Well, you already know I'm a city girl (I come from a small town of 700,000 people). Beatrice, our GPS also does a lot better within city bounds, but I got to say, she's trying to adapt. She has recently found me three local Methodist churches, a Bed Bath & Beyond, a Barnes & Noble, and a Michaels (although this last one was two doors down from BBB so I don't know if that really counts, but I'm trying to be forgiving). She's trying really hard to put the supermarket hour long trip behind her. And, in all honesty, much to my surprise, she led us straight to the kids' new school without an incident, while Dad was very miffed to miss the "Meet & Greet" today because Mapquest couldn't find it!! I was shocked!
Anyway, it seems that our cat Truman, has had as much of peace and tranquility as he can stand! Lately he has taken to making a funny noise as he walks around or lays about the place. It's not really meowing, but more like a mumbling of some sort that I could swear translates to something like "I'm bored out of my mind!!!!!" Not that I blame him. We are, at the moment, the second to last house on this rural road. My friend's cat, Princess, who has been banished to the great outdoors before we even got here, is not friendly towards him at all and always hisses at him whenever he tries to come near her. Could it be she's miffed that while she's freezing (well, not quite yet) her patoutie outside, he's enjoying the comforts of what used to be her home?? Geez, some creatures can be so sensitive!! Well, in just a little more than a month we'll be moving to our new place, which is in a neighborhood surrounded by other houses, so I'm hoping the poor fellow will have a chance to make lots of friends like he did around our old house.
As I said earlier, we had the "Meet & Greet" at the kids' new school today. Madison actually got the "boy teacher" that Dorian was hoping for. But because of the boy/girl ratio in that class, the principal asked me if it would be OK to have Dorian in with another teacher. I was perfectly fine with it, and after meeting them both today, I think Dorian may have gotten the better part of the deal. His teacher came across very nurturing, offered lots of information and went out of her way to let him know that there are two other boys in the class who are new and don't know anybody else, so he'll fit right in. Not that Madison's teacher was bad, he was just a... man. You know, no new information packet and a "yeah, come in Tuesday and we should have a desk for her"... didn't exactly make me feel all nice and cozy. But according to Dorian's teacher, he's the Math teacher for the Advanced Math kids, so apparently the man is smart. Let's hope we get to know him better over the next few weeks. I'm also looking forward to being able to volunteer at the kids' school as I did before because I know that will be a great way to get to know other parents as well as teachers.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Our little house on the prairie
Well, we have been all over the place and saw 40+ houses since the day we arrived (Aug 4th). Just as we thought we were ready to put an offer on a house, we had to leave for the Napa Valley, CA, for a friend's wedding (he was also in our wedding), so we had to put things on hold till we got back. But because we had to skip town (it was a nice get away as we dropped the kids in IL with some of Randy's family), we had to wait till we got back this past Monday. Well, CA was great, but before the weekend was over I was chanting "My kingdom for a beer! My kingdom for a beer!" It's a beautiful place but when you stop to think about it, there's absolutely nothing to do but visit wineries and shop. OK, OK, they do have one of the few Culinary Institute of America schools there, so we had to go and have lunch on their patio and even took a class to learn how to make Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho and that was a lot of fun! You know, I wasn't a fan of cold tomato soup before, but that was pretty darn good!
Anyway, in the meantime we found out that the house we were about to put an offer on, which claimed to have 1.95 acres, had in fact (according to city records) 0.95 acres. Could have been an honest typo but the price we're willing to pay for a 0.95 acre property is quite different than one that has 1.95 acres. So, we took yet another look over the internet on what was out there and found 3 more promising properties, ended up visiting one this past Tuesday and made an offer on it by Wednesday. The house is perfect (well, almost perfect), beautifully updated (even if I don't like some of the room colors - but that's minor), it's a 4 bedroom (not including the basement which is fully finished) and has 1.7 acres. Does not have a pool but with a yard that big, we can afford to wait (winter is coming up anyway). And is located in an excellent school district.
They took our offer, but we had to agree to close Oct 1. We really wanted Sept 14 (or sooner) but for that to happen, they said we would have to up the offer by $5,000 more, so I told Randy I won't mind travelling back and forth to take the kids to school. You know, after all, what else am I going to do with myself not knowing a soul (apart from our landlady - kidding, our friend Kittie who we are staying with) and not being able to unpack or do anything else?? So the next step was to make sure our friend Kittie was OK with us staying here till Oct 1st. When I tell you the woman travels a lot I'm not kidding (she's only been here half of the time we've been around) Randy had to call her in Mexico where she is till the end of the week. So, first she said we couldn't leave, then she said Randy and the kids could move on but that I had to stay (I've been doing my part to spoil her by cooking really good meals every time she's home - my evil plan seems to be working - ha, ha, ha!!).
So now that we know what our home address will be we can start working on school registration. Yesterday, the kids and I took a drive to their new school, filled out all the paperwork and this coming Monday we have our "Meet &Greet" with the teachers. Dorian actually requested a "boy teacher" (they have 5 third grade teachers) and by the looks of the very friendly school secretary, he will probably get it.
Yesterday was also a momentous occasion as the new homeowners of our place in Texas signed the contract in the morning and we did our portion in the afternoon. Such a weird feeling knowing that won't be our home anymore. Don't take me wrong, I'm super excited about the new place (we're gonna have a basement!!) but it's still sad to leave the only home our kids have ever known...
Today, Saturday, the moving truck will start the trip up here. The owners of the house we're buying have agreed to let us use a large building they have on the property (could be another 2 car garage by its size) to place our stuff in till Oct 1. It will take some creative placement to fit everything, but Randy is good at organizing overloaded refrigerators so I'm confident that this skill will translate to a larger scale.
Hubby also spent an hour on the phone before he left for Texas and finally got AT&T to change our DSL account to a dial up, so even though it takes longer to do anything, as long as hubby and/or his lap top is at home, I can log on.
Truman doesn't seem to be traumatized by the yellow jacket encounter. He goes back out in the patio and sits on the very same picnic table with me for my morning coffee (I know, don't you feel bad for me!? ). It helps that my knight in shining armor armed himself with a stick and some spray and completely destroyed the hive that was under the bench so I haven't encountered any more flying menaces. While we were gone to Napa Valley , our friend Kittie was here so Truman was well taken care of as well. That cat is some lucky creature!!
Anyway, in the meantime we found out that the house we were about to put an offer on, which claimed to have 1.95 acres, had in fact (according to city records) 0.95 acres. Could have been an honest typo but the price we're willing to pay for a 0.95 acre property is quite different than one that has 1.95 acres. So, we took yet another look over the internet on what was out there and found 3 more promising properties, ended up visiting one this past Tuesday and made an offer on it by Wednesday. The house is perfect (well, almost perfect), beautifully updated (even if I don't like some of the room colors - but that's minor), it's a 4 bedroom (not including the basement which is fully finished) and has 1.7 acres. Does not have a pool but with a yard that big, we can afford to wait (winter is coming up anyway). And is located in an excellent school district.
They took our offer, but we had to agree to close Oct 1. We really wanted Sept 14 (or sooner) but for that to happen, they said we would have to up the offer by $5,000 more, so I told Randy I won't mind travelling back and forth to take the kids to school. You know, after all, what else am I going to do with myself not knowing a soul (apart from our landlady - kidding, our friend Kittie who we are staying with) and not being able to unpack or do anything else?? So the next step was to make sure our friend Kittie was OK with us staying here till Oct 1st. When I tell you the woman travels a lot I'm not kidding (she's only been here half of the time we've been around) Randy had to call her in Mexico where she is till the end of the week. So, first she said we couldn't leave, then she said Randy and the kids could move on but that I had to stay (I've been doing my part to spoil her by cooking really good meals every time she's home - my evil plan seems to be working - ha, ha, ha!!).
So now that we know what our home address will be we can start working on school registration. Yesterday, the kids and I took a drive to their new school, filled out all the paperwork and this coming Monday we have our "Meet &Greet" with the teachers. Dorian actually requested a "boy teacher" (they have 5 third grade teachers) and by the looks of the very friendly school secretary, he will probably get it.
Yesterday was also a momentous occasion as the new homeowners of our place in Texas signed the contract in the morning and we did our portion in the afternoon. Such a weird feeling knowing that won't be our home anymore. Don't take me wrong, I'm super excited about the new place (we're gonna have a basement!!) but it's still sad to leave the only home our kids have ever known...
Today, Saturday, the moving truck will start the trip up here. The owners of the house we're buying have agreed to let us use a large building they have on the property (could be another 2 car garage by its size) to place our stuff in till Oct 1. It will take some creative placement to fit everything, but Randy is good at organizing overloaded refrigerators so I'm confident that this skill will translate to a larger scale.
Hubby also spent an hour on the phone before he left for Texas and finally got AT&T to change our DSL account to a dial up, so even though it takes longer to do anything, as long as hubby and/or his lap top is at home, I can log on.
Truman doesn't seem to be traumatized by the yellow jacket encounter. He goes back out in the patio and sits on the very same picnic table with me for my morning coffee (I know, don't you feel bad for me!? ). It helps that my knight in shining armor armed himself with a stick and some spray and completely destroyed the hive that was under the bench so I haven't encountered any more flying menaces. While we were gone to Napa Valley , our friend Kittie was here so Truman was well taken care of as well. That cat is some lucky creature!!
Friday, August 22, 2008
What good is Beatrice anyway??
So, here we are (cat and all): first week of August and hubby is already at work (actually since the last week of July). We loaded our small SUV to the gills, and completely equipped with as many liquids as possible (cooking, drinking, cleaning and otherwise - did you know moving companies do not pack those??) we headed out of town, leaving behind 107 degree weather (so long, suckers!!!! ) Yes, I'm fully aware I'll be singing a different tune come winter...
Anyway, can you believe I forgot to bring jackets for the kids!!!! Never would have thought I'd need it in August! But it was 65 degrees this morning! And tonight we will be making smores on the fire place outside!!! It's so cool here!! It was down to 60 degrees last night! Anyway, we got to WI on a Monday and already saw two houses that evening and at least one every night since then. Then, over the weekend, we hit several open houses and felt like by the following week we would be ready to make a decision and perhaps decide what to make an offer on.
Our cat Truman and I had our first encounter with wildlife that very first week. I was peacefully enjoying a cup of coffee on the deck with Truman when some yellow jackets swarmed his food and stung him. Not thinking much of it (did I tell you I'm a city girl??) I went to retrieve his food and promptly got stung myself! Ouch! Well, armed with my newest issue of National Geographic (did you know that there are more pyramids in the Sudan than in Egypt?), after I calmed down and located my Neosporin, I went outside again and extracted my revenge by smashing 4 of the little buggers. When my knight in shining armor got home later, not to be outdone by the little woman, he decided to avenge me yet further by killing 5 more (yeah, I initially reported 4 but he corrected me)! Ah, the world is a good place again! Well, more on our country life adventures later!
So far the kids are having a good time, enjoying going outside to help our friend in her garden, spotting deer, and chasing little frogs (they're everywhere!). The house hunt is taking most of our evenings. During the day I got lost (despite our GPS who can't seem to locate a satellite out in the country half of the time) and took an extra hour just to find a supermarket. But I'm getting better and today I didn't even bother turning Beatrice (our GPS) on - maybe the rest will do her good! Meanwhile, every time I get lost I seem to find a new lake! Very pretty around here!
Well, no internet access at home at this point, so Beatrice (in an attempt to redeem herself) located the local library and took us straight to it. I've been spending a couple hours there just about everyday with the kids (it's our daily outing). Our internet is hooked to our local phone number (the one in Texas) so it will take us a while to figure out how to get that to work here. Meanwhile, my cell is the best way to get hold of us.
Our house in Texas sold in six weeks (really fast considering the market conditions) and the closing is scheduled for Aug 22,. The movers are coming in that day to pack and take everything on the road the next day. Randy will be there but I'll stay behind so the kids and I don't have to travel that far again.
Meanwhile the house search continues and we're hopeful! I've been telling everyone I know in Texas that if they venture up North and come see us, I promise all the beer and cheese your heart desires!
Anyway, can you believe I forgot to bring jackets for the kids!!!! Never would have thought I'd need it in August! But it was 65 degrees this morning! And tonight we will be making smores on the fire place outside!!! It's so cool here!! It was down to 60 degrees last night! Anyway, we got to WI on a Monday and already saw two houses that evening and at least one every night since then. Then, over the weekend, we hit several open houses and felt like by the following week we would be ready to make a decision and perhaps decide what to make an offer on.
Our cat Truman and I had our first encounter with wildlife that very first week. I was peacefully enjoying a cup of coffee on the deck with Truman when some yellow jackets swarmed his food and stung him. Not thinking much of it (did I tell you I'm a city girl??) I went to retrieve his food and promptly got stung myself! Ouch! Well, armed with my newest issue of National Geographic (did you know that there are more pyramids in the Sudan than in Egypt?), after I calmed down and located my Neosporin, I went outside again and extracted my revenge by smashing 4 of the little buggers. When my knight in shining armor got home later, not to be outdone by the little woman, he decided to avenge me yet further by killing 5 more (yeah, I initially reported 4 but he corrected me)! Ah, the world is a good place again! Well, more on our country life adventures later!
So far the kids are having a good time, enjoying going outside to help our friend in her garden, spotting deer, and chasing little frogs (they're everywhere!). The house hunt is taking most of our evenings. During the day I got lost (despite our GPS who can't seem to locate a satellite out in the country half of the time) and took an extra hour just to find a supermarket. But I'm getting better and today I didn't even bother turning Beatrice (our GPS) on - maybe the rest will do her good! Meanwhile, every time I get lost I seem to find a new lake! Very pretty around here!
Well, no internet access at home at this point, so Beatrice (in an attempt to redeem herself) located the local library and took us straight to it. I've been spending a couple hours there just about everyday with the kids (it's our daily outing). Our internet is hooked to our local phone number (the one in Texas) so it will take us a while to figure out how to get that to work here. Meanwhile, my cell is the best way to get hold of us.
Our house in Texas sold in six weeks (really fast considering the market conditions) and the closing is scheduled for Aug 22,. The movers are coming in that day to pack and take everything on the road the next day. Randy will be there but I'll stay behind so the kids and I don't have to travel that far again.
Meanwhile the house search continues and we're hopeful! I've been telling everyone I know in Texas that if they venture up North and come see us, I promise all the beer and cheese your heart desires!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Why Toasted Frozen Tundra?
Hello, friends! After being told repeatedly that I should really create a blog to communicate with all my buddies, I decided that, not having anything better to do till our moving truck gets here (more on that later), I might as well start writing. It's fun for me, helps pass the time and the only TV available in the house has been commandeered by the twins on behalf of Sponge Bob Square Pants...
So, in a nutshell, after living in Texas for 17 years, my family and I have moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where dear husband Randy has taken a new job. My boy and my girl, now 8 years old, are loving staying at our dear friend Kittie's house. She lives in this 35 acre property, in this big house and very graciously offered to have us move in with her while we look for a house to buy. She travels a lot for work and is barely here so she's enjoying the company (or so she tells me :-). Till school starts on September 2nd, Dorian and Madison are enjoying spotting deer, catching frogs in a jar and satellite TV whenever possible. As soon as Kittie gets back, we're roasting smores by the fireplace outside.... Yum!!!
Our 1 yr old black cat, Truman, has also made the move up here with us (he was kind of made officially part of the family when we had one of those electronic chips implanted in him). Truman's adopted mom, Nicole, my neighbor in Texas who used to baby sit him whenever we traveled out of town (he also spent most nights at her place for a long while) was concerned that being loose in a 35 acre space he might get lost in the woods and we might never see him again. So, heeding her concern, the kids and I took him on a supervised walk a couple of times on the first day and then just let him on his own. He has adapted beautifully. He spends the day sleeping away (mostly on the foot of our bed - yeah, I know I'm eating my words about letting a cat in the house now) and then, usually around 3 am or so (isn't he a dear?!) he meows to be let out. By morning, when Randy is leaving for work, he's waiting by the front door to get back inside - sometimes with a token of his appreciation (a dead field mouse) sometimes not.
So, as a way of introduction, here's the reason for the "Toasted Frozen Tundra" name for my blog: after toasting our cutie-patouties (sp??) in Texas for so long, we've now moved to Wisconsin where said patouties will in short order be frozen as winter looms in the horizon (or so the locals tell me).
Pardon my blunders as I'm new in the blog world. Catch you later (I think Sponge Bob is finally over!!!!).
Acsa
So, in a nutshell, after living in Texas for 17 years, my family and I have moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where dear husband Randy has taken a new job. My boy and my girl, now 8 years old, are loving staying at our dear friend Kittie's house. She lives in this 35 acre property, in this big house and very graciously offered to have us move in with her while we look for a house to buy. She travels a lot for work and is barely here so she's enjoying the company (or so she tells me :-). Till school starts on September 2nd, Dorian and Madison are enjoying spotting deer, catching frogs in a jar and satellite TV whenever possible. As soon as Kittie gets back, we're roasting smores by the fireplace outside.... Yum!!!
Our 1 yr old black cat, Truman, has also made the move up here with us (he was kind of made officially part of the family when we had one of those electronic chips implanted in him). Truman's adopted mom, Nicole, my neighbor in Texas who used to baby sit him whenever we traveled out of town (he also spent most nights at her place for a long while) was concerned that being loose in a 35 acre space he might get lost in the woods and we might never see him again. So, heeding her concern, the kids and I took him on a supervised walk a couple of times on the first day and then just let him on his own. He has adapted beautifully. He spends the day sleeping away (mostly on the foot of our bed - yeah, I know I'm eating my words about letting a cat in the house now) and then, usually around 3 am or so (isn't he a dear?!) he meows to be let out. By morning, when Randy is leaving for work, he's waiting by the front door to get back inside - sometimes with a token of his appreciation (a dead field mouse) sometimes not.
So, as a way of introduction, here's the reason for the "Toasted Frozen Tundra" name for my blog: after toasting our cutie-patouties (sp??) in Texas for so long, we've now moved to Wisconsin where said patouties will in short order be frozen as winter looms in the horizon (or so the locals tell me).
Pardon my blunders as I'm new in the blog world. Catch you later (I think Sponge Bob is finally over!!!!).
Acsa
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