Monday, August 8, 2016

On the Minneapolis Side of the Move

I think I'm actually positively loving our new house. The layout feels perfect.  And, for being in the city, in a lot of ways it is more private than our Iowa home.   The master bedroom is on the top level--all by itself with two doors to close--one at the foot of the stairs and the actual bedroom door.  It's quite a lovely little retreat.  It's a bit like a tree-house.  The boys (puppies) cannot disturb me when I want to rest.  They don't relish alone time as much as I do, and thus at our Iowa home when I'd close the bedroom door behind me they would press their adorable noses snuggly to the bottom of the door forcing lonely whimpers underneath.  This may still be happening, but I am blissfully unaware, poor pups!   My office is also located upstairs with all of its privacy and coziness.  Back in Iowa my office sits at the front entrance overlooking the yard and neighborhood.  The boys loved their perch at the front windows where they'd  keep diligent watch and noisily notify me of every single passer-by whether human or animal.  My office cove in our new home looks out at treetops and sky.  The boys lay at my feet peacefully with nothing to warn me of while Minneapolis is busily passing us by on the streets below.

There have been severel delightful suprises here in this old house.  It has been a treasure trove with antiques hidden under stairwells, beautiful planters buried in the forsaken landscaping, and oak flooring under filthy carpet!   I had been hoping that there was wood flooring on the second floor, but we were doubtful since we assume that the second floor suite was added on later.  However, there is gorgeous oak flooring that runs from the master bedroom, into our office cove, and all the way down the stairs! It needs some refinishing, but for now while we work on other things, it is charming and clean.

The girls:  The girls are doing well in spite of the mild to severe cases of homesickness that come on daily.  We are on day sixteen of our move, and it feels like we have been here for months due to all of the activity.

Sam:  Two days prior to our move,  Samantha applied on Care.com for a nannying position.  She had several interested parties and scheduled two interviews for the Monday after our move.  Both families were absolutely amazing, and the pay and benefits were spot on.  It was hard for Sam to disapoint the one family.  She was the top choice for both, and the nine-year-old cellist adored Sam from the get-go making it even harder to say "no."  She chose a three-month-old baby girl that lives close by.  She will head straight there after school for two hours Wednesday through Friday.  The baby's parents also requested that Sam practice her violin around their daughter for the benefits it offers the baby--being paid to practice, such a hardship!

Mak:  Makaela is thoroughly enjoying her freedom!  We are close to anything and everything.  She can walk, bike, and blade without relying on a driver to get her out of the house.  Fortunately for me, Makaela has also developed a deep, deep love of roller-blading--which is just simply the coolest thing ever.  I am thrilled to have a fellow human in my household who adores the feeling of flying feet as much as I do.  We are going to wear out the path around Lake Harriet.  ;-)  Yesterday afternoon she strapped on her blades and headed off to the library.  She had flip-flops in her backpack to use while there, but never bothered to put them on.  She went right inside with those bright green blades on her feet, requested a library card, picked out four books, and bladed home. She said that she received quite a few disapproving glances regarding her fancy wheeled footwear, but no verbal complaints, so I'm sure she will do it again!

Andrew:  Andrew is working on starting a formicarium.  We took many walks hunting for queen ants before our move and three beauties were transferred to Minnesota with us.  I have always detested ants--especially in my house.  But, for the love of my dear man, I coaxed myself into helping him catch them, and I now actually enjoy watching the tiny creatures.  They are fascinating and seem almost mammalian in their actions.  Andrew checks on his queens multiple times a day.   If he's not in the house, we all know that he's probably in the garage peering at them through his lighted manifying glass.  He keeps them in individual test tubes while they nest and lay their eggs.  It's quite a long process.  Queens can live up to thirty years, so they have no need to rush with their egg-laying.  The eggs also go through multiple stages of growth.  Andrew has not had any "births" yet, but it looks like he will have his first in about two weeks if all goes as planned!  He needs about twenty workers before he transfers them into the formicarium where their job will be to care for the queen.  I'll keep you updated!  ;-)

Thanks as always for checking in!

~xoxo Autumn

2 comments:

  1. I am so glad that you are enjoying your new house, it sounds quite charming. Amazing to think that you live so close to Lake Harriet and can roller blade your heart out in a moments notice. How nice to have a blaring buddy in Makaela....brings back memories of you and me blading the lakes.

    Not surprised that Samantha was top choice for the nanny positions nor that she chose the baby, lucky little baby to her to take care of her three afternoons a week. :)

    An ant farm, eh? Ants are extremely fasinating for sure. I remember reading somewhere that a certain kind of ant keeps their own little aphid farm for milking! Pretty industrious little creatures, we can learn a lot from them.

    Maybe your next blog will have some pics from the state fair? Today is the third day already. The MN state fair was always a bittersweet sign that summer was coming to a fast close. I think it has been at least ten years since I have been and yet I always think of it and check it out this time of the year online.

    I hope all continues to go well. Love you all, Mom


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  2. Autumn- I saw you were back in MN. I'm going to be visiting this Labor Day weekend!!! Not sure if you are going to be around at all or not but would love it if I could see you for a few! Would be my first time back in MN since I was little. I messaged you on IG as well!

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Thank you for your kind comment. Autumn & Andrew