I must apologize to all our friends who have written in the last few weeks worried about us. The pressure we have been under since November 6 has been enormous. I have just not had the time or energy left from all our endeavors to fill in a daily log. So here, in one nutshell, is an overview of the last couple of months.

We took possession of our new house on November 1, 2010. After closing, which went very well, we came down to the house to study the layout and get some ideas of where to put furniture. We invited a couple of our close friends to come and look at the place and they showed up around 2:00 pm. "J" needed to use the restroom so we pointed him to the master bath which was the only one that had any toilet paper. A few minutes later he came out and told us "Your bidet squirted me in the face!" After we all finished laughing we got to the task of looking around. We are still amazed at this house. After we get settled in and I have some time I intend to devote an entire section of the website to the man who built our home.

After we got tired we retired to our trailer, in Golden, since we had no furniture in the house.

The next day, November 2, 2010, was incredibly busy. The day started with the carpet cleaners. We used a local independent company and was very impressed with their service. We will use them again the next time we need carpets cleaned. In the middle of all that confusion, a representative from ADT alarm service we called came over to check out the system for service. He told us they didn't know how to program the old system installed in the house, the control box and all the keypads would have to be replaced. Cost of the control box and 2 keypads would run about $600, to have all 10 keypads replaced would be over $1000. Monthly monitoring would be about $35 a month.

After he left we called the local company that had been monitoring the system, and that had helped the builder to install the system. They would send a rep out on Friday to discuss the system and monthly monitoring would be $18.

In the afternoon, we had a locksmith come out and he re-keyed all the locks in the house so they are on the same key. Then the installer from Comcast cable came and hooked up cable, telephone, and Internet service. All this was going on while the carpets were being cleaned. By the end of the day we were totally exhausted.

On Wednesday, November 3, we moved our trailer from Golden, Colorado, North of Denver, to the Air Force Academy campground near Colorado Springs. While the distance from the campground to the house is about the same, the drive from the south is much easier and faster than having to drive through rush hour traffic in Denver.

On Thursday, November 4, our furniture was delivered, an all day event. In the middle of that craziness our new LG washer and dryer was delivered and installed. Most of the day's stuff was over by 3:00 pm then our new desks were delivered. That was quite an event in itself. After looking around the house, the delivery men decided the easiest way to bring them inside was around to the back of the house and through the bedroom sliding glass door. Then the desks wouldn't fit through the door of the study. They were 1/4 inch too big. Frank took a close look and found he could remove the slider feet which were one inch in diameter nailed in, so with the help of a claw hammer the feet came off and the desks fit with 1/16 inch to spare.

Back to the trailer for the night.

Friday was a day for sorting and opening boxes. Tom spent most of the day trying to organize the kitchen. When we finally got all the boxes unloaded and stuff stuck in the cabinets (several weeks later) about half the drawers and cabinets remain empty. In the evening we went to downtown Denver for a rodeo association meeting. We got back to our trailer at the Air Force Academy around midnight.

Saturday and part of Sunday we spent unpacking more boxes.

Monday morning we left the trailer and house and began a 3 day drive to Reno, Nevada for IGRA Convention.

We got back home on Wednesday, November 17, and we were both exhausted.

The following 3 nights we commuted from the house to the trailer for sleeping. When we had packed everything up back in June we had no idea how long we would be traveling. Therefore, we had disposed of the blatters in our waterbeds, which can't be stored for long periods. So, even though we had all our furniture, we still had no beds.

On Saturday our new Sleep Number bed was delivered and installed. So we finally spent our first night in the house on Saturday, November 20.

On Tuesday, November 23, we took off with just our truck to drive back to Virginia, some 1,600 miles. We had ordered a new Ford 2011, F250 before we began our trek in July. It had come in to the dealership in Luray, Virginia and we needed to trade in our old truck and get the new one. Also we wanted to visit friends and pick up computer equipment from our friend in Falls Church, Virginia, who had been hosting our server since we left.

We spent a bit more than a week in the east before heading back. We finally arrived in Castle Rock this last Monday, December 6, 2010 and we consider this to be our official move in date.

With all this, more unpacking, and Frank trying to get computers, webcams and networks up and running, we have just not had the time, energy or motivation to work on a daily log.

This will most likely be our last travelogue entry for some time. We have so much we want to do with the house that we will probably not take off again until sometime next summer.

As time has been short, we have obviously not had time to do our regular Christmas Holiday CD, but never fear, one will be coming as a New Year's CD sometime in January or February.

Again we apologize for such a delay on any updates. To everyone out there, have a happy holiday season and the best new year.

Frank and Tom