Back in the Land of Oz

It’s been a long few weeks of travel and a hiatus from our “normal” life but I’m happy to say David and I are back in the land of Oz. An untimely death, a beautiful wedding, our stuff arriving (finally) and crossing too many time zones to count has made for a very emotional 2 months.

First let me pay tribute to my beloved StepFather, Jim Gilson. He may have loved this blog more than anyone I know. I hope you have the World Wide Web in heaven, Jim. I’m sure you’re keeping up with things from up there. You are incredibly missed. We love you very much.

Although I’m so sad to have left the US (we miss or amazing family and friends terribly) there are two big reasons I’m happy we’re back in Oz after a long journey. The first is being able to sleep in our OWN BED again. How gratifying to feel the familiar softness of the sheets and hear the sounds of our neighborhood through the open window.

The second is my run on Sunday morning. Due to the jet lag we will feel for the next week or so, I was wide awake at 4:30am. I stayed in bed for an hour or more trying to allow the sun ample time to come up and then I got up to go for an early morning run. The weather was perfect, the water was like glass and all I could hear was the pounding of my feet hitting the ground, birds singing their tunes, the water crashing on the rocks next to me and an occasional “Good morning” from a passing stranger. It was wonderfully peaceful.

Like I mentioned earlier, our stuff finally arrived! It took 4 months to the day. I’m happy to say every bit of the 57 (yes 57) boxes of stuff have found a place somewhere in a nook or cranny of our modest apartment. I really didn’t think it would be possible, but just like with a dishwasher, it takes a woman’s touch to get everything squeezed in. Poor David took on the task of unwrapping (he’s SHOCKED at the amount of kitchen stuff we have. Seriously, every family needs 3 sets of measuring cups, right?) and I took on the time consuming task of finding homes for all of it. The only thing left are the pictures. Those of you who know me well know that this will be my favorite part. Gotta love a decorating project!

The great news about our stuff arriving is that we’re going to be ready to host our first stay-with-us guest this weekend! Dirk Brown, one of David’s close friends and a groomsman in our wedding will be arriving for a couple of weeks on Friday. We’re very excited to start our 8 month stint of at least one set of guests every month. We were serious when we offered our home to our brave family and friends willing to cross the big pond to come for a visit. Word to the wise - the time slots for a visit and free place to stay are starting to run out so please let us know if you plan to visit in the next year and a half and we’ll let you know what the social calendar looks like ;)

It’s time for me to find my running shoes and hit the pavement again. The birds are calling and the breeze is cool. Enjoy this fine day!

~LAA :)