Moving Update

Yes, I used Holy Pasta Week as an excuse to avoid any thoughtful blogging over the last few days. So if you thought, "I wonder if she's just marking time with HPW?" you were right.

The last week has been a week of settling in. We've met the neighbors on the other side of our house (they bought the "Mold House" which I don't think I've blogged about, but will if someone asks nicely) and we decided to help them build a fence. We have the first efforts to get our yard prettified started. I unpacked all the kitchen I could find. We are slowly getting boxes into the rooms they will be staying in. The furniture is mostly settled where it will be staying. The Wii Fit is set up again. I put up a flag holder and have installed a "WELCOME" flag.

In short, this is becoming our home.

Frankenhaus remains on the market, but with the recent financial disasters we have our doubts it will sell. We're not sure what to do about it, but we hope to escape it somehow, and maybe even come out of it with our credit intact.

I have a few things I need to blog about in the near future, including the latest McDonald's adventure (check this link and scroll down to recall what I'm talking about). I plan to put some real posts together soon. I just haven't had much time for thinking lately. I don't multitask at all anymore. I've completely lost the ability. So when I'm setting up house, that's all I'm doing.

I mentioned that our neighborhood is right next to a bad neighborhood? Well, there was a shooting in that neighborhood that left a 16-year-old dead. It happened before the official move, but while we were in town. The result has been the formation of a neighborhood watch in that area, and increased police patrols. The neighbors claim the problems are happening around one house, which is now being watched closely after the murder.

There is gang activity in this area, which is disturbing on one level... but then... I'm from Seattle. There was gang activity there. It just happened underneath the surface up there. You didn't read about it on the front page. A few years ago there was a huge drug and gun bust about two blocks away from Frankenhaus. It happened there. But here... we hear about it. Immediately. It was several days after the drug bust in Bothell that I finally learned what had happened. And I vividly remember the day the police came up to my door in Bothell and asked if they could search my property for a suspected robber they were chasing.

By contrast, here I already have met two of my neighbors and have great confidence in the neighborhood itself, which seems like a calm place. Lots of children. People watching and paying attention. I feel safe here. Despite what's happening a few blocks away. There are barriers, both physical and mental, between this neighborhood and the older area that has the issues. I think we'll do fine here.

Anyway... we are here now. I hope everything continues to work out here. It's been an adventure so far. And there's a lot more yet to do.