Dashing Through the Snow

I am not a one horse open sleigh, but my blessed mother-in-law is.
There's not enough snow on the sledding hill to go sledding right now, but she and FFM really wanted to try out the sled, so out they went.

That's the face of hysterical laughter if you can't tell. And yes, those are front yards. Just wait until there's enough snow to go down a slope, there won't be any stopping these two.

Countdown

I think the countdown clock is going faster now.
Hooray :)

A Happy State

Well, if MSN says it, it must be true.
We live in a happy state. But not as happy as Wyoming.

According to MSN:
"Here are the top 10 states and their average well-being scores (out of a possible 100 points):"
Utah: 69.2
Hawaii: 68.2
Wyoming: 68
Colorado: 67.3
Minnesota: 67.3
Maryland: 67.1
Washington: 67.1
Massachusetts: 67
California: 67
Arizona: 66.8

Oh, people, how did we let WYOMING edge us out? Hawaii, OK, I get that. Utah, yeah, well, they have mountains, Mormons, retirees, and really laid back folks, and pretty much the same weather we have here. Maybe it's time to move to Wyoming. Or Hawaii. Yeah, as soon as I'm tired of Colorado I'll pick one of those two places to move to.

For the entire article and the actual scientific process of how they figured this out plus where your state landed, click HERE.

Least happiest state, West Virgina. Sorry West Viginians, check out Wyoming. It's got a lot of room.

Oh How I Love to Sit

The sofas are coming, the sofas are coming!!! Finally, we will have some furniture to sit on in our poor little house. Other than the folding camp chairs I've been using, that it. As soon our offer was accepted on this house I started furniture shopping in earnest, but buying 'real' furniture means ordering it, which means waiting for it to be built and delivered.

Everything I ordered is built here in the US, so I suspect that the current job scene means that furniture factories might be running on a smaller than normal staff, which means our furniture has been extra slow to come. We did get some hard goods delivered already back in late October, a new kitchen table and the tables for our living room, but nothing to sit on. Travis needs to help pick out the chairs for the kitchen table, we learned long ago that since he's so much taller than me we like very different chairs. Currently F and I sit on folding chairs in the kitchen, too. And the sofas, well they just took a while. I also have a new chair for our family room on order that should be here just in time for Christmas and will pick up one more chair for the family room in a couple weeks.

I did do a little happy dance when the delivery call came, now just to work out a time they can get into the house...

De-mob

The inevitable point of the project has come for us to de-mobilize our household. Maggie got most of the things in our house pared down before she and FFM departed in September. My job is to prepare it all for the movers. The process is sort of like corralling all the stuff you have accumulated on your overseas trip and trying to fit it into your suitcase. The difference this time is that the trip was 3-1/2 years long, the suitcase will be a modular sea container, and we are returning with more people than we departed with. Here are some photos to show you how the Perth de-mob is shaping up. (Anyone with sharp eyes may be able to compare to the relatively well-appointed house that we configured last year).

The living room is mostly down to our chair and sofa and rental furniture now. At least I still have a place to sit.

FFM's old room seemed like the logical place to accumulate toys and kid stuff.

This is what five sets of Ikea "Trofast" toy storage cabinets look like when they are disassembled. Ikea is made for expatriates: relatively inexpensive, immediately available, and packs flat when it's time to go.

The guest room is the holding pen for general household goods.

Stacks of clothes inhabit the bedroom.

The playroom gets more toys and duffel bags. The bags will go with me on the plane. I have them out now and as I think of something that would be useful to have in Denver before March, I stick it in a bag.

The ubiquitous, inevitable, and thoroughly enjoyed books. I love being in a family that reads.

And, lest you think I am starving as a temporary bachelor, a shot of the fridge to demonstrate that I do, in fact still have something in it. One of the immutable, perpetual, and inescapable fundamental facts of the universe is that the last things in the refrigerator will always include mustard, pickles, and something to drink.

Before long the rental company will come collect the appliances and assorted furniture, the movers will come to pack our things, the utilities will get turned off or transferred, and I'll turn in house, car and work keys. Thus will quietly end the logistical unplugging from this episode of our intraplanetary travels.

-Travis