I'm Sorry...

So here's the deal...

I know I haven't posted a blog since I moved in to the house on Critz. I know I never posted pictures of the inside. But you know what? It wasn't really worth it. I never really "nested" in that house. Once I started teaching the sophomores how to spay and neuter dogs and was on call 24/7, I didn't really care about decorating. And I say "that house" because we no longer live there. All of our things are on a truck en route to upstate New York as I type.

So here's my New Year's resolution. I will post blog entries about the trip north. I will post about trying to find a hometown. A home. And I WILL decorate it. I will tell you all what people eat in New York (I've been wondering - if they don't have fried green tomatoes or chicken and dumplings, what could they possibly eat??? If they eat lutefisk, I'm throwing in the towel and coming home.) I will tell you how I handled Nathan's deployment when it happens. After that, I don't know what I'll do. Whatever it is, though, I will blog about it.

Wish me luck! I've never been good with this resolution business.

For everybody who has doesn't know what's going on with us, our house on Walnut sold and we had to move across town to a rental house on Critz Street. I know it looks like a duplex, but we really live in the whole thing (there are 5 exterior doors - pictures to follow). I'm sad that you can't see many of the flower baskets I have out front. There are two hanging over on the far left by my real front door, one on the front door landing, and another at the door on the right. The yard is nice and freshly mowed because the landlord takes care of it and he lives next door. He's has motivation to keep it looking good.

Here are the two side doors (on the right end of the house in the last picture). Why a house needs two doors 10 feet from each other I have no idea. I get the feeling the house was pieced together over several years. You can't see my flowers here, either, but I tucked several impatiens at each end of this bed around the holly bushes. Keep walking with me through the gate (barely visible on the right).

I have a very nice deck with back door access (door #5!). This is the newest door on the house, so it is, by far, the easiest to unlock. All the others take several seconds to get the key to turn. Not convenient in the rain.






Not that I cook much when I'm alone, but I decided it would feel more like home than a temporary place to sleep and keep our stuff if I had an herb garden. I have parsley, oregano, basil, and rosemary. The rosemary sprigs (on the right end) are just cuttings, and it's not looking good for them to ever root. Cross your fingers for them. The planter would look silly with three plants and a big space on the end.






The deck came with it's own corner post and three hooks. A hummingbird found the feeder within a day of putting it out, and he's become a regular visitor around dusk.






I have a good-sized, fenced back yard, but I still don't know what to do with it. Any suggestions? It seems ridiculous to just walk around on the grass. Maybe I should invest in a croquet set? Now moving on to the only picture you'll see of the inside (I'm not finished unpacking yet).



I learned that when you've been killing all the baby 1" slugs in the laundry room all week, the 4" queen of the slugs will come looking for you eventually. I love that slugs can crawl (or slither, maybe?) all over my laundry and I can't keep them out. Living in a 60-year-old house is so wonderful. Mice get in the little holes, too. One has died in a wall in my linen closet. All of my bath towels smell like death. *Sigh* I love this house.

Check back next time for pictures of the inside, including the living room I haven't even looked at in a week.