Wow. Tonight is the last night I’ll sleep in that upstairs bedroom with the burgundy walls. The last night in our house.
I couldn’t be happier.
Just in case any of you are thinking about downsizing, here’s a tip for you: start early. If you’re selling your stuff, aim low. Get rid of it.
Michael and I spent a good chunk of our morning driving a rented U-Haul around Longmont, trying to get different thrift stores to take our stuff. (Many thanks to our friend and fellow CrossFitter Dan, who helped us load the U-Haul.) Goodwill took most of it – but not the futon, the computer desk, or the giant entertainment center.
Goodwill recommended the little thrift store up north on Main, the one next to Sonic. That guy took the futon and the computer desk, but not the giant entertainment center.
Planet Ares Thrift Store said no. That left the Habitat for Humanity ReSource Store.
They said yes. But Michael basically had to talk the guy into it, and in the end it was because this entertainment center was actually designed for a flat screen TV.
I need to remember this day the next time I want to buy anything.
We also made a trip out to the dump. Our trash can was full and we wanted to, you know, do the right thing instead of illegally dumping our stuff in some business’s dumpster.
On the bright side, I can now say I’ve visited a landfill. But if there’s a next time I’d try to take a smaller car. A lighter vehicle. Because they charge by weight, and we took the truck. You know, the one with the roof racks, roof top tent, and hitch mount bike rack.
If we accumulate any more trash I’m looking for some business’s dumpster.
So we’re in the home stretch, like I said. We’d been working (hard) all day and now it was dinnertime. I wanted CHUBurger. Michael also thought this was a stellar idea, so off we went.
I didn’t know this, but on the last Tuesday of the month, CHUBurger features a balloon artist for the kids. We watched him make an airplane hat for one kid, make a flower and then sing – amazingly – for another couple. Seriously, this guy has opera training.
At some point, he wandered by our table and explained that since there weren’t any kids in the restaurant, he could make balloon things for the big kids, too. Anything we wanted. He even said it: “I can make anything.” Then he gave us a few suggestions. One of them was a kitty cat holding sticks of dynamite. Sounds like a strange suggestion, right?
We thought it was a fabulous idea, and Balloon Man went to work.
I have to tell you, the end result made my day. I never learned Balloon Man’s real name, but if any of my fellow Longmonsters know him, please let him know that the 10 minutes he spent at our table was the highlight of my otherwise stressful day. Even looking at these pictures now is cracking me up.
And yes, it really was a hat.
