The Work Begins

After the movers left Saturday evening, leaving us with all of our belongings except two mattresses that went missing, Brett cleaned the shower which was rather disgusting and we rinsed off before collapsing in our bed.  Sunday, we got to work.  I started unpacking the kitchen boxes.  There are a million of them.  The movers packed each glass in an entire roll of brown paper.  Big boxes with a few glasses inside but no broken ones so I'm not complaining too much.

Meanwhile, Brett got to work on the pasture water trough.  We had been using a hay bin but that wasn't working too well.  Winston discovered a new game:  place your hoof in the water trough, paw and splash then pull the trough over and watch the water cascade out and around your feet.  Drag the the trough off to the pasture hinterlands.  We were pretty tired of refilling the water six times a day.  Brett was tired of it, to be exact.  I was on the couch recovering so he was doing all the search and refill expeditions.  We got a large metal trough and Brett set it up with a float.  He cut a hole in the fence so the float is outside the fence where Mr. Winston can't reach it.  An added bonus is that the dogs can drink from it when they are out and about.

The horses loved the installation process.  Brett brought his tractor into the pasture with his tools.  The horses swarmed around, pulling on the torn strips of the seat with their teeth, pawing at the harrow, and otherwise annoying Brett.  I could hear him from the house: Flash knock it off.  Winston leave that alone.  Get out of here.  Brett's arms were waving like he was warding off flies.  The horses just blinked at him mildly and kept at it.

Next, he painted the pantry and one of the closets in our bedroom so I could put stuff away.  The closet and pantry were nasty dirty with particle board shelves that hung onto the dirt no matter how hard I scrubbed.  Brett put in beautiful poplar shelves. 

In the evenings after work this week, I worked on assembling a computer desk.  At Aspen Meadows, we had a built in desk so we needed a place for the computer.  We are using the front room as a computer and TV room.  It is the room that is most complete and comfortable. 

Yesterday, Brett worked on the clover pasture.  This is the pasture between the barn and the lane, and in the spring when we first saw the house it was knee deep in clover.  The back fence was just strips of electric tape a few feet in front of the goat area.  The area in between was all high weeds, inaccessible and ugly.
Brett took down the tape and extended the fence to meet up with the goat area.  It looks one hundred percent better.

The moving company called me today.  Mary, who has been unfailingly cheerful throughout the moving process, said that they had located the mattresses.  Good news -- the kids will have beds to sleep in when they come to visit.

Look Who's Home

Last Friday morning, before the movers arrived, we drove out to Uppity Pups and picked up Sedona and Kersey.  I was still sore from my surgery so I couldn't help lift them into the back of the Subaru.  They both need help getting in since they both have weak ACLs.  Brett said that they stood on their hind legs with their front paws in the back and hopped.  It didn't take much effort to get them the rest of the way in.  Back home, we got them settled in the dog run so they would be out of the way when the movers arrived with our household belongings.

They got to work on their welcome home gifts.  Big smokey bones from the feed store.

I wasn't sure how happy they would be at night in the laundry room.  They slept in our room at Aspen Meadows.  But they are very happy there, coming in when we go to bed and settling right down to sleep. 

Yesterday evening when I got home from work, we let the dogs out as usual while we did the evening chores.  I'm off of surgery recovery restriction so I was able to help for the first time in a week.  After the animals were fed, Brett and I settled on the front porch.  The wicker couch was surrounded by empty packing boxes but we didn't care.  The wine was cool in our glasses and the dogs were settled at our feet.  We sat there for an hour, until it started to get dark, watching the shadows spread.

When I was a little girl, I would play in my room with my Breyer horses.  I set up ranches with pastures and dreamed of living on one when I became a grown up.  I would have an "Old Yeller" dog and "My Friend Flicka" would join the horses from the Mary O'Hara books I devoured.  I must be a grown up now because I'm living that dream.