Six months already?

Getting Around

We've been here six months now, and I'm finally starting to make sense of my surroundings. I've been thrown by the so-called grid system; I'm used to grids having some sort of naming pattern. Here, there are a handful of streets downtown that are numbered, but otherwise there isn't any way to know which streets go which way. That I've found, anyway. Plus, the river cutting through things and making a mess of any grid doesn't really help.

But now I've started to learn the major roads, and which ones are N-S and which ones are E-W. Which ones go all the way across; which ones merge into something else; which ones access the highways. (The latter being key to ending my confusion.)

I've become fond of the logic of some naming schemes. What runs past Northwood as Plymouth Road becomes Plymouth-Ann Arbor Road when it leaves town. And then when it gets to Plymouth, it becomes just Ann Arbor Road. Realizing this has really helped local geography fall into place in my head. It's eminently logical! And so much easier when there aren't 5 different Washington Streets in the same metro area.

I've also finally learned the difference between Washington and Washtenaw. I had trouble keeping them straight for a while when people were giving verbal directions. That caused no end of disasters!

Weather

It's actually been nicer here than back home, so I hear. Which is my way of saying we've barely kept any snow on the ground. A pleasant surprise.

However, being this far west in the time zone is still throwing me for a loop. It doesn't get light out until really late. Which makes it difficult to get up in the morning. I'm working from home, so I don't have a regular routine that pushes me out the door at the same time every morning.

Which is bad for me in the long run. It's cold and dark out, and so I hole up in the house. I really need some warm springtime soon, with the return of daylight.

The worst part is how deserted it feels in Northwood. In the warmer months, there were kids running around laughing and playing. As soon as it got cold, it's like a ghost town outside. None of the kids play outside, and even the adults are scarce. It's dead quiet. Empty. Instead of feeling like a thriving community like it used to, it reflects the barrenness of winter. (OTOH, there has been one loud party in all the months we've lived here. That's worlds better than J.P.)

Settling In

We've adapted to the apartment. With the storage space in the basement, there's plenty of room for two people. (I still can't figure out where people fit several children in here, though.) And we've even managed to make the kitchen work most of the time. (No room for large-scale cookie projects, however.) We've joined Costco, and have shelves in the basement now to use as a pantry. (And the chest freezer we got for Christmas makes a huge difference.)

I'm missing rugs a little bit. It's senseless to buy one for such temporary housing (plus my allergist would be decidedly unhappy), but in a complex where each unit is identical and we can't paint, or put things on the walls, a splash of color from a rug makes a difference. Helps a room feel warmer.


But the one thing that really drives me crazy is the bathroom. I really, really, really miss having a window in the bathroom. I miss the light, and I miss the fresh air. The mold stains were here when we arrived, and we can never tell what's new mold to be killed, and what we can't control - because it's permanently stained.

I also miss a larger tub. And the lovely tiling, and multiple towel bars, and all the useful things that made our last bathroom sunny, spacious, and clean. There are shelves in the cubby, but the bathroom is so damp and humid all the time that we're limited in what we can keep there.

It's clear we were spoiled with a way-above-average bathroom at the last apartment, and are doomed to perpetual disappointment everywhere we go.

However, we're slowly going to move the rest of our stuff out of storage and into the basement here when we can. There's space in the basement to tuck things away. I wish we'd known that last summer - we would have just had everything on the moving truck and not worried about the storage unit or trying to transport things after the fact. But the goal will be to have everything in one place for next time. (And I'll have my books back. No complaints there :)

Overall

It's cold and dark and lonely; Arthur is out all day for school, and I'm working at home on the couch. But we're slowly meeting people and finding places we like and it's starting to feel homey.