I’m happy to report that Daniel and I, the animals, and almost all of our stuff is now settling in at the new house in Nashville. After a rushed couple of weeks trying to wrap up everything in Texas, the last few days have been — for me, at least — a very welcomed reprieve from all the hurrying and chores. Here, I’ve been relaxing, watching the Olympics almost nonstop, and unpacking at my leisure. Which is to say, there is still A LOT of it left to do!
I would really love to share some pictures, but there are still so many boxes lingering around that it would be difficult to see the house underneath/behind the boxes right now.
Daniel went to work today, though, leaving me for a few hours uninterrupted here, and I plan to make the most of it by trying to clear out a couple of critical areas — namely, the kitchen (I’ve unpacked about 80% of those boxes, and at this point, what most concerns me is that I haven’t found the boxes with the bowls, toaster, or can opener) and the master bedroom.
We promised ourselves that when we moved to Tennessee, we would cook at home more often, particularly given the brand-new kitchen with more counter space, more cabinets, and brand-new appliances (with gas!). We are both tired of fast food (one of us more than the other), and so we’ve been on a grocery shopping spree since I got here Saturday afternoon. We’ve discovered a few things at Sam’s that we really like, including a baked ziti frozen thingy and some rotisserie-style chicken wings (one of the few non-Tyson chicken items they carry). Amazingly, I’ve gone 36 hours now without leaving the house for food… a small miracle in our world. I’m impressed with us!
Rags is freaking out without a doggie door and the cats are freaking out NOT being able to go outside, but FedEx’s Web site assures me it will be delivered today, and hopefully installed this afternoon/evening, which will make everyone’s lives easier, I hope. We bought Jack a new collar — he lost his last one in < 24 hours -- and so he's just generally pissed about everything right now. Speaking of which, after having Daniel and the house all to herself last week, Penny has virtually vanished since the cats, dog and I arrived on Saturday. Hopefully she will readjust soon. I’ve been up to Vanderbilt once since I arrived, and am going again tomorrow to meet with a couple of professors. One is the new graduate director, who will hopefully be able to advise me on what will be my third class this fall (I am already resolved on two of them), and just generally give me a better picture about the semester ahead. The second is one of our seven new faculty members, who is teaching a class I’m thinking about taking this fall and whose research should help me figure out what to do with one of my own projects, I hope. I’m really looking forward to getting his insight. Next week will be a lot busier for me — I have TA orientation Tuesday & Wednesday and then political science orientation on Friday. Classes begin the following Monday, and then (hopefully) our life will find a good routine and balance. Meanwhile, though, the boxes beckon. I hope to have some pictures to share soon!!