Jimmies

Too bad it isn't round, but it sure is cute!

At last, for the first time, I am on East Coast time! I woke up this morning right around 8 o'clock, which would be 5 o'clock on the West Coast. That's when I knew my body was starting to make the adjustment, because I would never naturally wake up at 5 o'clock.

We have been in Massachusetts for six days now, and I know I said I would write from JFK, but there was no free wi-fi in the airport, so instead I spent my time reading The Chronicles of Narnia. I won't go into the details of our overnight eight hour layover in New York...let's just say that Aaron and I learned our lesson. Next time we'll pay the extra money to get a better flight!

Other than that long night watch, the transition to East Coast living has been smooth so far. Across the street from where we are staying is a delicious ice cream complex called Richardson's. They make their ice cream from cows that are on site and can be visited behind the store. There were several adorable baby cows. At Richardson's, I ordered a scoop of Death by Chocolate and was offered free jimmies on top. Jimmies were the first sign that I was going to like it here. They are chocolate sprinkles, and a quick Google search to check on the spelling revealed a wide and varied history of the etymology of the word jimmies!

Well, no one gets jimmies for free in California. So of course I was very excited. Yet what was even more exciting was how delicious Richardson's ice cream is!

On Monday, we drove into Connecticut to visit the Hobbit Hole for the first time and receive the keys from our landlords. If you are all wondering why in the world we have been calling it the Hobbit Hole, the reason is this: we heard that our little place was built into a hill, and 14 year old Lacy's biggest dream was to live in the Shire, so we immediately began referring to our new place as the Hobbit Hole. Remember, everyone, to describe something as a hobbit hole is a high compliment. “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort” (Tolkien 1).

We arrived at the Hobbit Hole and it was not really what I had expected at all, but I loved what I found. We parked outside in a spot marked for us, and then walked down some gravel stairs built into the hill and around the main house to reach the Hobbit Hole, which is connected to the main house. It is basically the basement, and backs up to a hill, but has its own entry which opens right into the back yard.

It could totally be something out of the Shire!

When one walks inside the Hobbit Hole, the first thing viewed is a nice entryway, with the kitchen directly in front. There is a lot of storage space in the kitchen, and the oven is electric, which was exciting for me after cooking on a gas stove these past two years or so. Maybe I can actually cook on medium heat now! To the immediate left of the front door is a little bathroom. The floors and walls reminded me of my grandmother's old basement bathroom, which made me feel at home. It was very clean and the shower has a new shower head.

To the right is a small sitting area and the bedroom. A half wall separates the kitchen and the bedroom. There are shelves all over the bedroom and living room, which made us very excited! We had been worried about storing all of our books and now we have superfluous book space! I plan on using some of the shelves to display pictures as well. Therefore a lot of the wall decoration will be books, which I think will give the place a homey atmosphere, yet there will also be room in the bedroom to hang our beloved maps (including, of course, the Game of Thrones maps!).

Window seats and bookcases!

There are two window seats at the front of the Hobbit Hole, on the same wall as the door, and then another one in the bedroom. I have been looking for curtains for us, which became an even more important matter when I saw our new place, because I had not realized (although I believe it was present in the pictures we received) that our carpet is red. Very, very red. It is also very, very soft, and I think the red will be awesome when it turns all grey outside and snows. However, I need to keep the red in mind when searching for curtains!

There are no real closets in the Hobbit Hole, and for that reason we are planning to purchase a bed with storage underneath where we can put our clothes. However, there is a staircase off the kitchen that at one time led to the house. At the top is a locked door, but we have access to the staircase, and we got permission to store bins there. I am going to hang an extendable rod in the staircase to hang suits and jackets. This was a great find that will help us as we figure out where to put everything.

The backyard is so green. Even at the end of summer, it is very green. There is a grassy plain in the middle, with a fire pit and lawn chairs, and behind all that sprawls beautiful plants and trees. There is a path through this area that leads into a little clearing with a bench and a table and two chairs. I think we will love coming here and eating dinner or studying! 

This is the pathway that leads to the clearing.

It is lovely and I am very excited about it! Seeing how adorable our place is made me even more excited to move in and start settling into Connecticut. We also visited the UCONN campus and it is massive. It is like a little city. It is full of lovely brick buildings and of course, lots of trees. At one corner of the campus is an incredible view of rollings hills and cows, which was a nice break from all the trees. If ever the day comes when the trees make me feel a little claustrophobic, I know right where to go.

So far I have been really enjoying my East Coast life! To finish off, I want to put in a link to my theme song for this new era of my life. You can listen to it here. Thanks for reading!