Little House in the Not-so-big Woods (written February 8th)

After two months of sheer hell for an obsessive control-freak like me, I am the proud owner of a gorgeous little house. Because of various other things that happened, I did not get to spend a full day at my new house until Sunday. As it turned out, it was the prettiest day of the week. The sun (that bright thing in the sky - you remember!) was out and the temperature was up. My beloved and I got up early, put our bistro table and chairs in the back of the car, picked up breakfast, and had our first meal at the house. We set up on the veranda and sipped our coffee listening to the sound of the wind in the pines, and a nearby woodpecker. We watched the sun rise higher and a turkey buzzard (surprisingly beautiful in flight) work the thermals overhead. Only an occasional car passing intruded. ***Sigh***. Pure bliss!
With the first real excitement since purchase, we went to work - unloading things we brought from the rental house. It is amazing how a few rugs and pictures transform an empty house. My amazing man went to work on the plumbing - a few minor leaks, and I went back to the rental for more stuff. Upon my return, we had our second meal - again al fresco. I could get used to this!

My beloved was delighted to get our brand new leaf blower started and he crawled up on the roof and dispensed with two years of accumulated pine needles and leaves. We were lucky - the cleaning revealed a surprisingly sound roof with a little moss and only two small holes. A trip to Lowes and Home Depot for various delights - I could spend hours there, and it is amazing how quickly you can get drawn into a protracted debate about light fixtures - and we raced the sun back to the house to get the roof patched before dark. To me, nothing says love more than the sight of my beloved up on the roof feverishly nailing and caulking as the sun drops below the horizon. He is really wonderful!

After dinner, we locked up everything out of sight and reluctantly took our leave, pausing to marvel at the sight of our beautiful little woods in the starlight. It was a good day.