-5, feels like -18. Also high wind advisory

Ack. I've been visiting different stables in the area. One that I've ridden at twice does not have a heated arena. Weather information like the above gives me pause about returning there. Yesterday I rode at a barn with not only a heated arena but, drumroll please, indoor plumbing! Although a veteran user of port-a-potties, I was delighted to see not only a toilet but hot and cold running water; two barn luxuries which have been sadly missing from my life. Bet you can guess who's going to be getting my business. It doesn't hurt that I liked the instructor and her horse either. The first horse I rode at the "cold" barn didn't thrill me but I rode a different mare last week that I liked a lot more. Yesterday I rode a gelding and he was a very good boy.

I've committed to ride at the warm barn Friday and then will have a lesson at the cold barn Sunday. Hopefully I will be able to locate the girth extender that I accidentally left there last week. None of the horses I've been riding have the physique of the Belgian mare I'm used to. I used a 54" girth with an extender on her, whereas the girth alone was too large for the gelding. In somewhat related news, my saddle has fit these horses so at least I don't have to invest in a replacement.

Had a great Thanksgiving. I don't know if it was due to the convection oven, but the turkey was extra delicious.

Now I'm gearing up for Christmas. We were going to hang some icicle lights outside today but the high wind warning will probably kill that plan. Guess that means I should deal with some more of the boxes still scattered about.

The Neverending Move

Nobody should take this long to get re-situated. I've stopped trying to predict when we'll get everything done. I think we'll call a charity this week to pick up our donations and we will make however many dump runs it will take to dispose of the rest of the crap. We still have the sheds in the back yard to deal with.

I dropped by my former barn yesterday for their horse show/costume competition. It was so great to see everyone and visit with all the horses. Of course I brought carrots so they (the horses) were glad to see me. One of the girls dressed up as Minnie Mouse and had giant mouse ears for her horse. So cute.

I spend my computer time searching for furniture on Craigslist and have only managed to read blogs sporadically. I sure hope I haven't missed any fantastic news/stories that others have shared.

Here is a picture of the book boxes I unpacked a couple of days ago. Wish I could say that was all of them but unfortunately, not.

Bart is hoping Winston is buried somewhere under there.

Home Stretch

The movers are scheduled for next Monday to transport all the heavy furniture to the new house. We are scrambling to move everything else before then. After this house is empty we need to have new vinyl flooring put in the kitchen and downstairs entry/laundry room. We'll get a handyman to patch the walls that Bart ate when he was a puppy and fix a few other items. I would love to get the kitchen repainted or, better yet, have a tile backsplash installed. We'll have someone come in and do a thorough cleaning and shampoo the carpet and then this place will be ready to rent. Too bad we missed the prime season before school started but perhaps there are a few desperate families out there looking for a four bedroom. One can only hope.

I Like To Move It, Move It

Not really. Moving is hard work. It's an hour each way from our current home to the new house and I'm starting to suffer white line fever. Yesterday in a desperate attempt to cut down on the number of trips we rented a 26 foot U-Haul. It took most of the day to load/unload and doesn't seem to have made a discernible dent in the amount of stuff yet to be relocated. I've set an optimistic goal of having everything moved by the 13th. We'll see...

My House is Delicious

There's going to be nothing left if these #*!@ dogs don't stop chewing on it. I know I posted pictures of Bart's earlier destruction and now Winston is working on the stair railing. He's got his permanent teeth so has no excuse for this behavior.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we close on the new house next week. Of course we'll have no money left for the actual move but I guess we'll deal with that somehow. All my plans for new furniture are indefinitely on hold. I hate being strapped for cash (and where the heck did that expression come from, anyway?)

House Update

Still haven't closed on the new house. The assessor low-balled the value of our current home so we can't borrow as much against it as we'd anticipated. Our realtor talked to her about looking at some different comps., which she has agreed to, so now we're waiting to see if she will adjust accordingly. Won't hear anything until tomorrow at the earliest since today is a holiday. We have an extension until Sept. 14.

We can still afford the other house but just wouldn't have as much money left over for the new roof, fence, moving expenses, etc.

Re: the roof. The house was built in 1983 and our inspector found several places on the roof that needed repair. The additions that were built in 2003 looked fine so the whole roof did not need replacing. However, the materials wouldn't match and the roof would look odd so the current owners got an estimate for an entire new roof and knocked over half the cost of it off our purchase price. They agreed to fix anything else found by the inspection. The water quality test came back excellent (well water) and they had the septic tank pumped so it should be good for quite a while.

All this waiting has me frazzled. I can't seem to get motivated until we actually sign on the dotted line. Thank goodness for time spent at the barn. The horses demand my full attention and I can focus on them for the duration of the time I spend there and forget about the stress of waiting to move.

Are The Olympics Over Yet?

I wanted to see the equestrian events but never managed to get up in the middle of the night to watch them. Fortunately, all the horsey blogs I read have kept me updated. I only managed to catch bits and pieces of marathon running (boring) and women's individual vaulting. Yahoo news did a pictorial of all the sour looks on silver medalists faces. Don't authority figures teach good sportsmanship any more? Now I know these athletes are "in it to win it" but doesn't the fact that they made it to the Olympics count for something? Take pride in that and accept your loss with grace. And please, please, please let this be Bob Costas' last gig at the Olympics. I got tired of changing the channel every time I saw his face.

So, it looks like we're moving. We saw the house I mentioned in my last entry on the following Saturday, came back to Anchorage and made an offer and it was accepted the next day. We had the home inspection done yesterday and I like the house even better on the second viewing.

I've started packing up boxes (hate) and can't wait to sign the final paperwork. There are excellent Internet sites with tips on moving and one advises to try to downsize by a third. I chucked a bunch of magazines into the recycling this week and even threw in my old yearbooks. I never looked at the darn things and they weighed a ton. Sure hope we can get settled into the new place before the snow flies.