...unpacking...really heavy boxes...

...our AWESOME movers packed the dishes in special dish boxes...

...called dish barrels...

...these boxes full of dishes are very heavy...and they're in the garage...

...so I take some baskets and open a box and unload about 2/3 of it into my baskets...then I can carry the more manageable weight in the baskets upstairs...and finish unpacking...

...clothes are really heavy too...heavier than I would have thought...and the same process applies...

...practically everyone here (except maybe Jack) is still looking for something that is still in one of the boxes in the garage...even though the boxes are labeled it's still a bit of a 'treasure hunt'...

PS...have I mentioned that there's carpet in the kitchen (you can see it in the picture above)...ICK...

...unpacking...and contac paper...

...you may well be asking yourself what those two things could possibly have in common...

...well...the latter must be removed before the former can be accomplished...

...using a hair dryer to soften the glue I started pulling contac paper off the kitchen cabinet shelves...as there really seemed no point in unpacking the dishes and then moving them out again to remove the contac paper...

...so imagine my surprise when I found little bits of another older design beneath the top layer of sticky paper...and sometimes full sheets of it...so just double the time that it takes to pull that gummy stuff off...and you pretty much have my whole weekend...

...and when I finally got all the contac paper off the shelves were still sticky...and they were still sticky after a good wash...

...so I just lined them with tea towels...for now...when I find my sewing machine and have a little more time...I'll fashion some proper liners from a nice cotton...striped I think...

...and then I got on with the business at hand...

...so how's Jack doing?...

...some of you have sweetly asked how our Jack-Jack is adjusting...

...just fine...

...he has certainly landed in a dog loving neighborhood...

...other people's things...

...I wonder...

...about the things that get left behind when we move from one place to another...this little Bible was left all by itself in a kitchen drawer...

...I love it...the verses she chose...the DATE...the childish crayon scribbles...

...we bought this home from an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife and moved into a nursing home...and they just left some things behind...

...these things were all left in the kitchen cabinet beneath the drawer with the Bible in it...

...I love the mixer...Yep...I plugged it in and it still works...it's heavy though...

...and the coffee percolator...with the little baggie of cords...surely one of them fits the percolator...

...and the sweet pitcher...I think maybe she collected antiques...some of the items still have little estate sale type tags...

...in the bathroom...her drawers were left intact...I'm thinking it may have been too painful for him to go through some of her things...

...it makes me wonder...what did we leave behind in North Dakota...

...a few (scary) 'befores'...the blue carpet version

...you may want to shield your eyes...these are some pretty bright images...

...the Man chose/bought this house for it's 'good bones'...and also for the nice neighborhood...

...not it's decor...obviously...

...there's a lovely bright blue carpet throughout the upstairs...

...it will be (one of) the first things to go...love the fireplace though...

...guest room...blue carpet...check...

...master bedroom...blue carpet...check...

...hallway...blue carpet...check...

...some people could probably take this colour and run with it...bright bold colours and some matching/coordinating furniture...but I'm not that person...I want neutral colours and white walls...at least the walls are white...

...some more new things...the Organic version...

...remember how I used to lament that the health food store in ND was 90 miles away...

...now it's about 1.5 miles away...and it's not even a Health Food store...I got all this at my corner grocery...so YAY!

...First Days in West Virginia...

...Scout and I had a nice flight to our new state...three flights...actually...and leaving North Dakota - the plane's de-icer sensor was not working properly...so we were 45 minutes late leaving...de-icing is extremely important though...so I'm not complaining that they fixed it before we took off...but it gave us only 15 minutes to make our connection in Minneapolis...

...everything else went smoothly...

...our first glimpse of the new Church...

...a little bit more in focus...we passed the Church first on our way to our new house...

...our first glimpse of the new house...

...the new backyard...it's so nice to be back in the hills...smelling familiar smells and hearing familiar sounds...

...home...

...last days in North Dakota...

...Scout and I spent our final days in North Dakota at a friend's farm...

...it was like being on retreat...

...we had a lovely soft sticky snow...and temperatures dipped well below zero...so we had a nice taste of North Dakota winter before we left...

...just a few peaceful days before all the NEW starts in West Virginia...

...it was lovely...

...Last Things...

...wanna know what's the very last thing I did before I locked the parsonage and left the keys at the church...

...I took a picture of the wall where we marked Scout's growth through the years that we lived here...

...Oh my...how he's grown...

Karate Purple Belt

...we had a couple of reasons to stay in ND a bit longer than the Man...so that Scout could complete the semester at his school...

...and so that he could complete his purple belt test at Karate...

...this test was originally scheduled for Saturday...so we purchased plane tickets for Monday...then the test got pushed out a week...

...and we were like "YIKES"...after all our planning he's going to miss the test anyway...

...but Sensei graciously changed the date of just Scout's test so that he could test before we moved...

...all the reugular components were there...the pattern...sparring...terminology...and the other students participated as a practice test instead of a real test...

...Scout passed to purple...

...and Sensei gave us a couple of options for dojos to look for in our new home...

...Click here to see a much smaller Scout pass to purple at Tae Kwon Do...aaahhh the memories...

Hi from WV...

Sorry to be off-line for so long...we're just wading through a sea of boxes here...and there's so much to be done before I can even put some of it away...

...but first the move...

...the Man left early with a few fragile things and all the critters...'Mander...Sir Isaac (the newt)...and Catty...the Cat Fish...remember all the other fish went back to the pet store...

...then Scout and I finished packing up the house...

...and the movers came...

...what a great group of guys we had for movers...and they couldn't have asked for better weather..it was about 35° above zero...and it could have been 35° below just as easily...

...last year by this time in January...we'd had 4 blizzards and the fence was completely covered in snow...

...after they left...

...we said a few more good-byes...and cleaned the empty house...so very sad...

...we...mostly Scout...has a few more things to finish up before we can leave ND...more on that later...

My Memories Digital Scrapbook Page Giveaway...Page 3

...this is the final set of giveaway pages...

..just click on the photo to be taken to My Memories website...and then download your free template...

Please note that all of these are .png files only, not MyMemories Suite Templates. They are usable in any software. These freebies include 2 Quick Pages, and all of the papers and elements used in creating them. Just open in any editing software and then layer your photo behind the open box. From there you can add journaling, embellishments and more to truly personalize!!

I hope you'll try these out! These are fast and fun, and a great way to embellish your photos. You may not think you can "scrapbook" - but with Quick Pages it is easy to just layer your photos behind the page, add a little journaling, and voila - ready for printing or saving for the web!

...and don't forget to use the code STMMMS45453 when you order from My Memories...

...my next post will be coming to you LIVE from our new home state of West Virginia...

My Memories Digital Scrapbook Page Giveaway...Page 2

...another set of pages from My Memories


..just click on the photo to be taken to My Memories website...and then download your free template...

Please note that all of these are .png files only, not MyMemories Suite Templates. They are usable in any software. These freebies include 2 Quick Pages, and all of the papers and elements used in creating them. Just open in any editing software and then layer your photo behind the open box. From there you can add journaling, embellishments and more to truly personalize!!

I hope you'll try these out! These are fast and fun, and a great way to embellish your photos. You may not think you can "scrapbook" - but with Quick Pages it is easy to just layer your photos behind the page, add a little journaling, and voila - ready for printing or saving for the web!

...and don't forget to use the code STMMMS45453 when you order from My Memories...

...check back tomorrow for another set of free pages...