023 THE TORNADO DAY

Yesterday felt like a tornado ripped through here in more ways than one.  The wind was howling outside and the rain was coming in sideways outside.  Inside the packers were going through the house and packing everything in sight.  I was amazed at how fast everything was being packed carefully into boxes.  Treasures, long forgotten were being unearthed, such as my two commemorative Wilkinson swords.  I didn’t actually forget about them, but I had no idea where they were until they were discovered in the garage.

BIG PILE

PACKING PACKING PACKING

BOXED AND STACKED

I took Toby out for his walk in the park, where we darn near drowned and then went to McDonalds and bought the guys breakfast.  The two guys working downstairs, I kept up a steady chatter with and you could tell that the three of them had worked together as a team for a long time.  The steady proficiency with which they worked together, meshing like a well-tuned machine.  That combined with the steady ongoing banter between them, just made everything fun.

The fellow working in the attic, just quietly and quickly went about his job.  He was so quiet that it was almost hard to remember he was there until he made an appearance downstairs to ask about something.  The whirlwind will continue today when they return to pack everything in the truck for transport to the new house.

At 2:00 PM I left the house and headed for the new place, a little ahead of schedule as I had to be there for delivery of the beds.  They were due anytime between 4:00 PM and 7:00 PM.  It’s a good thing I left when I did.  The freeway was fine, but once I got closer to my destination, the highway was backed up for miles.  Power outages from the windstorm had dropped a tree across the road and traffic lights were not functioning.

FIRST MAIL

TOBY'S NEW LICENCE

I finally got to the Post Office where I picked up the keys to my new “Superbox” mailbox.  It’s actually not as bad as some, as I can see it out my dining room window and the neighbour directly behind has a big dog who alerts on strangers at the box.  But I digress, I have been exhausted for the past few days and it showed at the post office.  Even the clerk commented on it.

I was halfway to the destination when I got a call on my cell.  It was the clerk from the Post Office telling me I had left my iPad behind.  So I did a U-turn and went back, fighting that same traffic for a second time.  I gratefully got my iPad back and then started back to the new place.  I finally arrived, stopped at the mailbox and received my first pieces of mail.

The first was Toby’s new license for Maple Ridge and the second was from my lawyer, the documents completing the sale of my house and the registration with the government.  The rest of the mail consisted of a couple of restaurant flyers and 7 flyers from real estate agents wanting to either buy my place or sell me a new one.

COUCH DELIVERY

UNWRAPPED

I got a great surprise phone call and discovered that my couch would be delivered right away instead of on Saturday as planned.  An hour later they were there.  It wouldn’t go up the stairs, so they brought it in through the backyard, onto the deck and in through the patio door.  It was so comfortable having a place to sit finally.

DINNER ARRIVES

DINNER

MAIN BED SETUP

By now I was getting very hungry and one of those flyers proved to be a godsend.  I gratefully ordered a pizza on my cell phone (still don’t have a landline).  In about a half hour, dinner and my beds arrived at the same time.

Two young fellows from Africa brought the beds in and set them up, while we chatted.  The one guy has travelled all over the world and has experienced racism everywhere but he is so amazed at how friendly and welcoming Canada is.  He has toured the country from Newfoundland to BC and the Yukon and Nunavut and just loves it.  He experienced one incident, in Chilliwack of all places where two local rednecks at a bar called him out.  He thought he was in big trouble, when 8 other locals stepped in and dealt rather harshly with the two troublemakers.  He said that people were sending drinks to him all night.  He doesn’t drink alcohol, so they were bottles of water instead.

MAIN BED FRAME

GUEST ROOM BED
TOBY INSPECTING

After they left, Toby and I jumped back in the truck to head “home” for the last time.  To spend our last night sleeping on a hide-a-bed in the old house.  I tried to watch TV, but quickly fell asleep with Toby snoring beside me.