Well, we did it!

We did it!  We pulled it off!  We made it!  The decision we made just over a year ago has come to fruition.  We have moved to northern Michigan.  Our last installment outlined the plan for moving our son into the dorm, closing on the house, and moving us to Michigan.  I can't believe that I'm able to say this, but it all went off pretty much without a hitch.

That's not to say that it was easy.  Oh, no...it most definitely was NOT that.  But, it was more the emotional side that was a strain than the physical.  At every turn, I underestimated how much of an impact all of this would have on my psyche.  Of course, in hindsight I can see it all so very clearly.  In leaving Ohio we left a lot behind...close friends, a son, and our home of 14 years.  The bizarre part was simultaneously feeling excited...for the new opportunity at work, the new surroundings, the space with living on ten+ acres, and the fun of working on a new fixer-upper.

So, we made it and we're all moved in at Shangri La, but we're far from organized.  We can't even see organized from where we're at.  Heck, there are times that I think we can't even get there from here. ;)   You know that old cliche about how you eat an elephant...one bite at a time?  That's the mindset we're trying to maintain right now.  We organized our master bedroom yesterday.  We dismantled the old full sized bed that came with the house and hauled it outside, and Shelly listed it on Freecycle.  We're hoping someone needs it and will haul it off for us.  We changed our bed out to a platform queen, which we had previously built for Kyle.  Shelly found the plans on HGTV for it, and it's a pretty solid design.  We ordered a new mattress for it that should be here in a week or so.  We spoiled ourselves a bit, and ordered a Sleep Number mattress.

We do have some money from the sale of the house, and we're doing our best to make the most of it.  With the wood fired boiler going in we need to gear up for wood cutting and splitting.  We picked up a new log splitter, a 35 ton Huskee from Tractor Supply.  We'll be using it tomorrow.  Today we gave the new chainsaw we bought last month a good workout.  We also pulled quite a few good sized logs from the gully by the power lines, where the utility company had downed the trees to clear their easement, over to an area by where the wood boiler will be placed.  There are quite a few good sized trees still in the woods, and I'm hoping tomorrow to get those cut up and moved to the pile...weather permitting.

One other thing we did today was to check out our very first auction.  It was about an hour from us in Lachine, MI.  We didn't end up buying anything.  There just wasn't anything we just had to have.  It was a cool experience, though, and we'll be checking out more as we find out about them.

We've been talking for some time about walking the Mackinac Bridge on Labor Day.  Now that it's here, we're thinking instead of just working around the house.  I know, we need to be having fun as well.  But there's only so much time before the snow flies, and we have so much that we need to get done before then.  Decisions...decisions.

Shelly said that she'll be posting her own update about what she's been doing in the house.  I'll just say this.  Shelly does not like a disorganized house, so you can likely imagine her current state of mind.  ;)

Talk to you all soon!