Montreal:

Once stuff is at the mill: I hope to be able to find things that might be needed or will actually suit the new home and forget the rest exists! We dropped off a car load yesterday and refilled the car this am for my next excursion. I told R, "That black cabinet is ready to leave (permanently)" "I have stuff in there!" "Yep. it is in this box here, which I will label." "OK. I will see it again sometime - or not."!!

The cabinet is not gone yet - too large for my car, but a small table which came out of the trash has gone out for someone to pick up. Also a monitor of some sort which was taking up one chair, went out and was picked up almost immediately! (This is a pretty busy street!)

Net win: I was able to clean the lovely Victorian table and I can see most of it! R has been reminded that "Those boards are the shelves for the buffet." A huge (30x40inch) picture of a WWII fighter plane is tucked over there - blocking part of the table until R has time to take it to the plane museum, courtesy of the son of the (94 year old) fighter pilot. And I can get to the palm to water and care for it!

Yesterday's excursion also netted us two lovely stand lamps (we will need a bunch) and a small iris print- with mandarin ducks, and another dozen books, of course. Also a grand plywood wood box for the back deck of new house (very useful!) and a nice wood plant stand - both from someone's trash. Also supper with Geri, and dessert (our fav cookies) at her house to help her think about how to brighten her huge dreary LR, and K. She needs help; I suspect R will be going down there soon to initiate some of our ideas. A ladder and a bit of expertise is needed - the sort he does very well. I do not do ladders any more.

It was a fun day and I am happy that he is beginning to accept the concept of getting non-essentials out of here and then choosing what goes into new home. I am trying to dead up to getting the contents of the dreadful (imo) dining china cabinet packed up and gone, along with the cabinet - "get Chrissy to put it on E-bay" --?? Also the table and chairs that go with it, which are around here somewhere. My theory being that the less there is to move, the easier the move and the less tripe will land in new house. Rather like S's well-planned move.

"Don't you owe Merle something?" elicited a conversation about a beautiful wooden circular staircase he had bought from Merle (next door neighbour at mill). "Could we use it to the basement?" in place of dreadful steep one there. Or maybe to the attic? As he is determined to get to the attic! There is plenty of house without the attic, but.... It could well be put into the to-be Bath room which could put it up to the highest point in the attic. It bothers him that there are two lovely stained glass windows up there that cannot be easily seen. And "lots of room!" Do we really need more room? well...

"moving" right along here! Need to be clear of the back cabinet to get to the shelves hidden behind it - stuff which has not been seen since we placed a full sheet of drywall across to keep Frick and Frack out - in 2010! Or maybe not... There seem to be couple doors there now... Onward and upward! Fools rush in... (My second son was born on April Fool's Day, I told him, at an appropriate age, "if anyone gives you a hard time about having a birthday on AFD, just tell them, YEP, I was born on AFD! Mother was the Fool!" How appropriate! I have heard him use that line.) R's dad's b-day also!