Settling In

I think blogs without pictures can get old, fast, so I apologize for the lack of pictures. I'm taking them; I just can't find the cord that connects the camera to the computer. I hope to upload some pictures soon.

I've slept in the new house nine nights, now; Bob's slept here six. (He went to Pennsylvania for a retreat, and I stayed in the house alone with the girls -- and the cats -- and the dog-- for the first three nights.) I had announced in November that I wanted to have a New Year's Eve party in the new house. Bob and I both were disappointed that we never really had people over to the old house, and I wanted to start this one off with a bang. At the time, we were planning to close November 21st, so it seemed reasonable. Then the closing was going to be December 1st. Then December 9th. Then, finally, December 17th. And after staying in the house for a couple days with two girls and without Bob, I hadn't gotten much unpacking done. And then we took off to Tennessee for a week... coming back the day before New Year's Eve.

To say that December 31st was a mad dash, start to finish, does not adequately describe it. Bob had to work, at least part of the day, and he was on-call because someone was dying, and his wife was saying (desperately), "I need your help!" I wish that I had propped up our little video camera and recorded Wednesday afternoon, then sped it up with a musical background, for your viewing pleasure. The transformation of the house was amazing. Almost everything we own was in the living and dining rooms at 3:00pm; by 8:30, Bob had distributed everything to its rightful location, I had prepared some munchies, and we were relatively ready for the party. That I had forgotten to unpack glasses and wineglasses was a minor detail. And forgotten, despite specifically discussing it with Bob, to buy any beer.

I had a great time. It was fun to ring in the new year and the new house with our good friends. I was sorry that some people couldn't make it, but we still had a good time. If only Bob hadn't had to run back to work for an hour and a half ... but he did make it back in time for the countdown, and the champagne in plastic cups.