Settling In Upstairs

So I completely understand that "settling in" or any "transition" period can take plenty of time, patience, and flexibility, but we've taken it to all new levels, literally.

Besides the multiple trips to IKEA, rearranging furniture, visualizing where our artwork will go, and surviving our first flood from the ceiling, we finally decided to purchase a standard American king-size bed.  Our master bedroom is on the 3rd floor, but since the IKEA guys managed to squeeze the Asian king mattress up to the 2nd floor, we figured this should be no problem.

Well, apparently the new bed delivery team didn't have the same gumption as the IKEA team, and determined the bed wouldn't get past the first landing on the way up to the 2nd floor.  After phone calls to a manager and dirty looks at the lazy guys, we got them and their stinky feet out of the house and realized we needed an alternative plan.

Modern Art? No, just a bed stuck on the stairs

Obviously C. and I aren't truly equipped (despite all those push-ups) to maneuver a giant mattress upstairs.  As luck would have it more IKEA men were due to arrive to assemble yet another cabinet.  After the brief 20 minutes it took them to complete their task, we offered them a handsome sum to find a way to get the massive mattress up to the 3rd floor.  After some phone calls to their own boss it was agreed they would return later with a few more guys and lots of rope.


At 8:00 (when we planned to be indulging at CPK) we were anticipating the arrival of the mattress-moving crew.  Sure enough, they came in two vans, with yards of rope, ready to get the thing upstairs.  They were extremely polite and careful to lay down cardboard to protect the floors.  Then they took some measurements and brought a coil of rope up to the 2nd floor balcony.  The driver/manager backed one van right under the balcony, and within a matter of minutes the mattress was first resting on the van, then promptly hoisted up and over the balcony railing.  Before I knew it the whole thing was flipped up the stairs and had been slid into the master bedroom, right where it belonged.

Phase 1: Lift the mattress onto the van

Phase 2: Pull hard!!!

Success!!

The icing on the cake will be when we get proper bed linens brought over from the US and can truly, finally settle into our own space with all of our own things.