Change is chaos but home is where you hang your hat

What it comes down to is this-very few things are needed for a settled daily life. Shelter and a place to sleep well, warmth, food, water and the ability to have a routine to clean oneself and stay healthy. The animals show us this daily, and in the move, they were provided with all of the above, just in different surroundings. They took it in stride, and to most of it, so did we.

The move forced us to strip down to basics for five days on the road. Although we did have our iphones, but basically we were camping in stalls. But as I lay in bed this morning I was thinking about how unsettling a move can be, and why. Is it the fact the furniture is in different spots, or that you don't know what time the mail comes, or where the best place to buy printer ink is? Is it that nobody knows who you are as they drive by your house, and you as the newcomer don't know the histories of each house and the quirks of nearby locals?

The first days of a move in to a new home are chaotic-chaotic to the point that is exciting and like an adventure. The empty house we arrived to clear of any furniture or "stuff" was so soothing really. There was a certain smell too, that is now gone, replaced by our smell. The dust here now is ours, not theirs. As we sat on the back porch, our new go-to spot last night sipping wine, I smelled that scent the house had when when we moved in 2 weeks ago, but then it was gone, blown away in the breeze.

In the first days there are no bad memories, and no knowledge of nearby property owners you might have issues with. It was nice unpacking cherished items this week, and I started to get a feel for my new studio space upstairs-an all white room, including painted floors, a dormer room that faces the field and apple trees with an office space next door complete with a sitting alcove to gaze out at the same trees, and soon-the new barn and horse field.

As hard as we have been working, I am also taking time to sit, and enjoy my animals. They are all troopers. We put the old traveling Rosie stall in the paddock, I thought it would be a perfect hiding spot for short Misfits. In fact, I immediately showed it to Scooby Keith, because he likes to be with Boone, but the donkeys were being a bit rambunctious with him.

"Scooby," I said as I pushed him into the hut, "You can hide here if needed, just remember that."

Last night as the donkeys were out grazing and Boone was dozing, I found Scooby in the hut. He captured what I said above-a home is a place you hang your hat, and create a life around the walls you are surrounded by.