There IS a difference between Horse and House

This weekend we took much needed time to just live in and enjoy our house. After the move we had a flurry of activities and a welcome visit from my parents for a week, so we really hadn’t just lived in the house yet with no plans or obligations or really big to-do items hanging over our heads. (note I said BIG to-do items, PLENTY of small ones though!)

Friday night we ate dinner right in our little town and afterward I walked to the coffee shop for a Chai Tea Latte and three huge chocolate chip muffins for the kids and walked home. It was so nice to be able to do this. The downfall was that on Sunday while checking out at a store I realized I had no bank card. I had to sit in my car for 30 minutes going over every detail of the weekend until I came to the conclusion that of course the hubby had the card and then after arguing we determined I had put the card in my pocket on the Friday walk home.
I called our son to check my pockets so I could drive home in peace and he told us it wasn’t there. Then we drove home with much tension. Me envisioning the card lying on a sidewalk in town, picked up by some kids who were now purchasing all kinds of video games, Monster drinks and expensive apps.
I found the card in the pocket hardest to reach for a teenager who was too bothered to thoroughly check all pockets.
Don’t worry kid, paybacks are hell and I’m going to start stockpiling the cash for future walks into town.

On Saturday I woke up at 6:30am –my favorite summer hour when I don’t have to work. The birds were starting to chatter, there was a really nice breeze coming in the windows and I realized that I could only see the treetops and fluffy white clouds from my bed. (I haven’t slept in an upstairs bedroom for awhile) This time of year is my favorite for outside noises. The cricket/cicada/ frog noises are my own personal rock band. It reminds me that my favorite time of year is approaching – Fall and Early winter.

I laid in bed for an hour while the house still slept and read a few chapters of a great book I am reading. (yes, READING- I am reading again. If you are an avid reader who has had a reading block, you understand what I mean when you get it back. It’s like writing for me, it comes and goes, but once you get it back it’s the best feeling ever)

I cleaned the house which at this point is still fun as I am continuing to discover things about the house and enjoying every bit of it. (I know, it won’t last much longer……)

yes, that is the hubby with a metal detector in the yard (don't ask) and believe it or not, that grass was cut only two days prior - apparently previous owner's dog peed fertilizer.

After yard work and some good sweat equity, We had a little backyard cookout and sat in our enclosed patio eating hotdogs, baked beans and chips listening to the summer night and the occasional clip clop of Amish buggies on the street. (This was only two hours after the hotdogs were started – for some reason the fire would not catch and after much swearing by the hubby and wiping off the newsprint from the dogs we eventually got there.)

We also had to take a trip back to the old house which we now call The Cabin. The new family there found some of the girl’s DS games under the fridge (thanks, kitties) and we had been putting off picking them up. I think we all were a little apprehensive about seeing the old place again.
The last time I was there I had gone with my sister in law to clean out the closets. I was exhausted at that point and hurried through the job, not really doing more than glancing at the emptiness of the house. The hubby and our son had spent much more time there alone, cleaning and scrubbing the carpets after we left.

I didn’t realize until after our visit how anxious I had been that it was not being loved the way we loved it.


But, the great news is that it looks amazing and the family there loves it as much as we did. They invited us in to see all that they had done and proudly showed us around. Their decorating style is completely opposite of ours but somehow it was exactly right. Their furniture was giant sized, yet it fit the house perfectly. I know this may seem strange to say, but it felt really happy and I said this at one point and we all got the chills. The new family was also very apprehensive about their move from far away; their son going to a new school, their family being apart until their other house sold, and they said they felt a really good spirit from the house.

We did drive away rather quickly however- While standing outside after the tour, I kept feeling something hitting my arms and back and could see out of the corner of my eyes these things flying around (they looked like tiny birds, really)
When we got to the car, I was horrified to see the largest fly’s I have ever seen in my life all over the windows. We flew into our seats and hightailed it out of there, and still had to stop at the end of the road to let a few stragglers out of the car, (and pull the kids out from under their seats where they had taken cover.) The hubby told me they were horse flies and I am not kidding you when I tell you that they had HAIR on them like a horse.
I could literally see their eyeball’s moving. At home we have a lot of (you might call them deer, I call them V) flies because of the rainy season we have had this year, and they are annoying but thankfully normal in size. Never in my life have I been exposed to these giant HORSE flies though. If we hadn’t moved when we did, you can bet, you would find me blogging about wanting to move right now.
I assume this new family had been exposed to this kind of thing before because they didn’t seem fazed by it, but they can relax, I will not be going back for old times’ sake, now – the thought of those giant fly’s will keep me away for good.

So, I guess you can say, I’m back. I think I have successfully completed yet another milestone in life.