It has been a busy month. We moved house. I started interviewing for a job I'm really interested in. I got locked out. My Mum visited for Christmas. We had a party. I tried on wedding dresses. You get the idea...I was a tad occupied, and have not had a moment to blog. Until now...Moving, according to WikiAnswers, is the third most stressful thing in life after divorce and bereavement. Our experience attests to that. We were supposed to close the house sale on Friday December 11th. The mortgage company stuffed up. In a big way. They sent the very large sum of money we needed to the wrong place (How does that happen, and how do you get that kind of cash back? Nobody ever deposits six figure amounts in my bank account!). We were left in the bizarre position of taking a three day rental from the owner, over a weekend, until the error could be fixed and we could truly take title on the property.
Thanks to the owner's mercy, (plus a $255 rental agreement) we were able to move on Saturday 12th, and Eric and I woke up on my thirty-seventh birthday in our new house. It's pretty cute. There are three bedrooms, and the downstairs is a wide open space that works brilliantly for entertaining (as we discovered a couple of weeks later).
But before that, I showed my true stripes as a city girl. I have a confession to make. This is the first house in my life where I have possessed a garage. I'm pretty excited by the garage door opener. And so it was, that on the day we were due to become the real owners of the property, I locked myself out. I just walked into the garage (in my pajamas, no less) and the door to the house slammed shut behind me. Oops.
Meeting your neighbors in a pair of furry slippers and your dressing gown is not ideal. But it forges a certain sort of intimacy. Without keys, cellphone or any modern appurtenances, I had to fall back on memory for my future parents-in-law's phone number, and the kindness of strangers for the use of a phone. All was well, and I was restored to possession of the house relatively quickly. But a family legend has been born.
Santa brought me not one, but two key retaining devices (intended for the garden, where - should you happen to lock yourself out - you should then be able to re-enter without the assistance of neighbors). I can't tell you where they are, since that would be an invitation to burglars. But trust me, they are in use.
The holidays were fabulous, and fabulously busy. We ate a ton, saw lots of family, and cut down a sequoia (leaving five feet in the ground for all you eco-folk) as our Christmas tree.
We are pretty excited about 2010, since it is the year we plan to get married. To all of the folks who read my blog - friends, colleagues, random web cruisers - I wish you a very happy New Year. To those of you who know me well, I hope you will come and visit us in Capitola. I have quite a few keys, now.
