The packers were only here for half a day yesterday, which was expected. It was only a "pre-pack" - just the stuff we could live without for the weekend. When they come on Monday, they'll pack everything else.
Those of you who are Facebook friends know that the packers actually packed our passports (and all our other important documents (like birth certificates), which we keep in a locked cashbox) into one of the boxes! If we were just moving across town or across the country, it wouldn't be a problem, but we NEED those passports to enter Canada, and especially to retrieve our vehicles. No passport = no stuff crossing the border.
Fortunately, the (very keyed-in) packer came across our stack of (expired) passports. He knew we were moving to Canada and thought we might need them - he didn't notice they were expired. So he brought them to me. I gasped! It took us half an hour to dig through eight boxes (multiple times each) before we found the treasure box. Phew! I don't know what we would have done ...
While the packers were noisily and busily wrapping, stuffing, taping and stacking, a technician came to "certify" all of our high-value electrical items: anything that plugs in and is worth more than $100. With the help of Brian - who is small and can squeeze into awkward spaces - the technician annotated every item, with serial number. He didn't actually turn said items on, or test them in any way, so I'm not sure how this differs from the agonizingly detailed inventory I created, but he gets paid to do it and we aren't covered for damages if we don't, so...
Just before he left for the day, the head packer brought me a sheaf of papers. I thought he wanted me to sign something, but no. They were triplicate forms for us to list every high-value item, with serial number and declared value. I told him I had already done this, but he said, "If it's not on these forms, we don't acknowledge it." Great.
So we now have three inventories: the exhaustive one I laboured over, the one the electrical certifier created, and the triplicate high-value inventory for the moving company.
Those of you who are Facebook friends know that the packers actually packed our passports (and all our other important documents (like birth certificates), which we keep in a locked cashbox) into one of the boxes! If we were just moving across town or across the country, it wouldn't be a problem, but we NEED those passports to enter Canada, and especially to retrieve our vehicles. No passport = no stuff crossing the border.
Fortunately, the (very keyed-in) packer came across our stack of (expired) passports. He knew we were moving to Canada and thought we might need them - he didn't notice they were expired. So he brought them to me. I gasped! It took us half an hour to dig through eight boxes (multiple times each) before we found the treasure box. Phew! I don't know what we would have done ...
While the packers were noisily and busily wrapping, stuffing, taping and stacking, a technician came to "certify" all of our high-value electrical items: anything that plugs in and is worth more than $100. With the help of Brian - who is small and can squeeze into awkward spaces - the technician annotated every item, with serial number. He didn't actually turn said items on, or test them in any way, so I'm not sure how this differs from the agonizingly detailed inventory I created, but he gets paid to do it and we aren't covered for damages if we don't, so...
Just before he left for the day, the head packer brought me a sheaf of papers. I thought he wanted me to sign something, but no. They were triplicate forms for us to list every high-value item, with serial number and declared value. I told him I had already done this, but he said, "If it's not on these forms, we don't acknowledge it." Great.
So we now have three inventories: the exhaustive one I laboured over, the one the electrical certifier created, and the triplicate high-value inventory for the moving company.
***
Other move tidbits
Today Steve emptied the crawlspace. I didn't realize how much stuff we had in there, too. Groannnnn. But Brian was excited to see his long-lost Fisher-Price Flip-Track. It hasn't been out of the crawlspace in five years, so I would donate it, but seeing Brian's excitement vetoed that.
Steve and Emily are now on their drive up Pikes Peak. Emily has never been to the top, despite three previous attempts, so it was something she needed to do before we left.
Our fridge and freezer have nothing but bizarre remnants: unsalted butter, meatballs (but we have no tomato or spaghetti sauce), hamburger buns (but no basic bread or meat patties). On the bright side: it'll be easy to clean everything for transport.
We have five huge "china barrels" of crystal and "good" dishes that have nowhere to go at our new house. The dining room is just too small for any kind of china cabinet or hutch, and the kitchen will barely have enough room for our kitchen stuff (and that'll be AFTER we add more cabinets). This downsizing kinda sucks lemons.
Brian is carefully putting each of his treasured Bionicle creations into a ziploc bag so none of the pieces will get lost during the move.
The cat was sedated yesterday because the veterinarian recommended we test the sedative before we give it to her for her long travel day to Canada (and we thought it might be stressful for her to hear all the packing noises). She was very funny to watch - staggering drunk, but still trying to escape the room to which we had confined her. It lasted a good twelve hours.
When we took the cat for her travel certification check-up, the vet noticed that another one of her teeth has gone rotten (she has feline stomatitis). Rather than waiting till we move to Canada, we've scheduled surgery to remove the tooth on Tuesday, while the movers are loading our stuff on the van.
Emily needs bloodwork to check the level of one of her meds (it's one that the body metabolizes differently the longer you are on it). We'll be doing that on Monday morning.
Oh my. What a pain. From here on out I will pray that all goes well.
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