Well, we're in.

Actually, we've been in for weeks now. Chris had his Permissive TDY (getting settled in time) the week before the week of Christmas, and despite lots of sleeping, gaming, and farting around on the computer, we did manage to make a good dent in the unpacking. It's almost 11pm here right now, or I'd take pictures. I'll try to remember to in the morning when there's natural light to make the pictures show up better.

Also, I found my digital camera so I shouldn't have to subject y'all to cell phone pics anymore. :)

Empty Apartment. 3 of 3

Empty Apartment. 2 of 3

Empty Apartment. 1 of 3

Please pardon the low photo quality. I took the pictures with my BlackBerry.

A little farther along.

I originally posted this last night. Today Chris and I went to the PX for a few more important things (dish soap, sponges, a laundry basket, folding chairs, etc.) and while he was impressed with the job I'd done setting up (he also put up the shower curtain, but the cheap set I got the rings are nearly too small so I'll have to get more but that's okay and oh yeah I tend to ramble and type in long run-on sentence fragments), but he also told me that I shouldn't have blown up the air mattress yet anyway because if we left the air in it would get "fatigued."

Oh.

NOW he tells me.

:P

Anyhow...

I slept in until noon so I could do laundry after midnight, 'cause then I'll have all three washers and all three dryers to myself. And I slept unusually soundly so that's always good.

Once I got up I worked on my next scarf for Peggy (though I'm gonna start keeping some things I make for my own stock so I can have craft fair booths in the spring), and when Chris got home I went and took some stuff (mostly yarn and the air mattress, pillows and bedding we'd gotten the day before) to the new place. I'm finally learning my way to the places I go regularly! :)

As I was getting ready to fill the air mattress with air I realized that the plug-in pump was meant to be plugged into a car's cigarette lighter, not into a wall socket.

...oops.

Oh, well, so I looked like a total doofus while filling up the air mattress outside. I am a big doofus. There was a little girl who came over and watched me. We said hi but that's about it.

I lugged it back inside and put on the fitted sheet and the comforter (bedspread, doona, whatever you wanna call it) on, and put the regular size pillows into jumbo size pillow shams (they look kinda ridiculous :P), and now we have what passes for a bed. Nice.

Once that was done I went to the PX and got important things like a shower curtain, bath towels, and paper plates. And a pan to add to the food I could prepare without a microwave or toaster. More than that, but that sort of thing.

I put that stuff in the car and drove to the other end of the parking lot where the commissary is and got basic foodstuffs that should tide us over just fine until we get our household goods (which include our microwave, toaster, and toaster oven, not to mention our pans for stuff like pancakes and grilled cheese). I got the groceries in paper so I could use the paper bags as trash bags until we get our trash cans.

I took all that stuff home and put it away--well, the kitchen stuff. I'll upload the pictures I took with my phone once my phone is recharged. The bathroom stuff I just left in the bathroom to do later. It's gonna take a couple of trips in our little car to get everything over there and besides, we're gonna be at this post for three years so what's the rush? :P

I'll post pictures once I get them off my phone. :)

Well, we are *actually* at Fort Drum now.

And we've seen the place we're gonna be.

And "crackerbox" is unfortunately accurate. I was surprised--I thought that with a much bigger base that we'd have a bigger housing unit but the place we'll be moving into is basically a small two-bedroom apartment with a garage (and a bit of storage space past where the car fits in).

Not too bad--it'd be awesome if I were single--but for the two of us, and all our stuff? We're both a bit of pack rats and I'm not sure where all that's gonna go, to be honest.

But we'll figure it out, and probably either sell a bunch of stuff on eBay or have a big ol' yard sale in the spring, or both!

And we have to buy our own washer and dryer because these fucking Privatization people took the washers and dryers out. They said something about people taking them with them when they moved but that sounds like absolute bullshit to me. That can't be happening on a big enough scale to warrant removing all the washers and dryers from every unit. So now we get to buy a washer and dryer out of pocket. Might as well get a good high-efficiency one, 'cause it saves on detergent, and also I remember how much cleaner my clothes got when I used my mom's only-a-few-years-old high-efficiency washer and dryer.

At least I was already planning to decorate on the cheap.

And some good things--there's a bit of fenced-in yard for us, and our upstairs neighbors (yeah, *mumblegrumblebitch*) have a balcony which means we have an awning so I'll be able to put up my "Olive Garden" outdoor lights. (I call 'em that because they're the kind you see inside Olive Garden and I don't know what else to call them to distinguish them from fairy lights/holiday lights.)

And there's a nice decent-size storage closet in the apartment too. Chris will have the garage for his TA-50 (military stuff), 'cause I want that closet for storing my art stuff, since whether I get a wage-earning job here or not (and I plan to because I don't like being unemployed, though technically I work from home now), I'll still be making stuff for my Etsy shop, and "wholesaling" stuff to Peggy, who has a booth at the PX through the winter and she's been buying my goods (mostly scarves but a few hats-that-double-as-handbags and scrunchies) so even if that's not all that profitable, at least there's some money coming in that I earned myself.

Geeky Kit(s)chen Ideas.

All are from ThinkGeek.com

Doctor Who Cookie Jar



5-Minute Cupcake Maker (which I will probably use to make all sorts of muffins for the most part)



Molecular Gastronomy Starter Kit



Tetris--I mean ICEBLOX--Ice Cubes

Inexpensive and Useful but Pretty Decor.

Rotating Design

• A wall of calendars
• A small shelf of "featured" books
• A row of clipboards over a desk (and clipboards by bedroom doors, in the kitchen, by doors that go outside)
• Clothesline-type strings with binder clips or clothespins holding photos, greeting cards, or postcards

Don't Buy What You Can Make

• Desk and Kitchen organizers
• Table runners and coffee table covers
• Washcloths and scrubbers
• Blankets and pillows
  

In the Beginning.

No pictures yet, just a whole bunch of ideas. Right now we're still in Alaska, looking forward to the move. Next week I'll be calling Fort Drum housing so we can get on their list. Once we get there and actually get housing, there'll be pictures of the place. Right now, there's no place.

I'm starting this blog early to list ideas. :)