Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Moving In

It seems that every time we've moved, we have accumulated more stuff than what we've given away. We're finally in our new home and now the real work of making this house into a home begins. I had complained to Marcia H. that I had a month when we were pretty much living out of a suitcase in an apartment, that I was squandering the free time I had instead of diving into revisions, and she was spot on in her reason -- we'd be moving again -- and my brain knew it.

We moved into our semi-permanent home this weekend and I've been trying to get the kitchen set up, with space for the children to do their schoolwork. It's box-city though and very messy. I cannot write like this at all, and although I want to, I simply cannot focus. The priority is to get the house in order. I wish it would all happen magically, but there is joy in seeing gradual progress.




I take the dog out for long walks. It is beautiful here, with trails and paths and ponds. This morning we explored a marshy area by the Wando river and the dog kept snapping at the fiddler crabs. I'm surprised she's not gotten pinched yet. I take my breaks on the back porch. This is the view. A piece of heaven, no? It is quiet and I love listening to the bugs and birds chirp. I see eagles and vultures soaring up above.



The previous owners left this little Manneken Pis statue. My daughter thinks it's disgusting, but we lived in Belgium for a few years so I have a soft spot for this little boy.




So, there you go. I took a longish break for this post, and I must get back to my boxes. Pray that we get settled soon, so that I can get back to my writing.


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13 comments:

Bish Denham said...

Oh Vijaya, It looks like a lovely place! Sorry about the broken plate, but there always seems to be some fatality or other when moving.

I have never minding unpacking in a new place; putting things where I want them, arranging. It's the packing it all up that's tiring. Enjoy getting organized.

I'll write to you soon.

Ruth Schiffmann said...

Hope you are feeling more settled soon. I know how hard it is to get back into a "normal" routine after a move.

Marcia said...

The statue made me laugh. You DO have a beautiful setting!

I hope only the one plate broke. When I helped our daughter and SIL move, I packed the dishes. Not well enough, I guess. At least three plates broke. :(

Vijaya said...

Bish and Marcia, I wish some of my cheapie plastic stuff that my husband can't stand had broken. Alas, my desk and bookshelf also are damaged, but we've rigged them up anyway.

Inluv, it's been a couple of months since I've worked on my novel, and it looks like it'll be another month more ... and we need to get the wireless going, so that I can write on the back porch.

Molly/Cece said...

What a beautiful place! What is a semi-permanent home? Are you building another house and living in this one while the other is built? Just wondering. I really want to come visiting and poke around the ponds and go to the beach (Methinks there must be a beach around there somewhere.) I wish we weren't in the middle of drought. I'm not sure any living things are going to survive in my yard. I love the wind though. I noticed a while back that the wind is in all my stories. When I move back here, I realized how much the wind was a part of this place.

I always think when I break something nice that I will put this in the trash and some scientist will find it and study it in the future.

There is a submission call that I thought you might have something in your drawers to pull out and polish an dsend in: http://ko-kr.connect.facebook.com/notes/mitali-perkins/open-call-for-submissions-to-ya-humor-anthology/10150457800458327?ref=nf

Praying you all to bloom where God has planted you.

Love ya, Vijaya.

Vijaya said...

Molly, we are only 10 miles away from the Atlantic ... but only a marsh away from the Cooper river and a mile away from the Wando. It really is gorgeous here, and I hope I can live here until the day I die. This home is only semi-permanent in that I consider heaven my final home!

My sister too has been telling me about the drought -- she tends to her garden a lot trying to get it to survive. I will pray for rain. Do you know that even though it drizzles a lot in WA, we get more rain here? But it's a downpour and the sun comes out. In fact, it just started. It smells great.

Oh, the wind! I think of it as the Holy Spirit -- it's everywhere in the Bible (even the OT when the Jewish people did not have the concept of a trinitarian God). But I digress ...

I miss you, Molly, and I hope you will come here when you get a chance. I'll make you minty iced tea and we can sit out on the back porch and tell each other stories.

Evelyn said...

I love the view, Vijaya, and am so glad you're enjoying your new home. Hugs to you regarding the broken plate and the damaged desk and bookcase.

Faith E. Hough said...

Thanks for the lovely comment on my blog, which really made my day. :)
I've moved so many times (11, last I counted) that just seeing pictures of boxes makes my back ache and my mind reel--I feel your pain! I hope everything gets less hectic soon.

Vijaya said...

Ev, I don't mind the broken stuff at all -- we got here in one piece and that's what matters most.

Faith (hugs), I have probably moved close to 30 times (but I'm a lot older than you :) and loved being a nomad, and picking up good (sometimes bad) habits in various places. I keep thinking this might be it because it is nice to be settled, but you never know where the Lord might call us next. One thing I am sure of -- once we get old, we'd like to be within walking distance to Church.

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful place! I wish I was there to help you unpack! (Be careful of 'gators down there. I'm being serious. Don't go walking too close to dusk...k?)

Hugs,
Donna

Faith E. Hough said...

In response to your response :), I lived across the street from a Dominican Monastery for a few years, and it was WONDERFUL to be able to stop over at the chapel any time of day, where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed. We outgrew our house and had to move in April, but now my parents-in-law live there. I think that's a great consideration for a permanent home!
(And I admire your ability to be a nomad... I am not fond of it!)

Suma Subramaniam said...

Vijaya

Here's wishing you a lot of time to get settled in. I hope you are finding time to write amidst all the moving chaos. The walking path for the dogs looks perfect.

Vijaya said...

Donna, this morning I heard a croaking that was very low ... it was not a bullfrog!

Faith, what a lovely home for you near a monastery. Yes, there is something wonderful about just being able to walk over to spend time with Jesus.

Suma, thank you for the good wishes and for visiting. Alas, I am not working on my novel, since there is so much to do that takes priority, but I do scribble in my notebook. It gives the new ideas a chance to claw out instead of residing in my head.