Tuesday, September 4, 2007

Catching Up. . . August 2007

As I look at the big "SEPTEMBER" across the top of the calendar, I wonder, did August really happen? Each day in August seemed to happen at a snail's pace - but somehow when you put them all together, they are a blur. Luckily, I kept a scribbled piece of paper with highlights, so I can prove they happened!

Here's the highlights:

  • Gracie got a tadpole
  • The girls tried pot stickers and egg rolls
  • We went to the OKC Zoo
  • We went to Pump-it-up
  • We got our stuff from New Mexico
  • We moved into the rent house

I was beginning to despair that we would ever get our things from New Mexico, as getting the movers to give me a date to load our stuff was harder than nailing Jell-o to a tree. Each time I'd call, they would say - give us a couple more days, we'll know. For two weeks, every other day, I'd get told, "a couple more days." I was ready to scream. Finally, on the 9th, they said they could promise the 15th. Glory be! The same day, we also got an offer on our house - will the fun never end!

A couple of days later, we left for Farmington. We got there and picked up some packing boxes, met our realtor to send off another counteroffer, and got home to find that half of the electricity was out. This house is such a headache! I packed a few boxes by candlelight (not nearly as romantic as it sounds) and the electricity came back on. We went to bed late, but because of the time difference it wasn't too hard to get up for church the next morning.

Our church group met for lunch after Sunday School, and then helped us get all our extra stuff out of our storage shed so it would be there when the movers showed up. One friend stayed to help me pack, and just as we were finishing up for the afternoon, the electricity went out again. We called the city, and found that the problem was with the cable buried in the front yard between our breaker box and the transformer. Yea.

Monday morning we were lucky to find an electrician that would do our work first thing because they knew one of our church friends. We had electricity again by 2:30, but Jerry spent most of the day with the electricians, not packing, so we were not as far as I had hoped. Then the movers called, and they had a cancellation, so guess what - they showed up the 14th! This meant they packed more stuff than I had planned, but it all worked out okay. That night everything was on the moving van except our bed. The next morning they came and picked it up, and they were on the way. We headed to Albuquerque for the evening, where we joined up with some friends who were on their way to Texas. The next morning I rode with her and her kids to Amarillo, with Jerry leading the way. After that we split up, and Jerry and I got into Oklahoma about 6:30.

Move in day! I got to the rent house this morning to find the moving van already there, but the unload crew was late. When they finally got there, they said they were independent contractors, and they wanted more money. Eventually the driver and they got it all worked out, and my stuff got unloaded. We still stayed in the apartment for two more days, until we got the basics out of boxes, but we didn't get our refrigerator until after our first night. We used ice chests the first night - like camping out in our own house!

The first day of school was the 20th. The bus came and picked up the girls at our driveway, and then Jerry and I hopped in the van and went to school to make sure they got where they needed to be. We went back home and I took a birthday nap until the refrigerator was delivered. Jerry switched the handle to open the opposite direction, and then it was time to pick the girls up at the bus stop. We had been told that it was around the block, so we went there. When the bus finally did show up, 20 minutes late, the girls weren't on it. I was not too happy, especially when the driver couldn't tell me where to find them! We headed back around the block and they were at our house - they recognized the house and our van and got off the bus. I'm glad their stop is closer, but I didn't care for it much that day!

The remainder of our month has been unpacking boxes and getting settled. We are going slow, but steady. We have a whole bunch of stuff marked for storage - we seem to have an abundance of chairs and occasional tables, among other stuff. We've also been reporting the small stuff wrong with the house to the landlord, but they've been real good to fix most of it really quickly. The only lingering problems seem to be trimming the trees, and evicting the possum that has taken up residence in the attic. If he isn't paying rent, he needs to go! On the New Mexico front, the inspections have taken place and issues resolved, so with any luck we will no longer be homeowners! What a relief!

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