This Week

Wow, it's been so crazy.

The good things are:

• We're in the house. Everything's unpacked, and coats are hanging on the wall.
• We are gradually figuring out how everything in this house works.
• Work with the horses is going faster and faster as the routines come.
• There's tons of woods behind us. Max has been able to run himself ragged off-leash on the forest roads.
  
• My first feedback from my boss? Work less. This is always a good thing to hear.
• I've ridden a horse two times this week! Alleluia!
  
• I've lost three pounds this week!
  
• We have free cable this month, because the last tenants forgot to cancel their full subscription.

The "bad" (not really bad, but pain-in-the-ass) things are:

• Damn, picking this stuff up is taking me longer than it should. I like to do things right the first time, and I get frustrated when I have a steeper learning curve than expected.
  
• Max hasn't settled. He's barking at everyone and everything, including 2 a.m. alarms over cats walking on the roof.
• It rained the first few days we were here. The paddocks are slimy pits, and now my barn shoes have to live outside in the cold because they're far too nasty to come inside.
• Damn my hands are chapped.
• Damn, my thighs are chapped from riding. (Though, it could be worse. Not even thinking about it.)
  
• The last tenants want us to pay their cable bill, because they left the card here. Yeah. Right.

As with any new move, there's a few bumps. But overall, this has been incredibly good for us. The fresh air and physical labor is something I've needed. You don't realize how stale you've grown until you're out moving.

I'm tired, but in a good way. Each evening on the couch snuggled with man and dog feel deserved and delicious. And I've celebrated my new weight loss by stuffing my face full of cake today at a family birthday party. Mmmm...cheese cake....

Pictures to come.