Finally Settled

Ahhh.... home. A lot of people would say "Home is where the heart is". I agree. I also think home is where you can sleep without rodents chewing through your walls, smelling diesel fuel when you wake in the morning, or waking to the sound of your smoke detector going off when your heat kicks on.

Yep, we are "home". We got moved without too much trouble and had the help of several other firefighters. I love the new place. It's not the "cabin" I eventually want, but the three story townhouse-styled home is a good trade.

Beans and I have been up to many adventures. She loves the new place as well, and made me realize that you don't really have to "teach" a 9 month old to go up the stairs. They somehow know how to do that, and pretty much anything else that can inspire heart attacks in parents. Going down is a lesson that still needs to be learned. Meanwhile, I'm getting really good at catching her when she tumbles.
In addition to the stairs, Beans is a big fan of screaming in the basement. Ok, before you people think I've locked her away down there, the laundry is in the basement. And she discovered quickly that her shrieks of joy echo off the walls. Um, even funnier is our neighbor's puppy, who hears her shrieks and answers back with yips of his own. Most days while doing laundry, Beans and the puppy are having conversations through the walls, while I secretly hope no one is calling the MPs about a baby screaming in the basement.

Speaking of MPs... I got a stern lecture about the speed limit on base. I think I was doing 17 in a 15 mph area. The lecture lasted a good 5 minutes. I forgot those guys could be um, jerks.

ANYHOO... we've spent the better part of the last week trying to organize things and put things away. There is a lot of room to stretch out in the house, and I must admit that my decorating savvy works better in small spaces. I have no idea what to do with most of this space!
So, I did the next best thing to decorating, and chose an ample size room in the house for all my sewing junk. Yes, I have my very own room for sewing now. And since the door shuts, I can leave it as messy as I want.
Yes, I usually prefer a pretty tidy place, but there is something about chaos in the sewing room that makes me feel so much more productive.

MOOSE PATROL:
Holy Moose on the Loose, Batman! We see moose almost every single day. Every morning I wake to fresh moose tracks under our windows. It's a pretty frequent event to be "surprised" by one of these large creatures when you wander outside. One little fella was hanging out in the parking lot by my van the other morning, and only took off when neighbors started driving in for lunch.
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Speaking of neighbors: so far, we like ours. The neighborhood is full of kids, the parents are all friendly, and the ones without kids want them. A nice place for a little one. Beans has (of course) already made friends and made every mommy in the neighborhood fall in love with her.
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So, we've spent the last couple weekends poking around town. Delta Junction has a lot of summer activities and we really enjoyed the small Farmer's Market where I found a new apron and some Strawberry Bluebarb Jam (strawberry, blueberry, and rhubarb). Um, YUM. Perfect on my homemade sourdough bread!

We also found that yard sales are a great way to meet some of the locals. And get some killer deals. A special nod to my friend Susan... I will soon be experimenting with that desire to get into photography! I picked up a Minolta 35mm camera with all the extra lenses and filters. I still have to muddle through the instruction manual and start "playing" with my find, but it was a killer deal at a yard sale.

I had gone yard sale-ing with one of my new neighbors and her little puppy, and we stopped at the Drive-In for lunch on the way back to the base. Oh, I will miss the Drive-In over the winter! They will be closing soon.

Also, Sullivan's Roadhouse is about to harvest their gardens and host the local "Garden Soup". They make several different types of soups from their harvest and serve it with fresh bread. I'm looking forward to it, if we can make it there.
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Speaking of winter, snow is coming down the mountains FAST. it reached the foothills sometime this weekend. it won't be long before we are seeing the white stuff on the ground in Delta Junction.
Temps are hanging in there though! Upper 60s in the day (most days), and 40s at night.

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So, overall, life in the Junction is peaceful and calm. There is some dissent brewing with Former Landlord, who (in my ever humble opinion) is a ninny. But since all of us already knew they were ninnies, there's no point going into it. The biggest thing is they are still arguing that they think we were wrong to move out. And rumor has it that they found another tenant, so WHY are they still griping about this??? Maybe just to annoy me. *grin*

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There is other news, readers, but I am waiting for good timing to mention it. I'll leave it to your imagination, but a hint: I've been feeling a little under the weather for the last 2 months. In about 7 more months, I should be feeling much better....
Meanwhile, I've got to think of a good blog name for the new little nugget.

VERY Happy Moose Trails to all of you!