New Nest

Well, that's my new home.

Weirdly everything went very smoothly.

I started my new job last night. Five hours of interviews on EST, didn't finish until almost 2am, but productive and good.

This is me in New York.

Turns out I did have slightly more stuff to move than I was expecting.

To think, I arrived with one suitcase...

Finally finished packing when Jo arrived around 2pm. Did two trips. Turned up to find men fixing the driveway, so had to carry everything down to the house. But my landlord's sons helped, though they were still moving some of their own furniture out when I arrived. Little annoying - they knew I was moving in on this day last week. Leaving everything until the last minute.

Never mind. They're really nice chaps. Plus the entire house has been repainted. It looks really nice. It's not as grand at first glance as the other house, but it certainly has its charm. There's some mood lighting in the living room, plus a hot shower (haven't had one of those in about seven months!)

Damascene came with us on the second trip. Really touched that he agreed to move with me. He likes the place, and he's got his own room out back with shower and sit-down (rather than squat) toilet. He's gone back to the old house to clean and lock up. I've put the light on in his room so that he can find his way back okay. Put some Quality Street in there too, which Jo gave me for my birthday. Really hope he settles in okay as he does know a lot of people in the neighbourhood we've just moved from.

Only problem is that we don't have a kitchen - yet. I'm going to make one, but I need a table and shelves. Need to get permission from my landlord, then set the carpenter to work. Also want a writing desk in my room. Before, it was bucket baths, now it's a bucket kitchen. Having a proper kitchen sink makes such a difference, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. I managed before, years ago in Gikondo. At least water and electricity won't be a problem anymore.

So, first night in my new home. Without bedbugs. I kinda miss the li'le critters. Who am I going to talk to in the mornings?

Very glad I purchased the sofa and beds from my landlord before moving in. I think it would have been miserable to turn up with nothing to sit on. He's also left the fridge here, tempting me to buy it now that it's made itself indispensable.

I think I'm going to be very happy here. It seems like a nice house. A bit more homely than stately, but perfect for my needs. Thinking of renting out one of the bedrooms. Need to think of something to do with that weird box room next to the bathroom... a meditation room, perhaps?