Post by minx on Apr 11, 2024 11:08:08 GMT -5
The SILs house.
Pure and utter chaos. For the first time in a long time, I was thinking I might have a panic attack. So much to-do and crabbiness (not from my SIL - she was one of the calm ones).
My other BIL (Jack's brother) and his wife were there on Monday. SIL was going to sell her full set of china (service for 12 with all the do-dads), because she didn't think anyone in the family wanted it. Slow the boat, says other SIL. You never asked us! Yup, her two sons were fighting for the rights to great-grandma's china. So they decide they can box it up, cancel their flight back to CO, rent a car and drive it home. BIL is a painter and has gotten quite good over the years, so this way, they could take a few paintings and mom's old electric keyboard as well. Win all around, right?
Well SIL's step-daughter gets wind of this plan, says that she wants the china hutch that the dishes were in. Why not rent a Suburban and she and her dad can drive said hutch home to her place in San Francisco and stop in CA on the way to do the dish-drop. That's fine, and other BIL chips in the cost of the rental car they were originally going to book. They get on the plane and fly home.
Here's where the fun begins. We come over at 11 the next morning to help pack and take unwanteds. BIL (John) asks if we want any paintings and I do. We go downstairs. The only painting Jack really wanted was one of the of the yard from the view of their kitchen window in the old house. Before either one of us could open our mouths, daughter was already claiming stuff. I shall omit the long complicated relationship between dad and daughter, but basically what she wants she gets, even if someone else asks. And she is greedy as fuck. I did get three nice pictures though.
Then the Wizard of Oz stuff. Holy Mother of God. FOUR large bins of ornaments, plus other collectable stuff.
I went through and took two boxes worth - as it turns out, the wife of our Indy friends is into WOO, so I told her I'd hook her up. We also took books, and some other collectables.
Next books - took most of the Dr. Seuss. My lovely daughter told me she didn't want the entire collection. Once it was all boxed, she texted me and said it was okay to take them all - TOO LATE BITCH!
Took all of the old scrapbook making material, and several older scrapbooks to be delivered to cousins.
Also took a small portion of everyday dishes for the youngest.
Done, right?
Nope. They had an electric start Honda mower, a nice edger and a nice weedwacker. Jack said he could fit in the car and so he did. They also had a really nice Craftsman toolbox - needed some cleaning, but had a lot of tools inside. After some thought Jack thought it could fit, so he took the tools and put them in a box. We then looked at the box to see how to take the two sections apart. Needed a wrench, and preferably a socket one. Next thing we know, daughter is sorting all the tools and talking about how her condo in SF is sooooo small, or she'd take them all. We managed to grab some of the nicer screwdrivers before she laid her claim to the entire box. (And yes, at that point Jack would have made it fit, even if we had to take them all out and scatter them around the boxes already packed just to spite her)
Even though there was 'no room' at her house, she took the huge china cabinet, and many boxes of shit. To the point where we were getting worried that the stuff Jack's brother wanted might not fit.
Meanwhile, BIL and his daughter are having a screaming match over how to pack the stupid car - the only thing in at this point is the china cabinet, and she's still finding stuff she 'needs' (totally going to sell it - trying to find stuff that may be worth something, and at one point complaining that a cordless screwdriver set was missing a inconsequential piece, but she can't sell it without the piece). This despite my SIL pointing out to her husband that THEY had originally planned to sell a lot of this stuff, and weren't giving it away for others to sell and pocket the money.
At 11pm, their car was finally packed - we waited around to keep my SIL company and to be available if assistance was needed. BIL was going off on anyone and anything around him all the time, and daughter wasn't a whole lot better. Stressful as hell, and at one point, I think my SIL was going to start crying.
SIL has always had a strained relationship with daughter - daughter did not like that her dad started spending money elsewhere. But they are civil, and daughter 'pretends' to like her. Daughter also is extremely liberal, and has absolutely zero nuance about anything. None. They were watching the news and an article came up about the war in Gaza. Of course every Israeli should pay for what is happening there, and they were simply asking for Hamas to attack. SIL tried to point out that they had friends who are Jewish who had been dealing with lots of hate and snide comments, none of whom supported this invasion. Nope. Nope. If you don't stand with Palestine, you are shit.
Daughter also is a person who has to one-up everyone. I was joking about taking the pickaxe in the basement (which of course she had claimed) to prevent trouble on the way home. "I swear he went to check that everything was secure in the back of the car and it fell out and hit him on the head - several times!" SIL pointed out that his fingerprint wouldn't be on the hatch lift. Ooooh yeah. I'd have to pick up his fat dead ass to press his finger to it to cover myself. Daughter immediately breaks in - well she was in law enforcement, and that is absolutely NOT how it works. SHE has investigated crimes and SHE would never be fooled by it! Jesus H Christ. I replied that the only detective that mattered was Colombo -if I could fool him, I could fool anyone...
Anyway, back at home and settling down.
Pure and utter chaos. For the first time in a long time, I was thinking I might have a panic attack. So much to-do and crabbiness (not from my SIL - she was one of the calm ones).
My other BIL (Jack's brother) and his wife were there on Monday. SIL was going to sell her full set of china (service for 12 with all the do-dads), because she didn't think anyone in the family wanted it. Slow the boat, says other SIL. You never asked us! Yup, her two sons were fighting for the rights to great-grandma's china. So they decide they can box it up, cancel their flight back to CO, rent a car and drive it home. BIL is a painter and has gotten quite good over the years, so this way, they could take a few paintings and mom's old electric keyboard as well. Win all around, right?
Well SIL's step-daughter gets wind of this plan, says that she wants the china hutch that the dishes were in. Why not rent a Suburban and she and her dad can drive said hutch home to her place in San Francisco and stop in CA on the way to do the dish-drop. That's fine, and other BIL chips in the cost of the rental car they were originally going to book. They get on the plane and fly home.
Here's where the fun begins. We come over at 11 the next morning to help pack and take unwanteds. BIL (John) asks if we want any paintings and I do. We go downstairs. The only painting Jack really wanted was one of the of the yard from the view of their kitchen window in the old house. Before either one of us could open our mouths, daughter was already claiming stuff. I shall omit the long complicated relationship between dad and daughter, but basically what she wants she gets, even if someone else asks. And she is greedy as fuck. I did get three nice pictures though.
Then the Wizard of Oz stuff. Holy Mother of God. FOUR large bins of ornaments, plus other collectable stuff.
I went through and took two boxes worth - as it turns out, the wife of our Indy friends is into WOO, so I told her I'd hook her up. We also took books, and some other collectables.
Next books - took most of the Dr. Seuss. My lovely daughter told me she didn't want the entire collection. Once it was all boxed, she texted me and said it was okay to take them all - TOO LATE BITCH!
Took all of the old scrapbook making material, and several older scrapbooks to be delivered to cousins.
Also took a small portion of everyday dishes for the youngest.
Done, right?
Nope. They had an electric start Honda mower, a nice edger and a nice weedwacker. Jack said he could fit in the car and so he did. They also had a really nice Craftsman toolbox - needed some cleaning, but had a lot of tools inside. After some thought Jack thought it could fit, so he took the tools and put them in a box. We then looked at the box to see how to take the two sections apart. Needed a wrench, and preferably a socket one. Next thing we know, daughter is sorting all the tools and talking about how her condo in SF is sooooo small, or she'd take them all. We managed to grab some of the nicer screwdrivers before she laid her claim to the entire box. (And yes, at that point Jack would have made it fit, even if we had to take them all out and scatter them around the boxes already packed just to spite her)
Even though there was 'no room' at her house, she took the huge china cabinet, and many boxes of shit. To the point where we were getting worried that the stuff Jack's brother wanted might not fit.
Meanwhile, BIL and his daughter are having a screaming match over how to pack the stupid car - the only thing in at this point is the china cabinet, and she's still finding stuff she 'needs' (totally going to sell it - trying to find stuff that may be worth something, and at one point complaining that a cordless screwdriver set was missing a inconsequential piece, but she can't sell it without the piece). This despite my SIL pointing out to her husband that THEY had originally planned to sell a lot of this stuff, and weren't giving it away for others to sell and pocket the money.
At 11pm, their car was finally packed - we waited around to keep my SIL company and to be available if assistance was needed. BIL was going off on anyone and anything around him all the time, and daughter wasn't a whole lot better. Stressful as hell, and at one point, I think my SIL was going to start crying.
SIL has always had a strained relationship with daughter - daughter did not like that her dad started spending money elsewhere. But they are civil, and daughter 'pretends' to like her. Daughter also is extremely liberal, and has absolutely zero nuance about anything. None. They were watching the news and an article came up about the war in Gaza. Of course every Israeli should pay for what is happening there, and they were simply asking for Hamas to attack. SIL tried to point out that they had friends who are Jewish who had been dealing with lots of hate and snide comments, none of whom supported this invasion. Nope. Nope. If you don't stand with Palestine, you are shit.
Daughter also is a person who has to one-up everyone. I was joking about taking the pickaxe in the basement (which of course she had claimed) to prevent trouble on the way home. "I swear he went to check that everything was secure in the back of the car and it fell out and hit him on the head - several times!" SIL pointed out that his fingerprint wouldn't be on the hatch lift. Ooooh yeah. I'd have to pick up his fat dead ass to press his finger to it to cover myself. Daughter immediately breaks in - well she was in law enforcement, and that is absolutely NOT how it works. SHE has investigated crimes and SHE would never be fooled by it! Jesus H Christ. I replied that the only detective that mattered was Colombo -if I could fool him, I could fool anyone...
Anyway, back at home and settling down.