So, as I mentioned in the minor update the other day, we are safely moved into our new home. Unfortunately, we don’t get internet access until January 2nd. Any of you that know me knows that this means the longest 2.5 weeks of my adult life. I’m currently holed up in the local pub, drinking a Guinness, sacrificing to bring you all the latest news. But, you didn’t log on to hear me gripe, so, let’s catch up on the last few days.

Wednesday morning we took a quick bus up on to Chineham (kind of a suburb of Basingstoke) to the office of the Estate Agent. We signed the papers, got the keys, and took a bus back to the AirBNB. Well, that was the plan, anyway. I got us on the right bus, but going the wrong direction, so we had to ride it all through its route to get back to Basingstoke. Fortunately, it’s a short route, so we still made it back in plenty of time. Snapped this great picture of St. Michael’s Church on the way back.

Back at the AirBNB, the taxi company showed up with a minibus (what we would barely call a minivan in the States), so for once it wasn’t a challenge to get everything in the car. Away we went to our new home.

I’m uploading a video that gives you a tour. Since this is a public blog,  I’m not going to give the exact address, so if you want to send us anything (a card…..housewarming gift….large sums of cash), send me an email and I’ll give it to you. 

Obviously the house was empty when I filmed it, but I’ll upload a furnished one soon.  One thing we noticed, all the appliances (what they call “white goods”) are made by “Neff”. I can’t help but see that as a bad omen.

We spent all of Wednesday afternoon and evening waiting for furniture to be delivered and then assembling beds. We did get a very small Christmas tree, which the girls decorated in true Geek Child fashion.

On Thursday, Kyla went shopping while I spent literally. the. entire. day. assembling a dining room table and chairs. It looks good, but I spent so much time on it, I can barely look at it now, so you don’t get a picture.

Friday morning, it was my turn to go shopping. I walked from our house to the mall, which takes about 20 minutes. It’s not terrible, definitely do-able, but this lazy American definitely misses his automobile. On the plus side, I found out that Starbucks has actual, honest-to-God, unsweetened ICED tea. A large cost about $4, but at that point, it was worth it. I even took a picture of it.

Friday evening was a lot of fun. Our new church was working together with a bunch of other churches in the area for a Live Nativity. Again, we hit the bus, this time to another small town called Tadley. There we met at the Church of England building for a bit of craft time before processing to the United Reformed Church for the live nativity, petting zoo, and then refreshments (mince pies and hot chocolate!).  I took a few pictures, but frankly most are too dark to bother with.

Today (Saturday) was kind of a lazy day. We went grocery shopping this morning (On the Saturday before Christmas! No idea what we were thinking.) and then came home to relax.

I have to admit that the last few days I’ve been feeling pretty homesick. Without internet or video games to distract me, my thoughts have been free to roam, even while I’ve been assembling furniture. Also, there’s a lot of things you take for granted when you’ve lived in the same country all your life. Right now, the big issue is a bank account. You have to make an appointment to open an account, especially if you’re from overseas, and the nearest available was Thursday, the 27th. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but having a bank account is required for A LOT around here. We can’t get car insurance, therefore no car, without one. You can’t start a cellphone contract, so we’re on the Pay As You Go plans. A bunch of stuff that you never even think of.

Well, I think that catches you up. Church tomorrow and then Christmas festivities this week. I’ll be sure to take a lot of pics of those.