George can swim!! Who knew?!
It's been a busy few days filled with family, fun, fireworks, food and of course, moving related things. The last one was not as much fun as the first four, but what do you do.
Mom and I got to Wichita about noon on Friday, followed by Jeff and his friend Peter later that afternoon. Let the games begin! All seem to approve of the new digs - or as Jeff calls it: "the compound"! Within an hour or so of Jeff getting here, they decided it was time to swim. So of course the three dogs went out with them. One dog in the pool ..... two dogs in the pool .... one dog running along the sides looking longingly at the water. I went away for a few minutes and was beckoned to the door by Brad. Lo and behold, George is on the top step with Jeff! Cool!!! A few minutes later, George is a few feet out into the pool and not a bit panicked! I go away and come back a few minutes later and George is out in the middle of the pool, apparently having the time of his life!! I step outside to ask Jeff what he did. Duh - treats! George will do ANYTHING for treats!! He had a great time for the next hour and by the time all was said and done, he was jumping off the sides like the other two! According to Jeff, he just didn't realize he had to use his back legs too and once he discovered that, it was cake. Never said he was the sharpest tool in the shed but he is loveable!! Photos to follow!
So we have no created a monster! Like Madison, he thinks he can get in whenever he wants! He swims like a maniac and if you throw a stick or a toy, he will will literally jump ON you to try to get it first! (Just ask Madison!) Hence today's title - it's a miracle and a menace! Other than the dog hair, I am actually glad. In this heat, it really helps him to cool off.
It was a great weekend. Jeff and his friend Peter were wonderful company and did so many things to help out around the house - got on the roof and cleaned out the gutters, trimmed branches hanging on the roof, helped fell a leaning pine tree and proceed to cut it up with the chain saw (you should have seen the smile on Peter's face as he had never used a chain saw before!), moved countless heavy pieces of furniture from point A to point B, put together the pool cleaner Brad had bought, acted as fireworks ignitors, made Grandma breakfast the first day. I am sure I am leaving out several things, but you get the drift! They will be a tough act to follow for the next guests I have! Don't worry - I don't expect work out of all of you!
Mom loved the house too and believe it or not, she loves to pull weeds, so I let her have her fun! Lord knows there are TONS of them in this yard! It was nice to have her here and even nicer to know that she is close enough that we can do this more often. I think if she could, she would live in my greenhouse!
We had our celebration on the 3rd since Jeff and Peter both had to be back to work on the 5th, so the 4th was their travel day. Had over my mother and father-in-law, two sisters in law, a brother in law, a nephew and his partner, another nephew and his wife and new little baby girl. Lots of food, fireworks and just a good time had by all I think. It is so nice to be back here! I didn't even care that the house was a wreck, boxes were everywhere and the dogs were all wet! In some ways it's nice! No expectations!!! It was nice for them to all get to see the "before"!
So now, Jeff and Peter are back home, Mom is back in Pittsburg and I have a couple of weeks until the next event to try to settle in a bit. I just may sleep for 24 hours or so - not sure when I remember ever being quite this tired, but it's all good. Still feels right. Good to be back in the Land of Oz! Now I am off to bed!
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Fiery Furnace
There is a location you can hike to in southern Utah at Arches National Park called Fiery Furnace. We weren't able to go on it last time because you can only go with a ranger and they were booked up. My understanding is that it really is not called that because of any heat issues or anything, but I think I have found another alternative "Fiery Furnace" hike and it takes you directly to Wichita, Kansas!
To say it's been warm is a understatement!! It was 104 in Wichita at 3p.m.! Yesterday was the same and I think the next three days have pretty much the same forecast! Thank heaven for air conditioning!
The last few days have been more of the same. More unpacking and getting organized, a stock up run to the grocery store, picked up a couple of kegs for the kegerator (SOOO many more choices in the state of Kansas!!!). Broke out the pressure washer to clean off the back patio - man I love that tool and the instant gratification it provides! Got the gas grill hooked up, fixed a couple of things on the pond, another round of recycling cardboard and packing paper, etc., etc., etc. Slowly but surely it's taking shape but I know this will be a long, slow process and am trying to be patient. Not my strongest asset!
George and I loaded in the car and headed to Mom's house in Pittsburg around 3:00. I discovered it's like when my kids were little and we would come visit and they would swarm all over the kids and sort of later remember that we were there too. I think Mom was more excited to meet George than to see me! George got to meet Foster, Mom 's pug. After a few little "not sure" moments early on, they seem to be getting along fine, even though George is about three times his size! He's not quite sure why this little snorter doesn't want to wrestle with him though!
We will head back to Wichita in the morning and Mom will see the new digs and hang out with us until Tuesday when I will bring her back. Jeff comes in tomorrow afternoon as well, with his friend Peter, so it will be fun to have our first company!
And it just makes sense that since we have been in the house about three weeks or so that we host a big get together for the holiday, right?! Yes, we're nuts! On Sunday we are having a whole host of family over for swimming and some BBQ - Mom, Mother- and Father-in-law, two sisters-in-law, six nieces and nephews and a handful of other family members! I know it will be a lot of fun, but seriously, what were we thinking?!
So after next week, it's time to get to business and start to get settled in. Brad doesn't start until July 15th so we have a little more time. I just have to keep reminding myself ....baby steps..... baby steps ..... it will get there.
To say it's been warm is a understatement!! It was 104 in Wichita at 3p.m.! Yesterday was the same and I think the next three days have pretty much the same forecast! Thank heaven for air conditioning!
The last few days have been more of the same. More unpacking and getting organized, a stock up run to the grocery store, picked up a couple of kegs for the kegerator (SOOO many more choices in the state of Kansas!!!). Broke out the pressure washer to clean off the back patio - man I love that tool and the instant gratification it provides! Got the gas grill hooked up, fixed a couple of things on the pond, another round of recycling cardboard and packing paper, etc., etc., etc. Slowly but surely it's taking shape but I know this will be a long, slow process and am trying to be patient. Not my strongest asset!
George and I loaded in the car and headed to Mom's house in Pittsburg around 3:00. I discovered it's like when my kids were little and we would come visit and they would swarm all over the kids and sort of later remember that we were there too. I think Mom was more excited to meet George than to see me! George got to meet Foster, Mom 's pug. After a few little "not sure" moments early on, they seem to be getting along fine, even though George is about three times his size! He's not quite sure why this little snorter doesn't want to wrestle with him though!
We will head back to Wichita in the morning and Mom will see the new digs and hang out with us until Tuesday when I will bring her back. Jeff comes in tomorrow afternoon as well, with his friend Peter, so it will be fun to have our first company!
And it just makes sense that since we have been in the house about three weeks or so that we host a big get together for the holiday, right?! Yes, we're nuts! On Sunday we are having a whole host of family over for swimming and some BBQ - Mom, Mother- and Father-in-law, two sisters-in-law, six nieces and nephews and a handful of other family members! I know it will be a lot of fun, but seriously, what were we thinking?!
So after next week, it's time to get to business and start to get settled in. Brad doesn't start until July 15th so we have a little more time. I just have to keep reminding myself ....baby steps..... baby steps ..... it will get there.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Home Sweet Home
Well, it's official now and Brad and I are back in Wichita! We got back about 2:30 this afternoon. It was a great weekend but now it's time to get back to work!
I left on Friday and flew back to Salt Lake City for the finale weekend. I decided I should hit a few of my favorite places so had one last lunch at Red Iguana, probably one of the best Mexican restaurants I have eaten in - and than includes a lot of them in San Diego as well! They have some really unique dishes and everything always tastes amazing. This time around I went for a special dish I had not had before - Pistachio Mole chicken. I was not disappointed! Had a coupon to use up at a fun plant store that carries some unique stuff, so bought a few to bring back with me. Then it was off to our friends house for the evening and to spend the night. It was such a nice relaxing time and they are such gracious hosts. Must admit that I was not my usual party self as I had gotten three hours of sleep Thursday night, but I was forgiven.
Saturday found me doing home repair .... wait! This is not my house!! It's okay - I volunteered. The perils of noticing something not quite right and offering to make it so! Turns out this light had burnt out several years ago and they needed a new fixture..... which they ordered about a year ago...... and forgot about until a few weeks ago, but still hadn't hired someone to put it up. So the query of "what all do you do" included an answer of minor electrical work as long as it doesn't involve a breaker box. After two trips to the lighting store, I finally had all the right parts and 20 minutes later they had a new light up! And that pesky loose refrigerator door handle? Well, it got tightened too.
There was a party for Brad and I that night at their house and it was bittersweet to see so many good friends and say our goodbyes. There are a lot of good people we are leaving behind in Salt Lake City, but I know they will be fine and carry on, as will we. It was just really special to get to spend one last night with them. Matt and his girlfriend, Ginger, came as well and I must admit that the only time I cried all night was when I had to say goodbye to Matt. I didn't expect it to be as hard as it was, but he has been my companion for the last few years and I am so proud of the positive things he has in his life right now and all of the work he put into getting there. What more can a mother ask for? It will just be weird to not see him for weeks at a time now!
Sunday morning found Brad and I ....... a little regretful of our imbibing the night before (it was a party for us! What was I supposed to do, not drink?!) but we were anxious to hit the road. So we were packed and caffeinated up and on the road by 8. Long day of driving (and napping when I wasn't driving!) and we spent the night in Burlington, Colorado. The good news of driving further than we thought we would the first day is that the second day we only had to drive for about 6 hours and were home a little after 2!
Adam, the young man who stayed at the house, is a keeper! It's amazing what a few days of hard work can look like and he did a great job! The back yard looks so much better without all of the nasty interior chain link fencing and the planter box is gone - though a lot of the rock and the dirt still need to be moved. He put up a ceiling fan and tried to troubleshoot another (no luck). With reasonable rates to boot, it was money well spent!
So now, it's our turn. Time for Brad and I to spend a few days figuring out a little of "what goes where". I think in the kitchen I am going to end up moving everything around - every time I reach in for a dish it's not where I think it is, so I guess it's time to re-evaluate. Brad needs to settle in and next weekend it's our first round of company, so I think I may be spending most of my time trying to at least make things presentable! We'll see.
I'm sure in the days to come there will be more dog antics and adventures to tell, but for now, it's just time to map out the plan of attack for the next two and a half days until I go to Mom's house to get her! Oh yeah, we did go to a sporting goods store today and bought a couple of tennis rackets! THAT should be a hoot!!
I thought the most "serendipity" moment of the day happened a few miles across the Kansas border. We were listening to an NPR station that was actually doing a program called High Plains Morning, where they were playing a lot of folk music and the featured artist of the day was Emmy Lou Harris. We've always been fans and the first song that they played from her new album was one called "Home Sweet Home". It just doesn't get much more appropriate than that! Thanks for the welcome Emmy Lou!
I left on Friday and flew back to Salt Lake City for the finale weekend. I decided I should hit a few of my favorite places so had one last lunch at Red Iguana, probably one of the best Mexican restaurants I have eaten in - and than includes a lot of them in San Diego as well! They have some really unique dishes and everything always tastes amazing. This time around I went for a special dish I had not had before - Pistachio Mole chicken. I was not disappointed! Had a coupon to use up at a fun plant store that carries some unique stuff, so bought a few to bring back with me. Then it was off to our friends house for the evening and to spend the night. It was such a nice relaxing time and they are such gracious hosts. Must admit that I was not my usual party self as I had gotten three hours of sleep Thursday night, but I was forgiven.
Saturday found me doing home repair .... wait! This is not my house!! It's okay - I volunteered. The perils of noticing something not quite right and offering to make it so! Turns out this light had burnt out several years ago and they needed a new fixture..... which they ordered about a year ago...... and forgot about until a few weeks ago, but still hadn't hired someone to put it up. So the query of "what all do you do" included an answer of minor electrical work as long as it doesn't involve a breaker box. After two trips to the lighting store, I finally had all the right parts and 20 minutes later they had a new light up! And that pesky loose refrigerator door handle? Well, it got tightened too.
There was a party for Brad and I that night at their house and it was bittersweet to see so many good friends and say our goodbyes. There are a lot of good people we are leaving behind in Salt Lake City, but I know they will be fine and carry on, as will we. It was just really special to get to spend one last night with them. Matt and his girlfriend, Ginger, came as well and I must admit that the only time I cried all night was when I had to say goodbye to Matt. I didn't expect it to be as hard as it was, but he has been my companion for the last few years and I am so proud of the positive things he has in his life right now and all of the work he put into getting there. What more can a mother ask for? It will just be weird to not see him for weeks at a time now!
Sunday morning found Brad and I ....... a little regretful of our imbibing the night before (it was a party for us! What was I supposed to do, not drink?!) but we were anxious to hit the road. So we were packed and caffeinated up and on the road by 8. Long day of driving (and napping when I wasn't driving!) and we spent the night in Burlington, Colorado. The good news of driving further than we thought we would the first day is that the second day we only had to drive for about 6 hours and were home a little after 2!
Adam, the young man who stayed at the house, is a keeper! It's amazing what a few days of hard work can look like and he did a great job! The back yard looks so much better without all of the nasty interior chain link fencing and the planter box is gone - though a lot of the rock and the dirt still need to be moved. He put up a ceiling fan and tried to troubleshoot another (no luck). With reasonable rates to boot, it was money well spent!
So now, it's our turn. Time for Brad and I to spend a few days figuring out a little of "what goes where". I think in the kitchen I am going to end up moving everything around - every time I reach in for a dish it's not where I think it is, so I guess it's time to re-evaluate. Brad needs to settle in and next weekend it's our first round of company, so I think I may be spending most of my time trying to at least make things presentable! We'll see.
I'm sure in the days to come there will be more dog antics and adventures to tell, but for now, it's just time to map out the plan of attack for the next two and a half days until I go to Mom's house to get her! Oh yeah, we did go to a sporting goods store today and bought a couple of tennis rackets! THAT should be a hoot!!
I thought the most "serendipity" moment of the day happened a few miles across the Kansas border. We were listening to an NPR station that was actually doing a program called High Plains Morning, where they were playing a lot of folk music and the featured artist of the day was Emmy Lou Harris. We've always been fans and the first song that they played from her new album was one called "Home Sweet Home". It just doesn't get much more appropriate than that! Thanks for the welcome Emmy Lou!
Thursday, June 23, 2011
photos
Several people have asked for photos of the house. These are the photos from the real estate flyer, so the furniture is all theirs and no, I am not that good that it looks all settled yet!
.... I'm leaving, on a jet plane .....
Just thought I would do another blog entry before I pack my bags for one last fling back in Salt Lake City. They wanted to have a going away party for Brad for his work group and I had just intended to "phone in" my presence but they found that unacceptable and demanded that I come back. So I am catching a 6:30 a.m. flight and headed west.
The trickiest part of leaving so soon after moving here is finding someone to stay at the house with the dogs. Enter Adam. He is a friend of Brad's cousin's daughter (did you follow that?) and is a student at Wichita State and putting himself through school by doing odd jobs. So for the next four days, he is going to stay at the house and take care of the dogs and do work for me! I got a dumpster delivered and have BIG plans for this young man! Goodbye nasty chain link fencing on a old dog run, goodbye nasty old planter box out front that should never have been there, hello new ceiling fan! He is studying electrical engineering and it turns out at the ripe old age of 19 that he is already a licensed electrician! Jackpot!!! My house is an electrical mystery in certain spots! I think I will be seeing more of Adam this fall - he can dog sit on football weekends and do work! Hooray. The funniest part is that he was going to stay with a friend tonight (he had gone home for the summer but came here to do the work for me) but the friend had to go out of town, so he's hanging here with us tonight! Very nice young man and easy to be around. Dogs seem to like him too so this is totally win-win so far!
The house is coming along and I keep trying to frantically get everything in at least somewhat the right spot before I leave. Seriously, am I nuts?! This is impossible in a house this size, alone, in a short period of time. You would think I would stop trying, but nope. I keep going. Well, I have done the best that I could for now and I think it's enough.
And I am discovering another joy of being back in Kansas - - I can host a holiday! Brad and I should get back on Monday night and then on Thursday I am going to drive to Pittsburg to pick up my mom and bring her back for the 4th of July weekend!! Jeff is going to be come Friday to Monday and a friend of his is coming too, so I will have three house guests amidst all of the chaos! Hooray! Going to even try to put together a little shindig with the in-laws and Brad's sister and her kids too.
I know I haven't written much lately about the actual moving process of the adventures that have been going on, but as opposed to those first few days when we discovered all of the "not so nice" surprises, I have now discovered a few fun ones. Like how Brad, apparently not knowing he already bought some, kept buying more running shoes that he liked. It was only in the unpacking that we have discovered that he should be set for several years now! Or how I apparently have a bazillion candles! I like them but rarely burn them so now as I unpack, I am shocked at how many I have! Time to find the lighter and get to it. But please, if you are contemplating giving me a house warming gift, please don't give me candle!!!!
And then there was the ice maker (yeah - there is an actual ice machine in the bar area - one of Brad's favorite features in the house I think as he is an ice freak!). I went to get some ice last night and thought I saw something in the back. Afraid of what it might be, I washed my hands and tentatively dug in. Low and behold, I found two bottles of beer and Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper!!! Definitely ice cold! Okay, so the beers were non-alcoholic, but I have always wanted to try one. Verdict: drink water if you don't want real beer!
But the best surprise was in the workshop yesterday. I went in to use the utility sink after doing some painting and turns out they left me some liquid soap. But not just ANY liquid soap! I am now the proud owner of Sesame Street soap! It's called "Foamy Elmo Hand Soap! That's right - not foaming, but foamy!!! Love it. AND it just gets better and better - it's watermelon scented!!! How cool is that. Anyone else out there have any foamy watermelon scented soap? I didn't think so!
So it's time to sign off. Tucker is at my feet, which isn't nearly as romantic as it sounds. He's under the desk shaking because it's thunder and lightning outside! He is really not to sure about these Kansas digs!!! I keep telling him his boy Jeff is coming to visit soon so just be patient and it will all be better. Not sure if I will be back on here until I get back Monday night but who knows! Must admit that I am actually looking forward to four days of no manual labor!
Later!
The trickiest part of leaving so soon after moving here is finding someone to stay at the house with the dogs. Enter Adam. He is a friend of Brad's cousin's daughter (did you follow that?) and is a student at Wichita State and putting himself through school by doing odd jobs. So for the next four days, he is going to stay at the house and take care of the dogs and do work for me! I got a dumpster delivered and have BIG plans for this young man! Goodbye nasty chain link fencing on a old dog run, goodbye nasty old planter box out front that should never have been there, hello new ceiling fan! He is studying electrical engineering and it turns out at the ripe old age of 19 that he is already a licensed electrician! Jackpot!!! My house is an electrical mystery in certain spots! I think I will be seeing more of Adam this fall - he can dog sit on football weekends and do work! Hooray. The funniest part is that he was going to stay with a friend tonight (he had gone home for the summer but came here to do the work for me) but the friend had to go out of town, so he's hanging here with us tonight! Very nice young man and easy to be around. Dogs seem to like him too so this is totally win-win so far!
The house is coming along and I keep trying to frantically get everything in at least somewhat the right spot before I leave. Seriously, am I nuts?! This is impossible in a house this size, alone, in a short period of time. You would think I would stop trying, but nope. I keep going. Well, I have done the best that I could for now and I think it's enough.
And I am discovering another joy of being back in Kansas - - I can host a holiday! Brad and I should get back on Monday night and then on Thursday I am going to drive to Pittsburg to pick up my mom and bring her back for the 4th of July weekend!! Jeff is going to be come Friday to Monday and a friend of his is coming too, so I will have three house guests amidst all of the chaos! Hooray! Going to even try to put together a little shindig with the in-laws and Brad's sister and her kids too.
I know I haven't written much lately about the actual moving process of the adventures that have been going on, but as opposed to those first few days when we discovered all of the "not so nice" surprises, I have now discovered a few fun ones. Like how Brad, apparently not knowing he already bought some, kept buying more running shoes that he liked. It was only in the unpacking that we have discovered that he should be set for several years now! Or how I apparently have a bazillion candles! I like them but rarely burn them so now as I unpack, I am shocked at how many I have! Time to find the lighter and get to it. But please, if you are contemplating giving me a house warming gift, please don't give me candle!!!!
And then there was the ice maker (yeah - there is an actual ice machine in the bar area - one of Brad's favorite features in the house I think as he is an ice freak!). I went to get some ice last night and thought I saw something in the back. Afraid of what it might be, I washed my hands and tentatively dug in. Low and behold, I found two bottles of beer and Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper!!! Definitely ice cold! Okay, so the beers were non-alcoholic, but I have always wanted to try one. Verdict: drink water if you don't want real beer!
But the best surprise was in the workshop yesterday. I went in to use the utility sink after doing some painting and turns out they left me some liquid soap. But not just ANY liquid soap! I am now the proud owner of Sesame Street soap! It's called "Foamy Elmo Hand Soap! That's right - not foaming, but foamy!!! Love it. AND it just gets better and better - it's watermelon scented!!! How cool is that. Anyone else out there have any foamy watermelon scented soap? I didn't think so!
So it's time to sign off. Tucker is at my feet, which isn't nearly as romantic as it sounds. He's under the desk shaking because it's thunder and lightning outside! He is really not to sure about these Kansas digs!!! I keep telling him his boy Jeff is coming to visit soon so just be patient and it will all be better. Not sure if I will be back on here until I get back Monday night but who knows! Must admit that I am actually looking forward to four days of no manual labor!
Later!
Monday, June 20, 2011
More soon, I promise!!
You know, I really do need to blog earlier in the day! By this time of night I am beat and can't even think straight so not sure I want to write much! My apologies for being delinquent lately but had no internet service from Saturday to this morning. I promise I will try to catch you all up in the next few days. Working pretty much from eyes open to eyes shut so that there will be visible results when Brad gets back - determined to get settled in as quickly as I can this time around!! Fortunately most of the shocking discoveries seem to have been already "found" (or at least I sure hope so!), so now it's just time to figure out a game plan and the budget on what I can do for the "first round". Getting the feeling there will be a several "rounds" to get his place into the shape I know it can be. The really nice part for me is that I can see what I want the end result to be and what I know it CAN be, and I haven't lost my enthusiasm for that.
I know a few of you have asked for pictures of the place so I promise I will try to get some posted on here in the next couple of days! I have been so task oriented that I guess that part didn't occur to me to post - sorry! I will grab the camera in the morning and snap away!
I know a few of you have asked for pictures of the place so I promise I will try to get some posted on here in the next couple of days! I have been so task oriented that I guess that part didn't occur to me to post - sorry! I will grab the camera in the morning and snap away!
Friday, June 17, 2011
First Week Follies
Thought I'd better check in again so you all didn't think I had somehow vanished! I guess the last few days have been more about the "doing" than the "writing".
We're getting there. It's amazing how much stuff we have - or at least that's how it seems when I have to unpack it all! I have made two runs to the recycling center with my truck packed full of boxes and paper and I know there will be several more trips to follow. At least I can feel good about recycling all of the materials.
Brad flew back to Salt Lake City yesterday to finish out the things he needed to do at work there. I will join him next Friday and then the two of us will drive his car back here and be here for keeps. In his absence I am determined to make a huge dent in the unpacking/organizing front. The guys should be done with removing all of the popcorn ceilings and repainting the new surface today so I am going to try to at least get boxes in the rooms where they will go. That will help! The garage floor looks great and yesterday I bought paint to paint the dingy walls out there, so by the end of the weekend at least my garage will look good! Go figure - the first room I actually get done and organized will be the garage! Getting estimates for some new fencing and have to find someone to clean up some trees but at least it feels like progress!
The dogs continue to entertain me on a daily basis. Madison has become a crazed huntress in the back yard and her new hobby seems to be treeing squirrels. She will zoom after them and then sit there looking up the tree at them for what seems like hours! Brad and I think she has actually lost weight since we got here because she is doing so much chasing and doesn't even want to finish her meals! Tucker is not too sure about this move, but hopefully he will get there. I remember that the move to Utah was hard on him the first month too, so I am giving him time. He's definitely not a fan of thunder and lightning, and we've had at least three storms in the first week. We had a big upholstered chair that we were going to get rid of several years ago but Tucker sort of adopted it, so needless to say, he was very happy when they loaded that thing off the truck! He's finding all of his hiding spaces that he goes to when the weather gets bad, so I just have to go hunting for him.
George ...... is George. I am not sure there is anything that really bothers George, except not being with people. He loves the new place! He is rearranging the firewood (all over the back yard), is very intrigued with the the pond, finds at least three tennis balls a day somehow in that back yard, hung out with the guys cleaning the pool yesterday, and yesterday decided to try his hand at basketball with an old one he found in the yard. Needless to say, the basketball did not fare well and has huge pieces missing out of it. It's hard to feed the fish when he's out because he keeps trying to eat the fish food out of the pond - he actually misjudged one time and his back half slipped in! I think every day is a good day for George! We should all try to be like him!
So today is more unpacking, more trying to figure out where things go and if I am lucky maybe a little painting, just to break up the monotony of unpacking. My friend Deb from high school who lives here in Wichita is going to come over and see the new digs after she gets off work, so that part of moving back is really fun: reconnecting with old friends!
Oh yeah - and later I will go on a key safari! The previous owners basically left a handful of keys and other than the front door, I have no idea what any of them are for! Figure today is the day I try to see if any of them fit anything! All I know is that NONE of them seem to work on the workshop door since I tried to find that one to use for the workers! And from what I can tell, if I can find them..... I seem to have a house and barn in Augusta and some sort of car that they left me the keys to! Sweet!!! Wish me luck!
We're getting there. It's amazing how much stuff we have - or at least that's how it seems when I have to unpack it all! I have made two runs to the recycling center with my truck packed full of boxes and paper and I know there will be several more trips to follow. At least I can feel good about recycling all of the materials.
Brad flew back to Salt Lake City yesterday to finish out the things he needed to do at work there. I will join him next Friday and then the two of us will drive his car back here and be here for keeps. In his absence I am determined to make a huge dent in the unpacking/organizing front. The guys should be done with removing all of the popcorn ceilings and repainting the new surface today so I am going to try to at least get boxes in the rooms where they will go. That will help! The garage floor looks great and yesterday I bought paint to paint the dingy walls out there, so by the end of the weekend at least my garage will look good! Go figure - the first room I actually get done and organized will be the garage! Getting estimates for some new fencing and have to find someone to clean up some trees but at least it feels like progress!
The dogs continue to entertain me on a daily basis. Madison has become a crazed huntress in the back yard and her new hobby seems to be treeing squirrels. She will zoom after them and then sit there looking up the tree at them for what seems like hours! Brad and I think she has actually lost weight since we got here because she is doing so much chasing and doesn't even want to finish her meals! Tucker is not too sure about this move, but hopefully he will get there. I remember that the move to Utah was hard on him the first month too, so I am giving him time. He's definitely not a fan of thunder and lightning, and we've had at least three storms in the first week. We had a big upholstered chair that we were going to get rid of several years ago but Tucker sort of adopted it, so needless to say, he was very happy when they loaded that thing off the truck! He's finding all of his hiding spaces that he goes to when the weather gets bad, so I just have to go hunting for him.
George ...... is George. I am not sure there is anything that really bothers George, except not being with people. He loves the new place! He is rearranging the firewood (all over the back yard), is very intrigued with the the pond, finds at least three tennis balls a day somehow in that back yard, hung out with the guys cleaning the pool yesterday, and yesterday decided to try his hand at basketball with an old one he found in the yard. Needless to say, the basketball did not fare well and has huge pieces missing out of it. It's hard to feed the fish when he's out because he keeps trying to eat the fish food out of the pond - he actually misjudged one time and his back half slipped in! I think every day is a good day for George! We should all try to be like him!
So today is more unpacking, more trying to figure out where things go and if I am lucky maybe a little painting, just to break up the monotony of unpacking. My friend Deb from high school who lives here in Wichita is going to come over and see the new digs after she gets off work, so that part of moving back is really fun: reconnecting with old friends!
Oh yeah - and later I will go on a key safari! The previous owners basically left a handful of keys and other than the front door, I have no idea what any of them are for! Figure today is the day I try to see if any of them fit anything! All I know is that NONE of them seem to work on the workshop door since I tried to find that one to use for the workers! And from what I can tell, if I can find them..... I seem to have a house and barn in Augusta and some sort of car that they left me the keys to! Sweet!!! Wish me luck!
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