....make the house the HOME. Whatever house God provides me with through Petey, that is the space that I am to work my best to make it our home...for Petey, for myself, for our furry children.
So that was foremost on my mind as I walked through the door of our new house...what needed to be done to make this HOME.
The first thing that hit me was the smell of cigarette smoke...it was expected but not at that intensity! Open the windows...yay! the windows aren't as bad as I anticipated and they have screens!
The second thing that hit me was how dirty the place was = ( I had expected MUCH cleaner because the seller's wife said that they'd spent the last 2 days cleaning...uh... WHAT???!!!
Dust and crumbs and hair and grease and grime...everywhere. Thankfully, I'd given Petey a bunch of cleaning supplies as the last thing to be packed on the truck so I was able to start cleaning right away.
My Sweety Petey...how blessed I am to have him! He knew how sick I was...how weak I was... and he said to not worry about anything, just do whatever I needed to do to be ok. What a wonderful gift he gave me = )
So first off, we got the cats inside, out of their traveling cages, with fresh food and fresh litter and I sat with them awhile to help them get over their shock. Lilli, Boo and Chip did very well and were already eager to explore. George, Trudy and Leah scared me in their behavior... so scared...soooo not themselves = (
I worked for maybe an hour on wiping down the kitchen and unpacking a few dishes and then I started feeling like I was going to pass out. I sat down on the floor and tried to force myself to eat a protein bar. I ate about 1/3 of it and then just couldn't eat anymore. I told Petey I thought I'd feel much better if I could just sleep some so he blew up an air mattress and I slept for the next 3-4 hours!
I did feel MUCH better when I woke up, was able to eat a full piece of pizza we'd brought from home and then I was able to do some good work! Petey had been unloading the truck the whole time I slept and had gotten so much done. I didn't help him unload this day...I stayed inside cleaning and unpacking.
The new backyard is REALLY nice for the dogs!! Dingo had his first frisbee session and we all enjoyed ourselves for the first time in many days. It was a beautiful evening...cool, breezy, birds singing, sky blue pink sunset...some mosquitoes...
We went to bed fairly early and slept deeply...just what our poor tired bodies needed. I almost didn't weigh myself before bed because I didn't want to be upset by how much weight I'd lost but I was too curious not to. I figured that would be the lowest night weight I'd have...maybe for the rest of my life! hahahaha
108.6...WOW!!!! That's my goal morning weight = ) But I knew it wasn't real weight-loss so it didn't upset me...I just enjoyed writing it down in my notebook.
Thursday was one long day of unloading, cleaning, unpacking, rearranging, making decisions, making discoveries and taking breaks to play with the kitties and puppies. By 4pm we had most of the truck unloaded. Inside the house was total chaos but the almost-empty truck was a happy sight!
I had to drive to the water company...30 minutes away...to get the water switched over into our name in person. I actually enjoyed the drive...more country...lots of nurseries and growing fields...beautiful flowers and palm trees....and a break from cleaning, unloading and unpacking! hahaha
When I got home, Petey had the whole truck done except for the last BIG pieces. We tackled those one by one...the only major nerve-wracking item for me was my beloved piano but she's safely in her new home now. We cleaned out the truck and got it ready to return and then had another early night.
We woke up early on Friday and worked on getting everything ready for the U-verse guys to come hook stuff up. Petey has a to-do list a mile long! He's knocking the items off rapidly = )
After the U-verse guys left, we returned the truck and then went to Lowe's...got supplies for more projects for Petey to work on!
Saturday was spent mostly unpacking with a break in the middle to drive down to the airport and get the Durango...AND the Keurig that had been left in it...nice to have that back!
We'd planned on going back to the church we'd visited when we were here in March looking for a house but we ran late and remembered we would need gas on the way so we just went to a Baptist church that is 1.2 miles away from here. It was enjoyable but I missed the kind of teaching we get at a Bible church.
We went to Costco afterwards, ate lunch there, then home to work some more. I wasn't able to have my "Sabbath rest" this day but I sure did think about it a lot....
Petey got called to do a flight leaving at 2am Monday morning and coming back 2pm Monday afternoon. THIS is why we moved here...he was able to do the flight and get 10 hours of overtime! While he was gone I really concentrated on the kitchen. Even made bread for the first time = )
So...Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, today...the theme of these days is Slowly But Surely. Every evening I have a stack of boxes to break down...I love the feel of each box leaving the house! More and more things are being moved into their permanent home.
I know we're making progress because I know how many empty boxes I've flattened but it still looks and feels like chaos inside here. Certainly not as much as before but still not anywhere close to being done!
I suppose I should cut myself some slack and give myself a month to unpack and settle in rather than just a week, but I'm really anxious to have "a place for everything and everything in its place".
Petey has not only been helping to unpack but he's mostly been working on home improvement projects already! So far, he's...
- installed a new wax seal and caulk on the hall toilet and caulk on the master toilet
- installed green indoor/outdoor turf carpet on the back porch and steps so Buddy has an easier
time going up and down the stairs
- installed new shelves in the pantry
- installed a shelf running around half the room in the office
- hung 4 window blinds
- installed my new DREAM SINK, faucet and garbage disposer
- replaced the wood floor of the cabinet under the kitchen sink
- is right now installing glass shower doors in the master bath = )
Today is Buddy's 13th birthday. I'm so thankful that God blessed us with our precious Buddy-boy all those years ago! I'm thankful for his long life and the love and joy he's brought to my life.
And now I think you're all caught up! Hopefully, tomorrow begins the daily blogging of all that's happening in the life of Pony and Petey.
Feel free to ask questions, if you'd like...if I've left out anything you're curious about!
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