It’s been a full week in the new house and it is starting to feel like home.  Most of the boxes are gone and most of the pictures are hung.  We already made the massive Bed Bath and Beyond trip for all the stupid things that we didn’t bother to bring or didn’t used to need.  Like laundry baskets.  In our KC house, the washer and dryer were in the closet of the master bedroom so there wasn’t anywhere to carry laundry to or from.  Now I have to go downstairs to the laundry room. Oh the deprivation! I also splurged on a new iron and ironing board and we are trying to figure out what color towels we want in the master bath.  But that can come in time – we’re the only ones who see that the towels are grey and the master bath is beige and brown. (Please don’t tell Martha Stewart or whomever is a house guru on HGTV.)

Buddy is settling in too – he’s enjoying the plethora of new toys that we have acquired to keep him busy.  That said, he still spends most of his time following us around, whining at the door to the garage every time Frank goes out there, or sleeping on our bed while he still has the run of the house since we are both home. And we think he might have a new girlfriend.  Our next door neighbors have two little fluffy things and the smallest one (lhasa apso maybe?) is a little white puff ball named Lucy.  So far Buddy has not tried to kill her and has actually been very excited to play with her when we have enough adults around to prevent any doggie mayhem that could ensue.

And we have met the neighbors – at least most of them. On one side (with the dogs) is an empty nester couple with a Corvette and an in-ground pool.  On the other side is a family with 4 young kids who were happy to take the ginormous swing set off our hands.  We also have a blended family with two attorneys and an older couple across the street – self declared as the oldest ones in the court.  These kind folks invited us over the day the PODS arrived as they were having a cookout and we got fed and well watered.  They also introduced us to a couple from around the corner who moved from Herndon to Overland Park to Fairport.  It’s a little creepy to have people with such a wealth of common references.  But it’s nice to have new friends to drink with.  🙂

And we are enjoying the area.  We had a few days of cool temperatures that we think is normal for Rochester but then the hellofaheatwave hit and it seems everyone is roasting in 90+ degree heat.  The difference here is that it is unusual rather than common.  The last time Rochester hit 100 degrees was in 1953!  In DC, it happened every July – as soon as the Smithsonian folk life festival tents went up on the mall. And KC didn’t often hit 100 but it was regularly in the 90s starting in May so even these three days aren’t much to complain about.  Especially since we actually have a well insulated house that we can keep at a reasonable temperature – yippee!  And we have beaches nearby – not oceans mind you but we are 30 minutes north of Canandaigua Lake which is lovely (and is where one of the wine trails is located!) and 30 minutes south of Lake Ontario.  If you’ve never seen one of the Great Lakes, it’s really impressive.  It’s hard to believe that it’s just a lake since you can’t see the other side.  Ontario is the smallest of the five but still impressive nonetheless.  And even in record heat, the beach wasn’t overly crowded – and the water was still cold!

 

So here ends our monthlong journey.  We are no longer homeless and as of this week, neither one of is unemployed.  But that’s a story for another day.