From Minnesota.

In spite of some initial renters remorse - due mostly to driving 7 hours in the car with Finn and Abby (Finn needing a toy or a book or a drink; Abby napping and thus, unable to "help.") and worrying about Uriah navigating Minnesota road construction in a huge moving van with a car being towed behind it and hitting a rainstorm that lasted most of the last part of our drive and having a raging headache by the time we got to our new house last week - we are in our house and are getting settled into our new town.  Slowly.  The house itself was built in 1918 and it has some older house quirks: namely, there is no air conditioning (not that we'll need it that much, but everyone that we've talked to has said it's been really warm here - mid 80s - which gets kind of toasty when you're schlepping boxes around.) and also, there are very, very few outlets and they are in very, very weird spots (the middle of the floor!).  But the house is entirely hardwoods, which is a welcome change from where we were before.  I'm just not sure where to store the vacuum.

The first thing Abby and Finn did (besides explore the crap out of the house and "claim rooms") was pick a little bouquet of flowers for me from our newly inherited gardens.  I immediately filled a bucket with bleach water and started scrubbing because, you know, this place needed a good going-over, and headache be damned, I was just the girl to do it.  The fistful of flowers that Finn brought to me was a welcome diversion.  We've had fresh flowers on our table every day since and I'm sure I'll be a little lost when the snow starts flying and we're suddenly without a daily reminder of cheer on our kitchen table.

Abby's been to the library and is already dominating their summer reading program.  We've found a route for our walks.  We've taken a swim in the chilly waters of Lake Superior almost every day to cool off.  Finn got to look his fill at some big boats and a tug boat and a sailboat and a deer and a caterpillar and the neighbor's little dog.  We've been pulling weeds and scrubbing floors and taking baths in the big claw-foot bathtub.  We've been playing outside and reading outside and generally being outside as much as possible (I'm trying to soak up as much vitamin D as I can before the snow starts flying.).  Uriah started his job this week, and while it's taking Finn a minute to get used to it (he asks me all day long: "Where Dad go?") we seem to be finding our rhythm here.

{52 Photos Project | Week 15: Delicate}