Home is Where You Unpack Your Boxes

Blogger has a new interface, just in time for a new season of Letters from Doha. Sort of like a fresh start. And convenient for me, as I've suffered from procrastination, avoidance, lack of inspiration, jet-lag and move exhaustion when it comes to writing anything lately.  I've been getting used to this new system - I can now cite "technically incompetent" as my official excuse for not writing.

After arriving in Doha on August 11, we had three full nights' sleep in our own beds (or maybe not sleep, but whatever that thing is that you get when trying to get over an eight-hour time difference).  On the fourth morning, the movers arrived to pack up our belongings and transfer them over to our new home: a brand-new villa in a brand-new compound.

The scheduling gods weren't on my side when it came to having Dan take care of the move while we were in Canada.  But there are some benefits to moving after such a long trip.  For example, I didn't put a lot of unnecessary planning into the move, as I was preoccupied with last-minute shopping, visiting, and eating bacon.  Our old house was relatively organized when we arrived home because Dan had been there for five weeks on his own after we left, and he had taken care of a lot of pre-move issues.  And, if you're going to be tired and cranky from jet-lag anyway, you might as well add the stress of moving to that, instead of being tired and cranky for a whole week on two separate occasions.

Our villa

After two and a half days, all of our things were moved over to the new house.  A week after that, we were mostly unpacked.  Like our old house, this one is fully furnished, but of course there are some differences and there are still some things we need to get to fill in the gaps.  When we weren't unpacking, the kids and I spent most of that first week shopping for things like bedding, rugs and lamps.

Front entrance

We're nicely settled now and every day I find another reason to like this new place.  We are now a seven-minute drive to MegaMart (joy!), and just over 10 minutes to Villaggio Mall, where the boys play hockey.  And, the kids no longer have to get up at 6:00 am to catch their school bus.  It's a luxury to sleep until 6:30!

Back patio

Here are some pics from before we had our pictures hung up today.  Sorry for the screwy lay-out - still trying to figure out this new interface!

Kitchen

Dining room

Breakfast nook

Kitchen

Master bedroom balcony

Master bedroom

J's room

B's room

Second floor family room

N's room

N's room
(complete with air hockey table
and balcony)