.jeri.

Here I am on another Monday, and it feels like I've accomplished quite a bit this weekend, despite how the weekend began: I spent my whole short Friday laying around on my couch while waiting for the gas company to show up, which they never did. They suck. I guess it's okay, because I got a much-needed nap and read some Harry Potter. In the evening, Ric and I ate out and went over to the old apartment to carry out some more of our stuff and do some fine cleaning.

Saturday, the piano movers were supposed to call between 8-8:30 to give me a 2 hour window in which they would arrive to move the piano. I wasn't about to get up and wait for their call, so when 9:10 rolled around, I managed to get out of bed just as the phone rang and they said the driver was at the old apartment. I wasn't. So I had to motor to get myself dressed and over to the old place in 20 minutes, and then oversaw the miraculous spectacle of one small man moving my piano all by himself. I'm glad I didn't have a heart attack.

After that I did more reading and Ric and I decided to hit up a matinee, since we were both up early for once. Lo and behold, we walked out our door to find that the new landlord was mowing our lawn. He saw our new toy (electric lawnmower) in the garage and couldn't resist. Either that or he thought we weren't going to do it ourselves. I'm not quite sure. We were pleased to realize how quiet it was since we hadn't noticed it, but poor Ric was a little disappointed that he didn't get to break in the machine first. Anyway, we also got some weatherstripping on the front door (too many beetles invading, although Pip is a mighty hunter) and the door latch of the bedroom fixed (so we can kick Pip out in the middle of the night when he decides that playing with our feet is a good idea).

We went out to see Sunshine, which I liked more than Ric, but both of us were disappointed overall. In the afternoon Ric napped while I kept on reading, and we went over to the old apartment for more cleaning. In the evening we went out to see Knocked Up at the dollar theater (which is now $2) and had a late-night run to Wendy's since we hadn't eaten much all day.

Sunday we went to church with the Andersons, and all of us went out to lunch afterwards. In the afternoon we were very lazy, and I finally finished the Harry Potter series. We spent some time organizing stuff in the house and went out to eat and shop for groceries. I watched most of Hannah and Her Sisters, but stopped to watch some Lost with Ric.

Tonight, we take out a light fixture and a bookshelf from the old place - the only stuff left - and hand over the keys to old George. And that will be that, and we will finally be done with Shana Manor. It's a shame, really. The apartments were perfect for us when we first got married. The community was great, the price was even better, and we didn't seem to mind that it was old and hot. After four years of marriage, a $400+ price hike, and the infestation of disrespectful neighbors, we're looking around thinking "Why the heck didn't we get out of here sooner?!" The place has always been old and no matter how much we cleaned it never got fully clean. It was like a catalyst for dust, silverfish, grease, clogged drains, and runny toilets. The new place is such a breath of fresh air for us (not literally, because all of the dust of moving is giving me allergies, which I hope will settle soon). We hardly ever hear anything on the street, the neighbors are friendly (left us a note to let us know when the trash and street cleaning days were) or keep to themselves (even better), and we're really enjoying the responsibilities and fun of caring for a home. We still have a lot to accomplish before we're settled in, but it's coming along. And once we finally have some curtains and a living room without boxes, I'll take some photos.

The rest of the week is up in the air. I want to go check out Rescue Dawn tomorrow night if anyone wants to come along. Wednesday I'm kicking it with Ric, since the Femmes tickets are too much, and Thursday I'm going to another night at the Fox - the Wizard of Oz is playing this time. Hope you all have a great week!