Winding Down

It's November already, and the year is winding down.

It's been a year of changes for me - lots of big changes, not all expected - and yet somehow, life seems to move smoothly on, as it should.

As reported before, we made the huge move from the San Francisco Bay Area to a tiny town (population 4,798 or so) in south central New Hampshire. This is the source of most of the changes!

     - We moved from an "old house" built in 1948 to an "antique" house, where the original part was built in 1790.  There are also 3 or 4 additions, all done at different times and in different styles.

     - We'd lived there for 20 years, and knew our way around; now we have to rely on a GPS for trips to new places. This is disconcerting, and I'm excited every time we go somewhere and don't need the GPS.

     - Snow? I haven't ever really been exposed to snow, other than  the few times I've gone to Lake Tahoe or another ski area.  Forecasts are calling for a cold and snowy winter here!  Indeed, we had flurries that didn't stick on Friday and actual snow is expected 2 or 3 days this week.

     - The house needed rather more work than the inspection called out. So far, we've dealt with a rotting support beam in the basement, and the posts that were sinking into the rotting wood (now we know why that part of the hall floor felt a little unstable), lots of wood rot around the garage windows and siding that was uncovered when the rotting upstairs deck was being repaired, the side door (which is the one everyone uses) was installed incorrectly and the moulding was disintegrating on all four sides, 2 of the 3 chimneys need to be rebuilt (one is done and the other will be done in the spring) because the mortar is missing between many of the bricks...you get the idea.

     - We've also embarked on the first batch of remodeling projects.  We had a new 8 x 16 foot shed built, in hopes of getting more stuff out of the garages so we can get cars in.  So far, that hasn't happened, but we did finally find my liquor stash and our stash of fancy balsamic vinegars and flavored olive oils.

     The upstairs deck has been repaired and is now safe, and ready for use next spring.  We'll be using it a lot, I hope, because the new master suite opens onto it.  The contractor started putting up sheetrock today and I think we might be moved in by New Year's!

Work continues to be a challenge and a joy.  I am really lucky to enjoy what I do and to have such great folks to work with.

Finally, knitting is fun again.  For much of the last year, I've been too stressed to even enjoy my hobbies.  Knitting, sewing, embroidery, reading - none of them could hold my interest.  I am happy to report that I've read 2 books since Friday, and finished a shawl and cowl in October.  Photos coming, I promise.