proof of life.

I was going to compose a lengthy blog entry about the epic suck that was this move, but then I realized that every move sucks.  "Oh, we moved north, and it sucked big rocks off the ground" is like writing "oh, I had a root canal, and it wasn't any fun."

In that spirit, I'll just leave you with some quick vignettes of a 27-foot moving truck with attached car chuffing up the inclines through Virginia and Pennsylvania at thirty miles an hour, two hotel stays with cranky kids and stressed-out adults, a night-time arrival at the destination and a moving truck with hitched car getting stuck on an icy uphill driveway, and a $500 expense for a professional team of movers to empty the truck for us.  Next time we move, I'd just as soon burn all our stuff and buy everything new.  The cost for the moving truck, unpacking crew, and the fuel costs on the way up (which probably total up to the cost of the rental itself--I haven't had the heart to add up all the fuel receipts yet) could have paid for a bunch of new furniture.  The sight of a JH-sized "Super Mover" 27-foot U-Haul truck will cause me to flinch for the rest of my life.

And now I'll move on to other things.

I ordered satellite Internet for the new ranch, but the installer hasn't called us back to schedule an appointment yet, so I guess it'll be a few more days for fast Intarwebz.  In the meantime, I'm dialed in through AOHell all 1990s style, through the phone line.  We pay just about all of our bills online, so we needed some sort of rudimentary emergency Internet until the satellite folks slap that dish onto the side of the house.

We're still unpacking, and the house is still in disarray, but we're slowly restoring order out of the chaos.  The area is concentrated awesome, even with the snow and the icy roads.  It's very small-town New England, complete with village General Store.  Lebanon is only twenty minutes away, which is just close enough to be convenient, and just far enough for us to be off the beaten track a little.  Quinn loves the new place--lots more room to play, and Christmas trees right outside his window!--and Lyra doesn't care one way or the other as long as someone feeds her a bottle and plays Super Baby with her.

That's it for now--tons more work to do, and two kids to entertain.  More later, when we get the satellite Internets.