More fun (and some general rambling)

June 26, 2006

I'm sitting on our porch at 10 p.m. writing this email, because Larry discovered that we can piggyback on someone's internet connection from out here, probably a neighbor or some local wifi. Some moths are dive-bombing the light above me, but other than that, it's rather pleasant.

I forgot a tidbit in my previous email - the first evening we were in the house, we discovered that the previous owners, or the property mgt co, turned off the pilot light of the hot water heater (the water never got hot when I [tried to] wash dishes). Larry had to relight the pilot light . . . luckily the water heated up faster than we feared (within a couple of hours) - we thought we were going to have to take cold showers - fun!

Larry and I spent a small fortune at Lowe's today (they honored the 10% off coupon we'd gotten for Home Depot). Bought a lawn mover and hedge trimmer, ceiling fans for the bedrooms, some shelving brackets for the basement, new toilet seats for all three bathrooms, and a few other things. Homes are money pits - I'm here to testify.

I took the kids to the SPCA today. The process of getting a dog is so much more complicated than it used to be - they have lots of rules, and our "application" will take several days to be approved (!) We saw a darling "terrier mix" that we consider a hot prospect, but he just arrived today (a local stray) and all pets must be there for 5 days to rule out being claimed as lost. He's such a sweetie, I'd be surprised if he isn't just lost. We'll know next week.

I did get a nibble on a job I applied for at the university. It's the only response I've gotten to the three jobs I sent resumes to . . . and there hasn't been any other remotely viable listings since last month (I've checked plenty). I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high on this position (just b/c I'm desperate!) - they probably have lots of applicants. But several people who know the area have assured me that I won't have trouble finding a job. . . Gads, I hope they're right!!!

We *are* (slowly) learning our way around the area by driving to stores and restaurants. We'll be old pros soon enough and won't remember how lost we felt these last few days. . .

This is turning into a minor novel, and I'm going to be sorry if I don't hit the hay soon. Can you tell I'm just avoiding facing more boxes?!?!

Thanks for your calls and emails. They feel a bit like a shout in the dark - it's all so overwhelming here and I don't have any support system at all yet.

More soon!