It is finished!!!

Thank the dear Lord for generous friends and helping hands.  I could never have accomplished this move without them!

After getting a great start out of the gate in the moving race, I stalled.  Everything, from grocery shopping to cooking to filing, seemed to be taking longer than I expected or wanted.  (I mean, when this is all the counter space you've got, you can only chop so much at once!)


Anyway, my grad school friend Amy came to town for a few days to help me get my house in order.  No kidding, we worked from dawn til way past dark unpacking, organizing, arranging.  We stopped to eat some delicious meals, to go to Mass, to sleep.  We talked non-stop while we worked (no surprise to her husband), so it was lots of fun!  I could never have finished it without her.

Want a tour?  Here it is, in 2 parts:

In reviewing the audio, I realize I over-use the word "great" and should have scripted what I was going to say.  Sorry it's not very dynamic (or "great"), but several people have asked for pictures and I wanted you to be able to see what we did.

I delight in so much about this house!  Last week as I answered email, a movement outside my window caught my eye.  I looked up and saw several birds, including at least three goldfinches,  searching for seeds in the sunflowers.  I had thought to harvest those seeds for myself, but the birds provided such a great show that I think I'll let them have them.  Now that the heat has broken, I've left the windows open at night - something I didn't feel safe doing in my one-level house - and the birds chirping woke me up the next morning.  My drive through my neighborhood charms me:  each house showcases more beautiful stone and more beautiful flowers than the one before it.  (I need to take some pictures for a future blog post.)  A friend and master gardener promised to look my garden over to identify some unknown plants, and I can't wait to get to work on helping it to thrive.  And now that the boxes are all unpacked, I'm able to see the gorgeous hardwood floors I've got!

I'm so, so grateful for everyone's help, in my new home and old!  I still have so much to do, & so little time...only 19 days til classes begin, and syllabi and lesson plans in embryonic stages.  Hopefully I can get that in gear and get lots done over the next several days.