John Callan wrote: "We have moved enough to have discovered an odd
     behavior pattern and grown it into a tradition.  In each house since
     1975 in Australia, we managed to somehow take possession of the house
     a day or two ahead of the arrival of our possessions.  Thankfully we
     have always had fairly decent camping equipment and this always became
     a matter of spreading out the sleeping bags in the livingroom.  On the
     last two moves, the furniture had arrived and was even set up, but the
     whole family chose to sleep in sleeping bags in front of the
     fireplace.  This last move was the height of luxury...we did it in the
     summer and there was no need for heat and we were far enough north
     that the heat was not oppressive...you know, like when it gets into
     the mid 80's."

     I thought I was the only one to do things like that.

     When I moved in 1992 from a house to an apartment I worked VERY hard
     to avoid making double mortgage payments even for one day (I was
     pretty close to the edge money wise!).  So I sold the house and bought
     the apartment on the same day, being a homeless person for about an
     hour and a half, as my settlement lawyer pointed out.

     The movers came the day before, loaded up the furniture at the house,
     stored it for two nights in the van, and delivered it to the apartment
     the day after settlement.

     I spent the last night in a sleeping bag on the floor of the house and
     the next on the floor of the apartment (luckily both were carpeted).

     I LOVED it.  I felt like both parts were somehow part of some sort of
     ceremony--saying goodbye to the old place and being welcomed into the
     new one.  The floor was a LITTLE hard, but it was worth it.

     I don't know whether this will become a tradition or not.  By the time
     of the next move I probably won't be able to get up off the floor if I
     try to sleep on it!

     Marilyn