Am I finished yet?

My mom and I arrived safe and sound last Sunday at about 5pm. A few things I learned along the loooong drive:
1. DOT crews love to pinch you down to one lane for no apparant reason for miles and miles, and they somehow make sure you're always stuck being a person going 45.
2. 3/4 of this country is covered in corn. Who eats all of this corn? There is enough corn in this country to feed the entire world 10 times over.
3. Cleveland has the craziest freeway system. What town makes a freeway with multiple sharp turns that require you to slow down to 35?
4. Fast food options have greatly improved since I last did this drive. 3 solid days of eating nothing but fast food, and not one stop at McDonald's!

My mom and I ran a million errands the half day she had before she left. Thanks to her, I have a brand new TV and a shiny new lawnmower (my new enemy...more about that later). We also got 2 A/C units to cool this place down.

After my mom left I had this sudden realization that I was all alone for the first time in my entire life. This place makes me horribly homesick and if I didn't have this house I'd probably turn around and come back tomorrow. But in an effort to keep this posting mostly happy, I'll talk about all that some other day.

So I know you'd all like some pictures. All you get for now is the outside, since my house is a mess with boxes everywhere inside!

The first picture is the outside of the house. Sorry you can't see the right side very well, but the big maple tree makes it shady. The next two pictures are the backyard. Note the freshly mowed grass. That lawn looks nice and flat, but really it has invisible potholes that catch the wheels and ram the handle into your abdomen. I have a huge blister on my thumb and very sore hands and gut today. I'm no sissy, but mowing the lawn is man's work!

The last picture is my other enemy.....the pool! This thing is just a huge mystery of chemicals, pumps, hoses, and filters. I got a quick lesson for the guy at the pool store (after he said I needed $80 worth of chemicals). Not sure if this is going to stay up after this year!

That's all the pictures for now. Thank you to all of you who have been calling and easing my lonliness. Thanks also to all of you who gave me gift cards....they have all been put to great use! The one bright spot about here is that the weather has been a beautiful 75-80 in the day and 55-65 at night. I haven't looked at the weather in Portland, but hopefully is has cooled down from when I left. I miss you all so much!