and on the 5th day...they rested.

It is Sunday. Glorious Sunday.

Friday night's gig was a success, but we were exhausted. I don't really even remember driving home or going to bed.

Saturday we got up and powered out many projects before our guests started to arrive at 3pm. We emptied the last of the "necessary" boxes and stashed the rest in the garage. We set up the kitchen table, hung a few pictures and Andy went out to buy a chiminea and a few tiki torches. My son and I made a few centerpieces out of kitchen bowls and floating roses that we cut from the arbor. A few candles placed around was the finishing touch...everyone was quite impressed!

Before the party, we had a dramatic thunderstorm...it was AMAZING! From up here we can see the weather coming in from any direction. The clouds were threatening, but beautiful...we continued to work in between raindrops and then suddenly...CRAAAAACK, KA-BOOM! Thunder and lightening! It was FABULOUS! Heavy rain followed and even a little sleet, totally COOL! Our first guests arrived as the clouds parted and the sun came out...perfect timing. I wish I had gotten it together to take pictures of the whole event, but the truth is, we were so busy (multi-tasking at its finest!) that it did not even occur to me to walk around with my camera.

The party started with red wine, burgers and dogs on the grill. I also made a batch of my famous sausage and peppers. YUM-O. We huddled on the porch, watched the sun set and talked for hours. Later in the evening we broke out the guitars and kit-drum set and started jamming. This is a tradition with Andy's close circle of friends. Every few months they get together for a "Bistro Jam". Months ago we planned my first bistro jam on November 28...NOT KNOWING we would be buying a new house and moving into it 3 days prior. We talked about postponing the date, but Andy and I wanted to keep it. We were looking forward to hosting "Lisa's Bistro Jam" on our new property...and we did. We even opened up our first bottle of Di Long Ranch wine and sampled it, the perfect christening. The whole night was perfect...just the right combination of new friends and old friends. It was fun. Really fun.

This morning we had a few lingering guests, so I made a country/hangover breakfast, complete with very strong coffee...and tylenol.

Now the house is quiet. Andy is napping, and I am taking a moment to catch up on e-mails, Facebook and of course, blogging. I know I keep promising pictures, but my downloader is in a box somewhere. I will get around to it, I promise!

Di Long Ranch is underway. It might be New Years before we get around to doing any painting or landscaping, but that is just around the corner. We look forward to hoisting a real Christmas tree in the living room and celebrating our first Christmas together as a family. It is exciting.

We're Here!

It's the day after Thanksgiving...barely. 1:30 am Friday morning, I went to bed kinda early and woke up an hour ago unable to sleep anymore despite my exhaustion. We moved in here on Wednesday and it has been non-stop for about 36 hours. Tonight we have a gig, so I am hoping after this post I can lie down and get some sleep.

It's beautiful here. We sit out on the porch in the morning with a cup of coffee (and the evening with a glass of wine) and enjoy the view to the west. The weather has been just beautiful, the sky is clear so we can see the stars as well as the twinkling city lights. I can't find the words to tell you how beautiful it is. Our minds are spinning thinking about all the cool projects are ahead of us. Painting, planting, decorating...so much to look forward to.

I just wish I could sleep.

We have some friends coming out on Saturday, we are hoping to be somewhat organized by then. Andy is buying a fire pit tomorrow so we can all sit on the porch in the evening and keep warm. Andy's sister has been here since Tuesday night, she helped us move...poor girl! She thought she was coming to enjoy Thanksgiving! BUT, she loves the new house, and was totally blown away when she drove up here. It really is breath-taking.

OK, obviously I am delirious. I thought it would be cool to get up and write a blog post, but nothing profound is coming out, hahaha. I guess I just wanted to announce that we finally arrived! Oh, and more good news! One of the movers said he and his girlfriend have been wanting to rent a condo like mine, so I may have also found renters. That would be great.

Alright, I guess I'll try to get some sleep.

For Reals

Our closing date is rapidly approaching. We had been forecasting Friday, November 20th all along, but LO AND BEHOLD they found some new inspection at the very last minute that needed to be completed (and cost us an additional $550)...so that may put us at Tuesday next week. Whatever it is, I am not going to sweat it.

Starting today, I am going to leisurely start going through rooms...sorting, organizing, throwing out and packing. It'll be fun! (How many of you bought into my enthusiasm?)

I am also still trying to find a renter for my condo.

OH! Our first batch of wine has been completed and bottled, we ended up with a little over 2 cases of wine, the labels and foil caps make it look SO PROFESSIONAL! (Thank you Mark!) I took some pictures, but I misplaced my camera, so when I find it, I'll post them here.

Another tid-bit of good news is that Andy's friend Mark (yes, another Mark...we know lots of Mark's and Dave's) came out to give us an estimate on paint. If we can tape off the windows and the trim his guys will come out and just throw on the paint for $1000. That's a pretty good deal. The trim we can do ourselves over time.

OK...time to get serious and start packing!

Still Waiting and Jumping Through Hoops

And the drama continues...I mean escrow.

Actually, it does seem that our loan has been approved, but the bank is asking for verification of a few things. (of course) So Andy is jumping through those hoops today. We have both been a little stressed out. If all moves forward the way it should, we should close escrow on November 20. We have a show that night, which is no big deal...the rest of the weekend we have free. That actually works out perfect, there is a GOD! The kids have school Monday and Tuesday, so I am hoping to move their classroom that Wednesday (the day before Thanksgiving) and finish any other loose-ends that day. My sister-in-law-to-be will be coming in that day, so she can help me organize.

Friday is another day we can use for loose-ends and then we have a show that night.

Sorry, just realized I was using my blog post to sort out the move...hahaha.

So, I guess I just need to calm down and realize we have plenty of time to do this. I have been under worse time constraints in my life, this should be no problem at all.

The question still remains if Andy plans to paint the exterior before we move in. I think we have decided to live with the light-colored carpet for awhile, much to my chagrin. The way things are going though, it is an added an unnecessary expense and we really don't have the time to deal with it. I have to learn to let go of my expectations. I have to learn how to accept white carpeting...ugh.

Anyway, other than my ramblings, I really don't have much more to post. We are about to bottle our first experimental home-made batch of wine. It is a Barolo, and I'm not quite sure how it tastes...we took a sip the other night and it wasn't TERRIBLE, (but it didn't exactly taste like wine either). This is a label design my friend Mark put together! Pretty cool, huh?

More to come, stay tuned!