The finding (and founding) of a new home came, alas, as Autumn was already used to living out of a suitcase for months on end. Moving into the new cottage shortly before the holidays did not encourage John to do much unpacking. Photographic evidence of the cottage around the beginning of December shows the true damage of a block-and-a-half move; not far enough to sell anything major, and not close enough to not put everything in many tiny boxes. Christmas presents were packed in a box labeled "gifts to take home", although forks for the pizza party rewarding those that helped us move were packed deep in a box labeled "kitchen supplies (minus sink)". It was an impressive sight to see the line of EFN ants stretching down the block, carrying boxes, crates, lamps, brooms with the entirety of John's closet hooked on the handle; enough so that the trip back was often rewarded with a ride on the dolly for anyone lucky enough to scam others into pushing them.
Our biggest victory on the first day of the move was removing the front door mat that had cultivated several species of chlorophyl-producing visitors, and replacing it with ladybugs (or a mat thereof, at least). The next course of action was to toast that victory. The rest of the day remains a bit fuzzy...
Smaller victories of the next week before the holidays included learning the thermostat and how hot air really wasn't very hot, cleaning the tops of everything that were missed by the building inspectors, and rearranging the garage to match version 1.0 of the garage layout schema (cans of leftover paint were an added easter egg).
Now that the holidays are over (in eastern and central time, at least) we hope to continue cleaning and unpacking while living amongst the various forts and shelters that the boxes provide. Being disgruntled at the slight oddities of the cottage are generally replaced with delight at small things like a huge storage garage, a garden (barely alive at the moment), and the prospect of a prosperous year to come. The potential of the cottage to achieve great gardens, legendary meals, and aesthetic gallery showcases seems to propel our spirits forward... even if, after a day of unpacking, we crash into bed before the New Year rings its bells on the west coast!