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New House
No money is better spent than what is laid out for domestic satisfaction. |
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Sunday, July 11, 1999
One year ago: Eagles Lodge
Two years ago: Vacation Wrap-up
My weekend plans were still unmade on Friday afternoon, because Jack didn't know until then whether he'd finally be able to get in to the house he is now renting. If the handover had been delayed, he and his daughter would probably have come to Seattle again, but since he did get the keys, I decided to drive up there and camp out with them in the new place. (Camping out because the furniture isn't there.)
But because this was a last-minute decision, I didn't have my bag with me, so I had to drive home from work and repack it before heading north. Of course, the fates decreed that even though I popped out of work early, there was an accident on 520 and a twenty-minute drive took an hour! I was able to maintain my equanimity, though.
The drive north was pleasant, once I got past Everett! But the first half was painfully slow, creeping along. Jack had given me directions to his place, which is in the Fairhaven neighborhood, but on the east side. Just as people describe themselves as living in Fremont when they really live in Ballard, the district around his apartment (or would you call it a townhouse?) is nice, but it's not full of historic old Victorian houses like the heart of Fairhaven. Still, the Fairhaven name has a certain cachet.
As soon as I arrived and was shown around the place, we hopped in the truck and drove north to the storage unit Jack had rented, to grab some stuff. We visited Costco, ate, then came back home. Home! Jack was so happy the first time he said that. Living out of a motel for six weeks is no fun, when you aren't geared for it.
H--- had a cot in her bedroom, and the plan was that Jack would sleep on the air mattress we bought las weekend, and I'd sleep on the foam pad. Oops! The air mattress had sprung a leak, probably from some random sharp object on the floor of my bedroom. I insisted that Jack take the foam pad, and I'd take the floor. I knew that even if I was uncomfortable overnight, I wouldn't be incapacitated, and I was concerned that Jack's back couldn't take a night on the floor. He felt guilty about this -- his hosting duties weren't being taken care of properly!
* * * * * * * *
I did wake up periodically during the night, but I was able to go back to sleep without a problem. I was more bugged by my radio batteries running down! Listening to South Park on the tv sound band gave me some strange dreams in the early part of the night.
Breakfast at International House of Pancakes, then off to the storage unit again, this time in Jack's blue minivan. This was the first time I'd ridden in that vehicle; he'd had it parked all the time I've known him because of a mysterious mechanical flaw that seems to have gone away now. We packed that sucker full! A lot of miscellaneous stuff from his old place. He really won't need to do much shopping for staples. Having his daughter H--- there was a big help; she's more limber than either of us, so could more easily crawl around inside the van and rearrange things.
We unpacked and put away for the next few hours, taking breaks the while. It wasn't uncomfortably hot, but Jack was getting over a virus that had made him feel terrible Thursday night, so he didn't have all the energy he would have normally.
His new place is one of thirteen units. It has a garage assigned to it, but it's not attached, or even just across the parking lot; you have to go down some stairs to another side of the development. He's very happy to have the storage available, though. You enter the house through the kitchen (there's a half-bath there), then go through a dining area to a fair-sized living room. Sliding glass doors lead to a covered deck that's mostly private. Upstairs: two bedrooms, one large, and a very tiny bathroom. Jack will need to figure out a better storage solution for the bathroom; he ran out of counter space in his old one and this is even smaller!
We'd taken note of some furniture stores on Friday evening, and we looked in the phone book for others. Jack wants to get new furniture for his living room and bedroom, now that his kids are older and there aren't pets to trash the place. H--- decided to stay home by herself, and he and I drove off again to look at couches and recliners and reclining couches. I really liked the solid wood furniture at Woodcrafters, for the entertainment center Jack wants for his TV and stereo stuff. Jack didn't make a purchase there, but did take some notes on things he liked.
From the sublime to the ridiculous, we went from fine wood to United Furniture Warehouse, of TV notoriety. To tell the truth, I'm a furniture snob! I don't care for vulgar velour furniture, and that's what most of the stuff at United was! But there was a leather couch and loveseat, both reclining, that Jack liked and that didn't displease me. I tried to keep my opinions subdued and abstract, since I'm not the one buying the furniture.
Jack could wait for the living room stuff, but he was determined to solve the sleeping arrangements. He didn't want to have me sleep on the floor, or on an air mattress, or on foam, one more night! But he didn't see a bedroom set that was perfect. On our way out, the daybeds and trundle beds caught our eye. What if --? What if Jack got two twin mattresses, a daybed, and a trundle bed? Then there would be room for the two of us when I visit, but he'd have more space in his bedroom/office when sleeping alone. They had two good single mattresses in stock, so we could take them and the trundle bed frame with us in the van, that very day! So that's what we did.
* * * * * * * *
I'd seen a notice in the Bellingham paper that morning. There's a beautiful old vaudeville cinema house, The Mount Baker Theatre, that's been restored downtown. That night, they were playing Titanic! I was interested in seeing it again, and H--- was in favor of that also. So Jack went along with our wish, even though he'd been making a point of not seeing the film, for some reason. We had to rush to get there, and Jack was uncomfortable with indigestion during the film, but I was glad to have seen it in such a setting, and Jack wasn't entirely bored. The whole ship-sinking sequence still has such power! There are so many good character actors in the movie.
We stopped at the grocery store after the movie, and what started as picking up a few things turned into a huge shopping trip! Jack bought a lot of food. He's still limited in what he can cook, though, because his kitchen stuff is still packed up with his furniture, and won't be delivered to him until next week. He sprang for one small Silverstone skillet, so he can fry an egg or two.
Afer we got home and had some ice cream, Jack wanted me to get out his laptop and do some writing, while he continued to unpack and put things away. (Did he want me to get out of his way?? or did he just think I'd worked enough? I choose to believe the latter.) But I was too tired to write, so we went to bed.
* * * * * * * *
Breakfast was cereal on the porch. "This is the first meal I haven't had to go out for, in six weeks!" Jack exclaimed. The ice cream the night before didn't count with him, being just a snack. I'd originally intended to head back home early in the day, but that didn't quite happen. Instead, Jack had a series of bad-luck incidents, none serious, thank heaven.
We decided to do some walking around the older part of Fairhaven, then go to another furniture store. Jack decided to move his minivan into his garage before we left. As H--- and I were waiting in the lower courtyard by the open garage door, we heard an loud crunch! Jack called us back up; he'd knicked a car behind him while backing up, and pulled the parking lights off the left front of his own van! He was really unhappy, and mad at himself and the world, for several minutes. We didn't know who the car belonged to, so he left a note, and we decided to take the truck.
When Jack tried to plug his cell phone into the recharger that plugs into the cigarette lighter outlet, he made a mistake in the order in which things need to get plugged in. He blew the fuse for the interior lights and dash lights, which he hadn't done for some months!
We had a snack in one of the charming cafes in old Fairhaven, then walked around admiring the shops. The weather was just perfect! We drove down to the park that's past the bus and train station there, and looked out at the water and boats. There were board sailors present, but they were on land, putting their boards and sails away; The wind just wasn't blowing correctly, it seemed.
We headed north, to a nice, full-service furniture store, and inspected their couches and recliners. (They didn't have much to speak of in entertainment centers.) Jack didn't come to any decisions, though there were some very nice pieces there.
We drove back to downtown, to the neighborhood near the Georgia Pacific plant, where Jack works. There were some funky stores nearby that he wanted to look at. But as we were turning around, on a street that's actually a pier, the truck choked and died. Out of gas! Jack was almost banging his head against the fender in frustration, poor guy. The agitation from the fender bender earlier meant that he hadn't checked the gauge, which he always does!
So we walked a few blocks and found one of the antique stores open, one of the ones we would have been visiting if it hadn't been for running out of fuel. The old man sitting in front (I think he was actually whittling!) told us that there was a gas station just four blocks away, and pointed us in the right direction. So we had a walking tour of the Old Town neighborhood anyway. I liked the district, funky-industrial like Ballard. The gas station guy even lent us the gas can, instead of making Jack buy a new one.
* * * * * * * *
We stopped for a meal (a late lunch, I guess) at Skylark's cafe, back in Fairhaven. It was really nice! Hidden in an alley, with ideal weather for us to sit outside. All this took longer than we thought it would, of course, but we had no further bad-luck outbreaks. I didn't get on the road south until after five o'clock.
I think Jack made a good choice for his new living arrangements. I like it that it's off the southernmost freeway exit in Bellingham proper, instead of a half-hour north of the city like some of the places he was considering. It's not fancy, but it's inexpensive enough that he can save money to buy some land, which is what he's dreaming of. There's quite a collection of seventies-era wallpaper on the walls, but his daughter's room has glow-in-the-dark stars sprinkled on it.
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