Reading Material

I borrowed Hearts in Atlantis while at my sister's, because she is a big Stephen King fan and has most everything in hardback.  Nice.  I enjoyed that, and when I got back here I discovered in with my books one that my mum had bought for my sister years ago.  I vaguely remembered that I had started reading it when in Tennessee on holiday, and even though I left it out, it must have gotten boxed up with my stuff after I'd gone.  So I decided to finish it before sending it on. 

I almost always enjoy his short stories, and this was no exception.  Some, of course, were better than others-- but it was a great read.  One a night before bed was the plan, but I found myself reading a lot more during the day.  I couldn't help it.  I love a well-crafted story, and when they are bizarre?  So much the better! 

Good Driving Weather...

Not. 

This is what we woke up to, and knew we'd be driving in at least part of the day.  We had rented a Santa Fe to put as much of my stuff in the back as possible (I have a lot of things that've wound up at Jen's over the years, from books to clothes to furniture), and loaded up in the snow.  Luckily it didn't last all the way to Cincinnati, but still.  Not the greatest start to a road trip.

Big Send-Off

I've been in Buffalo for five weeks, and it's been great being with the kiddos and Jen and Saum.  Mom has been up this week helping with the move, and we leave for Tennessee in the morning.  I know I'm going to miss the B's, and I think they're going to miss me... so Jen decided we needed to do something fun to make up for the fact I was leaving, to soften the blow, so to speak. 

What did we do, then?  Went bowling in Eden, of course!  And got pizza for dinner, with whoopee pie from scratch for dessert.  Good times! 

Although I have to say, a deserted bowling alley is a very creepy place...

The Real Thing

My sister and her family love wings.  I took them to Buffalo Wild Wings once in Lexington, and they've been eating them wherever they live ever since-- at chains or local joints, or making their own.  It's not so surprising they wound up in Buffalo, considering. 

So of course we had to go eat the original wings. 

I'm not a huge fan of the Buffalo style wings, to be honest.  But eating the real deal was an experience.  The place in itself is something to see inside--  madness.  And the wings were fine, of course.  Bubbs would happily eat wings every single day, so at least that's a plus.  He's a picky eater. 

Stuck

Poor Maggie.  We just laughed and laughed when we came into the playroom today and found her...

stuck.  Makes me wonder what in the world was going on with the Little People yesterday?!

Necessity?

Jen decided she absolutely must have a snow-blower.  Immediately. 

So we went shopping, and ended up with one from Home Depot.  She used it a little once we got it home (getting it loaded was horrible-- for the employees who had to lift and hoist it in the freezing, bitter, gale-force windy day, while I sat shivering in the car)... but I wonder how much use it'll get this season? 

My New Favourite Invention

There was this thing, sitting on the bathroom floor beside the big claw foot tub.  It was kind of dish-like, and the stopper for the drain was inside it.  Fine, the stopper I knew... but this thing, I couldn't figure out.  Then, when I was soaking in the tub to cure my aching back, I started wishing I could fill the bath up higher than the silly little overflow drain allowed.  It's not like it's going to go over my head, and I would very much like it to cover my shoulders, anyway.  Just up to above that wee drain thing would work beautifully. 

Then I saw this beaty again, and everything just clicked.  Why, yes, it does suction over the overflow drain perfectly, and it does give me a couple more inches of water!  And yes, it does have a hole on top, so there is still an overflow drain.  Just higher up, which was perfect! 

Now I want one! 

Jen's Idea of Unpacking, Part 2

Sitting in her comfy, heated, massaging recliner, looking at books and telling me where to put them.  Naturally. 

Did I mention that it was me who brought all the boxes and bins over for her to go through?  And me who had to move them when they were done?  And me that had to put the stuff inside wherever it was supposed to go, or repack it?  And that is was me who had to put them up in the attic if they were being stored?  Yeah.  That was me. 

Adults Day Out

Jen and I got to go to IKEA... on our own!  No kids!  Woo-hoo!  We took out the carseats and everything else, so we could take down the seats to fit in all the stuff we were getting:  a bunk bed, two mattresses, plus whatever else Jen saw that she wanted (several things, by the time we left).  It was a nice day out. 

On the Bus

Today was Bubbee's first day of pre-k, and I think he was more excited about the fact that he gets to ride the school bus home from school.  Mom wasn't quite so keen on that part, but it went just fine.  See?

Clothes Horse

Literally.

I didn't have much room for unpacking my stuff, so I used Neigh, Miss Moo's Christmas pony, to hold my clothes.  I don't think he minded. 

Jen's Idea of Unpacking

That would be sitting around, telling Saum what to do while she plays online on her iPhone.  Obviously. 

Move-In Day

I felt bad for the movers, having to haul the big lorry and the smaller moving truck full of stuff into the huge two story house... so I did my bit to make it easier by clearing the front walk. 

The only problem was the snow shovel was packed, and the ones the people had left Jen had decided they didn't need (and the people who collected most of their left stuff took away last night).  Smart call, sis.  So I had to use a broom.  Not easy. 

I hope those movers appreciated it. 

Junk

We went to the closing on the house today, and were not impressed with how much junk the former owners left... especially since they were already on the road, moving to Florida.  We spent the whole day collecting and moving all the rubbish out to the garage: 

It was seriously annoying, to have to move someone else's stuff out just in order to be able to get our own stuff in.  Thankfully there were three of us to do it, and 'their' realtor eventually got in touch with a relative to haul the stuff away. 

(They took a lot, but not all.  I think the rest is still in the garage....)

The Train Table

We spent a good part of the day in Medina (pronounced meh-DINE-uh, of course) at the train museum.  It's a very cool place.  The owner has a huge collection of train and firefighting memorabilia, plus an enourmous model train that takes up the whole place.  The volunteers make the models all themselves, and it's quite amazing. It even has places you can hit buttons and make things happen, as well as two separate tables just for kids to play. 

If you're ever in the area, you should go.  If you like trains, that is.  Even if you don't, it's still interesting. 

Pro Packer

I've done a lot of packing and organising in my life.  I've moved a lot, and I just can't stand things being disorganised for very long.  So Jen was lucky to have me around to do the dirty work and heavy lifting. 

This was my initial work in getting the boatloads of stuff from the hotel into the car to move to the house.  We added more later, not to mention the other car... but I'm good.  We only had to make one more trip, and for fitting three months of hotel life (including Christmas!) into two trips?  I should be a professional organiser. 

Silly Sausage

The kiddos are mental.  Seriously.  You need proof? 

What a goof.  =) 

And by the way, this is while we're eating fantastic subs at DiBella's.  Delicious.  Some of the best sandwiches ever.  Yum. 

I Follow Orders

We ate out.  A lot. 

The hotel served dinner to guests from Monday to Thursday, which was really nice.  Free food!  But we ended up eating out some of those nights, anyway, if Jen didn't like what they were serving.  In chatting with Paige on Facebook, she instructed me to go eat at Cracker Barrell for her. 

It was goooood. 

Swimmin'

The hotel had a pool (the 'cold pool') and a hot tub (the 'hot pool').  The kiddos were pretty wimpy, and so they spent most of the time with their equally wimpy mum in the hot pool-- although the did sometimes play with me in the cold pool.  Once they got out I swam some laps, and then got in the hot pool. 

It was always a nice way to spend an evening, before going back to the room for some American Pickers or Hoarders or Dog the Bounty Hunter, of course. 

Evening Commute

Since we were staying in a hotel close to downtown, we went around the city a lot.  One day (but luckily only one day) we got stuck in actual traffic on the interstate:

Still.  It could have been worse.