We got back home last night about 5 PM from the six night trip to Eureka and back. 1,914 total miles, about 850 each way and then the driving around in that area.
Unloaded the truck but the rest of the stuff will have to wait until the weekend to start.
It turned out to not be the disaster I'd been dreading. Yes, there was so much stuff!!!. A lot of broken, torn-up or 'lived in' (mice) stuff had to be thrown out, but after two and a half days we had successfully cleaned out the larger of the two units and had the smaller unit 'comfortably' full. On the way home through Oregon we were able to weigh the trailer at a closed highway station, about 5,500 pounds of memories, that for the most part will be sold. Yes there were some things found that got me choked up remembering mom working on them. And I kept some things that meant a lot to me for that reason. It was really sad to me though, mom had gone from the large house to the small apartment living, yet could not bear to downsize the things that she'd collected that had meant so much to her for the twenty years it took her to collect them. And in the end most of her treasures had not been seen by her since they'd been put in the storage in 1997. So all her stuff, all she couldn't sell or give away, became, like I'd said before, her "Spruce Goose". Locked away never to be seen by her again.
While we were there, Chris (brother), figured out that to this month, mom had spent over $20,000 dollars to store her stuff over the years. I know that the unit that had started out at about $80 dollars a month had climbed to $95 a month when we closed it. The next guy or gal renting it will be spending $160 a month!
Chris agreed to continue the smaller storage for the next six months or so to allow both himself and my sister Cam to continue to go through boxes to find mementos to keep as well as separate stuff to ultimately sell things that can sold. Like the entire collection of Life magazines from the first to the last issues until the magazines rebirth as a sometimes publication a few years back. Many, many magazines from the 40's, 50's, and 60's. I remember we'd go with mom while she was scouring the swap meets in the early 70's looking for old books and magazines.
More boxes of books about Russia than I think any family in Russia would have. England, Japan, Europe, South Africa, all places that for one or another reason she'd become interested in and so she'd buy books or magazines and learn all about that place. When we were kids, mom was such a dreamer, she'd had visions of us living in places like Japan or South Africa. How's that for getting away from it all!
In the early 70's she'd met the author Stuart Cloute (not sure of spelling) via mail and corresponded with him for many years until his death. She got and read all his books, and I recall a couple of times when she'd gotten up in the very early morning to call and talk with him in South Africa. I talked with him myself a couple of times but at the early teens age I was then it didn't have the meaning that it did to mom. Anyway, for now the biggest task has been done and hopefully Chris and Cam will be able to sell what they want of all of it.
Sandy and Erik came up on Friday and while we didn't get to visit like we'd have liked to, any visit was better than no visit! They helped quite a bit on Saturday, and we were DONE, the rooms cleaned and the trailer all loaded by 3:30 pm. After a clean up at the motel we were able to go walk on the beach for a while before the arranged family dinner in Erueka. Sandy got to see cousins that she'd not seen since before mom's move to Eureka. I think she liked that since she really likes 'family'. Now if Chris and Cam will only get along!
I took some photos and will add them in a day or two.
Tad
Unloaded the truck but the rest of the stuff will have to wait until the weekend to start.
It turned out to not be the disaster I'd been dreading. Yes, there was so much stuff!!!. A lot of broken, torn-up or 'lived in' (mice) stuff had to be thrown out, but after two and a half days we had successfully cleaned out the larger of the two units and had the smaller unit 'comfortably' full. On the way home through Oregon we were able to weigh the trailer at a closed highway station, about 5,500 pounds of memories, that for the most part will be sold. Yes there were some things found that got me choked up remembering mom working on them. And I kept some things that meant a lot to me for that reason. It was really sad to me though, mom had gone from the large house to the small apartment living, yet could not bear to downsize the things that she'd collected that had meant so much to her for the twenty years it took her to collect them. And in the end most of her treasures had not been seen by her since they'd been put in the storage in 1997. So all her stuff, all she couldn't sell or give away, became, like I'd said before, her "Spruce Goose". Locked away never to be seen by her again.
While we were there, Chris (brother), figured out that to this month, mom had spent over $20,000 dollars to store her stuff over the years. I know that the unit that had started out at about $80 dollars a month had climbed to $95 a month when we closed it. The next guy or gal renting it will be spending $160 a month!
Chris agreed to continue the smaller storage for the next six months or so to allow both himself and my sister Cam to continue to go through boxes to find mementos to keep as well as separate stuff to ultimately sell things that can sold. Like the entire collection of Life magazines from the first to the last issues until the magazines rebirth as a sometimes publication a few years back. Many, many magazines from the 40's, 50's, and 60's. I remember we'd go with mom while she was scouring the swap meets in the early 70's looking for old books and magazines.
More boxes of books about Russia than I think any family in Russia would have. England, Japan, Europe, South Africa, all places that for one or another reason she'd become interested in and so she'd buy books or magazines and learn all about that place. When we were kids, mom was such a dreamer, she'd had visions of us living in places like Japan or South Africa. How's that for getting away from it all!
In the early 70's she'd met the author Stuart Cloute (not sure of spelling) via mail and corresponded with him for many years until his death. She got and read all his books, and I recall a couple of times when she'd gotten up in the very early morning to call and talk with him in South Africa. I talked with him myself a couple of times but at the early teens age I was then it didn't have the meaning that it did to mom. Anyway, for now the biggest task has been done and hopefully Chris and Cam will be able to sell what they want of all of it.
Sandy and Erik came up on Friday and while we didn't get to visit like we'd have liked to, any visit was better than no visit! They helped quite a bit on Saturday, and we were DONE, the rooms cleaned and the trailer all loaded by 3:30 pm. After a clean up at the motel we were able to go walk on the beach for a while before the arranged family dinner in Erueka. Sandy got to see cousins that she'd not seen since before mom's move to Eureka. I think she liked that since she really likes 'family'. Now if Chris and Cam will only get along!
I took some photos and will add them in a day or two.
Tad
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