Our New Home

I'm very sorry I disappeared as of late. Last Friday, the 28th, was Move In Day, and it wasn't until yesterday that the Internet guy was able to come out and hook everything up. I'm relieved to write that Nimbus transitioned perfectly into our new home. I wasn't sure how he was going to react, but I think he's quite excited about the whole thing.

In fact, both pets are doing great. Sparta is in love with the place, running up and down the stairs, rolling around on the balcony, prancing along the loft wall bannister... he's having a blast! Nimbus, too, is enjoying all the extra space. There's so much room for him to run around, both upstairs and downstairs (although upstairs will soon no longer be an option), and he loves bounding on the staircase.

Looking down at the living room from the upstairs loft

Sadly, Nimbus will have to say good bye to running around upstairs. He's chewing everything! My books, shoes, keepsake boxes... I can't handle it anymore. And, following him up and down the stairs every 5 minutes got old really quick! Hopefully, the apartment management has a tape measure lying around somewhere that I can borrow to see how wide of a baby gate I need. Nimbus will still have the staircase to play on, but the upstairs rooms will be blocked. It's just too exhausting. Last night, I dragged this giant... well, I'm not sure what to call it, but it's this heavy piece of furniture that sort of reminds me of an entertainment center... an ugly one at that. It has a very fake, plastic-y surface with busted wooden cabinets as its base. I dragged it in between the loft wall and the bathroom door, so now I have to slide across the top of this thing to get through the stairs to the rest of the upstairs, but it was worth it!! No more chasing after Nimbus. If he's upstairs, I know he's just on the landing, and I don't have to follow him and try to coax him out from under my bed anymore. It's also better this way because there are just some rooms that don't need to be decorated with chin droppings, am I right?! My bedroom is one of those places! The entertainment center will be gone (hooray!!) next week because the new neighbor wants it, though I'm not sure why. So, I''ll definitely need that baby gate... plus, jumping over that thing makes me feel ridiculous!

I, on the other hand, am still adjusting. I'm very homesick, in fact. I miss the river out back. Well, I miss having any type of yard at all, and I'm not used to the noises of an apartment complex. The neighbors can be quite noisy, especially in the afternoon hours when the kids come back from school. I'm also not used to living on my own anymore. I was living alone from April to October last year, and I was miserable. Then, Chris moved in, which was an awesome experience, but now, he's had to stay behind to finish his degree at Western Carolina University. I miss him terribly. We did everything together. I do get to see him, starting tomorrow!! And, he'll be staying the next week because it's Spring Break. Yes... Spring Break... in the middle of March... when it's an average of 60 degrees F outside... In fact, we're under a winter weather advisory tonight for freezing rain... Yay, "Spring" Break!

Sparta checking out the loft wall!

During the move, I was worried that Nimbus would pose the problem. Hoping that someone could ride with me and watch over Nimbus, it turned out that Chris and I were on our own with moving out. While he packed the U-Haul, I worked inside the house, cleaning and making sure everything was packed. After five hours, everything was finally moved out and cleaned to perfection, even though the power had been cut off over halfway through the process. Nimbus was put into the cat carrier with his stuffed bunny, and Sparta was allowed to roam free while wearing his harness. ...Honestly, with the way Sparta acted, I should have let Nimbus run around and put Sparta in the carrier.

The car was packed, but I made sure to create a special spot for Sparta to sleep during the trip. I had a stack of pillows and blankets heaved right beside the window, but he didn't stay there more than a minute. For the entire two-hour trip, Sparta yowled every minute, if not more so, as we drove down the road. He crawled everywhere and specifically wanted to get under my feet near the gas and brake pedals, of course! I had forgotten that Sparta's desired car seat during a road trip is on the floor. Well because of all the stuff crammed in my little Honda Accord, the only floorspace was under my feet! Before we were two minutes away from the old place, Sparta was under my feet. I had to come to a dead halt in the middle of the road, fish him out, throw some stuff in the backseat and plop him in the passenger seat floor. Finally, he laid there, although continuing to yowl his discontent. The entire two hours, I fought him and fought him and fought him as he refused to completely settle down in any one place. Sparta even stepped on Nimbus more than once during his reign of terror in the car. I can't believe I didn't get pulled over.

Nimbus, meanwhile, gave himself a quick bath, then curled up next to his bunny and went straight to sleep... well, as asleep as you can get with a cat screaming in your ear. I have never seen cuter pictures than this. He actually snuggled up next to Napoleon and held onto him!!

There is nothing more adorable!!! Except maybe this video where Nimbus gets to come out of his cage into the new apartment for the first time. He was so sleepy from being awake most of the day, but he still hopped around for a good bit. This was before the furniture was moved in the next morning. I love his fascination with the carpet!