Three hours comes fast when you're exhausted and have just gone to bed. But we were living on adrenaline and wanted to get to our house before the moving van did. We hit the road hours before sunrise. It was 7:00 am when the phone rang—we were crawling through Pittsburgh rush hour—and it was the house seller, telling us that the Verizon man was waiting for us. It turns-out, she hadn't moved-out when we thought she had—and we were suddenly relieved that we had not shown-up at three in the morning, terrifying her while trying to get into the house!
Within an hour the moving vans (plural!) showed-up. It seems I had under-estimated the number of book boxes they would be moving (oops!). Instead of 50 (which they had factored into the quoted price), there were 150! The books proved so heavy that the movers had to get a second truck (and driver) and re-load the shipment! Otherwise, the truck would have been dangerously (and illegally) over-weight. But, not to worry: there was a very nice tip coming!
The moving men set-about their work, delivering the furniture and boxes to one of three assigned floors. Although we intended to build a library on the third floor, I did not have the heart to make the men carry all the books up two sets of stairs.
By mid-afternoon, the moving trucks were empty, the moving men had been fed, and the tip had been presented. As they pulled away, a heavy, fluffy snow began to fall. We sat on our living room floor—surrounded by book boxes, eating pizza—as Benji sniffed-around and Lucky chattered quizzically.
We were home!
Though our Greenwich Village store is now permanently closed, LEO Design is still alive and well! Please visit our on-line store where we continue to sell Handsome Gifts (www.LEOdesignNYC.com).
We also can be found in Pittsburgh's historic "Strip District" at Mahla & Co. Antiques (www.mahlaantiques.com) or in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania at The Antique Center of Strabane (www.antiquecenterofstrabane.com).
Or call to arrange to visit our Pittsburgh showroom (by private appointment only). 917-446-4248
Follow us on Instagram: "leodesignhandsomegifts"
Follow us on Facebook: "LEO Design - Handsome Gifts"