff.

…or how I am going to transport these things up two flights of stairs.

…or how to haul hay.

Wish me luck.

Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Sugarlump

Southern Vibes

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Please forgive my cat-heavy content lately.  I swear I’m not a crazy cat lady; I just get a real kick out of these fur-balls.  That and I’ve been cramming in a lot of work and packing in the past week and there’s only so much to report on that front.

I have so many pictures of my cats now as they are the only subjects that tolerate me trying to learn how to take portraits with my new camera.  I figured I might as well share these pictures and stories instead of the seemingly endless piles of things in my life at the moment (because even thinking about them gives me heart palpitations).

While the last few days have been fairly uneventful, I did have an interesting exchange this weekend as I was buying a bottle of wine to take to my friend’s housewarming party.

I walked up to the register and the cashier asked me how I was doing with a big ol’ Southern drawl.

Looking for something to confirm that I was indeed still in Massachusetts, I replied that I was doing just fine and asked how she was doing.  She was just dandy.

She kind of looked at me knowingly and I thought maybe she was trying to figure out if I was old enough to be purchasing the wine (which I am, thank you very much) but she was actually sensing some Southern vibes.

She complimented my ring as I showed her my ID.  I said thank you.  She said she’s been trying to get her boyfriend to buy her one like it because she just loves the design.  I told her it was definitely a good purchase and I wear it every day.

She then paused and said, “Where are youuu fruum?”

I said, “Well, here I guess.  I grew up in the Northeast.”

I could tell by her face that she wasn’t satisfied with that answer.  So I said, “But, my family is from southern Kentucky and I’m actually moving to Nashville next week.”

She beamed, “I knew I heard a Southern acce-yunt in they-yere!” (which is funny because I don’t really have a Southern accent….yet.  I do, however, have many family members with Southern accents so I can speak Southern fluently and often catch a drawl when I’m around them.)

I asked her where she was from (obviously not the Northeast).  She said proudly, “I’m fruum TEHHH-xas.”

At this point we were friends.

She then wished me luck in my move, I told her I hoped she got the ring from her boyfriend soon and we both smiled as I walked out of the store.

Thank goodness there was no one behind me in line or he/she would have been very confused by our sudden kinship.

I think it was a sign that I am making the right move.

Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Sugarlump

Nosy Cat

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If you look up nosy in the dictionary, this is what you will find:

No matter how hard I try to discipline my misguided cat Scarlett, her nosiness seems to get the best of her, especially when it comes to people food and the kitchen.

Several times a day, as I am sitting in the family room or my office, I hear the very distinct thump of 4 furry paws landing on the kitchen floor after leaping from the counter.

I then walk into the kitchen and find Scarlett either hurriedly trotting into the dining room or standing nonchalantly in the middle of the kitchen, staring into space.

Sometimes there is evidence that she has been on the counter, such as a stray paper towel or green bean on the floor.  One time, I found the remnants of a rib-eye steak on the floor half-way across the kitchen and Scarlett was nowhere to be found (behind a chair), licking her chops.

But most of the time I just hear the thump and by the time I walk into the room she has already destroyed (consumed) the evidence.

This is how our talks about her behavior normally go:

Me: “Scarlett, what were you just doing?”

Scarlett: ……………(stares intently at nothing)

Me: “Scarlett, you’re acting guilty.  Anything you want to confess?”

Scarlett: …………..(stares at Gus in an effort to divert my attention while praying that I have a bout of amnesia)

Me: “Scarlett!”

Scarlett: “Who?…….Me???” (tries her best to look innocent, shocked and pathetic)

Me: “Scarlett, I know you were on the counter.”

Scarlett: “I want a lawyer.”

Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Sugarlump

Packing

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I have a lot of stuff.

I don’t really know how I accumulated so much in the last few years of my adult life, but things seem to be coming out of the woodwork as I try to pack for my move.

Do you know what this is?

No?

It’s a canner.  As in food preservation.  I purchased this a few years back with the intention of making my own jams and fruit preserves.  Due to my status as a full-time student and working professional, that did not happen.

I have high hopes that this year I will take off the sticker, learn how to use this sucker and preserve some things.

For now, I plan to pack it full of kitchen utensils to maximize space because even though I am renting a 16’ moving truck, I am a little concerned about the volume of things I am taking with me.

This is my garage bay that is currently acting as the staging area:

And this is what my bedroom looks like at the moment:

All of this stuff (including the furniture) will need to be added to the garage bay pictured above to ensure it will fit in the moving truck.

Gulp.

Luckily, most of my office (including my 8’x4’ desk) is already in the packing zone.  While this is good for the progress of my packing, it makes for a somewhat challenging work environment:

It’s been a lot of work to get this far although these pictures portray a state of disorder.

Thankfully, I have some helpers.  My resident customs officials have inspected and tested out every box for safety and compliance with federal regulations.

Little do my furry friends know that they will be the final items to be packed into my car.

Oh boy is that going to be a fun 19 hour drive.

I can’t wait………………to have arrived in Tennessee.

Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Sugarlump