What day is this? Where am I?

Just a quick post to say that I am, in fact, alive (although many of my muscles regret it right now) and in Buffalo!  This was my first real move as an adult--we moved twice when I was in high school, but all within the same city, and when I moved into our place in New York I'm pretty sure I did it with duffel bags on an Amtrak train.  I had NO IDEA how completely drained--physically, mentally, and emotionally--I would feel during the whole process. I'm still pretty out of it (we got to the new apartment at about 11pm yesterday, after a nearly 8-hour drive--Mr. S is such a trooper and drove the whole way fueled by beef jerky and a bottle of water) but the new place is wonderful! 

We have wifi on our porch!  I can sit out in the beautiful Buffalo weather (that is not a joke several months of the year) and write or blog or watch kittens grow up.

You can't see the whole thing, because I am not great at angles and the other half is a mess.  But you can see the edge of one rug, and all of another; our living room is large enough for TWO area rugs.  After living for so long in Manhattan, walking in the door last night and seeing this nearly sent me into shock.   My living room has different areas!  There's a TV area, and a desk area, and lots of open space! 

This doesn't look like much yet--a lot of the boxes and miscellany were designated for this room.  But hopefully, in the next month or so, I will be transforming it into my office!  (And hopefully in the months after that, I will be spending some serious time in here writing!)  I will post pictures once it's up and running--consider this the "before".

Yeah, this isn't the most interesting picture.  But let me explain: when ew came in, we noticed that there was this small round hole in the dining room floor (that's the black blob partway up the center of the picture.)  We asked our landlady about it and she told us that it used to be a button under the dining room table that could be used (by stepping on it) to call the maid during supper!  I thought that was very cool, even if it is now just a little hole in the floor.  (The house is apparently quite old and has lots of character--many old light fixtures and things like that.  I love it!)

The fireplace doesn't work, but it's a really lovely old detail that just gives the whole room a certain something.  Yesterday before we got in, Mr. S's parents met the movers here and supervised the unloading, and then made it nice and homey for us!  It was so nice to come into furniture that had been nicely arranged, and a few little treats like the beautiful fresh flowers.  The painting is by my father--he did it when I was little and gave it to me as a wedding present because he knew I had always wanted it.  Really makes the place feel like home right away. 

For the next two weeks, we'll still be setting up and recovering, so my posting may continue to be spotty.  But Mr. S starts work at the beginning of September, and then I'll be back on a much more regular schedule.  I'm trying to keep up with everyone else's blogs but it will take me a little while to get back on track (and to catch up with the chapters I missed in Great Expectations!)  So if I'm not around too much for a bit, then see you in September!