To anyone who hasn't completly given up on me: I'm back on the blog. I would like to tell you all that the recent months-long lapse has been for a very good reason or that I've been so terribly busy that I've simply been unable to write. But that, dear readers, simply isn't true.
In reality, I am just a lazy bum.
So, in an effort to win you back, I offer a few updates to our lives here in England: Firstly, you should know that though you may have heard rumors about Lego being quite sick, he is now doing very well. He was hospitalized a time or two for his little digestive system, but it seems to have worked itself out and he is quite happily eating and pooping normally now. (Isn't that a relief to you all?!)
Travis has moved offices--he is now just up the street from RAF Lakenheath at RAF Feltwell, where he runs the BMET shop and prepares equipment for Lakenheath's medical deployments. As you can imagine, with Korea, Egypt, and Lybia going crazy, Travis has a lot of work on his hands.
Carrie is still working in the Emergency Department, switching night/day shift every three months (currently on nights). Turns out that nightshifts are a LOT more fun if one switches her internal sleep-clock on her days off, thus maximizing normal-people-awake-hours-with-one's-husband. Also, with Summer months approaching, things are much more pleasant, weather-wise. The sun is out for many more hours, and it's not freezing, freezing, freezing cold all the time. So in general, things are moving in the right direction here!
Now, added to the above good news is this: we are now living in a house with running hot water (gasp!) and central heating! It's amazing! I always wondered what those funny metal thigns on the wall were supposed to do--they're called "radiators" and they produce HEAT!
All jokes aside, the house is fantastic. We had a little trouble getting the king-sized bed up the townhouse stairs into the master bedroom, but--mind-over-matter--Travis and I were able to push-you-pull-me the giant marshmellow up (though I think I have permanent nerve damage to my fingertips from grabbing and pulling the edge of the heavy mattress). Fortunately, the boxsprings are split into two twin-sized parts, so they went up quite easily.
The American couch was much too large to fit up the twisty stairs into the livingroom (or "lounge" at is it referred to here), so my genius husband bypassed the stairs and lifted it through the large French doors (after removing the balcony railing--which had been previously bolted into the exterior wall of our house).
We received all our household goods; all the dishes, furniture, wall decor, clothes, cooking items, tools, books...all the things we'd done without for the first 6 months of our living in England! After installing a few power converter/transformer boxes throughout the house so to avoid buying all-new appliances, things really started to come together.
We ordered some custom wardrobes for the master bedroom (no closets in British houses), and waited patiently as they were constructed in a warehouse somewhere, then scheduled the delivery and installation date. We we thrilled! We would have a place to hang our clothes that is not a shower curtain rod! And really, since the wardrobes aren't THAT complicated--it's only one straight wall after all--the construction guys who are here to put them together should be able to do them in a snap. Sure, they'd be there during the day, when those of us who work nightshift would be trying to sleep, but it couldn't possibly be too noisy, could it? I mean, the shelves and bits have already been measured and cut; they only need to be put together like IKEA furniture, right?
My first clue that this would not be the case was when the construction fellow first arrived and started carrying boxes up to the master bedroom. Following the first box or two came a power drill. Then a shop-vac, then a table saw. Literally, a table saw.
The gentleman who put the wardrobes together was very friendly and self-sufficient, but needless to say, there was not a lot of sleep happening for the two full days of wardrobe construction/installation. My neighbors actually texted to make sure I was alright, since it sounded like someone was deconstructing the house, they said. My coworkers also appreciated my lack of sleep, saying something about how friendly and enjoyable I was...or something like that.
Installation noise aside, the wardrobes are fantastic, and we love the style, color, and finish. Pics coming soon.
Bottom line is this: my kitchen is small, but wonderful, the diningroom has already proven its worth with guests and dinner parties, the bedroom is perfect, the livingroom--er, excuse me, lounge--is comfortable and great for TV, thanks to Travis and his couch lifting abilites. The guestroom is ready to be finished, now that we can move the clothes into the newly-finished wardrobes, and all is right in our little world, in our little home.
