Downsizing Part IX:

I just finished sweeping the entire basement under the house – The space covers roughly 2/3s of the area of the house proper, but without insulation in the external walls or under the floorboards – There is insulation in the basement ceiling which is actually the underside of the floor of the main house – Well, you get the picture – A couple of weeks back we had our favorite eldest grandson Casey and favorite youngest granddaughter Teiya help in cleaning the “stuff” out of the basement, and for their handyman work we paid them minimum wage of $15/hour – They hauled “stuff” out and up the stairs to the front driveway, and cut up a ton of cardboard boxes we’d used in our move here from Berkeley 13 years ago, and a pink cardboard castle we constructed for the 7th (?) birthday of our favorite eldest granddaughter Venice – So, today the basement was empty except for a pile of blankets and sheets and towels we’d not gathered up and taken up the stairs – Took maybe 3 hours but it is now dust free and clean for the new homeowners, whenever that happens in a month or so…

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About journeysofabentmind

Gordon is a Nisei, a second generation American of Japanese descent born in 1938 whose family owned a farm outside of Atwater, California in the San Joaquin Valley. His world was abruptly changed when on December 7, 1941 Japan’s Imperial Navy launched an early morning attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus began a chain of events that resulted in his family’s forced evacuation and internment in a “relocation center” in Colorado during the war. After the war Gordon spent his teenage years in school and working on the family farm. He attended U.C. Berkeley and graduated in 1960 and went on to the Graduate School of Social Welfare at Berkeley earning a Masters in Social Welfare in 1963. He worked in a number of social service settings and last worked as a case manager for developmentally challenged clients in San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin Counties until he retired in 2000. When his wife Barbara retired in 2007 they moved to Eugene, Oregon following their children and grandchildren. Gordon lives with his wife of 55 years and close to the four grandchildren and life is just good.
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2 Responses to Downsizing Part IX:

  1. Unknown's avatar Anonymous says:

    Hi there, after moving 15+ times, I have a sense of what you might be going through, my unsolicited comment is….. pace…… pace…… and pace and let the young people do the lifting!!
    think of yourself as the move manager!! give orders and provide food and some bucks as necessary!!

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  2. Thanx for your words of encouragement – We’re both in our 80s, so pacing is more or less mandated by our health – We’re in pretty good shape, considering, but we’re listening very closely to what our bodies tell us – and we do have the young ones helping, especially our son who’s doing all our shopping and running of errands for us – Once we’re in our new home, things will be a lot quieter and less hectic – Again, thanx for your thoughts…

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