home sweet home

we've just spent our first week in our new digs.

between opening boxes, we've spent much of our time tossing a ball to friday who now suddenly has much more room to chase balls. understandably, she is feeling a little out of sorts here in her new home.  the only place she has known so far is my parents' suburban spread, complete with plentiful backyard and lots of squirrels and birds at which to bark. now, she has to learn city life and all its perils: crosswalks, cars cruising by with thumping bass, garbage trucks...  however, she seems to love the additional living space as she seems to be increasing in size by leaps and bounds.



as for us, we are settling in just fine.  the piles of boxes are beginning to dwindle.  it has been a year since we've seen our stuff, so to say that the reunion with our belongings has been joyous is an understatement.  even the sight of my favorite coffee mug made my eyes misty.

we're learning the trade-offs to our new surroundings.  we've left the very fancy south end of boston, for a neighborhood that is far from fancy.  the lower light bulbs in our exterior lights have already been swiped.  (we're just letting those go for a while and not replacing them.)  we still can't get over the fact that when we leave the house we have to set an alarm and even set it again before we go to bed at night.

the kids in our neighborhood, of which there are many, have made the front stoop of our cornerstore a hangout for years.  our sudden appearance is an adjustment to them to say the least - just a lot of doorbell ringing and subsequent disappearing.  we just keep saying to ourselves, "they've owned this place longer than we have."  i take comfort in knowing that soon we'll be old news.

now, that we have a garage you'd think our parking woes would be over.  instead, we've discovered it requires an expert ability at a 10-point turn to get in and out.  we're perfecting our technique with every trip to grocery store.

the pluses are BIG though.  we love the prolonged daylight we receive in the living and work areas.



we barely use lights, it's so bright in the evening.  drumming up meals in the brand-new kitchen is simply fantastic.  there is so much storage i don't even store stuff in the oven anymore.  we have a laundry room, complete with a drying line.  no more draping on chairs or dealing with rickety racks.  the shower is so big, i don't just sing in the shower, i can dance, too. (you should be happy there are no pictures or video of that.)