Change, Change, Change...

I know it's been a while...like 4 months!  We've had some changes and a computer crash.

I now have a new computer with Windows 8 and my photo software no longer works.  I know it was old and outdated, but I knew how to use it!  It will be a while before I have time to figure out how to resize and touch up photos.

Would you believe I lost all my genealogy stuff in the computer crash?  I thought I was backing it all up, but I was only backing up My Documents.  At least I didn't lose all my photographs and important information, but everything in my genealogy program was lost.  Sadly, I'm no tech wizard and will now have to start over again.   It's on my "to do" list.

After I had that floor put down in July I decided it was time to move.  I spent weeks looking at different areas and finally settled on the Clear Lake area of Houston.  It's only 6 miles from where we used to live.

Reid and I spent weeks bringing over one or two carloads a day.  We'd empty boxes and bring them back to the old house to pack again.  It was very hot and humid and we both wore out quickly.  It took forever, but we finally had movers come and move the furniture and big stuff the middle of October.  There's still stuff in the garage at the old place and I'm hoping when Keith comes at Christmas we can get that cleared out.  I need to get that place sold.

Right now I'm sitting in the bedroom surrounded by unpacked boxes.  This is a two story house and the downstairs is pretty organized.  The mess is all upstairs! 

Reid has been very tired lately, but he goes back to MD Anderson on December 16th for all the tests and scans.  On December 21st it will be one year since he received Keith's stem cells.  It's hard to believe that a year has gone by already.  My hope and prayer is that everything is OK.  I'm thinking that he might just need the thyroid medication adjusted.  A few months ago he did develop Graft vs Host Disease, but it was caught right away and he's been on Prednisone ever since.

Meanwhile, Reid flew to Austin on Thursday to spend a few days with Keith.  He was going to drive, but decided to fly so he wouldn't be worn out when he got there.  They're attending a Comic Con convention in Austin.  He will fly back on Monday.

I'm going to work on this bedroom today.  Hopefully, I can clear out some of the boxes and give this room a good cleaning.

It's actually cold here!  Cold to us anyway.  I guess it's in the 40's.  I don't have any heat on and hopefully won't need any.  I need Reid to figure out the thermostats.  They're electronic.  How I miss the days of thermostats with just on and off buttons.  It's very comfortable in the house and I usually try not to run the heat since it's so drying anyway.

I put up the Christmas tree on Wednesday.  It's not decorated.  I just like to put it up a week or two in advance so the cats can check it out and lose interest before the decorations go up.  Keith is coming for Thanksgiving and we might decorate it while the turkey is in the oven.  I haven't cooked a turkey since 2008.  There's just been so much going on the last few years, so I'm really looking forward to cooking again.  I love the smell of a turkey roasting.

Ooops, had to stop.  My 20 year old cat was meowing at the window.  She wanted me to open the blinds so she could look out.  She loves the lower windows in this house. The other house had windows that were too high for her to reach in her old age.

Here are a few pictures I took a while back with my cell phone.  (I don't even know where my camera is, but I'm assuming safe and sound in a box somewhere.)

I have no pictures of the front, but this is the backyard.

I had the kitchen painted before we moved in.

Reid changed the locks.  (That's one of my dolls watching him.  I thought she looked cute in the window, but I don't think he was impressed.)

This is the room that sold me on this house.  It's supposed to be an office, but it's going to be my doll room.  I put a few dolls up on the shelves just to see how they'd look.  Now the room is filled with boxes!  It's the only room downstairs that isn't organized, but I decided the dolls could wait.

Jim used to tell me that I had too much stuff.  I've decided he was right after all.  I can't imagine ever moving again.  It's too much work and I'm old and tired.  :)  I have taken some boxes to Goodwill, but it's hardly made a dent.  It's hard for me to get rid of things.  I can always find a sentimental reason for keeping stuff.

Now I have to start focusing on Christmas.  Keith wants me to return with him to Austin for a few days.  It's very tempting, but I haven't decided what to do.  I really should stay here and try and get more done.  I need to start addressing Christmas cards, but I need to find the list first!

Yesterday was a somber day for me.  I vividly remember November 22, 1963.  It was comforting to see the reaction of others on television.  I thought I was the only one tearing up all over again.  It was as if it happened only yesterday.  For those too young to know but old enough to remember 9/11, the reaction is pretty much the same.  You see those horrible pictures again and it's as if it just happened.

I'm going to try and start visiting blogs again and post a little more regularly.  I just needed to take some time away from the computer in order to get things done (or at least attempt to get them done). 

Have a nice Thanksgiving!