Moving, renting, settling in

[Fierce Critter]

I got a few PM's from people wanting to know how things went with the move and all. I wasn't able to post much 'cause of things like establishing phones, etc.

I still can't stay online long - there's turned out to be a major leak from the bathtub upstairs, and it's caused the ceiling in the kitchen to drop plaster. Getting a call back from the landlords (I have 3) is like pulling teeth, and I've had to stay offline to keep the phone lines open. Still have to as a matter of fact, so this is going to be more of a "promise" of an update thread than anything else.

I've got Voice Mail & caller alert through AOL, but that hasn't changed over to my new number yet, so I can't stay online long.

As soon as this repair thing is taken care of or my voice mail/caller alert is functional, I'll actually post something here.

Until then, see ya'll at City Club on Saturday the 27th!!! :grin

[Brenda Starrr]

Woo Hoo! Critter has arrived and is ready to party!

[Fierce Critter]

Well, whaddya know - my voice mail went active as I was typing that. So I'm finally clear to post at my leisure.

So, here's an update (by the time I got done composing this and looked back over it, I realized how long a story it is - so here's part 1 ):

Moving - was HELL. My date for hitting the road was Saturday the 13th. I'd been packing pretty steadily from when Jon hit the road for Michigan, but it was incredibly slow going. Considering I could only tow a 5'x10' trailer, I had to go through our belongings - by myself - to weed out as much as possible. So I couldn't just fill a box and seal it - I had to go through EVERYTHING we owned to try to pare down. Harder than it sounds. And then the boxes had to be packed to absolute capacity.

I gridded out the interior dimensions of the trailer in pencil in the corner of 2 living room walls, and started stacking boxes. Things were looking pretty good - up until Friday. I'd been freecycling TONS of stuff - all our furniture, clothes, belongings, Jon's woodworking, you name it. By Friday, I was just having people come over one at a time and stand and fill a bag as I went through things in our spare bedroom/warehouse/ebay storage room.

Halfway through Friday, I started to panic. The grid was filling up - and I still had a LOT to weed through. On the phone with Jon, I pretty much lost it. I just didn't have time to go back through everything and try to pare it down even more. He talked me down a bit, and I got back to work.

A former co-worker of Jon's came over late Friday to start moving the boxes into the trailer. Things went pretty well, as I'd moved some of the lighter, smaller boxes into the bed of the pickup truck (I'd traded a chainsaw for a cap for the truckbed to increase my moving capacity). They roped our mattress, box springs, 3 tables and my bike to the top of the truck cap. I finally let them go about 10:30, with what I thought was a short bit of work left for myself.

I had talked to Jon sometime that evening and he said that he and my dad had discussed the possibility of meeting me halfway, knowing that I probably wouldn't get much sleep (I'd slept less than 3 hours a night for the final week), and worrying for my safety. I greatfully took them up on their offer, and we discussed details later that night.

I finally gave up the ghost about 3:00 that night. By that point, I had unpacked some of what Jon's coworker had packed into the very back of the trailer, as I realized that to fit some last-minute things in there like Jon's tools and some other very important things, things like our 27" TV had to go (our first ever TV actually bought new and not salvaged from curbside garbage). I got the trailer packed to absolutely complete capacity, closed it up, and gave up for the night.

I then realized there was no way I was going to be able to do a final clean/repair to the house before I left, which really, really upset me. There were things left to do like sand & paint a couple windowsills the cats had clawed up, vacuum, wash some walls, steam clean (I had my own carpet steamer), etc. I had NO TIME for any of it. So I sat down to the still hooked-up computer and composed a letter to my landlords apologizing for leaving their house in the condition it was in. I suggested that maybe they could sell off the things I was leaving (TV, steam cleaner, vacuum, lamps, cot, tons of eBay stuff like Lego collections, etc.) and hire a cleaning service to do the work for them.

I went to bed, and woke up at 7:00 a.m. to a call from Jon. He was asking when I'd be hitting the road, and I had to tell him I had no idea - I still had some things to get into the back of our truck, and then had to pack up the cats in crates in the back of the extended cab, etc. I told him it could be 1 hour, it could be 3 hours. I told him he and my dad shouldn't leave until they heard from me, and then should probably wait an hour or two longer. Recommended speed for the trailer was only 45 mph, and I knew they'd be going about 70 mph. But it sounded like they were going to leave close to 8:00, so I sensed trouble ahead.

Anyway, I got back to work packing. I had some more frantic, overwhelmed, despairing moments that had me breaking down crying, and shortly after one of them, Carol, a woman who I'd met through Freecycle, came to pick up some stuff I'd left by the side door for her (she was going to take things I'd left for her to a thrift store). Carol loaded up the things I was leaving for her, and then offered to help me finish packing. Ordinarily, I'm loathe to accept help from others, but for once, I took her up on it. And thank the gods that I did - she was FANTASTIC.

We worked together in 90+ degree heat & humidity, and with her help, I fit more into that truck than I ever would have believed I could. DEFINITELY more than I could have on my own. We worked until I just had to give up, then I let her go through the house to take more stuff, and also left her number for my landlords to call for her to take away anything they didn't want. We exchanged a sweaty hug, and she went on her way.

I took a shower, and was just about to start packing the cats when my landlady came by. It was late, and she wondered if things were going o.k. and if I was leaving the following day instead. I told her no, just running late, and would be on the road very shortly. We also exchanged a hug, and she went on her way. Then, packing of the cats commenced.

Oy, vey. 14 cats in 7 crates - took me about an hour and a half. Part of that was catching cats that got away from me and hid under the trailer. Part of that was also getting vet-obtained tranquilizers into the biggest, most knowingly difficult cats. But once that was done, I was ready to hit the road.

A final perusal of things left behind was very, very painful. Original woodworking done by Jon (some with hand-drawn art), lots of eBay stock including boxes of legos (and, unintentionally, my own set :sad), clothes, all our winter coats & jackets, shoes I've had since high school (yes, nearly 20 year old shoes), TV, vacuum, steam cleaner, lamps, blankets, decorations, dishes, pots & pans, you name it. Every day, I remember something else left behind.

But after that final glance, I left my keys on the kitchen counter with the note to my landlords, shut the door, sat Oakley in the passenger seat in his doggie seatbelt and hit the road - never looking back.

OMG - the going was SO slow. All that weight was dragging behind me like I was towing the freaking Titanic. I got to the entrance to the interstate and called Jon on my dad's cellphone - it was exactly 12:00, and I was about to hit the road.

They'd been on the road since 8:00, and were already nearly in West Virginia. I knew this was going to happen, but I just said alrighty, call you in 100 miles, and hit the interstate.

OMG - I couldn't go more than 55 mph. At 60, the trailer would start fishtailing like mad. The first time it happened, I had a hell of a time getting it back under control, and was afraid I was going to turn over. The load in the trailer just wasn't balanced correctly - there was too much weight at the back. But nothing I could do about it at that point - I just had to keep it at 55 mph or under. It was also causing the engine to heat to levels not necessarily dangerous, but higher than normal. So I had to continuously shut the air conditioning off (necessary for the crated cats), and run the heater (which thankfully has been faulty and wasn't blowing heat, but was cooling off the engine).

At 100 miles, I called my husband and dad again. They were already into West Virginia. I told them about how slow I had to go, and about a couple traffic jams I'd hit. It took me 2-1/2 hours to go 100 miles. Signed off to call them in another 100 miles.

100 miles later, and I had JUST hit the NC/Virginia border. I called, Jon answered, and when he heard how short a distance I'd gone, about blew a gasket. I rolled my eyes and told him this was going to happen. They were already at the West Virginia/Virginia border. We arranged to meet at an exit about 25-50 miles north of me.

I hit the exit, and they showed up. Despite Jon getting pissed on the phone, I broke down and just fell into his arms. He apologized for being an ass, and said it was their fault they didn't heed my advice and leave after me. We got some food, moved the cats to my dad's minivan, I got into the minivan with my dad, and Jon took over the trailer. Once again, we hit the road.

About 10 minutes into the trip, probably less, we saw Jon up ahead try to go above 55 mph and end up fishtailing like crazy. He got on the 2-way radio to us and said, "Alrighty then. My apologies - I'm an ass". And from that point forward, it was pretty much 55 mph all the way.

We ended up staying overnight in a motel just over the Ohio border. Which is another story altogether.

With that, I'm going to stop there. There's so much to the story, that I think I should do it in chunks.

Gads, it's been a time. You don't know the half of it. I'm so glad it's (mostly) over.

More tomorrow probably.

[Onyx]

That's sweet how Jon apologized right away like that You two are so cool.

Glad you are here and safe!

[Brenda Starrr]

Wow! That was HELL! I'm just glad that you're safe.

[Medea]

Yay for not dying!

[Lilith]

i hae so missed your posts, and i am very glad that fist one i read was this.

I will see ya sat night as long as everything goes well on my end.

Lilith

[Fierce Critter]

Wow. This is an obnoxiously long story. So here's more of it! :grin

It was easier than I thought to find a motel that allowed pets. Seems to be a pretty regular thing now. Just $7.00 extra on top of a very reasonable room rate.

Staying the night at the motel wasn't a big story. Except for one thing. The escape of Grover & Lincoln.

I'd actually had a few nightmares in the past where we're traveling with the cats & end up losing a couple on the road. That came nauseatingly true.

Our room was on the 2nd floor, with the stairs on the outside. Jon and I were bringing the crates up one by one, and when I was in the room, I heard a crash and then BUMP BUMP BUMP SMASH from behind me. Oh no, I thought, and ran for the stairs.

Jon had lost hold of the biggest crate, which held Lincoln, Grover & Ray. It had gone bouncing down the stairs and when it hit the bottom, the door had opened. Ray was still in the crate, but I got there just in time to see Lincoln scatter one way, and Grover the other.

Jon ran after Lincoln, and I ran after Grover. But I hadn't seen where Grover went when I'd been noticing Lincoln's escape. I ran to the left, while Jon ran to the right. I didn't see him ANYWHERE.

Jon managed to catch Lincoln under a car, and brought him back to the crate. We looked and looked, both in a total panic, but couldn't sight Grover. I was almost hysterical. I'm sure now my nightmares had been predictions.

The motel was off the main road, with a calvert & fence in front. Beside it was another motel. We started searching all over. Then, I came from the back of the motel to see Jon flat on his stomache, reaching into a storm drain in the calvert which we'd seen a baby possum creep into earlier. "I've got him" he shouted. He'd caught glimpse of one, white leg and was trying to get him out.

It took some time, but he never let go of that leg. Out came a very terrified Grover, who was quickly popped back into the crate and taken upstairs.

Grover & Lincoln spent most of the night hiding under the beds. Thank goodness they're back safe and sound, but that was REALLY terrifying. There's no way I could have left without finding them, just no way.

Crating everyone the next day wasn't easy. I had to finish up the tranquilizers, especially on Grover & Lincoln. And now it's nearly impossible to get Grover into a crate without them.

We hit the road early, and reached Michigan by about 5:00 or so. Seeing that "Welcome to Michigan" sign almost drew tears from me. I felt safe, like big bad North Carolina couldn't capture me & hold me hostage any longer.

Next up: Part the final - Moving In. :grin

[EvilEve]

glad you're back, and your kitty's are safe and sound... with the exception of taking that unexpected trip down the stair. :doh

[Brenda Starrr]

Oh jeez, Critter!! You poor thing. I would lose my mind!

[JaneDead]

glad you are back home safe and sound!

sorry you had to leave so much behind :( i know that feeling- and i have an attachment to my things so i have a hard time giving up anything.

glad you and jon and the kitties are all safe.

[Fierce Critter]

Time to sew-up this epic.

Settling In:

We've got a nice rental in Wyandotte, just down the street from the hospital, 3 blocks from the river. Wyandotte is just such a cool place to live.

Our rental is a loft apartment in an old house with 3 units. Basically the first floor has a living room area, undivided from a kitchen area that features a breakfast nook, and you go upstairs to a decently large bedroom area with a wonderful walk-in closet and bathroom.

It's kinda small actually, but it'll do. We also have access to the basement that extends the entire length/width of the house, so there's room for storage outside of the main living area.

The first night back was eventful. We basically just unpacked our bed & whatever was inside the truck itself, leaving the trailer on the street to unpack over the next couple days. We ended up returning immediately to our curbside junking, and in the first night, got a computer desk, solid maple drop-leaf table (thought it was damaged but it was just dirty - an incredible find), monitor for the computer, floor-model paper shredder (comes in real handy for packing eBay stuff), a 1980's table & chair set with chrome legs & a smoked glass top (found that before the maple table actually, and ended up giving it away on Freecycle), a Sansui receiver that's worth $150 on eBay (IF it works), a couple other things.

That was so incredible. Basically, we replaced in the first night a good number of things we had to leave in NC.

Oh - almost forgot. We also came across what appeared to be a nearly brand-new King sized mattress at one house. We were looking at it, trying to figure out if it was the same size as ours, when the homeowner came out to talk to us. The story was, it was a California King Beautyrest that had been left in the house when they bought it. It was used less than a year, and they just didn't need it. So we took it away - the guy even helped us get it on top of the truck. So we have a nearly brand-new mattress to replace our 6-year old one. Just incredible.

The next morning, we woke and Jon was getting ready for work when he looked out the window and asked me why the door on the U-Haul was open. It shouldn't have been - we'd padlocked it.

So I went downstairs, and found that someone had cut it off, threw it on the ground, and opened the doors wide - and took nothing. It was a hearty "Welcome back to Downriver - fuck you" thing. And almost made me laugh. Pissed us both off, for sure. But mostly I felt, "ahh, yes, MY people." Needless to say, we unpacked the trailer entirely that night, so my living room is still one giant storehouse of boxes & bins.

We went junking again that night, and picked up a small TV/VCR combo that works great, so we had only 1 night without a TV. We also picked up a nearly brand-new Bissell bagless vacuum. Again, the homeowner was outside and told us that he'd picked up some drywall with it and that it'd never worked again. Jon got it home and within 2 minutes had it working. I worked on it some more and found it nearly solid packed in the tubes with fur from the golden retriever that had been in the homeowner's back yard. As soon as I got that hair out of there, the thing started picking up like nobody's business. Free vacuum - I love it.

Mostly, things have been just a matter of boring things like setting up electrical service, etc. Jon was away working during the day, so I spent the days unpacking some things, cleaning, organizing, and taking my bike around town.

The Trenton City-Wide garage sale was that following Saturday. We spent all day picking up more stuff to replace what we'd left in NC. Including 2 solid maple chairs that match the table we'd picked up for $5.00 total, some kitchen appliances, eBay stock, a better phone, etc. Ahh, Michigan Yard Saleing - I love it so.

The 2nd week was more eventful. On Monday of last week, I noticed water dripping down the wall while Jon was upstairs showering. To my dismay, part of the ceiling actually came crumbling down. BAD leak somewhere around that tub.

Ended up having to crate all but 2 of the cats, take them to my parents, and call the landlords to come check it out. Basically, I spent all day waiting for a call - left voicemail messages on their 2 answering machines and finally started paging them on their emergency pager. Didn't get a response until after 6:00 that evening, and they claimed one of them would come out the next day.

We picked up the cats that night, and the next morning, once again, I crated them all and took them over my parents. I waited all day from 6:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. and those motherfuckers never came out - never even called. Called them several times, paged them a dozen, and nothing.

My mother offered to let the cats stay at her place until this could be taken care of. So Jon and I went over there to "catproof" their house (lots of knickknacks) and they stayed the night.

Again on Wednesday - no show. Made several calls, increasingly angry. Paged them a couple dozen times. Nothing. Didn't get anything until about 7:00 that night when someone finally called and said Charlie, the main landlord, would be over shortly. He finally showed up, looked at it, and said he'd have to come back to caulk it, then they'd come back another time to repair the ceiling.

He said he'd either be back out that night, or either he or one of the other landlords would be out the next day. So my parents put the cats up one more night.

Thursday - again, no show, no call. I left a pretty terse message on everyone's voice mail and again paged to no avail. Heard from Charlie about 7:00 that night. He told me it had "slipped his mind." GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR...

Without getting too bitchy, I let him know this kind of thing wasn't going to work for me. Waiting around all day with nobody showing up. It was inconsiderate, inconvenient, and just plain wrong. Out of desperation to get this taken care of and the cats back home, I asked if we could do the caulking ourselves. He said sure, and we agreed that in the future, we would arrange an appointment ahead of time when he would come out and repair the ceiling, instead of this "I'll be out SOMEtime" bullshit. He also agreed that they'd pro-rate our rent payment since we'd only been in the place 20 out of 30 days.

That said, we picked up caulk & a caulking gun, and the cats. Returned home and I did the caulking, and it appears to have fixed the problem. We'll be arranging to have them come out and fix the ceiling soon, and once again, the cats will go over to the parents. Hopefully, that'll be the end of any need to have the landlords out here, and we can settle down.

We're also looking at buying a house. But there's a problem with something on our credit report that we're waiting to be fixed. Once that is done, we're looking at buying a house we've seen 12 blocks from my parents in Taylor. We love Wyandotte a lot, but the thought of owning a house and not having to answer to landlords anymore is too comforting a thought.

That said, it's now business as usual again. Nothing exciting - just happy to be home. =)

[ManicQueen]

What eventfull stories you share.. glad to have you home FC!

[holliwood66]

*phew!* Glad after all the craziness you are nesting in well *and I though moving with 4 cats would be insane...* :woot:

[Lilith]

I am soo happy u r all here afe n sound.

lilith

[Fierce Critter]

Moving with the cats wasn't so bad. Except for almost losing Lincoln & Grover.

It's the unreliable nature of our landlords that's driving us nuts. Supposed to stick to a law of 24-hours notice before coming by - yet twice we've been told one of them "drove by" to see if we were here (I still need to sign their copies of the lease - the lease signing was done before I got north again).

I'm just not used to this kind of unreliability from landlords. We never bothered any other one we had, fixed most problems ourselves and left places in as good condition as we could. But these three are all hippies, and don't get me wrong - I ain't got nothing against hippies - but they come with the hippie laid-back attitude of "I'll get to it when I get to it". It's maddening for someone like me who is pretty schedule-oriented.

And who has to make 12 out of 14 cats "disappear" when the landlord is supposed to come by.

Living in Wyandotte is so cool. But for peace of mind, we might have to buy outside of the city until we can afford to buy here. So if our credit repair comes through, we'll aggressively pursue that purchase in Taylor. At least we'll be within 1/3 mile of I-94, which will make the trip to CC all of maybe 10 minutes.

[JaneDead]

hey critter i just thought of something: what else will you need for your house? i know you left a lot behind and i might have stuff for you! i have stuff i want to get rid of (can't think of it all off the top of my head but i have kitchen stuff, etc...) so just let me know

[Guest Game of Chance]

I have a TV...you can have it for...

well...nothing...just get it out of here

[gothicmom]

OMG - I couldn't go more than 55 mph. At 60, the trailer would start fishtailing like mad. The first time it happened, I had a hell of a time getting it back under control, and was afraid I was going to turn over. The load in the trailer just wasn't balanced correctly - there was too much weight at the back. But nothing I could do about it at that point - I just had to keep it at 55 mph or under. It was also causing the engine to heat to levels not necessarily dangerous, but higher than normal. So I had to continuously shut the air conditioning off (necessary for the crated cats), and run the heater (which thankfully has been faulty and wasn't blowing heat, but was cooling off the engine).

Ugh! That sounds like how our move went! 2 adults, 1 child and a baby seat crammed into the cab of a U-Haul. The air didn't work, could only go about 60 mph and about 45 up hill/mountain!

I don't ever want to do that again!

Oh yeah! We went through a thunderstorm and the doors leaked!!

I'm glad you are here safe and sound. I only read your first post so far. I have to leave soon and my eyes/sinus are bothering me.

[JaneDead]

...

[gothicmom]

I hope you get your celing fixed soon.

[Fierce Critter]

GM - if I had been drinking milk when I first saw your avatar, I would have spit milk out my nose. A FROG'S EATING MY CAT'S HEAD!!!

And as far as the ceiling, the leak is still happening. Daddy is coming out today to help me with it - he loves doing stuff like this, and I appreciate his experience with household repairs and stuff. Once we know the leak is completely taken care of, I'll call the landlords to set-up something for them to fix the ceiling.

GOC - We'll take you up on that offer, thanks. Where are you at so we can figure out a plan to pick it up? (PM me if you'd like).

Dyno - thanks so much for asking about what we might need. I tried local Freecycle groups for re-accumulating some of the stuff we left behind, but groups here are a LOT more restrictive than groups were in NC. The groups I was on there allowed pretty much unlimited requests, as they understood things like using the "delete" key for people who ask for too much and don't offer enough, and they also understood people in situations like mine who have to start over nearly from scratch. It was understood that just 'cause you're posting a long list of things, you don't expect to get EVERYTHING. You just never know who might be sitting at home, and realize from reading someone else's list that, "hey - I forgot I had that desk chair collecting dust downstairs, here's someone who can get rid of it for me."

Out of the 7 local groups in my area, only 2 allowed me to post a list of things we gave away on Freecycle in NC. The rest restrict to 1 "wanted" post per week, 3 items per post. With all we left behind, it's nearly impossible to narrow it down to 3 items. So I just gave up posting on those groups. I'll make offers once we're back on our feet (great way to find homes for eBay stuff that doesn't sell), but I can't make requests on such restrictive groups.

Out of the two that allowed me to post a list, I got responses for an entertainment center and a couple CD racks, which we'll pick up Thursday. I didn't request anything we DIDN'T give away to Freecyclers, such as the 27" TV we left behind, vacuum (already replaced from curbside), steam cleaner, etc.

The list I posted follows (and believe it or not, it doesn't include EVERYTHING we gave away - some things we'll just do without for now). If anyone has anything they think we might be able to use, you can PM if you'd like. And our gratitude will be boundless.

Also, besides the following, we need living room furniture. We'll yard sale for that, but we'd love to give a papasan chair a try - not sure if it'll work with the cats, but if anyone wants to discard one, let us know.

(Note: most of the furniture we had was Sauder stuff, so we're NOT picky)

Computer desk with hutch or storage space (we have a small one we found at curbside, but it's proving too small - if we get a more appropriate replacement, we'll offer this one on Freecycle)

Computer/office chair

Filing cabinet - 2 drawer, doesn't have to be pretty

Artist/drafting table

Lawn chairs

Entertainment center (Pending a pick-up of one Thursday night, and if that one doesn't work out, chances are we can salvage one from curbside)

Microwave cart/cabinet

CD rack(s)

Plastic storage bins/cabinets (the kinds that are usually white cabinets with clear pull-out drawers, sometimes on wheels)

Bookshelves of various heights

Baking pans of all types (oblong, cupcake, cookie sheets, jellyroll, etc)

2 small lampshades (from lamps that look like tiny trees with birds & nests)

Storage shelves of various sizes or types to use for bathroom storage (I can give you the dimensions of what will fit if you think you might have something that'll help)

Old towels for drying our dog after baths or other rag-type uses

A small, lockable deep freezer (longshot, but we did get one off Freecycle and gave it away on Freecycle, too)

Ironing board

Covered cat litterboxes

Mats for trapping stray litter from the front of litterboxes

Cat toys & scratching posts

Cat Trees/Condos - we had 2 beautiful ones we'd purchased at yard sales, but again, had no room to bring them

Dog bed (our German Shepherd liked to curl up in a padded basket-type that was actually too small for him, but he liked it and resents my decision to leave it behind)

Outdoor trash cans

Torso mannequin - female from thigh to neck - A longshot I know, but it helped my eBay business

Foldable step stool or stepladder - at 5'2" tall, this was a DUMB thing to leave behind!!!

Roller-type mop

Bucket

Foot stool

Hangers - white plastic ones, skirt hangers, suit/coat hangers, etc

Women's plus-sized black wool winter coat - The one I left behind was purchased at Crowley's over 10 years ago, but just never showed signs of wearing out and was beautiful. Basic peacoat-style, full length, not sure what size I take but somewhere between 22 and 28. I like a broad range of styles if you don't have one fitting that description, but I do prefer black.

Men's dress coat, sized large or extra large (husband stands 6' tall, wears a size large polo shirt, not sure of size beyond that). Not picky about style, left behind a nice tweed one.

Women's plus-sized thigh-length jacket - one left behind was black wool with a drawstring waist & hood, same size range as coat mentioned above. I'm open to other styles, but kinda prefer the drawstring waist & hood type

Men's casual jacket - one left behind was green, thick and padded, might have been down, not sure, with drawstring waist & detachable hood. Might have been Columbia

Men's waist-length casual leather jacket - kinda typical bomber style, brown leather, husband's was missing padding material inside lining.

Bicycle pump

Bicycle lock/cable

Freshwater fishing gear - I managed to squeeze in our poles, but no tackle

Propane barbecue - the one we had was a Sunbeam and wasn't gorgeous, but worked great

Like I said, that's just things we gave away last-minute on Freecycle. There are other things we gave away earlier in the year when we made up our minds to move back, and just started to pare down (lived without living room furniture for almost a year). But some stuff we just don't need right now, and might find again at yard sales (my sewing cutting table was hard to let go, but I don't have room to use one here, and Jon's steel shop table with vise won't be needed until he can buy shop machinery again, that sort of thing).

Thanks again, Dyno, for asking. Anything I can't get through donations, we'll just have to yard sale for or salvage from curbside. That is, if we can afford to with gas prices!