Small Steps

We finally have curtains up; and switch covers; and vents! Woo hoo! Managed to unpack about 5 huge boxes yesterday – 4 of those boxes were books – and found homes for everything in the 5th box. Unpacking books is always an adventure for me; I found books I didn’t remember I had and found other books that I have missed – like old friends who are out of touch for a couple of years. Every book had to be examined, inspected, dusted, shaken, and then I had to decide which bookshelf should hold it. Sometimes I had to leaf through the book to my favorite parts, And that’s why I only unpacked 5 boxes all day! 🙂

There are still boxes piled in the dining room, and there are more boxes of books waiting to be opened. We had boxes of stuff in the storage shed for a couple of years, so getting to open them is like a Birthday Party – I never know what’s in the next package. But we are making progress. The dogs seem settled into a routine; we are starting to find our way around a new neighborhood; and we are comfortable here even though we’ve really only been here 2 weeks.

Moving

Both dogs seem to be nicely settled in to our new home. I was concerned about our younger dog, Spud, who has security issues and tends to mark whatever is available when he is stressed. Our older dog, Peanut, was the one who was totally unsettled for a couple of days. But she had lived in the same house for 9 of her 10 years. They are now well settled; they have their doggie door into the back yard; Spud has sniffed and marked every inch of the back yard, including all the trees, bushes, walls, and gate.

The new house is much quieter than the old one; it’s not on a major street. Aaah, peace and quiet! Of course, we still have boxes, boxes, and more boxes to unpack. It’s amazing how much we accumulated over the years. I probably have some 30 or more boxes of books to unpack. Putting books away always takes me quite a while because I have to inspect each one to make sure there is no mildew or mold, and I have to remember reading the book and pledge to read it again. I can’t bear to part with books; they are like old friends to reconnect with over and over again.

The actual moving part was stressful; not just the physical effort of packing and moving, but leaving the home we have shared for over 15 years. There were many memories in that house; of four-legged friends who lived and died there; of the first joy of living together; of visits from family and friends. But we will make new memories here, as soon as everything is unpacked and put away!