OK, I'm back and this is a long one......

Our main obstacle has been the cold outside and keeping it outside. I think the lowest it got was -18F with -40F wind chill...... We had pipes freeze, specifically pipes that were of the hot water kind and related to our brand new tankless water heater. Only 3 (4?) radiators work to heat the main floor and they are all constantly on. Or were, today it was in the 30's and the passive solar-ness of our southern windows helped out. 

Des Moines got LOTS of snow. We got an inch, maybe. 

Sometimes the sunrise here is like a 1970's velvet painting. This picture is crappy, but just imagine the colors more vibrant. 

Sometimes the colors are more like this. 

Blueberry is teething. Drooling and teething. She pulled herself up to standing by biting the coffee table. 
Boxes are fun. So are pirate queens.

Did I mention Blueberry is teething AND crawling. Reason #1 I have no time to blog. Mobile mouthing everything baby in a semi-construction zone box mess? Oh my.

Tina Fey? Messy updo? No, this baby grew her hair in the era of Sarah Palin! 

A beauty queen who can field dress a moose? Maybe. Right now she's more likely to just gnaw on the sash. 

Not funny mama. Mmmmmm that camera looks tasty.....

I wonder what media is in this box?

Agh! It's a flying box attack! Oh wait.....Lil'Bug! Yay! 

Quiet corner of my living room.

Agh! She's on the move again......a sharp, poisonous, on fire thing is spotted and identified as a desired plaything. Time to baby proof the house!

So that's basically been my life for the last two weeks. I lost a box of diapers. For future reference, do not pack diapers currently in use for ease of move. That would be the ONE box we lost. I lost a baby gate due to high winds on the highway, possibly some clothing as well. 

Other things that are different:

Burning our trash. The scientific law that states things that you want to burn will not catch fire applies to trash and firewood. 

It is soooooo quiet out here. I love it. 

Going out to eat is a 20-40 minute drive. 

Clean windows. Our old house had 48 windows and some had not been cleaned in decades. Even when I tried they did not look clean. Here they are like mirrors. So very clean......

Other things......2009 Goals/Revolution. Last year my word was Release. I think I did pretty well with that one. Though a couple of new things happened that I am harboring anger about. Logically I can think them through and I know I should let it go, but the anger is still raw so....anyway ....2009's word will be Root. We will be planting our gardens, planning our farm, and setting our roots in the community. I plan to work on my novels, pick up poetry again (the root of my creative expression), and get back to my expressive roots. This year I am also going to focus my cooking on heritage recipes from the Cajun tradition. 

One last thought....facebook is a time-suck. 

Things that are different....

Cluster flies. Does anyone else remember that Phish song, Farmhouse? Yeah those. "All we can do is swat them...." Bah.

The farmhouse has only one set of stairs going up. This is just different than what we are used to.

It is quiet here. Part of that is that the windows are new and awesome, but part of it is just winter and rural. We can still hear trains though. 

Hunting seasons. Saturday morning I was bathing the girls (about 6am, they wake up at 5am ish) and heard a very loud bang, like a door downstairs being slammed hard. It wasn't, it is muzzle loader season and there was a guy who fired a shot at doe in the pasture across the road. It just echoed funny. Muzzle loaders are loud. 

Getting mail from the mail box. Just different. I am used to it being right by the front door.

Groceries. The sign at the local grocery in the produce section said Organic BUT the selection under the sign was just produce but for a single bag of organic baby carrots. At this particular store most of the selection was the store brand and much of the things we usually buy just were not there. What was there was more expensive. 

When people find out we just moved here, many have said, "Why?" in a disgusted tone. I did not expect that. 

Trash service. Yeah. There is none. Trash is burned. So we will have to rethink what we consume to yet another degree. I don't intend to have a dump behind my house, nor does burning plastic sound all that great. So, yet again, changing further the way we live. 

Not having a dishwasher sucks, but not as much as flushing the toilets (which only lasted 3 days) with buckets did. Or not having hot water. Or not having a way to make food hot. So really, everything is great! Dearest fixed all of those issues last week. ;)

The Internet is not as fast with the satellite connection. I'm used to watching streaming videos and playing streaming radio. Can't do that now. I wanted to blame the lesser Mac but Dearest says its the Internet not the machine. We also have to free TV signal most of the time. We don't watch TV, but sometimes view shows on PBS with Lil'Bug. Yesterday I got a clear audio but the picture was still fuzzy. I think we will have to investigate the local library for DVD's of the shows she liked.

So that's it. Just different. Just busy. Just bliss.

First Week in Photos

So did I mention that Dearest is the awesomest? This week he pulled the pipes out. The above picture is what the cold water pipes looked like. Yeah. Actually they had more  holes than that but this was the best picture. Well, the prettiest picture anyway.

Here's a picture of the sunrise. Not the brilliant colors of the other morning, but simple. In real life the colors were more like that of a 1970's velvet painting background. It is so divine to snuggle a nursling, sip hot tea (I finally got a cup!), and just be present for the moment.

The only reason I got any unpacking done yesterday at all was that I didn't light a fire. I love it. I love the warmth, the light, the everything about it. 

I have more photos, but less time than I thought this morning. More later.

Just a Quick Hello

I promise a long, picture filled post is coming as soon as I get the photos downloaded and a find a corner filled up with spare time to write a bit......

So far the progress is this: I can do laundry, hot bath the kiddos, flush a toilet using the lever, and COOK FOOD! All improvements over three days ago. Dearest seriously rocks. All of my furry and feathered kids are now here with us as well. Lil'Bug has settled in a bit, though the back and forth to continue packing is "getting on her annoyin'".....yeah, me too.  

I'm unpacking and unpacking and unpacking. We had an awesome move on Saturday that got most of our stuff here, the big stuff anyway, so the house has filled up and feels a bit more like home, chaos and all. 

Dearest and I celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary on Sunday with a quiet family night in front of the fireplace reading to Lil'Bug and Blueberry. Perfect. 

Up for this week: I have to finish up the online course design for the semester by tomorrow night, meal plan for the next week and a half, shop for said meal plan, not- at-the-park day, Lil'Bug's art class, playdate on Friday here at the farm, and, oh yeah, unpack and unpack and unpack. 

Ps, Erin I am not ignoring your email......I am working on a reply between the waves of chaos. It's been 14 years, I figure I better not let so many more days go by! ;)