Week 3
We are beginning to fall into a routine now, so the entries should be shorter. This means EVERYTHING is not new and different every day. Just a few things.
Tuesday, April 18th William goes to school. He says he hates it, but doesn't act out at home. This is a good sign that things are not really so bad.
On the way to pick up the kids from school in the afternoon, I nearly wreck the car because there is a HUGE, snow covered mountain in my rearview mirror! It is Mt. Hood. The sun has come out for the first time since we got here and we can see for miles! I stare at the mountain every moment I can safely do so. Suddenly, the highway is not such a bad drive after all.
This week is spent shopping for appliances, signing paperwork, etc. We get possession of the house on Wednesday and I have my first chance to go through it since December. It is basically what I remember, although it had gotten bigger in my mind's eye. Palatial, in fact. I am happy it is back down to a managable size but I wonder where I will put everything, especially in the kitchen and laundry room. Eek. The kids get to see the inside of the house for the first time ever and each of them chooses a room (after some negotiations). We have the carpets cleaned because they smell like wet dog. Phew!
Thursday, the movers come and unload everything. They are amazed at how many boxes went in our previous laundry room. This makes me even more paranoid about where I will put things. I discover that there is no garage door opener - only a wire leading to where there ought to be one. Hmm.
Friday, two movers come again and unpack the majority of the boxes while I run around trying to put everything away. We set up a large table in the kitchen and this helps. I put the china and the silver in the upstairs hall closet because there is nowhere else. I am glad we have temporary housing to go back to at the end of the day because it is utter chaos.
Saturday after the appliances arrive, we blow off working on the house and go to see the mountain up close. This is both frustrating and wonderful to me at the same time. I am dying to make order out of chaos, but I know it isn't going anywhere. So we go and drive nearly to the top, stopping at a historic ski lodge built during Roosevelt's time to look at the mountain up close and buy a parking pass. Then we drive down the other side and stop at a random trail so the dog can have a good run as well. The snow is so deep we can hardly believe it, but it is packed enough for us to go down the trail a bit. I could do this every day. We stop and eat along the Columbia River on the way home and walk some more by a dock. It is crisp and sunny as we drive through the Gorge again. Beautiful.
Sunday we put things away and unpack some more. Life was simple when we only had four place settings in the temporary housing and I wonder why I "need" all this stuff. Then I remember that the only thing the kids were doing in the apartment was watching t.v. Well, they've got plenty to do here.
Tuesday, April 18th William goes to school. He says he hates it, but doesn't act out at home. This is a good sign that things are not really so bad.
On the way to pick up the kids from school in the afternoon, I nearly wreck the car because there is a HUGE, snow covered mountain in my rearview mirror! It is Mt. Hood. The sun has come out for the first time since we got here and we can see for miles! I stare at the mountain every moment I can safely do so. Suddenly, the highway is not such a bad drive after all.
This week is spent shopping for appliances, signing paperwork, etc. We get possession of the house on Wednesday and I have my first chance to go through it since December. It is basically what I remember, although it had gotten bigger in my mind's eye. Palatial, in fact. I am happy it is back down to a managable size but I wonder where I will put everything, especially in the kitchen and laundry room. Eek. The kids get to see the inside of the house for the first time ever and each of them chooses a room (after some negotiations). We have the carpets cleaned because they smell like wet dog. Phew!
Thursday, the movers come and unload everything. They are amazed at how many boxes went in our previous laundry room. This makes me even more paranoid about where I will put things. I discover that there is no garage door opener - only a wire leading to where there ought to be one. Hmm.
Friday, two movers come again and unpack the majority of the boxes while I run around trying to put everything away. We set up a large table in the kitchen and this helps. I put the china and the silver in the upstairs hall closet because there is nowhere else. I am glad we have temporary housing to go back to at the end of the day because it is utter chaos.
Saturday after the appliances arrive, we blow off working on the house and go to see the mountain up close. This is both frustrating and wonderful to me at the same time. I am dying to make order out of chaos, but I know it isn't going anywhere. So we go and drive nearly to the top, stopping at a historic ski lodge built during Roosevelt's time to look at the mountain up close and buy a parking pass. Then we drive down the other side and stop at a random trail so the dog can have a good run as well. The snow is so deep we can hardly believe it, but it is packed enough for us to go down the trail a bit. I could do this every day. We stop and eat along the Columbia River on the way home and walk some more by a dock. It is crisp and sunny as we drive through the Gorge again. Beautiful.
Sunday we put things away and unpack some more. Life was simple when we only had four place settings in the temporary housing and I wonder why I "need" all this stuff. Then I remember that the only thing the kids were doing in the apartment was watching t.v. Well, they've got plenty to do here.
posted by Lydia | 3:16 PM
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