A New Chapter

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A new chapter begins, much as the other first chapter began, with the sounds of hammers and saws blaring in the background. Why would that be? Rather than replace old carpet with new carpet, we’re putting new hardwood flooring on the three downstairs rooms that didn’t have hardwood before. By the time they finish installing, sanding and staining, the whole downstairs will be of a piece. We decided while we were in Arizona that if we didn’t do it now, we’d never do it, and believe me, it’s happening.

Yesterday the moving van arrived from Tucson.  It spent the entire day parked at the bottom of our driveway, turning the barely two-lane street below into a barely one lane passage.  I’m sure the neighbors weren’t thrilled, although no one bothered coming up to the house to complain about it.

We spent the whole day trying to defy physics and see if we could cram the contents of two 4400 square foot houses into one.  Not easy.  To be sure, some of the furniture and extra rugs went to live next door in our property manager’s house. And most of the tools and a lot of the pots and pans kinds of things went into the former barn on the property which is now storage. A couple of bedside tables and a headboard went home with the young men who did most of the physical labor and heavy lifting moving entails.

Somewhere along the way, the underpinnings of the king-sized platform bed and the hardware for the Kawasaki electronic piano went astray.  “Have you gone through all the boxes?” the moving consultant asked me.  The answer to that question is a definite NO! There are literally hundreds of boxes involved, and considering the flooring issue, unpacking those at this time isn’t in the cards. We’re hoping to be able to order replacement hardware for the bed. Bill says he can find what he needs to fix the piano at Ace.  All I can say is more power to him.

For now the bulk of the furniture from the Seattle office, living room and dining room along with the art from Tucson is stacked in the dining room, the flooring of which was refinished earlier this year. The furniture from the bedroom is piled into our bathroom.  As for the dogs? They’re still at the Academy for Canine Behavior.  I expect they’ll be somewhat better behaved dogs when we get them back, but with workmen and movers coming and going, leaving doors and gates wide open, having Jojo and Mary here with us isn’t an option right now, especially since we’re destined to live upstairs until the flooring situation is complete.

The cars have been banished from the garage which is currently packed with boxes of books which include thousands of author copies which will need to be sorted and dealt with eventually, but not until after I finish writing the next Ali book.  Also in the garage are the furnishings, rugs, and household goods that migrated up from Tucson. In other words, it’s a circus right now, but hopefully the results will be worth it.

In other words, we’re safely home if not exactly settled.  

One day at a time, right?

All we have to do is keep on putting one step in front of the other.

28 thoughts on “A New Chapter”

  1. Actually sounds like fun…good luck. Question – if you have any spare books, please consider sending them to me for the two Little Free Libraries we have in our community (Rancho Valencia). I’m the steward for both of them and our stock is low. With school out for the summer, kids and their parents are looking for new reading material. I’ll gladly pay the shipping. Thanks for considering.

  2. Moving has got to be one of the worst jobs in the world! Just glad the actual moving is over. The new floors will be lovely. Going through one box at a time will be exhausting, but maybe a bit fun as you discover something you thought was lost or something you meant to throw away. The good thing is that probably you won’t ever have to go through this again. You are in your forever home. YYAAAAYYY!!!!
    Wishing you all happiness even though we will miss telling our friends that the famous author, J A Jance, lives in the same town as us. Good luck as you settle permanently in Seattle.

  3. Patience is hard to come by, (especially) but I am sure when it’s all done it will be perfect. Good luck in your unpacking and visiting old treasures.

  5. Hang in there! It will all eventually get sorted out and at least we are having some beautiful sunny days up here earlier this year to enjoy! Hugs from Harley and Kerry

  6. Close to overwhelming. We’ll look for completion in a few Fridays.
    Oak or hickory or…?
    Love wood (including kitchens) in both places. And my parents carpeted over theirs. 🙂

  7. It will be beautiful when all done. I just finished Field of Bones, it was great.

  9. Moving is so hard at any age. Downsizing is the hardest. Our kids did not want anything. My moms 3 sets of dishes , the sterling , pictures they said no thank you. We gave to the Veterans , Salvation Army and several other charities. We brought way to much but the best part is there is no expiration Date on opening boxes. We have an extra bedroom so in went the boxes and just closed the door..
    Your right the dogs are better off being kept off site.. I never thought of the back stock you must have. That all authors have. What do you do with all the extras?
    Have a great week don’t forget to just breathe with a nice cup of you favorite beverage.. Jan

  10. We went through a big move 3 years ago. I know how stressing it can be. Take your time—those boxes aren’t going anywhere. My husband was great at saying “a little at a time.” Your move of combining 2 big houses into one is in my future. Not really looking forward to it as I’m not sure if I want to live North or South. Thanks for writing all your books and thanks for your blog.

  11. Good luck. I thought moving one house to another was confusing enough but two plus is a circus at best. Take deep breaths and get what exercise you can.

  12. WOW. I hope you are taking your time and getting proper rest. You have a huge undertaking and as you know, it will not happen in one day.
    I am sure once the flooring is complete and everything is in its place you will be able to sit back and enjoy being settled.
    I have enjoyed showing off my complete set of signed Ali books! Thank you again.
    God bless. Prayers for everything to fall into place with the house.

  13. Packing, unpacking and moving is one of the hardest thing to do and an older almost impossible by ourselves. And a remodel is just are hard, when we installed the whole house (minus kitchen and baths) it was like moving out.
    On another note I now have your new book “The A List” and can’t wait to read it. I love all your books and the different main characters.
    Relax and enjoy your Mother’s Day.

  15. Confused! Are you moving your Arizona house items to your Washington home and redoing the downstairs? Fellow readers help update me on what is going on. I must have missed some blogs.

    • We’re back at the house in Bellevue. The home in Tucson is the one we sold.

  19. Sounds overwhelming. Too bad you are so far away, I could bring you some homemade enchiladas! Good Luck with it all!

  21. A challenging time but one that will pay off well. Wishing you the best of luck with your sanity while trying to settle again and keep living a normal, demanding life. it takes a lot of luck as well as hard work to finish such a big job.

  22. We moved several times when my husband was in the Navy. At the last move, we put quite a few things we didn’t want to keep on the lawn for folks to pick up if they wanted. They were picked up before we knew it. Moving is a good way to get rid of clutter. It’s a tiring job, but worth it. Your dogs will be happy to see you again.

  23. Happy Mother’s Day! To the woman who gives so much of herself to others, thru writings. Thanks much, enjoy your holiday today, as Scarlett would say,”think about “it” tomorrow!” (Your home projects)

  24. Happy Mother’s Day! To the woman who gives so much of herself to others, thru writings. enjoy your holiday today, as Scarlett would say,”think about “it” tomorrow!” (Your home projects)

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