Friends: Cheap labour and good times!
Got together this evening with my mom, brother, and two friends that I hadn't seen for a few months. The purpose of this gathering was to chow down on some of the best pizza in the city, catch up on what was happening in all our lives, and load some furniture onto the truck and trailer.
When you have to move, that's when you find out the real value of friendship. Where else are you going to find people willing to perform back-breaking labour for the cost of a pizza and a couple of drinks? :) Now in this case, the labour wasn't exactly back-breaking, but it was certainly strenuous. We moved a large entertainment console (7' long, 2' deep, and 6' high) from the living room onto the truck. Thankfully it comes apart into two sections - the hutch and the base, but both are still very heavy and cumbersome. I'm not sure how trixstir and I are going to be able to unload it and get it into the house on the farm - I think we'll have to call in some help for that one. The other items were the TV that was in the console (Which was nowhere near as heavy but was still quite awkward to handle. I had the original packaging, but there are no handles on the box so it's a bit tricky and it just fits through the front door.) and my electric organ. The organ is a small(ish) one, only two keyboards, and it's not terribly heavy, but it's heavy enough. At least it had handles in the back of its cabinet, so that made it easier to carry. Problem is that the handles don't quite match up with the backing board, so said board cuts into your hand quite a lot. It was a relief to get it onto the trailer and be able to rest again.
In all fairness, I've helped the folks who are helping me move their stuff in the past. But that's what friends are for, each helping the other when and where they can. There is no way I could have loaded those items without help (I couldn't even move them, much less load them!) so it's a great relief to finally have them loaded. I'll figure out how to get them off the truck again once I get out to the farm.
So here's to friends; Life is a lot more fun, and a lot easier, with them at your side! :)