Excitement!
This may fall under the heading of "It doesn't take much to make me happy" but we finally, after at least five years, got a storage unit that's
When we sold our house on the Kitsap Peninsula we thought for sure we would be buying another house so we basically boxed up everything except our instruments and a few changes of clothes with the aim to put it all in storage while we shopped.
I did some calling around the area for prices and such and we went out to check them out, starting with the place closest to the ferry. When we walked in the door of the office the manager took one look at us and gasped, "Oh, my GOD! It's Pint and Dale!" Like we were stars or something. Turns out he and his wife are HUGE fans of ours, their kid has grown up on our music and knows all the lyrics to all our songs and inflicts our recordings on her friends... and when they didn't have a unit the size we were looking for he rented us four smaller ones at a huge discount so as to accommodate us. All of which is wonderful except the storage place is more like a string of antique garages only marginally protecting things from the elements.
No problem, we thought, we're buying another house soon, right?
No. Of course not. House prices were skyrocketing, we couldn't decide on where to live and then we had to go on tour so Mom said, very kindly, just stay with me until we decide what to do. We've been here at the houseboat ever since. It's worked out just fine for all of us but frankly having to take a $40+ ferry ride to access our winter or summer clothes or the sound system or that thing we need but can't remember where it is or the suitcases/backpacks/instrument flight cases... Well, it got old fast.
Also quickly not fun was the few items of furniture swelling stuck from dampness, the mold infiltrating everything even in tightly sealed containers, the thick layer of dust and dirt that got in under the doors, the extremely healthy population of spiders, and the occasional not so healthy dead rat. Oh, and paying money to store things that if we'd been thinking rationally at the time would have gone to a dump, thrift store or deserving friends. It's not much money (thanks to our wonderful fan!) but on our budget any money is kinda important.
We made a valiant effort last summer and actually scheduled going through the units to figure out what was dump worthy and do the dump run and presto, all of us got sick, one after the other so that for a month and a half we were all MISERABLE. Then we went on tour.
Well, now we actually have a space to move things to. Next week it begins and by all the gods, divinities and good spirits, we are going to DO THIS THING. We are NOT going to get sick, the van will be just the right size to hold everything we are going to keep, the dump run will be trouble free, the local thrift store will be thrilled to take all our cast offs, our local friends will NEED a bicycle or two (or three- any takers?) and it will all go really, really, REALLY easily.
And all the rats, spiders and mold will stay behind and not come to the new place which is way too clean and shiny to want anything like that.
So there.
Now I'm going out shopping with my Mom- we're going to get keys made, get potting soil for the container garden, something delicious for dinner and then I'm going to come home and sunbathe.
When we sold our house on the Kitsap Peninsula we thought for sure we would be buying another house so we basically boxed up everything except our instruments and a few changes of clothes with the aim to put it all in storage while we shopped.
I did some calling around the area for prices and such and we went out to check them out, starting with the place closest to the ferry. When we walked in the door of the office the manager took one look at us and gasped, "Oh, my GOD! It's Pint and Dale!" Like we were stars or something. Turns out he and his wife are HUGE fans of ours, their kid has grown up on our music and knows all the lyrics to all our songs and inflicts our recordings on her friends... and when they didn't have a unit the size we were looking for he rented us four smaller ones at a huge discount so as to accommodate us. All of which is wonderful except the storage place is more like a string of antique garages only marginally protecting things from the elements.
No problem, we thought, we're buying another house soon, right?
No. Of course not. House prices were skyrocketing, we couldn't decide on where to live and then we had to go on tour so Mom said, very kindly, just stay with me until we decide what to do. We've been here at the houseboat ever since. It's worked out just fine for all of us but frankly having to take a $40+ ferry ride to access our winter or summer clothes or the sound system or that thing we need but can't remember where it is or the suitcases/backpacks/instrument flight cases... Well, it got old fast.
Also quickly not fun was the few items of furniture swelling stuck from dampness, the mold infiltrating everything even in tightly sealed containers, the thick layer of dust and dirt that got in under the doors, the extremely healthy population of spiders, and the occasional not so healthy dead rat. Oh, and paying money to store things that if we'd been thinking rationally at the time would have gone to a dump, thrift store or deserving friends. It's not much money (thanks to our wonderful fan!) but on our budget any money is kinda important.
We made a valiant effort last summer and actually scheduled going through the units to figure out what was dump worthy and do the dump run and presto, all of us got sick, one after the other so that for a month and a half we were all MISERABLE. Then we went on tour.
Well, now we actually have a space to move things to. Next week it begins and by all the gods, divinities and good spirits, we are going to DO THIS THING. We are NOT going to get sick, the van will be just the right size to hold everything we are going to keep, the dump run will be trouble free, the local thrift store will be thrilled to take all our cast offs, our local friends will NEED a bicycle or two (or three- any takers?) and it will all go really, really, REALLY easily.
And all the rats, spiders and mold will stay behind and not come to the new place which is way too clean and shiny to want anything like that.
So there.
Now I'm going out shopping with my Mom- we're going to get keys made, get potting soil for the container garden, something delicious for dinner and then I'm going to come home and sunbathe.