Now that we've moved into our home, I suppose you'd like to hear a little bit about the house hunt, and the weeks before we moved in.
Our first night in Alaska was spent driving around, hunting for some of the houses on our "list". We hoped to eliminate a few and get a sneak peek at the neighborhoods. We ended up adding to our list by finding other houses for sale that we had not discovered in our online search.
The next day, we met with our realtor Lynda, and attacked an ambitious list of 10 houses. Walking up the street between two next-door houses that were both on the market, I noticed a wooden moose planter on the front lawn. By this time in the day, Kyra was hungry and tired, and needed amusement, so I cried cheerfully: "Kyra, look! A moose!" (she learned to say "moosh" on the ferry, which had a life-sized painting near the dining hall, and we visited "him" every day) Little did I realize the effect this exclamation would have on our realtor...an Alaskan for over 28 years. She knew that seeing a moose while walking up the street is NOT a something to be happy about. Moose are shy, stupid, and vicious when startled or confronted. She immediately froze, spread her arms protectively in front of the children and whispered fiercely: "STOP! Where is he?!" I couldn't help but laugh and point to the little lawn ornament, but I don't think Lynda was amused. Consider us (now) fully educated on moose-sighting etiquette.
Our stroll continued up towards the front door, with Maya and the realtor in the lead, Emma and I, the unfortunate followers. A nest of yellow jackets under the deck was disturbed by their footprints and our admiration of the beautiful wood exterior of the home was quickly replaced with Emma's shrieks and my own cry of pain as she was bitten repeatedly on the ankle and I was stung on my calf. Thankfully the owner was home and made some baking soda paste to soothe our wounds. This particular home was henceforth referred to as "The Bee-sting House" and, because of it's sizeable basement and workshop in back, became the measure by which we compared all other houses we visited. It goes without saying that Emma did not like it at all and had to be convinced, after two more days, (and 20 more houses), that this was the one we should buy.
Miles of paperwork later, we had keys and garage clickers, and a few days after that, our stuff, and then our dogs!
During the weeks between, we kept busy. Fishing, schooling, running, testing, dancing, you get the idea. We met new friends, found a church, and watched our children grow out of practically everything we had packed for them. We were so thankful for our temporary housing. It was small, but it provided a comfortable home base and a kitchen! The space seemed to get smaller each week, but mostly because we raided the thrift stores for snow pants, boots, parkas and other winter gear, which isn't exactly compact stuff! Chores and cleanup were easy and simple, especially because there was no dog fur to clean up! We missed our pups, but our friend Pam in San Antonio comforted us with news of their good health.
Moving day was uneventful, but exhausting. Steven was in charge of the inventory list, and I just went from room to room, opening boxes with my fingernails and trying to unpack and put away as much as possible. Next time we move I'll be sure to keep a box cutter and some tools in the car. You'd think the movers would have a screwdriver handy to put the beds together! Ours were packed, and even when the tool box was finally unloaded, we remembered with dismay that the key was in another box with the office stuff!
The whole day was like Christmas for the girls, as box after box revealed their artwork, dolls, books, and favorite Sunday dresses. Within one week every box was empty, our kitchen was organized, and the workshop was ready for soap making!
We are thankful to have friendly neighbors and a great neighborhood with lots of children and dogs to keep things interesting. Without our Texas friends to visit and play with, our daughters have been a constant source of comfort and companionship for us and for each other, and we are so grateful for the blessings of unity and peace in our family.
Here are some photos for you to enjoy:
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| front view...check out the basketball hoop! |
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| our workshop. it's heated, too! |
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| view from the girls' rooms, and the living room. The sunrise behind the mountain is so pretty, and the evening glow of the sunset turns it beautiful shade of gold! we can't wait to see it covered with snow! |
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| Kyra's room...nothing exciting yet. She's not interested in the little bed yet either! |
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| Emma and Maya's room...well, their beds at least! |
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| my favorite room! there are eight windows in all, giving us a wonderful backyard/forest view! we've ordered a new table and chairs, so in a few months this one will once again be the school table. |
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| the other living area...notice the keyboard: Maya is taking piano lessons now. |
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| the view up the hill from the front yard. I took this picture three days ago, and already the hill is more orange and yellow than green. Three weeks ago, the entire view was all emerald forest green. Autumn seems to come (and go!) quickly here. |
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the living room. our old couches were moved downstairs...one to the other living area, one to the school room. "what's that" ...you say... "a school room?!" Yes! we have a wonderful basement school room with shelves and lots of light, and soon, when our new table and chairs arrive, our big kitchen table. The Kitchen Table Academy is thriving in Alaska! Coming soon (sooner than this one did, I promise!): "Work and Play, the Koziol Way...get the pointe?" |
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