Just like Elly May Clampett

The deed is done. I’m completely moved.

Get a Move On from Annie Parsons on Vimeo.

Let’s hear it for the Handy Graham! I have amazing friends. And a ridiculous amount of crap.

What is it about cardboard boxes and newspaper that make your hands break open and bleed? My fragile little hands look like the Sahara right now – dry and cracked and miserable. I stayed up until 3am unpacking – the woman in me needs to nest as soon as possible – but at least now my room is relatively functional and livable.

Here are the things you should know about our new house:
• It has a front porch swing and a back deck and a red door.
• It has a (now they tell us, non-functioning) fireplace.
• It has granite countertops and stainless steel appliances.
• It has the best den in Nashville. (That might be an exaggeration, since I have not yet been to Alan Jackson’s.)

Here are the things you should know about my room:
• It’s the entire top floor of the house.
• It has significantly slanted ceilings.
• It has a chimney coming up through the middle.
• It has no door (but that’s nothing Graham can’t fix).
• It has a 2-drawer file cabinet BUILT INTO THE WALL!

Here is the only thing you should know about my bathroom:

Shudder.

At last check, 85% of you voted that I should paint the walls, and yes, I agree. However, the landlords requested that a professional do the painting – and that’s about as high on my financial priority list as a colonic. So until future notice (and future money), I will live with a hybrid of the two options: baby blue walls WITH an orangey-peach shower curtain. Like sweet potato barf in a little boy’s nursery.

I am so appreciative of my amazingly faithful friends. Five people showed up at my house with their cars and trucks, and after tirelessly loading and transporting and unloading useless things like my light-up globe and three suitcases of shoes and curtain rods and massive stacks of washcloths, not to mention a 13” TV with a rabbit ear antenna and built-in VHS, we had pizza and beer and were merry. At one point, I counted 13 cars outside. Julie and Melissa and I have a big desire that this be a house where people feel welcome, where people want to be, where people are loved – and if last night was any indication, we’re off to a good start.

(A video tour of the new house will surely happen in January – just give us some time to get settled!)