Well, our physical selves are present at our new townhouse. 99.9% of our stuff is not. We do have our prized computers, and a wireless connection of course--but we slept on a blowup mattress last night.

The good news: Dad came home from the hospital Wednesday and he's okay, mostly. I think he's shaken by the whole ordeal, and although he doesn't need surgery now, it may be something that's on the near horizon. They're watching the leaky valve.

It's beautiful here in NC, with a bright sun and breeze through the trees. Our house is a bit of a blank slate at the moment, but we bought some lovely Pergo floor for the downstairs that will really give it a bit of character, I think. Not to mention easy of dog hair removal!

Hope everyone's okay. I'm looking forward to when things calm down a little and I can be back in touch.

      

I got a call yesterday morning that my dad had passed out at church. So, they rushed him to Duke Hospital. They're still undergoing tests, but they think it's a valve in his heart that's constricted and not getting enough oxygen to his system. He's been particularly lethargic lately, and this rather explains the issues he's been having. The bad news is that's probably going to mean surgery again... and frankly, none of us are sure that with all his other health issues, he can withstand it.

So, anyway. Wednesday we're moving, and Michael and I have the closing to deal with--so I already knew I wasn't going to be here much. But I'll also be at the hospital in most of my spare time, so I'll be scarcer than I thought.

Plus, our internet connection is really wonky the last few days. So as far as connectivity is concerned, I have no idea.

Anyway... signing out.

We're moving in less than a week. And we've done just about NOTHING in preparation. I've always been a procrastinator, and I married one, so the combination? Not so good. Tomorrow we're having a "Packing Party"--we'll provide beer and pizza for anyone interested in helping us put our shit in boxes. HA!

I think the whole stress of moving has made me a little zany. It's even scared away my writer's brain--all my characters have scattered like cockroaches. My usual coping mechanism gone, I think I've taken on quirks. Last night I had whisky before bed, and as
merynetjeru
 can attest, well, I went a bit cracked in the brain during some of our late night ramblings.

Oh yeah. And the weekend after we move I'm flying to California. And at the moment, I have a head cold.

HAH.

Stuff.

We're surrounded by it. It presses in on every aspect of our lives. Here in the US, it's like some kind of bizarre plague. The media screams it--buy, buy, buy. Even if you don't have a cable, you can't escape it. Web pages, billboards, even the radio... we get the message that we need to buy things because that makes us successful and happy.

The strange thing is that people become very attached to their stuff. This coming from the woman who was just professing undying love an affection to her laptop, I know. But I love my laptop because it allows me to do things I love--write, namely.

I've been browsing Craigslist and eBay for used furniture for the new townhouse. I don't want to get new stuff  just because it's convenient. I like the idea of recycling furniture, and I love retro things--unique items that I'd never find at a Rooms2Go.

What's funny is how much crap there is out there for exorbitant prices. Teak nesting tables "from the 50s!!!" for $150. That's ludicrous! Maybe I do too much thrift store/tag sale shopping, but seriously, though cool, I wouldn't shell out $10 for those tables. Then there's the people that lead with "Great stuff, great price! $175" and link to pictures of furniture that looks like it was from a tenement, complete with wrappers, electric cords, and a variety of dirty sundries.

Michael and I just had a tag sale and we GAVE stuff away. I mean, the idea of a tag sale is to leave with less stuff. It's a failure if you don't. Sure we didn't make gobs of money, but we got rid of stuff we haven't used (and won't use in the new house). To me, that's a freeing experience beyond mentioning.

I guess my whole point is... it's stuff, people. In the end, it'll be nothing. Just like you. Corroded and bashed to bits. Even your most beloved stuff (yes, Darcy and Romulus) will be a mess of plastic and jumbled wires someday--in fact, it will be less than that. Give the likelihood of some catastrophic event happening before the end of time...

Hey, there's lot of things more important in this short life to worry about than stuff. Fashion? Haute couteur? In ten years your kids will be laughing at your decorations anyway. Be fun, be funky--be thrifty, eh?

I won't go into the saga of the Adventures of Michael, Natania, and Liam Renting from Family in Chapel Hill. Really, I'll sound ungrateful. And I don't want to do that.

BUT HEY!

We bought a house! It's new and shiny, with all appliances conveying, and it's in lovely Hillsborough, NC. :)

Can't wait to get outta here.  

OUR OFFER GOT ACCEPTED!

...

Wait, kiddo. Back up a few steps here.

Right, so I haven't been very good at updating much. I've been working (yes, precious) and writing (oh yes, precious, lots of talking to the self). Then there's the whole being a mom thing, and being a wife, and... yeah.

Anyway, I decided to make my life all that much more difficult because we've been wanting to find a place to live. And by place to live, I mean a place that's clean and has central AC, not to mention screens on the windows!

And yeah! We've wanted to live in Hillsborough for a very long time. For those of you who aren't familiar with the OC in NC, it's a charming little historical town, and was in fact, the first capital of this lovely state. It's situated on the Eno River, and I've been in love with it since the first time Michael drove me through four years ago.

So we found a townhouse, right across from the Occoneechee state park (http://www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/ocmo/home.html). It's beautiful, and only three years old, with high ceilings, open floor plan... gosh, it's just incredible.

Well, we got our stuff together and put in an offer and it got accepted! Not even a bat of an eyelash! Huzzah!!!!!

SO EXITED! OMGWTFBBQ!!