Penners in Kentucky and Iowa

I’m two days into the move and feeling much better about setting up house in Kentucky.  David and Lisa (the friends you’ll be hearing a lot about, since they now live just a few blocks away) have been wonderful.  They fed me, showed up ready to work Thursday evening, cleaned out boxes all while I was in meetings on Friday morning, put together furniture, and have let me do laundry and use the internet at their house while they’re away this weekend.  I’ve been putting in some late nights cleaning and hauling (ooh, the dirtiness of our stuff in storage . . .), but by now I think things are coming together.  I’ve made a bit of a haven of the bedrooms upstairs, which are clean and relatively put together, and I think I’ll even get most of the junk put away tonight so that I can reclaim the living room, too.  Although the bathrooms and kitchen are a bit questionable in this house, they are more than redeemed by the closet space, new carpet, and cupboard space in the kitchen.  To give you an idea, we have room for all of our canning jars in our kitchen.  It’s wonderful to have everything readily available, clean, and ready to use!

When I ventured out to the sandwich shop in town, the lady behind the counter struck up a conversation with me.  After one or two questions, she said, “I think I know who you are!”  Turns out she’s also friends with David and Lisa, so we had a friendly chat, I got a delicious lunch, and I told her I’d be back.  I did hit the grocery store (and amused the cashier by buying pretty much everything I thought edible and that didn’t need refrigeration.  She, too, was friendly.  I know some people find this whole small-town thing weird, but I think it’s great.  So nice not to feel alone, even if my family is flung across the globe.

The kids have been having a great time in Iowa, though I think I might be hearing a bit of fatigue in the voices of the grandparents when I call home.  The plan is for my parents to arrive, kids in tow, on Friday, so I want to have as much done as possible before then.  While the kids are in Iowa, though, they’ve been playing in a kiddie pool, taking the tractors for a walk, and–keeping my parents on their toes–touching everything in sight.

Erin