Where Have I Gone?

  As you may have noticed, I have been a bit scarce with my posts lately.  As some of you may have seen through my facebook link, we have moved.  In August, my husband was head hunted for a new job and with it, we were able to move to a more rural area.  It has always been our desire to live in an area with a larger yard, more privacy and the ability to have a garden etc.
I am writing a little update about our lives this last week.  This may be more for family and friends but feel free to read along.
We got possession of the house last Thursday night so we decided to have a little picnic on our floor.  The picnic was a lot of fun but the aftermath of this already prepared food was not a hit for me.  Hours later, I ended up with severe abdominal pain and what I believe was some type of parasitic or bacterial infection.  It was awful.  I had moments where I could barely walk.  Needless to say, we have such loving and caring friends who were SO helpful and insistent that I not carry boxes etc. It is not easy watching your friends carry out your dirty laundry baskets, dog's bed and dusty furniture.
Once at our new home, we were greeted by our parents.  I am blessed to have a dad who sells garden equipment and arrived with a beautiful lawn tractor, push mower and tiller.  We had barely set down the boxes and we were out planning the vegetable garden.  Still in pain, I could do little more than to sit on the sideline and watch as my parents tilled up the ground.
Our first full day of country living became one of learning.  I had only moments sooner started a load of laundry, when we heard gurgling and bubbling coming from the bathtub.  Much to our dismay we saw sewage coming up from the tub.  Yuck!  This problem only got worse, when through our experimentation our toilet also overflowed.  Nothing like scrubbing your house till the early hours of the morning.  To make a long story short, we learned a tough lesson, paid a plumber, dug up the yard and fully functioning bathrooms.
The girls have been adjusting so well.  Our oldest is loving the space and the ability to help out even more.  She has been learning a lot about the country.  She was so excited to help out with the garden and couldn't wait to search for rotten apples to adds to the garden compost.
My youngest is continually asking me to dig up worms, help her find more lady bugs and chase frogs.  In the picture aboveshe had just run in from outside to show me her latest bug find. I am finally feeling 100%. Today I learned how to properly pick and store apples. I can't get over these fruit trees and am looking forward to creating some more fall recipes ;)