Things I have learned in the past 10 days

1. Expect unexpected hidden costs of home ownership. In the past 10 days, we have been visited by three neighborhood children who requested our hard-earned money in exchange for decorative holiday wreaths, wrapping paper and candies, and magazine subscriptions. We managed to avoid new subscriptions and holiday paper, but I just couldn't say no to the Boy Scout selling wreaths. His mother (who was with him) happens to be our neighborhood block captain and I felt guilty for not returning our contact information to her (which she requested just one day after we moved into our new place). Come November, our cheery red door will be festooned with a merry wreath.

2. Children are incredibly observant. This isn't shocking, but was made very apparent to me last week. I had over 5 inches of my hair chopped off and the only people to say something were three fourth graders, one of whom tried to engage with me an absurd argument (and she really tried to argue) as to whether or not my hair had been too long.

3. Words become much more powerful in the fourth grade. So many tears this year.

4. Working with middle school children is so tiring. I was ready for bed at 7:00 tonight. I'm glad I have a three-day week.

5. Putting the television in the basement was a very good idea. I bet we haven't watched more than 3 hours (not including the US Open) of TV since we moved.

6. The paint company Glidden sells small containers of sample paint that have brushes built into the caps. I bought one on a whim last weekend thinking it might help cover up some of the large splotches of wall paint that somehow ended up on the ceiling (from the previous owners). It worked! We love cheap fixes.

7. "Hava Nagila" has to be the catchiest tune on Earth. Not familiar with it? Call my husband and he'll sing it to you from memory, tempo changes and all.

8. Never order even the South Seas Grog - not even the feeble version. G is convinced its "tart island flavors" are the result of soaking a package of SweetTarts in vodka. I think that's probably an accurate assessment.

9. After 5+ years of practicing with Silent Brass mutes, we can't get enough of playing our horns whenever we want to, at whatever volume we desire, sans mutes. I'm even practicing.

10. It's awesome to come home to your own house. We have much to do as far as decorating is concerned, but we're fairly content to put that off until later this fall. We'd rather spend our weekends with friends and family.

Posts will be sporadic, but check back!

Update

Guess who has an Internet connection again?

I ended up working all of last week, which means our house is very much still a mess. A giant mess. The good news is that it's slowly coming together. I don't work today or tomorrow and I'm hoping to finish some organizing and cleaning (and maybe some studying...maybe). I'd post some pictures of our new abode, but I can't find the device that reads our camera's memory card. I'll try to post some soon.

In the mean time, I'd like all of you to know that we have a very healthy insect population both outside and inside of our house. Last week, after mowing almost all of our 1/2 acre of yard, I encountered a very territorial wasp. He not only managed to sting me in my left armpit (impressive, I know), but also attacked my right buttock. By the time I made it back to the house, I had three stings. I know it could have been worse, but those three stings were so, so painful.

Although we didn't see any during any of our pre-sale visits to the house, it turns out that we also have a nice crop of millipedes. Millipedes are infinitely better than centipedes, but they're still disgusting. I've also killed four grass spiders since last Wednesday. Grass spiders, for your information, are ugly, big and fast. I'm going to remain hopeful that only four grass spiders made their way into our house while we were moving (the doors were open all the time) and that I won't find anymore.