Me, the Valley, and Irene

From our house on the hill, Irene seemed like just another rainy day. During an evening walk, we noticed that the brook was rushing and dangerous, but if it weren't for Facebook we would have had no idea of the seriousness of the storm.

Just as we were going to bed, we lost power and the generator kicked in. Things I've learned so far about our generator:

• It is LOUD.


• Not all outlets are connected to the generator.


• The outlets for my bedside lamp and the alarm clock are not on the generator but the overhead lights in the bedroom are.


• The outlet under Michael's desk is NOT on the generator.


• The outlet under my desk is.

We woke up to no phone or internet service, and after an hour we couldn't stand not knowing how the inn was doing and Michael headed off to find out. A trip that usually takes 20 minutes took 2 hours, as he ran into one closed road after another and was forced to backtrack and find an alternate route. I had phone and internet back long before he reached the inn. Thankfully, the inn is fine. As is the sketchy-looking bridge to the north of the inn, which has reopened after being closed for fear it was being undermined.

It turns out Facebook is extremely useful in a situation like this. People are sharing news of road closures and tips on how to get to X from Y. A lost dog was reunited with its owner thanks to someone who recognized the posted picture. Those in need of volunteers are able to post what they need and when.

I was both touched and amused when I logged in to work today to find that my large corporate employer wanted me to log in to a special web page and tell them if I was not safe, safe, safe and able to help others, or none of the above. What are the odds that if I were not safe I would be able to log in to my work email account to get the link to the web page?

Moving Days 2-5

Wednesday--To be honest, I'm grateful this day has already faded into a blur. I can tell from the bruises and sore muscles that we moved a ton of furniture and boxes. EM stepped up to the plate and functioned as a grown-up, which made the whole day possible, although I can't say we all stayed cheerful. We slept on the floor at the inn that night, since we had arranged for the new innkeeper to move in on Thursday.

Thursday--Michael and EM took one last load to the house in the U-Haul truck. That load looked less like an organized move and more like an emergency evacuation, with assorted good crammed in laundry baskets and plastic totes. Despite lofty goals to have beds assembled, the kitchen organized, and bathrooms cleaned, the three older kids slept on mattresses on the floor.

Friday--Michael and I were back at work from our lovely new office. I drove down to the inn for an hour in the morning to review some of the paperwork and computer systems and retrieve a few left items. In the afternoon, we tried out the pool, only to discover that the heater isn't on and there seems to be a trick to starting it that we haven't discovered. Fortunately, the day was warm enough that a cold pool was refreshing. (We have a call in to the pool guy to arrange for a time for him to walk us through the systems.)

Saturday--After helping with the initial early breakfast rush at the inn, I drove the kids to the city to return IM's trumpet (she's decided it is not the instrument for her), buy a few last items for school, and replace some household things that stayed at the inn. Shopping trips exhaust me on a good day. The Saturday before school starts, when all the college students are moving into their dorm rooms and apartments, AND everyone is stocking up on essentials in advance of the hurricane? Clearly Dante needed a new level of hell. However, the unpacking continues at a steady pace, I successfully ran a load through the new-to-me front-loading washer, and the kids and I shuffled boxes around in the garage to make room for the car. (I figure if there is a day to park inside, it's the day the hurricane hits.

There is a lot more work ahead of us, but we are enjoying the process.

Moving Day 1 by the Numbers

Number of Pilot loads of boxes taken to the new house: 3 (plus 2 yesterday)

Number of hours the one-and-only key to the new house was lost: 3.5

Number of times I emptied the water on the carpet cleaner: 6

Number of books left at the new house by the previous owners: 800?

Number of books we tossed: an uncomfortably high number

We Are Homeowners Again

We closed on our new house today. For the first time in almost eight years, we own a home that is not a business. I have been looking forward to this moment for . . . almost eight years.

And yet, my overwhelming feeling tonight is not elation or excitement, but exhaustion.

We first saw the house during Memorial Day weekend and made an offer within the week. That was when simple and easy ended. I hadn't realized fully how stressed I was until I walked out of the attorney's office with the key in my hand.

Hopefully, I'll snap back to normal by tomorrow morning, because we have a lot to do!