Moving Day

The big day finally arrived, the finishing touches (or rather, the SEMI-finishing touches!) had been made to the kitchen at the new house,  and Mac decided it was time to move away from Family Hill.  Our home was by no means finished, it would take a while to complete all the necessary masonry and carpentry, but at least we had rooms in which to cook, eat and sleep.

The timing of the move coincided with other changes, residing in our new home would not be the only thing different in our lives.  Vanessa and Rachel would begin their Calvert School correspondent courses, and I would once again be a teacher.  I had decided to stop serving breakfast at the Pizzeria, the bakery had been a way to get the ball rolling when the business was new, but it was never supposed to be permanent. With the near-by Gingerbread Café serving cinnamon buns and other baked goods my bakery was no longer a necessity, and I seemed to be throwing away more muffins and cinnamon buns than I was selling. A few regular patrons would miss having breakfast at the Pizzeria, but a later start to my mornings would be welcome!  Mac’s would still offer its popular bread and desserts, but the dining room would open at 11:00 A.M. as opposed to 8:00.

Mac moved the beds, tables and chairs from the house at Family Hill while I was at work, and together we moved the dishes, pots and pans and other kitchen equipment. I would have liked to buy new dishes and cutlery but they were luxuries we could ill-afford, the house had to be finished first! My parents had given us an oven for Christmas, and it matched the stove-top Mac had built into the large kitchen counter.  The kitchen was BIG, with ample counter space and cupboards.  The cupboards didn’t have doors yet but that was okay, as long as everything else was ready so was I.  My new kitchen was terrific, I would now be able to make soup stocks and the daily specials in the comfort of my own home, a blessing indeed after the tiny kitchen in the house on Family Hill!

Vanessa and Rachel were excited by the move, and busied themselves organizing their bedroom.  Although their room had two beds they preferred to sleep together, it would take a while to wean them from that particular habit!  Mac asked one of the carpenters to make school desks for the girls, and once the living room tiles had been laid and the desks finished, the new school-room would be ready. It was the obvious spot in the house for me to begin teaching the girls, and as we didn’t have any living room furniture there was ample space for their desks!

We settled into the Belmont House happily.  I enjoyed my walk to work each morning; I still got up early to start the bread dough, but at least it wasn’t dark out when I got to the Pizzeria. Mac continued to work on the house while the girls finished up their last term at the Lower Bay School. The Calvert School correspondent course had arrived in the mail, and I was impressed by how well-organized it was.  Vanessa and Rachel were close in age, so I decided to teach them the same grade to avoid confusion. The material would be new to them (new to me too!) but the syllabus was interesting and I was sure they would do well.

The only hiccup with the move became apparent pretty much right away, and it was the ONE thing I had worried and fussed about when the PVC pipes were being laid for the plumbing.  The upstairs toilet, which at that point was the only one in the house we could use, flushed sluggishly after the first week and then didn’t flush at all.  The beautiful red clay tiles from Venezuela surrounding the courtyard had to be dug up, Mac suspected a leak in the plumbing and the tiles covered the PVC pipes.  Sheesh!  Several broken tiles later Mac discovered that one of the pipes had broken under the weight of the tiles, and it was QUITE the mess.  I kept my mouth zipped, those words “I told you so” would not be smart to utter while Mac was literally dealing with shit!  He admitted later that the broken pipe was due to careless installation, and that he and his workmen should have paid more attention before laying the tiles on top of the PVC.  Thankfully, Mac had the foresight to buy extra clay tiles, so no permanent damage was done to the appearance of the courtyard.

I counted my blessings.