Wednesday, November 1, 2023

Lost and Confused...

 

We all slept pretty good for our first night in the new house.  Rufus and I were up around 5:30... I'd like to sleep in longer than that, but once the eyelids are open, I'm up.

The following is early morning grumbles: this place isn't that big, but I can't find anything.  The kitchen cabinets look nice, but the layout and flow leave a lot to be desired.  This is our 4th house.  The 3 previous, we designed, including the layout of the cabinets in the kitchen.  These Lennar homes seem to be well-built, but those tall kitchen cabinets that look good means half of the storage in them is high enough that you need a two-step ladder to get to the stuff you put in them.

I have a morning routine that revolves around getting Rufus fed, getting pills for the day set out (yes, old people have pills), and getting coffee and hot chocolate ready for the Keurig.  All that stuff has been in the kitchen in our last house... here, I am wandering back and forth between the kitchen and the bathroom... and still I have to ask Joan where something specific might be... and she isn't up, yet.

Yes, I know what you're thinking: it is just a matter of learning where to put things.  No doubt.  It is also having the right place to put things.

Also part of my morning routine: I turn on the TV (check the morning news) and turn the daily calendars.  It took me a moment or 6 to find the calendars, but I did get them turned to the new month.  The TV... we are set up on Steph and Dan's Hulu account instead of having cable.  It takes about 15 button clicks to get to network TV.  Yes, a first world problem... but I am used to turning on a TV and it is on the same channel where it was turned off last night.

Joan is up now, so I can ask where to find the coffee and hot chocolate pods for the Keurig.  Rufus has been fed and he is enjoying some couch time with his Momma.  He gave me some confused looks when he and I got up this morning.  I guess I'm not the only one who is lost and confused.  On the bright side, he found and used the new litter box Joan got him - it is semi-disguised as a plant pot.  It uses sand instead of the pellets with the Breeze system... there is some "flinging" as he gets out of his new private potty...


 When we got here yesterday and Rufus was looking around, I took him to that litter box several times.  I said to Joan, "How will he know that's his new litter box?"

She said, "Cat's just know - he'll be fine."  Yep, he used it.

But he said to me, "This ain't right."

"I feel you buddy.  I'm trying to find where my socks are.  And silverware.  And shaving cream."  Maybe we need to go back to IKEA and buy a bunch of those boxes that hang on the wall to hold stuff?  You know, once I find my stuff.

Insert your favorite "old dogs and new tricks" line here.  It applies to cats, as well.

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After the morning clean-up routine: the shower is nice; really big.  Of course, the shower in the motorhome is compact, by any measure.  With the 10' ceilings, nice width and length, and white tile, it adds to the expansive feeling.  We are used to sharing the bathroom in the motorhome, but having separate facilities in the Texas house.  We have a second bathroom here... across the hall, next to my music room.  This bathroom in the NextGen side is next to our bedroom; convenient.

Good water pressure.  Each side of the house has a tankless water heater... it takes a while to get hot water to the shower, but you get all the hot you want.  A huge mirror in the bathroom, but things will be more convenient when we get a medicine cabinet installed.  Hopefully today.

There is a nice new dresser in the bedroom.  Joan wants to line the drawers before we put clothes in them, so it is a bit like being in a hotel right now - not quite living out of a suitcase, but more stuff on shelves in the walk-in closet than necessary.

The area rug that we picked out at the furniture store had to be ordered.  That means a lot of hard surfaces in the living room/kitchen.  It echoes.  Maybe tomorrow we can go to the furniture store and pick out a different rug that would be in stock.  We really need something on the walls, too.  Those tall walls look even taller without some kind of decor.  We had photo art on the walls in the Texas house - we left that with the house, since it was mostly scenes depicting the area.

Speaking of the Texas house: Joan got an email from the new owners - they were asking if Joan had taken a photo of the list of logins and passwords for all the smart stuff in the house.  Yep, they lost that list.  Joan had, indeed, taken a photo of it... just in case.

Joan made smoothies and a light breakfast this morning - she commented on how she really likes "the flow of the countertops."

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I got time off for good behavior today.  Well, some might say the behavior is questionable.  But, I did get to go to Mark's place to make some music with the guys.  Last March was when I was last able to do that - it felt good.  These guys are used to playing together, but they have always made me feel like a part of the group.  Now that this is our home, I will be able to get together with them regularly.


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