packing the Cape house

Saturday: Chatham, Cape Cod MA. I was up around 7:50. Downstairs and morning practices in the little bedroom. I heard my mom get up and make a cup of tea, but otherwise the house was quiet until 10 or so. Shower. Tiny bit of guitar. MB and my mom got up, and I scrambled some eggs.

Loaded some stuff into my mom's car. She and MB headed out. I packed and sorted through stuff in the darkroom in the basement. They returned, and we all had at it.
Old pictures of my mom as a debutante. One photo of an old beau of hers was posted with a gun over a dead lion. Many tools, some of unknown purpose. Boxes of smelly fabric, containing, among other things, curtains from my room when I was about 10. Jars of beans my mom said she had moved from house to house, never using, over the span of 30 years or more. Old silver trays, and china from my grandmother. Crochet hook. Paint brushes that had sentimental value for my mom. A musty briefcase, bought by my father. A mini-drawing board built by him as well. A whirly toy. Matchbox cars. Silver mirror and hairbrush from my grandmother. Mildewed air mattresses. A box of recipes from my grandmother. A china Buddha. A crystal horse bookend. Old lamps. Old files of students of my moms. And so on. Some we left for the family that has bought the house. ("Leave it for the Beaches" became a happy refrain.) Some we took. A lot we threw away.

My mom and I went out and bought some flowers and a couple of items for supper. I got her a copy of the McCartney CD, since I thought she'd enjoy it, and that it might stir some happy memories of listening to Beatles music, years ago. Raining quite hard today. We went to her bank and attended to some family business. She bought a bottle of wine to give to the folks that have bought the house.

Back home. Mom made some popcorn, and then had a nap. MB and I packed some stuff up in the kitchen, then hung out a bit. More work in the basement. My mom told me she was feeling aimless. I said "When you're not sure what to do, complete something." So, with relatively little effort we closed down sections of the basement, and realized we were done. MB and I got some tools out of the shed she wanted. I took the roof rack off her car.

Around 6 MB and I went out to buy a mailing envelope for her. They were sold out of the size she wanted at the CVS. I asked the woman at the counter if there was another store that might have them. She said "Well, Staples would have them, but I don't know where they are located." Which I thought was a strange answer. We picked up a video, and some Kahlua for MB, then headed back home.

I made some pasta and sauce as mom, who had already made a salad, took a whirlpool bath. MB did some tap dancing for me, and set the table. Kit came down, and pointed out that the sky had cleared, and a full moon was plainly visible in the sky.

Then, the last supper in this house was supped. We gave my mom some gentle ribbing about the 30 year old beans, and the 15 varieties of salad dressing that she has in her refrigerator, (even though, or perhaps because, she does not use salad dressing). Some nice slices of orange for dessert. We watched our movie "The upside of anger." (Quite good. Recommended family viewing.) Halfway through, I paused the film, and when we resumed it was stuck in "director's commentary" mode. Had to pop out the disc and reboot the player to fix it. Tea. Mom went off to bed. MB and I watched the last episode of The Office. MB headed off to bed. We have an early day tomorrow, but I think I'm going to take a little walk down to the water.