Moving, Raccoon, & Strawberies

Moving:
Moving on Thursday was something! I'd been up at 2:30 am, couldn't sleep - got up did some moving prep stuff. Tried to blog at about 4:30 - eyelids drooping went to bed, couldn't fall asleep - did finally, overslept - woke up at 8 had to be at Pier 40 (40 blocks away) by 9. So I didn't shower - ew. I had to ride my bike in order to save a parking place for the truck. Even more ew. It was a fabulously Philadelphia humid disgusting day and I could smell myself by the time I got to the storage unit.
Three adorable Mambo Movers boys showed up - were appalled at the state of the storage unit and started moving things. Long story short - they are wonderful and managed to get all of my crap into my house except the corner bench and a table. Mary and Katie will help me move the last of things tomorrow. This will include the type cases, and furniture in my apartment. Maybe some other things. . . we'll see how much time and interest they have. I did promise Mary strawberry ice cream though . . . .
This is what my living space looks like... again:
(kitchen/living room)
(studio in one direction)
(studio in the other direction)

Jacques is thrilled with the move. Not only are there a ton of boxes for him to climb on and be raised three feet into the air, but as I unpack, there are boxes which get filled with packing paper. These make for the best kitty nests:
Because there just wasn't enough going on with the move, the Raccoon removal guy showed up on Thursday afternoon as well. He ended up parking in Mr. El's x'ed out parking space because there was nothing else available. He lucked out because Mr. El fell last week, tore is ACL and needed major surgery and is not on crutches. Poor guy. He can barely sit still as it is . . . Anyway, the Raccoon guy told me he could only get the Raccoon and her babies out through a wall. Hmmm :( This is not desirable. So he decided to experiment. He drenched some rags with Raccoon repellent scent. and threw them into the hole.
This didn't work: There she is: Sticking her head out of the hole, waiting for me to get back in the window so she can leave. She didn't take any of her babies with her. Grrrrr. So I have to call the Raccoon Guy again on Monday. Now there is an upside to this - the Raccoon guy as a dog. An English Bull dog. Her name is Bella. She is anything but. She is so ugly - she's adorable. I had to meet her and she was thrilled to meet someone who was in love at first sight. I told the Raccoon Guy he could bring Bella with him next time and bring her in the house. Jacques will not be pleased.

It was my first day to pick up my farm share too! Yippee! Mike and I decided to go every other week. So this week I got 6 eggs, granola, Swiss cheese, four beef patties, green onions and strawberries. I have to admit I was a little disappointed. . . The advert says that the share will feed two people for a week. Well - I ain't gonna feed one person on that for a week. Although I could have hamburgers for a week and be very happy. Mary came over this evening to help move/shop and when I ran this past her she said not to worry. That come August I'd have so much in my farm share I wouldn't know what to do with myself. I made a hamburger for myself and sampled the cheese. Wow - there is really something to be said for fresh, and organic. No preservatives. It tastes better! Imagine that.

I also picked up a bunch of strawberries from my regular Amish guy. I made the first batch of strawberry jam. Mary gave it her seal of approval. That's good. As soon as I have more jars, I'll make the second batch. I will have to save a quart to make strawberry ice cream tomorrow. . .
And finally: Mary helped me shop at Home Depot for the book shelves which must go into the "living room." I have at least a dozen boxes (not kidding) of books sitting up here. They've got to get unpacked and up on shelves. So we shopped, it was great having her brain along and we flirted with Home Depot guys and got lots of help.

I followed my dad's advice. The librarian says to use stair tread for the shelves. This way there is a bull nose already sanded into one side. The shelves are pre-sanded and ready for stain. That smart librarian! I do have to do a rinky-dink operation to get the shelves up. I'm actually going to suspend the shelves from the brackets rather than support the shelves with the brackets. We are really going to test Jeff's handy-work. If the shelves hold and don't pull the whole wall over - Jeff is a genius. If the wall falls down, well. . . let's hope that doesn't happen.
Following Ann's advice - I stained the shelves and brackets tonight. Tomorrow morning I will polyurethane them and maybe - I'll hang them tomorrow evening.