So I

finally got everything put away and it turned out to be very cosy. And I think I've finally gotten rest and my ankles are not swollen to the size of softballs. :) It is a bit of a cross between a little girl's room and an old lady's, I think, but I'm sort of in the middle, so I guess that works out.

Tomorrow I pack

Well, begin packing, anyway. It's going to take awhile. I went by U-Haul and got a bundle of 25 boxes (for 73 cents each!) and some box tape. The plan is to begin in the living room, to pack the books that I want to keep, and then I'll be able to pack up the ones to be donated after that, in different types of boxes for now. The U-Haul boxes will be uniform and easier to store. I may eventually need to get some for the donated ones, but for now, I'm going to focus on what to keep, so I can start taking them over to the storage unit. The art will all go, too, although there's one triptych with two of the paintings that are too big for my car, I believe, so they may have to go last. And then there's YKWIA's self-portrait, which is on a larger canvas. But I think all the others will fit in my car. Then there are furniture/major items.

To keep:

• The kitchen island
• The microwave stand
• All of the bookshelves that come apart and fold up
• The bookshelf with glass doors
• The bookshelf that matches my computer desk
• The bookshelf my dad built
• The computer desk and maybe the printer stand, if I still have the triangular piece that goes with them, along with the desk's hutch
• The steamer trunk
• My aquarium
• The table (which comes apart)
• The curio cabinet
• The CD/DVD stand
• The boards and blocks the plants usually stand on
• The queen mattress and box springs
• Ma Craig's hourglass table (it has sand and works)

Not going:

• The cherry end tables
• The loveseat, which was 'found' by the Dumpster fourteen years ago, so it gave its all
• The entertainment center
• The tall Sauder bookshelf
• The short pressboard bookshelf
• The bed [it has a broken cross rail that cannot be repaired, after 30 years of service]

Maybe keep/maybe go:

• The dresser
• The two chest-of-drawers
• Two occasional tables
• The two steel shelving units in the closet
• The table I'm using as a TV stand [Brenda might be able to use it as a potting stand]

Taking with me to the house:

• The laptop and accessories
• My printer
• My floor speaker that is Bluetooth
• (Perhaps) one folding bookcase
• Two bins, one for clean clothes, one for dirty ones, to go in the closet
• Two small trash cans, one for trash, one for recyclables
• (Maybe) the TV and DVD player
• The plants!

I'm going to see if Brenda can take the fish. If not, maybe I can get Animal House or another pet store to take them. There are three pretty goldfish and a Chinese algae eater. Of course, some small things will go, like some clothes, my CPAP, etc. But most of the small things will either go to storage or Goodwill. That's all I can think of at the moment, anyway. But tomorrow starts all the decisions of what to keep and what to purge.

Well, I am the proud renter of

a storage unit. I went with Space Center Storage over on Stone Road. I tried first over on Richmond Plaza, which is closer to my current apartment, but they showed me the 10'x10' unit and it simply wouldn't be big enough, but the 10'x15' would be, and they didn't have any climate-controlled ones available. Because the items I need to store include books, art, and furniture, it's important for the temperature and humidity to be controlled. I set it up so the monthly rental fee and insurance (required) come directly off my debit card, in case something happens and I might otherwise miss that date. I also got a heavy-duty lock from them. I almost got some boxes but decided to check out U-Haul and they have them much cheaper. I'm going to go over there in a little while and get some boxes and tape. Needless to say, those were on the list from last week, which got interrupted by appendicitis. So if I take what I had left, let's see what else there is [with a couple additions]. I'd like to complete all of this by tomorrow evening:

1. Tour and rent a storage area for the move.
2. Obtain or at least line up some boxes.
3. Work on reducing/weeding books.
4. Take out the trash and recyclables.
5. Do some cleaning.
6. Do some job hunting.
7. Write up my notice for my apartment manager in preparation for the move, to be given on Sunday.
8. Pay my COBRA bill so it's in time for August.
9. Create a timeline/Gantt chart for the move.
10. Finalise my list of what from each room will go to the house, and what will go into storage.
11. Research movers, as neither my friends nor I, can handle the big stuff.
12. Find a missing book from the library that is camouflaged among mine.
13. Do laundry.

I did get a little rest, too, sleeping later than I planned today and taking a short nap later after coming back from the storage place. I haven't slept much this past week, we had an incredibly busy week (over 100 in clinic each day except Friday, and over 200 on the schedule for Wednesday). Next week is slower (yay!) and I'm off Friday for the delivery of the furniture over at YKWIA's. On Monday I have a phone interview from the University of Kentucky Medical Library for the nurse liaison librarian position I applied for in the spring. :) My boss is aware, and I'm going to have them call me on my lunch break.

Okay, I'd better pay my COBRA now (so there's time before the end of the month for it to credit), it was the main reason for getting onto the computer this afternoon, although I did want to blog, too. Then I'm going to go get those boxes and do some work on the apartment before running over to a friend's house to help him feed the animals and check on him since bending is not an option for him still. Have a good weekend!