Day 3 in our new home

Recap of our trip-- 2203 Miles in 44 hours.

Sorry it has taken so long to update the blog. We have been so busy and so tired by night time that blogging has been on the bottom of the list. We arrived here on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. and started unloading the Uhaul. We didn't bother turning on the air conditioner because it appeared that the compressor was missing. It wasn't until the Culligan water man came by to help us get our system up and running (we are on a well), that we learned the compressor is in the garage..that's why it wasn't outside, and the AC was working fine. What a relief as the temperature was in the 90's with the heat index, due to humidity, in the 100's.

After unpacking everything into the garage we started cleaning the house. The carpets are very dirty and there were spiders everywhere, so the first order of the day was vaccuum, vaccuum, vaccuum. I washed the kitchen and bathroom floors. Then we put the futon frame together and fell into the bed. We were totally exhausted, both from cleaning and from heat exhaustion.

Yesterday, I spend the entire day cleaning the kitchen. All the cabinets had to be first vaccuumed, then scrubbed with disinfectant. There were LIZARDS living in the kitchen cabinets and they left evidence everywhere. Luckily the people who were living here must not have liked cooking because the stove is like new and nearly spotless. Of course, I cleaned it anyway. There was an old refrigerator in the garage that is too big to fit into the house, so we went shopping and ordered a new one. While we were at Lowe's, we noticed a great sale on ceramic tile. As we planned on having the entire house tiled eventually, we figured it would be a good idea to take advantage of the sale, so we requested someone to come out and give us an estimate. Besides, the sooner the carpet is gone, the better! And of course, we needed to get a lawnmower and weed wacker before we get cited for having a jungle surrounding our house. When we got home, Brian unpacked the lawnmower and the axle was broken, so the grass didn't get cut and tomorrow its back to Home Depot for another one. It poured buckets today, thundered and lightening for a long time, power flickered but always came back on, and the sun came back out when it was through.

Today, I started unpacking the kitchen and we had our first cup of coffee at home. The kitchen is now in perfect working order, except for the refrigerator, which is coming tomorrow morning. Today Brian attempted to drain the hot water heater because the hot water smelled bad and Culligan is coming back on Monday to sanitize the lines inside the house. Because the house had been vacant for over a year, bacteria had a chance to grow. The hot water heater was so full of sediment that it wouldn't drain and we opted to just get a new one. The plumber who installed it also replaced the valve in our shower so we can now take hot, or at least warm showers, instead of cold ones, as we had been taking for the last two days. Can't say it bothered me having a cold shower in these temperatures. Then we went back to exchange the lawn mower and buy a mailbox and post. B tried to cut the lawn but the rain came pouring down again, followed by the sun, but by then the damage was done and the grass was soaked. Tomorrow is another day.

So that is why I haven't had time to blog. Tomorrow Brian is planning to cut the lawn and we intend to go shopping and fill up our new refrigerator with some healthy food. Still have lots of boxes to unpack, but I feel we have made great progress. The tileman won't be here for two weeks so that gives us some time to paint the whole house. Oh where are you my dear sister Marie, who loves to paint so much?

Tomorrow I will post a few pictures. Thanks for reading!