No, not the English holidays.

These were days when I was surrounded by boxes, a foot high to almost 3 feet high, deciding what went in what box and why.  Sometimes not deciding at all.

Most boxes were almost easy to pack ~ just put an empty medium sized box in each room, then pile in the non-breakables.  Sometimes I’d take time to squish in some packing paper, sometimes not, writing RATTLE OK, on all four sides of the box.

Sure, books went in the smallest boxes.  Sounds easy enough.  But after you pack and tape a few, you realize you have to move all of those weighty tomes to a space where they can live until the movers arrive.

Speaking of packing paper, I did buy at least one box of it.  It’s strong, does the job, and doesn’t get anything, including my hands, dirty as newspaper can.  But my best helper was plastic mover’s wrap ~ it’s like kitchen plastic wrap, but on an easy hand held vertical roller ~ kinda’ like a roll of see-through paper towels.  It sticks to itself after a couple of wraps so you don’t need tape to secure it.  You can wrap almost everything ~ in the kitchen, take out the flatware tray, wrap it up without removing anything, then when you get to your new place ~ snip, snip ~ back in the new drawer.

Nevertheless, I always wound up moving almost every box again, whatever size, however light or heavy, again and again ~ piling them two and three high, never 4 high/OMG; imagine the stones walls of Ireland ~ bigger boxes on the bottom, smallest on top,  with Kitty eventually sleeping on top of, I’m sure, everyone.

But this is where I run into problems ~ trying to find something in the new digs after I’ve unpacked.  Yes, each box was marked, color-coded, and contents listed on the outside of the boxes.  I had to-do lists, checklists & key list, and check-off lists up the wazoo.   I know I packed it and it came with me but where did I put the contents of my perfectly marked/labeled boxes ?  For instance, the cabinet layout in the new kitchen doesn’t exactly duplicate the old place.   So, where did the stuff that was in the old two-shelf cabinet to the left of the stove wind up, when there are drawers to the left of the stove now?   And, more importantly, when will I stop opening each drawer, surprised not to find what I want ?

You know ~ a maze !