Getting there . . . .

My regular computer is now set up in this house after spending ten days in boxes. Everything seems to have weathered the 8-mile trip with no problems, so I guess I'm feeling a little more normal. I do miss my wall of special photos of family, friends, interview subjects, and memorabilia from the old house that gave my work space more personality.

This morning I'm typing this post in the upstairs room designated as Willie's bedroom/den. It's got a long ways to go to look like a den, but a few of Willie's baseball caps, his dart board and his globe provide his touch. Willie will cringe reading this because he was willing to part with the globe given to him as a child.

"The world has changed a lot since then," he said, while visiting last week. He's right, but it's also fun to look back on what countries made up the world in the early '80s. So, let's just say it adds the historical touch to the room.

I'm sitting on Willie's bed because my computer desk is too wide to fit in the window alcove which faces the Cabinet Mountains. We're hoping to find some kind of a set-up that will fit because I'm going to enjoy working, gazing off toward that ridge line leading from Lunch Peak to Pend Oreille Peak and slowly getting to recognize which cars/trucks/ATVs rolling by belong to which neighbor.

Yesterday Dave, the satellite TV technician spent five hours here setting up three rooms for service. We decided that during holiday season, when family comes home, we don't want tension in the house because of TV preferences. So, each upstairs bedroom will be equipped as will the living room. Dave normally wouldn't have spent five hours setting us up, but the folks at the Direct TV cubicles couldn't get it straight that we're considered new customers.

We switched from Direct TV to Dish Network several years ago when the latter offered Spokane television feeds. This place has a Direct TV dish, so Lenny, the Sandpoint Satellite owner decided it was wisest to go with that and switch us back. Dave and I got pretty frustrated being put on hold time after time because it took nearly two hours for the cubicle technicians to figure out we were considered a new account. I guess it's once a Direct TV customer, always a Direct TV customer. Seems strange in this computer age that it takes so long to get one tiny little problem solved.

Anyway, we've got our satellite feed. The main computer's set up. The horses have new rubber mats in their stalls to avoid having their hooves go through the floor. I'm on my second lawn mowing. The lettuce has been weeded. All cats have made pilgrimages outdoors and have returned in the evening. Kiwi and Festus were just enjoying their first Selle-based wrestling match in the back lawn.

I guess we're almost back to normal, but the daily work load will surely not end soon. I made a dent in the garage boxes yesterday, but many, many more remain. In addition, dozens of items still remain at the Great Northern Road home, but the finality of our leaving there came through very dramatically yesterday when the local vacation rental compnay called up asking if they could look at the house and figure out how much the rent ought to be.

So, once our farm and garden stuff all arrives in Selle, we'll probably not make too many trips to Great Northern Road for some time. It's soon to become a memorable part of our past.

Note: Annie has posted some cool photos from her experiences helping us move last week. Check them out: (wwwnnlove.blogspot.com). I'll post some tomorrow on this blog.