Home Sweet Home

I arrived back in New York with the animals on November 12th, and Kevin joined me on the 17th. I am so grateful that all the pets made the trip safely and that they seem to have adjusted really well to all the crazy changes. (I think they have adjusted better than I have--I still find myself blurting out the occasional "Tusen takk!" to cashiers and braking for cars to my right at intersections!) The past two weeks have been really hectic and our house has been buzzing with the sounds of saws and drills. Brand new, gorgeous porcelain tiles have been laid throughout the second floor, a door-sized hole has been cut in the back brick wall and an elegant wrought iron fence has been partially installed in the backyard. Progress has been made! Unfortunately, the carpeting still needs to be ripped out and the tiles still need to be placed downstairs, a door which is on order still needs to be positioned in that gaping, door-sized hole, and that elegant fence still needs 3 gates installed before it will contain the dogs. Oh, and when we were cleaning out the attic yesterday, we realized the roof has been leaking and probably needs to be replaced in the very near future. What was that whoosh I just heard? That would be the sound of our money beating a hasty retreat from our bank account! The house (and our finances) might be a mess, but the view is incredible--I took the photo above this morning while watching the Canadian geese paddle around on the lake. I really have nothing to complain about-- being back home has been incredible. Spending time with friends, volunteering at the animal shelter, shopping at my favorite stores, even scouring the kitchen appliances with Kevin...I have loved every minute of it! And after a couple of short weeks, our house will be perfect and the whine of power tools will be just a distant memory!