Monday, May 10, 2010

Deja Vu All Over Again

Oh, dear reader, how I've missed you.  It's been a busy week at Chez NFG, what with the packing and the unpacking and the driving and such.  N'glavin. 

For anyone who doesn't already know, we're now Ohioans by residence, if not yet legally. (Still featuring America's Wang on the license plates and driver's licenses.  Can't do everything at once, you know....)  I've been working here, off and on, for the last six weeks, we're finally permanently ensconced.  No more hotel pillows for me, thank you.

Somewhere in the midst of this, I passed the 50-mark on subscribers to this little queso-centric world o' mine, so I thank each and every one of you kiddoes, my dear, dedicated readers.  You deserve so much better, you really do, so I'm gracious for every little word you choose to read here.  We'll get this train back on track soon enough.  I've been dreaming up new quizzes, and there are pictures and stories to share.  (And I'll be here when the day is new, and I'll have more ideas for you.)

Our movers were great, and ask and ye shall receive, we had the same driver that moved us to Florida back in '07.  Mike is a wonderful guy, and seeing that big white and yellow truck in front of the house brought back memories.  He recognized many of the boxes crushed by our previous move, boxes that never got unpacked in 2 1/2 years.  We even happened to pass him a few times on the road, and stopped at the same rest area for lunch so chatted for a little while.  Not that I could hear my phone ring in the car, but he also called to warn us about some impending road construction while he was ahead of us.  I have no desire to participate in another cross-country move any time soon, but he's the go-to guy if change rears its difficult head at us again.

Moving also meant new discoveries.  When Lori moved a shelf in our old living room, she found a mummified frog, a remnant of the frosty winter we had in Florida. 

We had a few stowaways, lizards that haven't quite come to terms with the sudden temperature shift.  One hitched a ride inside the rim of my potted rosemary bush, and the other managed to stow away inside Lori's desk.  It was 95 degrees the day our movers packed the truck down in Florida, and the last few days here have been in the low 40's with rain and hail.  Sucks to be cold-blooded, apparently.  Though I'll take lizards over cockroaches "palmetto bugs" any day.

Made our first meal in the new kitchen last night, herb-stuffed chicken breasts with a roasted beef marrow risotto.  Worked out very nicely, though I still need to fine-tune the location of some of the more popular utensils.  Oh, and we still need to find the box with all of our flatware. 

The dammit is transitioning as well as can be expected, he seems to recall quite well what the bark collar does.  He may have a few more bouts of collar-wearing until he figures out on his own that there's nothing to bark at (except the giant squirrels).  Hopefully he figures that out before he figures out the battery's been dead for three years.

And after more than a month spent sleeping in rented beds, air mattresses and the floor, I'm glad to be back in my own bed again, this time for more than a few days at a crack.  And despite Lori's flagrant use of earplugs for dramatic effect, I know she missed my snoring over the last month.  I'm sure of it.  Just ask her.  No, wait, don't ask.   Just trust me, she's fine with it.

Really.

9 comments:

Mala said...

Glad to hear your move went well. I love that you still have shit you haven't unpacked from your last move.

Samsmama said...

How totally cool that you had the same mover? Seriously. That's a pretty neat story.

I totally shuttered reading about the lizards and effing palmetto bugs. When I moved back from Florida I was so afraid that was going to happen. Not to mention, shortly before we moved our neighbors chased an enormous rat out of their garage, which later that day I spied in ours. Blech.

Welcome back, Elliott! You have been missed.

Elliott said...

Mala, I have boxes that haven't been unpacked in FIVE moves...but someday, I will need what's in those boxes.

Samsmama, thankfully no palmetto sightings, and I'm glad to say I never saw any rats. Unless you count the Florida squirrels. And I do.

Connie said...

Glad to hear you have arrived safely. Welcome to the Buckeye state!

A mummified frog? ewwww!!

Bev said...

YAY! Elliott's back! I've missed ya, buddy. Glad the move went smoothly and that you're taking the opportunity to kill some amphibians along the way. 'Atta boy!

I can't imagine having my own personal mover, but then again... the furthest I've ever strayed from Vermont is two hours by car, so I guess I'm just a homebody by nature.

Glad to have you back, safe & sound.

xoxo

Cary McNeal said...

You got out of Florida just in time. Gonna be another brutal summer.

You should sell that petrified toad on eBay. I've seen worse.

Sarah the Author said...

Elliott's back! Whoo hoo! Welcome back to the Midwest, my friend. Raining and mid 30's deep into May. Ya gotta love it!

And a note to Lori: After 20 years of marriage I gave up and moved onto the futon in the office. What I give up in comfort on the temprapedic mattress I gain in uninterrupted sleep. :)

I've missed you!

Elliott said...

Frank, I've heard that about that guy, I don't trust him...

Daisy, thanks.

Bev, I just envision the Simpsons camping trip, when the RV explodes and Lisa says 'the Simpsons have entered the forest'. I like to think I have that kind of impact on the indigenous species.

Cary, I couldn't bear the thought of another summer in that heat. I don't imagine GA's much better...

Wish I'd kept the frog, but really, it wouldn't have gone with the lizard skeleton I brought up under the seat of my car.

Sarah, there was a time when we had an unused guest room, and I'd get kicked to that bed once or twice a week. Which is odd, since I don't snore.

Really.

Nej said...

We have this area in our basement that I call the graveyard. It's a stack of boxes we've moved from place to place. They get opened each move, but that's as far as it goes. Why we don't get rid of the junk...I'm not sure?

The exact same mover? How cool is that????

(P.S. OH, and thanks allot! Now I'll have that song in my head all day!!)

Be nice and share!

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