It was another day where I was kept busy with moving-related chores and errands. I loaded up the back of the truck with stuff for Restore and then went to our storage unit, emptied it and closed it out. There was so much inside that I had to leave the tailgate down to fit all the boxes.
Let me give the good folks at Habitat for Humanity ReStore a plug here. If you have extra furniture, housewares, electronics, appliances, building materials and/or home decor, consider donating to this worthy cause. If you need any of the above, check out your local store. We donate far more than we buy, but I’ve purchased a dehydrator, a microwave and LED lightbulbs at ReStore. If I was just starting out, it would be a great resource.
Giving Stuff Away
The first round of chores done, I came back unloaded the storage unit boxes into the garage and made arrangements for a neighbor to come by and pick up five boxes of books. He works for an addiction recovery center and people there are always looking for something to read.
I gave away hundreds of books this spring during the COVID-19 shutdown. I had originally kept these books for myself because they are all authors I like, but as we get closer to the move and I see how much stuff we have compared to how much space is available, I have to make the tough choices.
The majority of my remaining library is now survival-related books, mostly non-fiction but with some fiction.
Extra Furniture
The son and daughter-in-law of an old friend came by with their trailer and took away our china cabinet and old sofa from what we once called “the play room.” These items will not grace their dining room. We are the original owners of the sofa, but that the second of that china cabinet, which was probably built in the 1930s.
Another young couple picked up our recliners, which we had advertised for free online. These were probably the most comfortable places to sit in the entire house. It had been a three-recliner set, but I had sat in one so long, the back gave out. We have already purchased a new sofa with two built-in recliners which is already at the new house n my Man Cave/TV room/home office. It’s a nice piece that has built in USB plugs so you can charge your phone or other device, but it does not have cup holders. I didn’t realize how much I liked the cup holders until they were gone…
In the afternoon, I made another run, this time to the Fedex store to ship out Christmas presents to the kids and in-laws. There will be only three of us at Christmas this year.
I also dropped some items off at the consignment store and pocketed $56. (Hey, every little bit helps.) Of course, they wrote me a check, so I had to zip over to the bank and feed it to the ATM.
Getting Documents Notarized
On Friday afternoon, we stopped by our local credit union and got some sale-related documents notarized. I expect we will have to do this at least once more. Notarization is apparently something that is difficult to do online. (I guess no one has been able to set up a Zoom notary.) But we had a few things that required “wet” signatures as opposed to electronic signatures.
In the midst of the first COVID-19 lockdown, my wife had to sign some legal documents. Her attorneys actually met her outside the building, had her sign them in the parking lot while the notary watched from a distance. Once my wife was finished, she backed off and the notary came and signed off. They aren’t doing that any more.
When I went to clean out my safe deposit box at the bank a few months ago, I had to make an appointment and be met at the door of the bank to be let in. At the credit union, we can just walk in. Funny how different places have different standards, even if they are in the same business.
COVID-19 Lockdowns Continue to Grow
As the U.S. experienced its second day of more than 200,000 coronavirus cases and another increase In hospitalizations, states and cities are introducing new lockdown measures. For example, San Franciso has issued a say at home order
New York State, which in July and August had fewer than 1,000 new cases per day, saw its cast load increase by 11,000. Cases are again worse in New York City, which has a 7.25 percent testing rate. During the slower summer months, the rate was well under 1 percent, so this represents a significant climb.
In vaccine news, Pfizer announced that it may not be able to produce as much vaccine as fast as it expected because it is having problems sourcing the raw materials it needs. Today, it announced that pregnant women, women who are planning to get pregnant, and nursing mothers should not take its new coronavirus vaccine because there is not sufficient safety data available yet on that population. There is no data because pregnant women were not included in the trial. The vaccine is also not recommended for children, again because it was not tested on children.
My guess is that women who want the vaccine will discuss the potential risks and benefits with their doctors and make an informed decision.
