The Last Detail: Part II

And now the second half…

Kittie and David came down for the weekend. Even though it's tax season, Kittie didn't have to work on Saturday, so she called on Wednesday and suggested they come down for the weekend. I couldn't have been happier. Finally, we could spend a weekend without the house/the move/the sale/the packing being a reason for their being here. It was nice to have a weekend with them without any chores or deadlines to be done or met.

Friday morning, Brandon Pink (fourth generation of Pink Transfer) stopped by to take inventory of the house and put together a quote for the pack and moveout from this house to storage in Monrovia, then a quote for the cross-country move to La Crosse. He sent the quotes later the in afternoon, and everything was falling well within (and below) my budgeted moving costs.

Kittie and David arrived, as usual, late Friday evening. We had some time to chat and watch a "Fringe" episode (the second of the first season; I'm trying to get them hooked on watching streaming Netflix) before hitting the sack.

Jan had called earlier on Friday to ask if she could stop by over the weekend and have me sign the escrow papers, as well as counter the requests from the home inspection. The only requests the buyers had was to 1) provide $100 to clear the drain hose from the dishwasher, and that I replace the water heater (which is really old). I countered, offering an $1,100 credit to them to get these things fixed. I figured that amount would allow them to put in a new water heater (of their choosing, not mine), with enough left over to purchase a new dishwasher, which is really the best remedy.

I told Jan to drop by on Saturday afternoon and we could finish the paperwork. "Just give a call when you're ready to come over," I said.

Saturday morning started slowly, which is the way to start the weekend. After some coffee, we headed off to Andy's for breakfast, stopping off for some groceries on the way home. Kittie brought some huge, perfectly ripe strawberries from Grover Beach, so we got some of those sponge cake cups and a can of whipped cream. Also, since it was pi day (3.14.15), we picked up an apple pie to celebrate the date.

About 2:30 or 3:00, Jan came over with a stack of papers about two inches high. There was lots of signing and initialing and reading and explanations, but we got through all the paperwork, and she was on her way.

I had e-mailed Robin and Evan to let them know Kittie and David were here for the weekend, and inviting them to come over, visit, and see the remodeled house. After Jan left, David decided to take a walk down to Ralph's to get a couple things we forgot earlier in the day.

While David was gone, Robin called to say she and Evan were coming over in a bit. They had both been working like crazy all week, and they were going to make Saturday evening a date night. Also, Robin was scheduled for her big steak, which she has once a year (usually consumed on her birthday, but there was some reason for her to have it tonight).

They showed up about an hour later, and we all visited for about an hour, during which Evan was looking for a good place in town to buy a really good steak for his wife. I suggested the Arroyo Chop House or Parkway Grill, both excellent steakhouse restaurants. They chose Arroyo Chop House, testing later in the evening and raving about how great the food was.

I do a Peeping Tom of Kittie and David from the patio.

The rest of the evening was kicked back: Kittie put together some spaghetti with meat sauce, along with a salad, then we had apple pie, then we had strawberry shortcake. Then more pie. We watched three more episodes of "Fringe," and I think I have Kittie hooked.

Sunday morning we had cinnamon rolls and scrambled eggs, sat around with our devices (two iPhones and an iPad). I showed them a couple of the houses I was looking at in La Crosse, saying I hoped they didn't sell before I had a chance to look at (and possibly purchase) them.

We did have one chore for the weekend, which was emptying out the stuff from the downstairs closet for packing, and David put together the last four empty boxes from the Box Store. We got all the boxed items and flotsam out of the closet and spread out on the dining room table. Once achieved, we all sat and visited just a little longer, not really wanting the weekend to be over.

Kittie and David hit the road around 2:00 in the afternoon, leaving me with this large pile of things to sort/pack/chuck out. True to form, I took a short nap before tackling the pile, and then came up to the office to write this entry before starting in.

The office I'm going to have to wade through myself. Robin has promised to help me packing up the kitchen, which is going to be the biggest task left before moving out (if you don't count training the cat to ride in the car without freaking out. I have a schedule of acclimating her to being in her tube, then being in the car, then riding in the car. It will take about two weeks and hopefully will keep her from going off the deep end into some twisted kitty psychosis because of the four-day, cross-country sojourn.

So the deconstruction of the household is going well.

A definite corner has been turned. The world only spins forward. Excitement builds at what is ahead of me. I am strong and can meet this, merge with the flow and move on.

Tomorrow is the termite inspection, hopefully the last inspection to go through. Since the HOA has a monthly termite inspection and treatment, I'm not too worried about this one.