The Great Trek

Great Minds are asking, "Why aren't you writin' in yer blog, eh?"

Well two reasons, the first of which is that Blogger has been borked and Safari (MAC) users haven't been able to post for several days. The second reason - Did I say we were moving? I must have at some point. We were temporarily overwhelmed with moving. But we have now moved and resettled. We will forever call it The Great Trek.

The fact that we moved a total of about 60 feet doesn't diminish the fact that it was a move, and that we had to pack every loose item in the entire place, secure the cupboards and fridge, take down the TV, DVD player, CD player, router, modem, computers, and anything else that could become an unguided missile during movement.

The Internet connection had to be moved, which took three trips from the ISP. They were terrific, though we may not be as enthusiastic when we see their bill. The propane company had to come pick up the "pig" we rented through the winter. Sewer and electric lines had to be unhitched and stowed. Jacks, tow bars, chocks. The list seemed endless. But a week ago last Thursday Gary came to move us and by noon we were in our new spot and set up.

This spot is a bit of a pig in a poke. It's short, very awkwardly placed and difficult to get into. Gary could only pull us in so far with the truck. He then got a cable, went across to the other side of the hedge and winched us into position with the cable.

But, having said that, it's a lovely spot, with a large green lawn, four big cherry trees and a 10 foot tall hedgerow of cedar trees to the west. We have a lovely seating area, where we can take a book or the newspaper and read or simply enjoy the view. It's not nearly as exposed as our former site, and the grass is so much more pleasant than the gravel pad we'd sat on since last August.

I had already bought flower pots and once we were unpacked I went to the greenhouse about 600 feet down the highway and bought a bunch of flowering plants. Now we have a row of flower pots down the side of the Tinpalace. The fragrance is heavenly around sundown.

Tuesday we went to town and picked up our "Rubbermaid" garden shed. It's more of a glorified box than a shed, since it's only two feet deep and three feet high. But it will be a handy spot for my sewing machine and fabric, and odds and ends we want easy access to. It's tidy looking, which is what counts. Wednesday we emptied out the truck, moved the items we need to be able to get to easily into the shed, sorted out the stuff from the truck, threw away some and packed the rest into storage containers. Much tidier.

The bird feeder was moved, and the birds are slowing figuring out that the seed is here, and not there. But the majority are still scratching around in our old site, looking for a stray seed they may have missed. I guess they don't call them bird-brains for nothing.

Salvador is going wild. There's a cat next door. His name is Norman. Norman looks almost exactly like Salvador, except that he's half Sal's size. But the incomprehensible thing is that Norman is allowed to roam freely, which Salvador can't understand at all. He now thinks that he should be allowed to roam freely as well, which is not going to happen. Sal dashes from window to window, keeping an eye on Norman, bubbling with frustration. Sal is only allowed off-leash while we are in the yard with him, and if he puts a foot outside the boundary, back on the leash he goes. It's a cruel world for kitties who are held prisoner in their own homes!

The weather is perfect and we are living the life of Riley.