Small Town, SC here we come

Eric's new company paid for movers to take our stuff down, but the movers wouldn't take any liquids, and Eric's company wouldn't pay for the big televisions to be moved since the movers would have had to build a crate for them... so, we rented a U-Haul trailer to pull behind our SUV. We put the televisions, my aquarium and all our liquids in the trailer. In the back of the SUV, we had Jaiden along with my fish (in a cooler) and my snails (in a styrofoam cooler). It took five movers 6 hours to pack up our stuff and put it into their truck. We stayed in the house overnight, blanketless and pillowless--but with an air mattress at least--and had to use U-Haul blankets and clothes for pillows. We woke up and painted four rooms in the house the next day. We had to hire help, but it was well worth it, and hopefully that'll help get the place rented/sold.

We left that night at around 8PM and arrived in DC at midnight. Eric hauled the fishies into the house in order to keep them warm, and we put Eric's wine collection (all 50 bottles!) inside to keep them from freezing. A storm was going through the south around that time, so we decided to stay the next night as well. We hopped back onto I-95 and when we reached I-85, I took the wheel. I had never driven a trailer before, but quite honestly, it wasn't anything to be worried about. That is, until we hit the weather.

It always happens. Whenever Eric and I switch seats, the nasty weather starts. When we drove from Philly to Austin to get my stuff, 10 minutes after I started driving (and Eric slept in the back), a rain storm hit like nothing I had ever seen before. I was going 30MPH and couldn't see a thing. I considered pulling over, but I was afraid that nobody would be able to see us and would hit us. Eric slept through the whole thing.

This time, at least Eric was awake. It began snowing 10 minutes after I started driving, which was no big deal at first... but it began accumulating on the roads. Any time we ran into slush, which was often, the trailer would get squirrelly. We saw numerous cars in the ditch, and every time we approached a downhill slope or a turn in the road, my knuckles turned white. At one point, some idiot was going 30 MPH (safe driving speed was around 45), and as I went to pass her, Eric attempted to put the car in four wheel drive, which made the whole thing feel funky and I panicked a bit, especially since the trailer began swaying back and forth. So, I got off at the next exit and let Eric drive. The weather cleared up 30 minutes later.

We arrived in Seneca about 10 hours after we left DC. The house we're renting is in a pretty part of town (although there are probably very few "ugly" parts ;) ) with lots of trees and houses that are spaced far apart. Ours is a brick house with a front porch and it's on an acre. We have three bedrooms (one of which is my horsey Woman Cave/guest bedroom, lol) one guest bathroom and a teensy little master bathroom. There are two living rooms, one carpeted and the other hardwood. We're using the hardwood living room as our joint office/aquarium room. Speaking of hardwoods. I will never... EVER... have hardwood in a house we plan on owning. Ever. They're nothing but a pain in the ass, and my feet are always dirty! I would have to sweep or vacuum every day, and that's just not my thing. Not to mention they're impossible to keep from getting scratched. Because of the movers and just general furniture moving, we're going to have to sand the stupid floors before we leave. Absolute pain in the ass!

My first morning here, as I was setting up the aquarium, I heard a scratching in the wall. I banged on the wall, but it only stopped for a few seconds. I tried to ignore it, thinking it would just go away, but it didn't. I went outside and heard it there, too, so I figured it must be in the gutter and was trying to get out. About an hour later, I was in the bedroom on the laptop, and I heard a significant scurrying above me. I don't know if it was on the roof or in the attic, but the damn thing did it ALL MORNING! It sounded like a 20-lb cat up there, pouncing around in glee as if it enjoyed hearing me and the dog making sounds of protest. Even his barking didn't make it go away. Thankfully, I haven't heard it since (this was a few days ago), but it can't possibly be over with.

Eric got our first power bill: $84 for 8 days. It's because of the damn heat pump we have. It's totally inefficient at heating the house unless it's 50 degrees or above outside--so really, I just don't see the point of it. I can see it maybe in central and southern Texas for cool nights, but in upstate SC? It doesn't stay THAT warm in the winter. So, we're looking at wood and pellet burning stoves, but they're pretty expensive and might not be ideal to install. We'll see... but a $300+ heating bill is not ideal.

The people around here are nice. They never stop talking, either! People wave all the time and just seem generally happier here. So, the water tastes like a copper penny, we have *something* living in our roof, and our heating bill is going to be outrageous, but I love it here! :)

Here are some pics of the house--the "before" pics:

Office:


Office:


My woman cave ;)


Master bedroom:


Eric's man cave: