DR is OK so far

Got down here without any issue. Getting through the airport was a breeze- this was the easiest country to "enter" we've encountered so far. Resort is beautiful. Getting ready to take lots of pics and have a few Presidente Beers. Well, it's only 8:24 AM, so that last part may have to wait a couple of hours...

Carolina life so far

We're still a bit shell-shocked, but beginning to settle in.

Some good things about living in Greenville:
* Proximity to family and old friends - Over the past few weeks, we've been to Franklin to visit M&P, they came down to visit us, we spent a weekend in Charleston w/Dad/Judy/Michelle/April/Anastasia, Rhonda's been to Tryon several times, Courtney and Katheren have been down several times separately and apart to spend the night, and Jason/Shauna/Kayla/Amara spent a weekend with us. It's especially nice having Courtney and Katheren able to pop in just about any time. Courtney's spent the most time of any company, and is remarkably easy to manage for a youngster.
* A small, but blossoming, beer culture - There's only one Portland (AKA "Beervana", AKA "Munich on the Willamette"), but there are a few spots to quench your thirst here. The Blue Ridge Brewing Company and the Greenville location of Barley's Taproom (best beer bar selection-wise in the state) are in the middle of downtown, a 25-minute walk/5-minute drive away.
* Pimento cheese - I'd forgotten this was anything more than a mayonnaise-laden orange goo at the grocery store, but the "real deal" is chunky, spicy and delicious! I'm addicted (and apparently, quite easy to please). I'm making it my personal mission to find the best version in town, and am planning to work on a recipe at home, too. Shrimp n' grits merits mention as well- love this stuff.

Some of the not-so-good-things about living in Greenville: Well, it's not Greenville's fault, but another old house means a never-ending list of chores, renovations and updates. Most recently, I spent a lot of time over the past week laying down insulation in the attic. It's about as much fun as it sounds, with long hours in a hot attic spent in long pants/shirts, gloves and a dust mask that keeps the dust out of your lungs, but not out of your eyeballs. Fall-through-the-ceiling accident count: 0. Dead bird count: 7 (I replaced the screen on all the attic vents, which should hopefully prevent unwanted winged visitors in the future).

Sometime soon, I'll tackle insulating the crawlspace. We also decided to pull the trigger on some new windows. We may be broke this winter, but will hopefully be toasty.

Attic before:

Attic after:
Rhonda, Courtney and Katheren finished painting the guest bedroom (we'd been saving it so Katheren could help). Now we've got ourselves a rainbow much like we had in the old house. Still haven't gotten all our pictures on the walls, but it's begining to feel a little more homey, if not quite home yet.

The girls' handiwork:

Off to the Dominican Republic on Thursday for a few days of well-earned (at least I like to think so) R&R.