This week came with a bit of a reality check at the Kermit House. It was time to rent a truck and move the heavy stuff, like our couches and bed, from the old apartment to our new home. Both Kelly and I associate the old place with cramped, noisy living and are in no hurry to spend any time there. In truth, once we started sleeping at the house, we all but abandoned the apartment.

Along with the house, we had invested in some affordable futons, a new dining table and chair set, and a sectional couch since we now have twice as many living rooms. It had gotten us by despite leaving most of the house empty.

This week, it was time to dig in. We got a 15’ U-Haul for 1 day and loaded it up with help from our friend, Lee.

Finding a truck had proven to be a challenge in itself; it took several days before Kelly was able to book one. In the 24 hours we had it, we managed to move two full loads of stuff. The will to do a third load was there, but the physical limitations of our middle-aged bodies felt otherwise.

It’s funny how small rooms get, when you start putting furniture in them. And it’s funny how small a garage gets, when you pack it with boxes. Well, sort of funny.

The great day of hauling happened on Friday. The original plan was to do the move, then a quick sort of some boxes, and then joining the neighborhood garage sale, also happening that weekend, for an easy way to reduce clutter without even bringing the stuff into the house.

Our ambitions may have been a tad optimistic. In hindsight, you might even call it crazy. But the intention was good, and we did get about 75% of everything out. We still need to get a smaller truck for one more day, to finish the job.

The good news is that the new house is feeling more and more like a home to us as well as the cats – they were happy to welcome the familiar scents of the old furniture. As for the humans, we have our own bed and dressers now, no longer sleeping on futons and getting dressed out of cardboard boxes. It’s a win!

Finally, my home office has been taking shape. Calling it an office might be a stretch as this point, because it’s really more of a media room with a tiny desk in the corner. I can’t wait to make things there, though. The idea is to add a futon for guests and collaborators to use, but pretty much everything else is dedicated to making music and video.