Objects in motion

On Friday, cdybedahl and I brought the first books and the first two flower pots over to the new apartment, thus officially making it ours.

Yesterday I picked up my mother at the airport at 09.40. She's staying until Tuesday morning to help us get the new place in order. Yesterday we managed to:

• get the kitchen completely cleaned. That means washing the walls, the windows, all the cupboards, the stove, mopping the floor... everything, from top to bottom
• get the bathroom equally completely cleaned. I'm glad Mom did that one, since the vents were very icky indeed.
• get the bedroom cleaned - not as much work, there was just the windows, the radiator and the floor to get done.

Still, it's pretty impressive to get it done in a little less than three hours. Calle was packing and discarding stuff while we were cleaning - most of my old stuff is in storage, so he's got a lot more to go through than I have.

When we'd done that, all three of us went to Calle's mother for dinner. Having read what korenwolf and kayla have written recently, I feel very lucky in both my mother and my mother-in-law. Mom and I get along very well indeed, and we work very well together too - helping eachother as much as is needed without crowding or taking over from the other. Calle's mom is also very nice; she's kind and caring, and I feel very much at home with her. After the housecleaning spree I wasn't in a very good shape, so when I felt I needed to get home I said so - and there were no hard feelings, just understanding, comfort and caring.

And speaking of moms - when we got home, my mom collapsed in a migraine-suffering heap. She'd had it all day but she'd still kept on her feet, helped me at the new apartment, enjoyed the dinner with Inger, and been cheerful throughout it all. Only when she felt the days work was over did she let the migraine take over. She's wonderfully strong, and has taught me much.

Oh, and having a dishwasher at the new place makes everything a lot easier!

Objects at rest

Today's work at the new apartment:

• All rooms completely cleaned, except for the two rooms which will get new wallpaper, and the entrance hall
• All windows cleaned, except in those two rooms
• More plates and stuff moved, also some more flowers, and several bags of books
• Living-room floor polished twice - should get another layer tomorrow, then I think it'll be OK

Some unpleasant discoveries made:

• The fridge isn't working. The freezer is, though.
• The cupboard meant for mops and such isn't in very good shape
• The downstairs bathroom floor looks a bit bubbly around the drain. That's probably not a good sign.
• The floor in the livingroom has been rather heavily scored by a child-safety gate

Still, the good part about renting an apartment, as opposed to buying one, is that I've left a message on the janitor's phone, and the fridge should be replaced or fixed within 24 hours. If the bathroom floor turns out to be a serious issue, they'll have to fix it reasonably soonish as well. The other stuff just needs to be logged so we don't get billed for it in ten years or so when we decide to move.