What's Happening

Just thought I would post and let some of you know what's been happening. The house is sold and closing date is December 16th. It will be a relief to see it gone. Though I liked living there, it was time to move on.

We like the new house really well. It is all on one floor except our bedroom. There is a half washroom on the ground floor and a full bath on the upper. We really don't have to go upstairs during the day unless it's to put something away or to clean. Dakota is enjoying the fenced yard and has fun out there. He seems to be quite happy.

Brandon was very excited on Tuesday. He received his diploma for the Honor Roll and also his Geography Award. Along with it came a check. He has never had a check in his life, so was excited about cashing it. I think he will remember that for his entire life.

He got his progress report and it was excellent. He's doing well in all subjects, though he doesn't like his math teacher. They took away the advanced math that he's been doing for the last two years and he is bored stiff. Why they would do that is beyond me. Seems odd. Since he isn't taking any tech classes this semester, it's more difficult for him. I told him to just do it and get it over with and so did his mother. He likes gym class and science. Those are afternoon classes, so he just has to get through the mornings.

Jordan seems to be doing well in school. He hasn't got his progress report yet, but when he does, I'll update you on that as well.

A Bit of an Update

I haven't had much time to get things settled in or take any photos, but this house definitely feels like home. We had no trouble settling in and it's nice to have more space than we did for the past 20 years.

Although we dreaded the move and didn't want to leave the old place, we do like it here. There's a silver lining in every cloud if we just have the patience to look for it.

Dakota is settling in well. He absolutely LOVES the back yard. He has the odd squirrel to chase and he spends a lot of time out there. Before it got cold, windy and rainy, we just left the back door open so he could go in and out as he pleased. He has a new-found freedom here and is a different dog. He takes his ball into the yard and bounces it on the patio, then chases it and growls at it. It's a show in itself and so comical. We've had a few good laughs watching him.

There are blue jays and cardinals around here and I've been trying to lure them into the yard. So far all I've managed to lure is a mourning dove. They usually mate for life, so it's odd that there is only one. However, it is welcome to come anytime it likes.

We still have some things to get from the old house and that is bugging me, but Dwight's mother is coming in on Tuesday from New Brunswick. She wants to help us get everything finished up. It will be nice to have her visit. We don't get to see her often, but did see her in August when she was up for a month visiting friends.

That is an update for now. I've purchased two mum plants, a pot of kale and two pumpkins for the back yard. I have also taken photos that I haven't had time to post, but they are coming. Too bad we only had the mums for a day before a torrential downpour damaged them. Still, they are colorful to look at even with the damage.

Our New Back Yard

We moved on Monday. The movers brought all the big furniture items. We still have a few small pieces to bring and a lot of boxes. It's very expensive to have movers, but hubby and I aren't able to lift all the heavy items. We had very little choice. Usually we just borrow a pick up truck or rent one and move ourselves. Those days are over.

I've taken some pictures of our new back yard and thought I'd share them.

Pea will love this. My fairy has a new home and she is quite comfortable there. She is a solar fairy and the little frog she is holding lights up at night. I've had her a couple of years and decided to put her in the garden for another month or so. We put all of the other lawn ornaments in the wooden storage shed at the back of the property.
Dakota had a very hard time settling in. He shook the entire afternoon and evening on Monday. He didn't want to come out of the laundry/mud room at all, but finally started to explore the house. He stuck very close to us the entire time.

As you can see, he loves the fenced back yard. At the old house he had to be tied up because the yard wasn't fenced. As you can see he is settling in nicely today. He's still sticking very close to us though, but not trembling like he was yesterday.
He likes to be in the shade and he always lies near the garden or right at the back gate.Hubby brought the fountain over today and we got it up and running. The barrel and pump fountain is stored in the wooden garage with the lawn ornaments. We will put all that out next spring.
The sedum blooming along the fence makes a beautiful showing at this time of year.
We have a nice patio area and the umbrella came with the house. The gravel area at the back used to be part of the driveway. I wish it still was. The driveway is very narrow and it's hard to back out of.

There are a few things I dislike about the house but for the most part everything is more positive. We have more cupboard space, a very large pantry, a fenced yard, lots of storage space and everything has been recently painted and updated.

I'm sure we will be happy here. The green space is limited and that was one of the things I loved about the old house. There is a large tree behind the wooden garage and I'm hoping to draw birds to the yard with a couple of bird feeders and some suet.

Under the Weather

I've been under the weather since the weekend. I woke up Sunday morning with sinus problems and ear infection. Yes, it's that time of year again. It seems I get this every spring and fall. By Monday, it had moved into my chest and I was dragging. Got some packing done but felt terrible. Tuesday I got very little done. Thank goodness, hubby packed some things and I did laundry. Had a nap and went to bed early after using all of Grandma's old home remedies.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I still felt terrible and dragged pretty much all day. Again, I went to bed early and woke up about 4am and can't get back to sleep. So I thought I'd drop by and leave a note for everyone to let them know I'm resting and trying to heal.

I sure didn't have time for this with Monday being moving day. We will never be ready...BUT... the good news is we have a couple of weeks to move all the boxes over to the new place. We were going to have the movers do the entire job, but found out that it's way too expensive. I wish I was young. I'd start a moving business. At $100 per hour you couldn't go wrong.