What's Going on Over There?

We've been absentee bloggers for a while now. Since our last post we've been quite busy.

February 25 snowed us in.

We had three wonderful days of 60 degrees and then this. I know it's still winter, but really, that's not fair. We didn't go anywhere for a couple of days. The roads were really bad, lots of snow and ice. We had to walk down to Whole Foods for a few necessities and to get us all out for a bit, the dogs were going stir-crazy. I looked like a bag lady all bundled up, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

Then, I started tackling the wallpaper.

This room had 3 layers on the walls. I was able to pull the first layer off easily in sheets, but the other layers would not budge. So, I broke my vow and just painted right over them. It's a nice antique white and looks so much better. The doors in each bedroom are all wallpapered too, which is just weird. We took them down, de-papered, and painted them the same color. I've been in the second bedroom for nearly a week removing it's four layers of paper. It will take another week to texture, prime, and paint. Hopefully I will be able to get to our bedroom before we leave. The gold flocked wallpaper is screaming to be thrown away. Of course, there is still so much more we could do, but it's just not going to happen. I have also done most of the packing; we're down to the last minute necessities. Less than 3 weeks to go. I fluctuate between feeling like I have all the time in the world and panicking because there are only 18 days (and counting) until we load the truck.

We are pretty sure we have found a place to live in Seattle. A nice townhouse about 2.5 miles north of John's office. A major draw is that it is in a residential area instead of in a busy downtown area. We all will be much happier there.

This week is the last concert week of my tenure with the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus. We are performing Dvorak's Te Deum. It is the only thing I will really miss about living here. What a privilege it has been to sing in one of the best choruses in the world with, arguably, the best orchestra in the world. We will be wrapping it up Saturday night with my going away "party" at NightTown.

John is finishing up his experiments and papers at Case, working part-time there now and full time for General UI. I'm amazed he's still standing with all the hours he's been putting in these last six weeks. The purple bags under his eyes are giving him away. Soon he will be working a "normal" 40 hour week.

In conclusion, sorry for the sporadic posts. I will try to be better about keeping you all up to date with everything as we head West. FINALLY!!!