Moving Day

Monday my sister Addie and her husband Artie moved from my house where they'd been temporarily staying to their ADORABLE NEW FOREST CABIN in Grass Valley, California.

I got to drive Art's Volvo station wagon and listen to nostalgic old homemade tapes the whole way there on a drizzly afternoon, following the caravan of moving-day helpers (aka Dad, Joey, Nick, Addie, Art). Turning onto Rattlesnake Road out in the country with the pine trees and yellow leaves stark against the swirly gray sky, deep into the forest with red mud underfoot and smoke creeping up from chimneys, tired little porches and weathered wooden cottages, with the heater on and listening to old Tori Amos songs, well I almost cried at the cozy sweetness of that drive.

Then to see their new red house nestled up to the woods, with the smell of woodsmoke and rainy earth and the slight countryish smell of harvesttime, my heart sang for them as they get to explore and nest in their new home.

Moving is not such a fun occassion to most people, and everyone was opposed (!) to me taking pictures. So these are really all I got to show the new home:

Addie and Art bustling by on the front porch:

All the boys successfully moving in the PIANO, object of much exasperation when it comes to moving:

And of course, ultimately important in any Beatty home: the cats. Grabby and Owl immediately found safe hiding places in the tiny closet shelves and stayed firmly settled there until the chaos died down. I think they're going to love romping around in their new forest yard once they have full rule of the roost.

The best part of the day was when they took us out for delicious pizza and pitchers of Anchor Steam at the coolest local Roadhouse with the cutest waitresses and most amazing homemade jalapeno ranch dressing for dipping!

Sad part: now I wake up in the morning and miss having coffee and gabbing with my lovely sis. But we've decided someday we'll all live together again, in neighboring houses on our communal family farm!