Monday, March 26, 2018

We are officially home owners in Matthews, North Carolina. Charlotte. Linda got Henrik and Hanna off to school this morning and they both settled in nicely into their new class rooms, teachers and friends.

Linda and I drove to the attorneys office uptown and signed paperwork. Interesting and cool tidbit, unique opportunity, we met our sellers. They are also named Brown, no relation but a very nice couple, lived in the house 18 years.

While waiting for the deed to be registered, Linda and I had a nice lunch. Toured our local YMCA. Went back to pick up our keys and then off to pickup the kids from school, who each had a very good first day.

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Took an Uber to meet the moving truck, who arrived ten minutes early. Linda got the kids to school for their day two. The boxes keep coming.

Kids seem to be doing great at school. They are bonding with their teachers and getting to play outside a lot.

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

Unpacking all day. I am spending the morning rebuilding my shelving in the garage so items stored there will have their home back. Things are starting to get in shape but the journey is long.

Met a neighbor. This is a going to be fun place to live. Evidently the uber locals call our street Mayberry. We will see.

Thursday, March 29, 2018

More unpacking but making a serious dent. I even setup the horse mats in the garage and got in a set of cleans to push press. After seven days of moving and unpacking, getting under some weight unleashed some serious endorphins.

Linda and I took a lunch break and discovered a very nice Indian restaurant. The owner is from Nepal and an interesting guy. It is great to find so much diversity here.

Took a walk Hanna this afternoon, and met another neighbor. Told me she watched our house being build. She has lived here 24 years. Wow.

Friday, March 30, 2018

Completed 99% of our unpacking and tidying. Mopped and vacuumed. Got lunch at a local spot in the back of a Korean market. Amazing.

This is the last weekday before the great big new routine for me, so both kids and I walked to the elementary school playground and played for over an hour. Had a familiar dinner and bedtime.

Saturday, March 31, 2018

Got the baby gates installed and hopped in the car to checkout the local Matthews Library. Fancy place. Kids got in on a great story time and had a blast. Picked out a few books and headed home for lunch and nap and quiet time.

So far, so good.

Week One Observations

• This neighborhood has so many trees, mostly great big old trees
• I saw deer run across our street one morning
• The sidewalks are beautifully imperfect and mostly set back from the street
• The relative humidity is around 45%
• The neighbors are all incredibly friendly
• Evidently your zip code “matters” here? Will get back to you on that one
• To some folks, not all, a perfect lawn is really really important
• There is a constant breeze
• The sound of our screened in porch reminds me of my grandma’s house in Arkansas
• Drivers here on the neighborhood side streets are ridiculously nice and courteous. Main roads not so much

Owen