I forgot about the cold

I don't mind the rain, that's not a problem at all. But nobody warned me about the cold! (Or maybe they did and I was oblivious to it all.) And fog - there's a log of fog around here too. It will just take a little while to adjust to. And by little while, I mean the fall and winter of '08 - '09 and maybe 2010. The cats have stopped shedding and are busy growing their winter coats for the first time in their lives.

Yesterday Apollo and I drove to Joël's in Waterloo. It's a cute community not far from basic amenities. Rather than taking The Five (known as I-5 around here) we drove through several small towns like Sodaville and Brownsville via a shortcut recommended by our Garmin. Apollo was nervous while we drove the 25mph speed limit through those small towns. The kind of nervous that is accompanied with the sound of dueling banjo's in the background. Obviously we will not be taking that route again.

Well, I think I'll head on back to my place where we have a wood stove burning. Aimee's home is cold because she's a regular Oregonian now and is numb to it all. I, on the other hand, will probably take a while to acclimate and am freezing cold. You'll know when I'm acclimated because I'll stop complaining about it. Now, off to knit some wool socks that I suddenly have use for!

Settling in

Phew! We made it in to Oregon where it's cold and raining, just like everyone promised! The tree's welcomed us with a display a of beautiful yellow, orange and red leaves. I was stunned at their magnificence and kept talking about them to everyone. They've started to fall now and we're joining the neighbors in endless raking of leaves off our lawn and onto the street into large piles, since the city is going to start picking them up. This has yet to happen but nobody has given up hope and continue to add to the piles.

I'll be honest, both Apollo and I are homesick. Apollo more so since he can't just walk down the hall or street an hang with someone he knows. I didn't think I would miss apartment but sometimes I do a little. Just when I miss the camaraderie of people near by I remind myself of all the noise and lack of privacy. That usually does it. Just the same, I admit that I am a bit scared at night. It's strange being surrounded by darkness. Our streets don't have any lights which makes for a very dark night.

We also don't have any furniture other than a dining room table, a couple chairs and matching dresser and bed. I splurged and got a Sealy bed with a pillow top. It's a lot more comfortable than the air mattresses we spent our first two nights on but then again, anything would be more comfortable than rolling off cold air in the morning. I also bought a bed frame which we expect to be delivered Thursday or Friday.

That's it for now. I need to get back to the Main House and make sure the wood stove isn't out of control. Photos and more regular blogging to follow when we have broadband!