Finally Settling In

Four months later than we anticipated waiting, we have finally moved into our new home in Kin town, Okinawa. We found this apartment back in October and fell in love with it but we were told it wouldn't be available until December. December changed to March and then back to February before all the details were worked out and we were permitted to move in. We lived in a temporary apartment, owned by the same man who owns this one from December 1 until late February. Our household goods remained in storage and we were living with limited furniture and dishes since we've been here. They were delivered to us finally on February 24th. I can't even begin to tell you how happy I was to see our stuff again after 6 months. I've spent the past three weeks unpacking boxes and decorating the house. My back slowed me down a few times but I kept working until it said "enough". The apartment is finally all together and we are enjoying our new location.

Back in 2004 before our move to Colorado, I did a scrapbook page about our home in England. I was reading what I wrote on that page and it sort of sums up the transition from "house to home" so well that I thought I'd share it here.

From the scrapbook page -

What makes a house a home? This is an age-old question that probably has a different answer for each person. I have two places that I call "home"...the house that I grew up in and the house we currently live in. As we begin preparations to make our eleventh move since our marriage in 1983, I find myself reflecting on each of the homes we've had and comparing what it was that made them "home" while we were there. The most obvious answer is that my family was there and wherever I'm living with my family is always home. As I think about it, though, I realize that there's more to it than that. Home is a place where you feel secure, a place where you can be yourself and a place that holds some memories for you. A house is just a house until it experiences that magical touch of "family" within it's walls. It then makes that transition between house and home as it's decorated and it absorbs the smells from meals cooked in its kitchen, baths taken in its bathroom and laundry in its laundry area. It then absorbs all the everyday noises of family with the laughter and tears of everyday life, the sounds of televisions and stereos and the ringing of telephones and knocks on its doors.  The process is gradual and I never quite know when it actually happens but somewhere between that first move-in day and our first year there, the house takes on its own personality, we start to feel comfortable and we know that we are "home" once again.

We are in the midst of that process right now. Oh, how I'd love to have the laughter of my kids and grandkids in this house. We're hopeful a few of them will come.  This is now the 14th home we've lived in together (which includes our three month temporary apartment). Each one has it's own memories associated with it. I've loved everywhere I've been and have never been one to cling to a "place".  We both enjoy the changes that new locations bring to us. We always leave knowing that we've learned something from the people we've met there. We've grown in so many ways from all the changes. Some may think it to be insane to move so much but the insanity of it has made us into better people than we would have been if we'd remained in one place. My high school graduation song was written by a classmate and it talked about "sailing new oceans and leaving old shores".  I guess that theme song could sum up our traveling lives. Many of you who read this blog have blessed our lives along the way and we're so thankful for our friends in many places.

And now, since I've had so many requests to see the new place, the rest of this post will give you a little tour through pictures. It was definitely worth the wait. We will enjoy living so close to the beach this summer. I'll write another post soon to show you the seawall that is just down the hill from us. We have a guest room waiting for any of you who would like to come and visit us and experience a little bit of Japan.  Free lodging and a few meals included. You can't beat it.

View from the entry way.

We love our view as we walk into the living/dining area

View from the kitchen to the living room

Entry way

View from the bar area looking in. We made the bar into
a coffee/tea area. Would rather not have it there because
it makes arranging furniture difficult.

Master Bedroom - has a great ocean view as well....and
a nice walk-in closet.

The View from our balcony.

Pictures of the Grandkids to brighten every morning

So happy to hear Russ's piano playing again. 

Tonsu in the entryway

Our balcony.

Main bathroom shelf

Main bathroom

My Craft Room/Office

Kitchen decor

Wishing I could spoil some grandkids in this kitchen.

Entry way shoe shelf

Russ's Office Desk

Books make a place feel like home

Doing Dishes with this view is pretty cool.

The Commons area for summer parties complete with a grill.

Hope you've enjoyed visiting our new home. It feels good to finally be settled and unpacked. We have fiber optic internet service here so calling on facetime or skype will be more reliable. It's been a rainy spring here and we are looking forward to nicer weather soon to allow us to explore the area on our bikes. I've taken one trek into town and explored a few stores and I've visited my local Daiso (100 yen store) and hardware store. We are close to two smaller bases and I've located those for grocery shopping, gas, post office and smaller BX's. You can see from this map that we are located in the skinny section of the island. (near Ishikawa) The other star marks where Russ works. It's more rural in this area. We are near where much of the farming is done on the island. There are several farmer's markets not too far from here that I hope to explore this week. Sayonara for now.