things have really improved since then

it's over, it's all finally over. we made it, we're in!

we moved in a week and a half ago. i could not begin to describe in my own words what it was like, but in the words of my mother 'it was hell on hot wheels'.

let's start on the positive: the day of the move went wondrously. friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors show up in various shifts throughout the day to help carry boxes, lift furniture, or offer a friendly smile of blessing on our new home. jan bros unpacked all my dishes. joel hanson, terry steinmeyer, dan bennett, matthew malette, and bruce balgaard all helped to unload the truck. steve burk and dan erickson (aka the electrical SWAT team) spent the whole day getting the wiring put back into a rightly-ordered fashion. on friday night, erin and dan bennett brought us a homemade meal. then whilst my mom enjoyed mr. toads' wild ride through minneapolis driving a 20-foot rented truck, mandie and bethany unpacked the rest of my kitchen. the help didn't stop there. beth howington joined the fiasco on saturday evening and put together my new kitchen furniture. jennifer, steven, and aaron baxa brought us a meal on monday evening.

but in spite of all this wonderful help, we swear the place must be cursed. i don't necessarily believe in a place being cursed, but i might start to. first, there's the whole mess with the wiring (read previous blog), then my kitchen sink backed up in the worst most disgusting fashion, then matthew electrocuted himself putting up a new dining room light, then our brand new phone on our landline shorted out. there were myriads of other things; supposed simple projects that turned into 2 and 3 day battles... i could go on and on. so i will.

in the middle of this move, percy, our youngest brittany spaniel, had complication after complication following his 'standard procedure' neutering on the tuesday before the move. so on a weekend when i'm supposed to be unpacking and enjoying our new home, instead i'm doing midnight runs to the emergency vet with a hemorrhaging half-dead dog. at one of these emergency vet visits, i broke down into wracking sobs, clinging to my mother like i was 7 yrs. old.

things have really improved since then.

percy didn't die. when monday finally came around and our regular vet was open (of course your regular vet is never open when you need them, on a weekend), they kept him for a few days to monitor him and care for him in a way that matthew and i could not. he came home on wednesday dramatically improved, thanks to tranquilizers (note: a brittany on tranquilizers is like a normal dog). we had thanksgiving dinner at our house with 7 friends and it was glorious. throughout the evening, more friends showed up to share a glass of wine and a smile in our new home.

friday morning we awakened to the fresh snow. we took the dogs for a long beautiful walk to our neighborhood dog park. saturday was a day of resting and homework. sunday morning, we loaded the dogs up in their leashes and walked to caribou for our morning coffee because we still can't find the coffee pot.

all is well.

a month of silence

we're in the process of moving. we have decided to become bruce balgaard's loyal tenants (hopefully to be co-owners at some point in the near future) at what we are dubbing 'the compound'.

my resistance to 'sell out' to the suburbs was very strong (sorry to all of you who live in suburbia). but here's the deal. i believe that we will have truer community living in this neighborhood of st louis park than we've ever had living in minneapolis proper. i know that there are suburbs that are very isolating and desolate, but st louis park has this very unique thing going on. neighbors actually talk to you. and the greatest thing of all is that we get to recconect with and share space with the balgaard's. i am looking forward to many a shared evening around the firepit in the backyard, with brewskies in hand.

suburbia is not all bad. this little neighborhood we are moving to is unbelievable. we can walk along tree lined sidewalks to any number of quaint neighborhood parks. within a reasonable walking distance is a caribou, a chipotle, a movie theater, and our new local hangout: bunny's. the compound has a big beautiful yard with tall trees. and it's a great football house. i don't even know what that means because i hate playing, watching, talking, or thinking about football. but it seems like the kind of house where you just wanna grab the ole pigskin and throw 'er around in the back yard after thanskgiving dinner. and that puts a smile on my face for no apparent reason.

the last few weeks have been rapidly filled to the brim (our cup overfloweth) with remodeling. we find ourselves frequenting home depot and ikea. carpet has been removed, carpet has been replaced, cement has been repaired and stained, flooring has been 'clicked' together, paint has been applied, new windows have been created, new countertops have been installed, and rejoicing has come with the disappearance of that wonderful decade 'the 70's' that once dominated 6010. steve burk, dan erickson, bruce & cheryl balgaard, becky & tim malette, cory mills, and many more people have given their time to help make our house a home that we will enjoy for many years to come. and i am grateful.