Welcome Home

It's been a busy few weeks. Heck, it's been a busy few months. August is here and we're very nearly completely moved in. I'm still decorating, of course. And most of the furniture for the man cave hasn't made its way over yet since John's hand is stitched up. He's out of commission when it comes to furniture for another month. However, we are living here full time and have even been entertaining guests.

The project for today really completed things. Apparently the postmaster had a word with my dad about the fact that we still didn't have our mailbox up. Oops. So, that's what we did this morning. Many thanks to John's dad for digging through all that gravel! We weren't overly sure what the regulations were, so we haven't cemented it into place just yet. Once we're sure this is where it's going to stay, we'll make it more permanent and I'll plant some lovely climbing flowers around the base. Suggestions for plants are welcome in the comments section.

Speaking of plants, I also intend to plant a river birch between the front door and the master bedroom windows, opposite the cedar tree. My hope is that, much like at my parents house, the tree will quickly shoot up and shade the front porch. Our house faces west and in the evenings the front door becomes burning-hot -- not something pleasant to come home to. I'm doubly excited because river birches are one of my favorite types of trees. Much better than pine trees. :-)

Hospitals and Hospitality

We're all a little preoccupied at the moment, so there may be no new updates for a few days. John's in pre-op now for carpal tunnel surgery. It's outpatient, but the healing time puts the kibosh on any two-person projects for a while.

Also, our very first niece was born last night. Seven pounds, nineteen inches! It's very exciting. Though I have been informed that she has been given tons of Disney Princess stuff already. :-P

And finally, my "older sister" is staying with us for a few nights. She just got back from two weeks in Thailand with our aunt and uncle and their family. I'm sure we'll have tons of catching up to do once she recovers from jet lag.

Tiny, less exciting updates about the house include: The skirting has been put on, but it's the wrong color. I had specifically requested dark brown or black, but I came home to blinding white. Luckily I plan to plant fast growing bushes around the perimeter. And if I get really sick of it, there's a paint for that. There's also a few interior problems with the house that they're going to have to come out and fix (like the fact that the bathroom door won't latch), but for the most part it's live-in ready. We did discover that the washing machine no longer works after its stint in the barn, so we're having to cart clothes back and forth to my parents' house. Now comes the decision about whether to buy a new one or pay to have it fixed.

All in all, it has been and is going to continue being a busy week. I'll update when I have something more substantial -- preferrably with pictures.