Well, where do I start? It’s been 10 very interesting, full, busy, exhausting days. You all know that the closing went well – superb, in fact – and we were busy with school on Friday and Saturday after closing. We did manage something of a picnic dinner in our new (empty) house the Saturday after we closed, but had plans for most of Sunday so didn’t really go back in the house until Sunday night. Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday I was consumed with stripping wallpaper off the bedroom and bathroom walls, scraping off the glue after we sprayed it to get it good and gummy and scrape-able, then washing down the walls twice, spacklings holes, sanding, and painting.

The washer was delivered and installed on Tuesday (is it wrong to fall in love with your new washing machine?), the carpet cleaner came on Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 to steam clean. The mattress and sofa were delivered on Friday, but the sofa wouldn’t fit through the kitchen door to get down to the den, so it had to go back. We’re both trying to get used to the new bed, but as Harald says “We’ve got acres of room here!” and we do. And the bed doesn’t even look big in that bedroom.

The cable was supposed to come on Thursday but didn’t finally get finished installing until 8:00 p.m. Friday night (thus messing up a friend’s generous offer to assist in packing my kitchen). The situation with Comcast was an ordeal that involved many phone calls, escalating the call to managers, one short tantrum (mine!), and what felt like insurmountable frustration. Finally, on Friday morning we got a field supervisor who came to the house to install the cable personally (after Comcast agreed to install for free for their mix up). They originally went to the wrong address (Douglas Drive instead of Douglas Avenue) and someone put the phone number wrong on the work order so they couldn’t call, then the tech later on Thursday just decided he didn’t want to do the job after he learned the house had never been wired for cable. Long story short, the field supervisor was a sweetheart and he worked like a trouper to get the cable through some difficult situations in the walls. When he first arrived, he was getting ready to install and discovered that he couldn’t access the house ground in the electrical system (a local code requirement) – thus began a series of aggravated phone calls to a electrician friend who graciously agreed to come out that very day and take care of the problem. And she even gave us the discount rate for getting the work done. What a pal! So now I have broadband again and I’m not screaming banshee psycho bitch I was on Thursday and Friday of last week.

Meanwhile, we’ve discovered a leaky bathroom faucet (which wasn’t disclosed) that four trips to the hardware store haven’t fixed and any attempt to use the microwave while lights are on elsewhere result in blown circuits to half the house (clearly, this isn’t going to work long-term), the water line to the fridge had been cut (which I completely reinstalled myself) and once the water line situation was solved, we discovered a persistent leak in the ice maker (no wonder the water line hadn’t been repaired after the new floor was laid!) that requires a visit from a serviceperson this Friday. So we have electrical and plumbing work in our near future.

The cat, Cleo, cried for hours on Saturday night, roaming the house to investigate then running back to the safety of the bedroom. But she’s made remarkable progress in only a few days. She’ll even go downstairs into the basement to follow H. She’ll be fine in another week or two, I’m sure of it.

Despite all this, my heart is firmly planted in our new home already. Another neighbor we hadn’t met woke up early on Sunday morning to bake us a homemade apple pie and ran out in her bed clothes, apologizing for her appearance and exclaiming how anxious she was to meet the new guys who had moved in. She’s a charming woman originally from Kentucky – alright, another southerner right across the back yard! So far, every place I’ve lived in Minneapolis has had at least one fellow southerner above me, below me or beside me. And anyone who gets up early to make me a homemade pie is alright with me! I love coming home and knowing that H is there and we both have enjoyed the comfort of finally be able to say “good morning” and “good night” to another’s face instead of the phone.

Last night, we unpacked all of our cookbooks. Let’s just say we have too many and leave it at that, shall we? 300? 400? We’re not quite sure. We’ve almost completed the merge of kitchens (a huge undertaking fraught with potential peril! ) .

So far, I think I like the laundry chute to the basement the best. No hamper in the bedroom, clothes ending up downstairs where they belong.

This Saturday our minister comes to perform a house blessing for us and Harald’s family.

I actually felt rather normal when I woke up today. Not bone tired and ass-dragging like I’ve been recently. This is good.

That’s all the news from Douglas Drive, folks.

Oh, and H’s condo is still on the market.

We’ve got tickets to Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo for Thursday afternoon. I bought them a while back, figuring we needed a extravagant entertainment to nurture ourselves after working so hard for so long.