Moving van

Sometime between eight and nine this morning, the moving van is due to take what remains of our stuff -- mainly the large bits of furniture -- to Madison. So that's what Tom and I will be up to today, but not quite the way we expected.

The winter storm forecast changed our original plan. This morning is supposed to bring a wintry mix, turning to snow and accumulating perhaps as much as six inches before it ends tonight. The movers say they will move us no matter what the weather, which meant someone had to be in the Dells to deal with them there and in Madison to let them into the apartment. When we heard this on Saturday, we decided that I would come to the apartment Sunday morning with the cats and all their stuff.  Originally we thought I could take off after they arrived to start loading this morning, but the forecast made that sound iffy. The movers might be confident that they can deal with any weather problems, but we were not so sure we wanted to take any risks. So yesterday morning, after a few hours of helping Tom move things around to make it easier for the movers, I said my goodbyes to Rich and Peggy, loaded the cats into the Equinox and headed south.

They were fairly well behaved on the trip down. The vet had given us Valium for them and it helped. There was very little complaining. About ten miles north of Madison they decided to have a spat, but it was over quickly. I got them into the apartment without running into any dogs -- of which there are many in this building! -- and they wandered around suspiciously -- "What fresh new hell is this?" clearly in their minds -- before deciding that Tom's walk-in closet was the best place to hide and sleep off their meds.

Last night they and I spent our first night in the new digs. We were not exactly roughing it, but between the cats' constant prowling and exploring and trying to join me on the leaky twin-sized air mattress I tried to sleep on, it was not the best night we've ever had. But at least we were warm, safe and sound and that part of the experience is over, for us at least.

Now I am trying to get the apartment ready to receive the movers late this morning. Tom is back in the Dells directing operations there. Once the movers leave the house with our stuff and head in my direction, Tom will make a decision about whether the weather will permit him to join us here. Much depends on when the snow arrives in its full force. With luck, he will be able to get here not long after the movers arrive. By the end of the day we hope to have furniture arranged and, most importantly, beds reassembled so that we can collapse in comfort and snooze the snooze of the just. 

If weather forces Tom to wait until tomorrow, the cats and I will arrange what furniture we can, unpack bins and put things away. My bed will not be put back together, but at least the cats and I can sleep on a queen-sized mattress instead of on an air mattress that was designed for one human, not a human and two cats in need of comfort.

After a quick breakfast, I ran over to Woodman's Market and picked up some food to tide us over until the storm passes: frozen pizza, chips, frozen breakfast stuff, cheese, frozen Chinese. Oh, and some yogurt and granola bars so that I can pretend I at least thought about our health.

I will post later to tell you what happened!

Hope your own day is a bit more relaxed.