It's been a while huh? With just the occasional "yeah we're still alive" to ease people's minds, Hunden and I have finally managed to put our belongings together in some semblance of organization.

Let's see... we posted quickly about our road trip but that was over two weeks ago. Since arriving here in Austin we've managed to get into our new house (which is lovely, big, and at the moment slightly disorganized), move furniture in, and (finally, about half an hour ago) get our cable and internet installed.

So, having never really moved before (not with this much junk anyway) I can honestly say moving sucks, but is made far more tolerable when you have some wonderful helping hands (Chip, Oz, Hunden's folks down here in Austin, Tatamae). The expenses were huge, and it's going to be a bit before we can recoup our losses, but with internet comes my ability to once more contract with the Smithsonian and I should be doing that by the end of this week. With the two of us working hard, it won't take long.

We made our first two furniture purchases; a bed and refrigerator. The fridge... well, let's just say the one in the house was less that tasty. When we did our walk-through, I opened the freezer to an audible *pooft* and a cloud of fruit flies, followed by the smell of mold. YUMMY. So, Hunden did a bit of digging and found a place that sells dinged appliances brand new, and we now have a much nicer fridge than the one that was here before. In addition, we realized that a full-size futon wasn't exactly appropriate for a smoochy couple, a large dog, and two cats. We bit the bullet there and found a lovely king-sized pillowtop mattress that has been absolutely heavenly to sleep on, and fits the whole clan comfortably for extended snuggle sessions with a movie on at night.

On Sunday we worked hard at clearing out the smaller living room (we have two; a big one at the front of the house which is turning into thh computer room and a smaller family room at the back which I have been calling the living room), and now it has a working Tv (woohoo), my sleeper sofa, a table, and my grandma's writing desk. It's a nice little cozy room and it feels GOOD to have one room that's not full of boxes and "stuff" to be unpacked.

Now, although we have internet, we won't be on until tomorrow night at least; maybe Thursday. We'll be in San Antonio tonight and tomorrow, having a fun 4th of July with Hunden's folks and celebrating their anniversary. However, you can expect to see us both this weekend.

Living with Hunden, I have to say, has been a joy. We've always gotten along well (obviously) and our living styles and habits seem to mesh very well together. He's a sweetheart and always helps me out with housework, even after he's had a long day at work and I certainly wouldn't blame him if he decided to veg out after dinner - but instead, he cleans the dishes with me and helps load the washer. In every other regard he's made moving away from my family and friends worth the long haul, and there are absolutely no regrets on my part (love you, baby).

Even Tatamae (*gasp*... yes, I'm about to say it) has been wonderful. Boy, can he move some shit. He really helped make our move easy, lifting heavy furniture and boxes like a trooper, stuff that Hunden and I would have had a hell of a time doing ourselves.

The dog has been in doggy-heaven, and for the first time ever he has a backyard he can be turned out into without supervision. it's big enough to play frisbee in, and we're discovering our toughest problem is getting him to come in at all! He likes to take his frisbee and find a nice shady spot to lie in. Every time we look out the window while he's out, he's kicked back and relaxing, looking very content. He's got his own lil' blanket on the floor at my side of the bed and likes sleeping there over actually sleeping on the bed.

The cats, after spending the first few nights pissing us ALL off with their yammering at 2 am, are settling in too. Asriel, true to nature, was quick to get himself on my schedule and has spent most of his days following me around upstairs and downstairs. He likes to burrow under the covers on the bed and curl up on the mattress (pillowtop is apparently irresistable), while Llyan tends to hide out under the bed. Recently, however, there is evidence that she has adopted Hunden's desk chair as her personal crash-space at night. We'll see how long that lasts.

I hope any and all of you folks in the Austin area will feel welcome to swing by and visit us. While it's still a bit spartan, we're happy to have company and happy to see friends any time.

You will see us all back in game and on the boards this weekend. We've missed our SCARAB friends, and are glad to know everyone seems well!