Movin' On In!

We finally have internet again, so I can sit down between unpacking boxes and finishing Christmas gifts, and jot down an update!

Moving day went really smoothly thanks to several handy-if-not-happy-to-be-lifting-heavy-boxes helpers. We got the biggest truck Uhaul had available and loaded it to the very top. Plus several van loads of miscellaneous stuff that had to stay at the apartment as we cleaned it, or pictures, or curtains... all that last minute junk. The loading took about 2 hours, and unloading about the same. Things were organized enough that by the time Mark got back from returning the truck, my sister-in-law and I had put together ALL the beds, including bedding! As well as moved around furniture so there was a place to sit and rest.

In the mornings we tried putting the house together, which for the first few days involved trips to the hardware store to find dryer vents, dryer cords, well filter replacements, prices on fridges, and boxes of Magic Erasers. Boxes were rapidly emptied and broken down flat to be taken to the grocery store's box crusher at some point.

In the afternoons we headed over to the old apartment to clean and scrub and wipe and sneeze and vacuum and patch holes. We had been told not to shampoo because they'd do the carpets anyway when we left. Then there was a new manager who did the walk through, and told us that if we had cleaned them ourselves she would have called it good! Ugh! That would have saved us a good $75 of our deposit! But by that time we were just ready to be done and agreed to have them shampooed by professionals. If we ever rent again, there are certain things I will have in writing before signing a lease. Period. Other than the shampooing, paint, and a few sets of blinds, everything looked good.

While unloading the truck, I set aside all the Christmas decor, so we pulled out the tree and decorated it as a family Sunday evening. Very simply done so Daniel would have less to break, and suprisingly he's leaving it alone! Stockings have been hung by the wood-burning stove with care on the nails that the old owners kindly left there. :-)

Soot, by the way, sticks to everything and has to be scrubbed off of skin with soap and a loofah. But it hadn't been cleaned since last winter and was very dusty, ash all over inside, and soot clinging to the glass on the doors. We couldn't get a fire to stay lit in there until I cleaned it out thoroughly the other day, and now a decent fire will heat most of the house for an entire evening. Mark even has an axe so he can cut the wood down to size from the local lumber yard. They sell leftovers from the huge logs they use to make log cabins, and you can load your car and pay by the cubic foot. Walking into the house to the smell of a fire going is wonderful and toasty warm! Mark grew up with a stove, so he's in heaven...

And.... we've been picking out paint! One of the bedrooms is bright pink. And although William actually likes it, we'd rather have a room with a more masculine feel to it. Samples have been purchased and painted on the wall, and the colors chosen for wall and trim. Now, before I decide it's too much work, we just have to borrow a ladder and prime the walls!