A Moving Story

Once upon a time...the Lairds had a perfectly nice house, perfectly nice furniture and a fantastically nice view. Then for some crazy reason they decided to sell their house and move to Canada!

Their first task was to break the news to Carole and Wendy (house sitters par-exellence) who were not happy to say their goodbyes to 3290 Pacific Heights Rd. Lizzy and Dee said the first of their many goodbyes at a festive dinner.

Next the Martin clan arrived to bid aloha to Marnie and to say their farewells to 3290. Back row: Chris Webber, Ken Webber. Wayne Martin, Cathy Martin. Front row: Katharine Webber, Buck Laird, Doni Laird

Tossing lei and ashes near Marnie's mulberry bushes.

And then it began..sorting, cleaning out, giving away, keeping, tossing etc. etc. Oh the memories this task uncovered.

The shelves began to look bare.

In late March Sara came home to give the Lairds help and comic relief..and to say adieu too.

The food paparazzi

Sushi, poke, wine..doesn't get much better

The sign says not to lean.

The first real confirmation that this was all for real was the Morgan cousins taking the Black Table. How pleased everyone was to have it stay in the family and have a good home.

Before the Back Table was a table it was a piano and this is pretty much what it must have looked like.

There goes the table to into the garage and into Barb and Paul's car.

Remember when the table was there?

A trip to Ko'olina was on Sara's list..along with Korean food for lunch.

It was a chilly beach day even for a Knoxvillian.

The requisite drinks at the Ihilani Hotel

How the place has grown. Remember when there was only 1 hotel?

Then one day George and his guys came to haul our furniture to McClain Auction house

They wrapped and loaded two trucks worth.

Suddenly there were empty rooms.

Wait...maybe we don't want to sell that Chinese chest.

There it all goes, off to auction...Chinese chest and all.

When all that is left of one's bed is the mattress, it just sits on the floor.

A perfect distraction before the movers came were Kristin and Ripley. Long time special friends-like-family from Oklahoma.

We had to make the traditional visit to Little Village.

On April 25 the M.Dyer & Sons truck arrived with its efficient crew, who were also lots of fun to work with.

Boxes, packing paper and shipping containers.

Wrapping a table going to Sara.

The dinning chairs each got their own boxes.

A row of stacked chairs - wouldn't it be fun to crawl through them?

Almost ready to start moving boxes to the garage.

One has to be creative to find a quiet place to sit and check emails.

The mochi bowl. Imagine the thoughts that ran through the movers' heads once they were convinced the Lairds were serious about shipping the mochi bowl. With good humor and help from a fellow they call Fork Lift they set to the task.

Fork Lift and Fork Lift, Jr tilted the bowl to look for centipedes or other such creatures. After a great deal of effort and help from four other strong dudes the bowl was lifted onto the 4-wheel dolly.

Down the path it is wrangled into the garage. Go guys go!

Talk and strategizing about how exactly to get that bowl actually into the truck.

Nailing down the ramp, pushing and pulling without a nasty word said and voila, the bowl was in place, covered with a cozy blue blanket.

Then there was the monkey pod dining table whose legs would not come off.

It was wrapped with extreme care since it is an antique made in the 1930's by a plantation carpenter on Maui.

Next, carefully loaded on a pickup...

Off it went to have its own special crate made for its trip across the Pacific..

Everything is just about loaded.

All aboard and the side is nailed on.

That's the right name.

Off everything goes. Next stop Quadra Island B.C.

Last piece of furniture to go...the double bed from the guestroom AKA Snore Room. Taken away by the house cleaners.

A little touch up.

Empty,

very empty,

 and emptier.

 It took 3 months to get the job done. Time to celebrate.

Cheers..the last glass of wine at 3290.