BACK TO NEW YORK

Once the yard sale was over, and I’d gone through everything looking for more stuff to get rid of, it was time to think about getting on the road again.

The yard sale was so successful, that I had enough money to buy a topper for Luv. It arrived on Monday morning, and Janet and I with Stephanie supervising, put it together. We got all but the last two snaps on each side done, and then I needed someone to drill a couple small holes to finish the job. Trust me, since I am once again photo challenged, it looks real nice. (That’s southern for “holy cow, she’s a beaut”!

Time to load up. A friend of Janet’s generously offered to help load the two dressers. (Oak, heavy, really, really heavy) Myra and JT were to help, also, but JT had some health issues, and could not help in the end. Myra and I met at the storage lot where two young men were helping someone in the same building, and she offered them $5 each to load the dressers. Deal! But when one fellow saw the dressers, he opted out saying he had a stomach ache, and couldn’t lift those dressers. So, with Myra and me on one end, and the other fellow on the opposite, we loaded them in.

For the next 5 hours is was just me and Myra. And really, I don’t think more people would have been much help. Myra was in the trailer packing, and I hauled out whatever sized item she wanted to fit in a specific spot. She’s an excellent packer. However, she is adamant!!! This is the very last time she is going to help me move.

The plan was to take one of the rolling shelf units – in tact- to my daughter in Richmond. I thought of putting a layer of totes on the bed of the truck, then slide in the shelf, tying it to secure it, and packing in and around it. But with many warnings on how I could be killed if it came flying through the back window, it was put directly on the bed, and really packed in.

She bet me that when my daughter saw how the shelf was packed in, she’d tell me thanks, anyway- you keep it. Not an option, I had to pick up a sofa from her and take it to New York.

I got to Richmond around 6 p.m. – already dark. The plan had been to unload immediately, then get up and leave for Brooke’s at about 6 a.m. to join her for an outing.

Didn’t happen. I met Riley, a newly adopted grandpup, a companion for Brownie, we went out for dinner, or rather, didn’t because of the long lines and fell gratefully into bed. Up early, we had to unload 90% of the truck to get the shelf out, - loaded in the sofa, and threw all the bags (big, big space bags of fabric) back into the truck and went out to lunch.

While there, My daughter gave me a down comforter she decided she didn’t want any more. I’d never owned a down comforter, but enjoyed them in a couple guest rooms on my journey. So I jumped at the offer.

Before I left, I had to back the trailer and turn around. It’s a good thing I had plenty of room! It took about 30 minutes to accomplish the job. What a nightmare! I’ve got to make sure I don’t get into a situation where I have to turn around again.

I finally hit the road – it’s only about an hour to Brooke’s and since she was away from home til the afternoon, it was a leisurely drive. The trailer towed beautifully!!! I need to peel the rest of the film off the back side windows – they make it hard to see any vehicle in my blind spot.

I arrived, and had not even turned the ignition off, when Brooke called to say she was on the way. In September, Brooke had just her two working dogs with her, but now she had the “girls”, too. Gabby, a 4# bundle of noise and energy, and Guapa, about 8# of Spanish lady. Guapa is the matriarch at about 10 years of age.

As I walked up to the house, Gabby was in the window barking her head off. I had trouble opening the front door because of Denver and Andy jumping up on it, then 12 feet and 3 tails exploded past me and down the path. Guapa was last out. She ran down the path about 4 – 5 feet, stopped, looked back at me, looked at the 3 tails disappearing down the path, then ran back to me and smothered me with puppy kisses. Aw-w-w the joy of grandpups!

Brooke arrived back from a day of horse shopping. I had a horse when I was a teenager, and my girls were raised on horseback. Brooke has a friend with horses and she has accompanied her on many horse camping trips and trail rides, and has decided it is time to get her own.

We went to her friend’s house for a bonfire and a meal of hot dogs, and S’mores. It was delightful. Brooke wanted me to see the baby rabbits. One was brought out for me to hold. It was just a few days old, so tiny and soft, and ew-w-w-wue! It peed on me!!!! And peed, and peed. I swear something that little couldn’t have that big of a bladder!!! Brooke has a photo as proof of my humiliation – I’ll have to get her to e-mail it to me. Brooke claimed she held one for 20 minutes and it didn’t pee on her. Her friend’s husband says that in 20 years, he has never had one pee on him. So, what’s so special about me?

Brooke has a new camera outfit – SLR digital, so she decided I needed to upgrade my camera and swapped her Panasonic for my Canon. It is an improvement – has more pixels, and has much better color. She didn’t know where the manual was, but showed me where the chip was and told me there was an opening on my computer for it. (Not there) I’ve always used a cord connection to upload photos. We looked at my cord and decided it would fit (it didn’t) So - once again, I am photo challenged!
No more photos until I get the needed equipment from her. (But I still can do the long past due blogs of Montana - and will!)

In the morning, I dropped off the stuff I had for Brooke, and headed for NY. It was such a beautiful fall day. The trees were in top form and flaming with color. It wasn’t until I got to NY that it was obvious the peak of color had passed.

I tried to program Jack to take a certain exit, but couldn’t get it set up. As I was gliding up the New Jersey turnpike, I spotted my exit. Oops, too late, can’t make it with the trailer tagging along, and traffic behind me. So, once again, up the turnpike I went. But, let me tell you, I didn’t feel as vulnerable driving Luv. When I had to stop, I just made sure I used parking spaces
I could just pull through. Except for one stop. I was getting sleepy, so I slowly pulled through the parking area – but there was no place for truck/trailer rigs. I spotted a small parking area that opened to the road, and stopped. Upon returning to Luv, I saw that the entry to the road was blockaded. Oh, crap! I can’t back that trailer. Luckily, there were few cars in the lot, and I was able, finally to make a U-turn and get out of there.

I arrived in Glens Falls late that night. The next morning, we unloaded the trailer – thank goodness for big, strong teenaged boys! Then it was time to take the trailer back. Did I mention Angie lives on a dead-end street? That means backing and turning the trailer. First Amanda tried – then I tried. No matter how careful we were, the trailer wouldn’t go where we wanted it to go.

So, what do Real Women do when confronted with a situation like this? Real women unhitch the trailer, turn it and the truck around, re-hitch and head off down the road!!!!!

Until next time!
Bear Hugs

Luv ‘n Boots