We arrived at our new home late in the afternoon on Monday. I had been looking forward to sunshine because it was such a wet summer in Door County, but we arrived in heavy rain and a thunderstorm that we could see all around us in the mountains.

We moved a few things into the house and then slept in the RV because our bed wasn’t set up yet.

Tuesday, we went to a paint store because all the walls need repainting, and we also went to our storage unit to get a few things to take back to the house.

See the small building across the driveway? I met our neighbor girl when I saw her sitting on that roof. Her name is Summer. I told her I had brought a gift from Wisconsin for her family, and she offered to take me over to her house. It was a gift box with some Wisconsin cheeses, and I had also put in a small metal goat that I had bought there for them. The significance of this is that they have goats, and the first time Mark came here hauling his T-bird, the car ended up rolling down the driveway and crashed through their goat pen. None of the goats were injured, but they took the opportunity to escape from their pen! Summer’s mom’s name is Emily, and she was really kind about the incident.

When we first walked into our house on Monday, it was hot inside. Fortunately, we had ordered a new furnace and air conditioner before leaving Wisconsin, and the installers came on Wednesday. They spent all day on Wednesday installing the new furnace. The one that was in there was 25 years old!

We had also noticed that all the windows in the house, including the sliding glass door, were bad, so I had a window installer come on Wednesday to measure all the windows for replacement. The vinyl around them has separated from the glass and gotten discolored. The window man said he would order the windows for the whole house, and hopefully they will arrive in a couple of weeks.

Wednesday evening, we set up our bed with a brand new mattress. It was one of those kinds of mattresses that comes tightly rolled up in a box, and it needed to be allowed to expand for 72 hours before we could sleep on it.

Thursday, the men from the previous day came to install the air conditioner. That, too, was an all-day job.

Friday, Mark and I went to a furniture store to buy a washer and dryer since the house didn’t come with one. While we were there, we also selected a couple of recliners since we got rid of the ones we had in Wisconsin.

By Friday night, I was so tired of sleeping in the RV that I suggested we sleep on the hide-a-bed in the house. Mark agreed. Saturday morning, we woke up to this:

Both sinks in the Master bathroom need to be replaced, but everywhere we’ve gone since we’ve been here, it seems like they only stock one of the item we want. We ordered a second sink, but Mark worked all day Saturday trying to install the first one on my side. My sink was broken so that I couldn’t lift the plug, and every time I ran water in it, it took forever to drain. I have been using Mark’s sink instead. His needs replacing because it’s rusted and cracked underneath.

Last night, we finally got to sleep in our new bed. We had bought new sheets for it and everything. It feels firmer than our old mattress, and we slept well, but we woke up very early.

This morning, Mark went to Wellington for his new church, and I went to Price to Assumption Greek Orthodox Church, which I visited last May, where I injured my ankle. I have kept in touch with Bill and Rose, who were kind enough to take me to the ER after my fall, and they texted Mark and sent him the address of the hospital. When I visited in May, they didn’t yet have a priest, but they were going to get a new one the following week. I went today to see what their priest was like and to meet up with Bill and Rose again. They will be coming on Tuesday evening to see our house. I have a lot to do to have it in shape for company!

I don’t think I’ll attend the Orthodox church regularly because I have a hard time knowing when I’m supposed to sit or stand, and I couldn’t figure out where the words were that I was supposed to be following along with in the little pamphlet I was given as I entered. The only thing I was able to do with everyone else was to quote the Lord’s Prayer. However, it was fun to be there today because there was a dedication of identical twin infants, and it was obvious that the new priest has a soft spot in his heart for little children. The children don’t have Sunday school. They sit with their parents. There was a 2-year-old boy in my row who decided he wanted to go see the priest, I guess. I tried to stop him from stepping out into the aisle, but he slipped out past me. He stood there tentatively at first, then took a step and halted, and took another step and halted. The priest could see him slowly making his way up the aisle, and even though he was in the middle of singing the liturgy, he got a big smile on his face. The boy’s mother finally managed to catch up to him and took him back to the pew with her. During communion, everyone went up to get the wine and bread, including the children, but I had read that I shouldn’t try to because I’m not an Orthodox member, so I just watched. The priest had a little spoon which he dipped into the goblet to give to each person, and the bread looked almost like cake cubes to me from my position. When the children came up, the priest would talk baby talk with them. It was adorable!

After the service, Mark and I met at a restaurant called Cowboy’s Kitchen near Wellington. We shared about what the services we had been to were like. We both had a lot to talk about. Then we went to get new phone service with Verizon. We’ve had AT&T, and it didn’t seem to be working very well here. We have new phone numbers, which I don’t want to post here, but I’ll try to send mine out to everyone in an email. If I miss you and you want my new phone number, email me and I’ll send it to you.