Snow?

Date: 26 November, 2014
Location: Blacksburg, VA

We woke up this morning to something we haven't seen in over seven years.  Sheesh!

Front yard - 6:30 am

Side yard - 7:30 am

Back yard - 9:30 am

Winter

Date: November 24, 2014

Location: Blacksburg, VA

We moved back into our house in Blacksburg last week for the winter. It's in the mountains of SW Virginia at 2,000+ ft elevation. The day after we got our furniture moved from a friend's house we had a hard frost and snow flurries! We looked out the window and then at each other - no words were necessary. So far this winter has been a far cry from the last 7 we spent on Rachel. No, instead of balmy it's going to be COLD....freezing cold, not the 70 degrees F cold that we whined about when a cold front came through the Bahamas. No, this is the real thing – 15 degrees F during the day!! Sheesh! What were we thinking???

Even though it's only been a week we are already enjoying hanging out with family and friends here. We are also enjoying being at home again, although it does still feel weird, especially being here and not going to work every day.

And it is so big, compared to Rachel. We open the fridge, “Oooo this is SO big”; we lay in our king size bed, “Oooo this is SO luxurious”; we turn on a tap, “Oooo on demand hot water”; we turn on a light, “Oooo we don't need to check the batteries”; we fill the dishwasher, “Oooo”. We feel so decadent.

The house is in great shape to say it has been rented for so long. We've had the same family here the whole time we've been gone and they cared for it as if it were their own - we are very lucky. Now we have lots of jobs to do over the winter, both deferred and regular maintenance. Nothing too major, just lots of little things that need doing to keep things up. Today, for example. Winter took a little break and it was a balmy 60 degrees F (!!) so we donned our shorts, went outside, and got everything out of the shed and onto the lawn. Then we gave the shed a good cleaning and inspection, then sorted through the stuff, some of which got put back in. Then we made a pile for the dump, a pile for donations, and a pile of stuff we've never seen before to see if it belongs to any of our current tenants. Awesome, that's one thing crossed off our list!

What are our plans you may ask? Well, we're not sure, but we'll probably figure it out over the winter, sitting in front of the fireplace with our mugs of hot chocolate. Now, where are our slippers and woolly jumpers?