We is here

So, we made it. We survived the trek in the giant rental truck with the car being pulled behind it and two dogs who wanted to sit on daddy's lap all the time. We survived for 8 days with no phone/internet/cable and Paul survived his first week of work (although that first week isn't really done yet since Paul had to pick up a bunch of shifts to make 40 hours for the first week).

We are in small town Tennessee, the nearest city is Knoxville. It is endlessly gorgeous here(although currently it is rainy and grey) since we are in the foothills of the Smokies. The drive from Knoxville to our town was just ridiculously, never-endingly beautiful with the hills all different colors from the turning leaves. Now, it is a little less lovely, but still great. Paul's friends who helped him get the job here just moved down the street from us yesterday so I have, sort of, friends now, which is cool. My social security card should be at my door within a few weeks so hopefully after Christmas I can finally get a job again.

We have moved into a 3 story townhouse. It is cheaper than our 2 bedroom apartment in Atlanta. I would have liked something a LOT SMALLER, but our options (in the one day we had to look) were tiny, decrepit, makes me want to cry house or giant, ridiculously spacious townhouse. So, you know, we opted for what may conceivably not make me cry constantly (although, seriously, you wouldn't know it.) The townhouse is gorgeous from the outside and big and attractive from the inside, but it has been poorly maintained. We will have to speak to the owner of the property about the fact that 1 out of 3 toilets works properly, few closets have rods, only one shower has a rod, the smoke detectors don't work, none of the interior doors shut well and none lock at all, the few blinds that are here are ratty and for some reason, see through, and almost every single light was burned out etc. This place would be stunning if it had been kept up, so hopefully the owner will step up and fix the biggies and then hopefully we will live here long enough and have enough money to buy curtains and do the other little things to make this place feel like a home. So far, it does not.

Although I am not to happy with our house, we are generally doing well here. The town is nice and convenient and easy to navigate, and Paul loves his job which is crucially important. Currently, he is working two 12 hour days, then two 8 hour days and then 3 off. He doesn't mind that schedule but has told his bosses that he would prefer the Monday to Friday thing so we'll see how that goes.

Anyway, today is one of those 12 hour shifts so I have an endless day before me to try to start making this house a home. The boxes are all unpacked, pretty much, but everything is lying around in a heap looking terrible. Plus, with all the long car trips and stairs, my arthritic knees are KILLING me so I'm pretty lazy about going to the basement to get stuff and then going all the way to the bedrooms on the top floor to put it away. It will all get done eventually, though, I suppose.

Not right now though, cause I'm going back to bed.