Adjustments

Shanna's kids enjoying a snack at the island. Behind them is our family room where later I
rearranged
 the furniture to be more balanced. I will start hanging things up today

When the kids were growing up, Steve was the nice, fun one and I was the one who nagged at them to do this
 or that so I was low on their popularity list (except for Josh's maybe) Found this gem today sorting through papers
 from Naomi

 

So many things to get used to. Different night noises for instance. There are no train tracks near here so  I don't hear them anymore. I do hear the hum of the semis from the freeway that sadly isn't too far from here and I can see the flicker of lights through the trees from my breakfast nook though I don't think we are any closer to the freeway than we were at the old place. We don't have a noisy road frequently with sirens blaring or a bus stop with a loud automatic announcer or a talking crosswalk repeatedly announcing Traffic may not stop! Proceed with caution!in our backyard so that is a definite plus. The heating vents make all sorts of knocking noises and when the water softener cycles through every 3 days at midnight, it sounds like a waterfall.

 

There is just so much space. On our lot alone, one could fit 16 houses and their lots from our old neighborhood (standard city lot). Maybe twice as many of Shanna's houses and lots (her neighborhood emphasizes less private space and more public spaces). With all these bathrooms, you'd think I would have a shorter walk in the middle of the night but the master bedroom and the master bathroom are both long so my walk is further than any 2 points in the upstairs of the old house (about a 6 foot walk from my bed to the toilet in the adjacent bathroom). And I can't hear Steve at all if he is on the other side of the house.

 

We are still fine tuning the decorating here moving furniture around in both the den and the family room. All our books are on the floor until I decide how I want the den to look.

 

Shanna and her kids came for a visit yesterday. I try to keep the kids in the basement where I have plenty of toys.

 

It is brutally cold yet again and tomorrow will be worse. Fortunately today is a Y day.