When I Say It's a Small Town...

According to the interwebz, the town I now live in has a population of just under 3,700 people.

If you're like me, that number alone doesn't really mean much to you.  By comparison, the town I moved from, which I thought was a small town, has a population of a little more than 47,000.  That sounds like a lot of people, but living there, it felt like a small town to me.  Of course, I moved there from Cincinnati, which has a population of more than 296,000.  Anyway, by comparison, 3,700 people sounds small, doesn't it?

But here's what it means, practically speaking.

There are six places to eat in town: McDonald's, Pizza Hut, Dominoes (which is carry out and delivery only), Subway, a little diner, and a Chinese restaurant.  Oh, and there is the gas station/deli, called Pump and Deli.  So seven places to eat, if you count that.

There is one grocery store, a fairly small Kroger.  There is no Walmart.  There is a theater that shows one movie.  There is a small hardware store, but no Lowe's, no Home Depot, and no Menard's.  There are more churches than restaurants.  The city municipal building is about the size of a small home.  I live in the county seat and the county general hospital is nearby.  I'm pretty sure my high school was larger than this hospital, and I  went to a pretty small high school; I've seen nursing homes bigger than this hospital.

I bet there are more chicken than people in this town.  Probably more cows, too.  You can buy fresh eggs all over the place.  Drive down any country road and you'll see a number of signs at the end of long gravel driveways, saying something like "Free Range Brown Eggs for Sale."  You just knock on the door and ask for a dozen.  But not on Sundays.  A lot of people around here won't sell anything on Sundays.

This is what I mean when I say it's a small town.

Adjusting to a New Place

Isaac and I are all moved in now.  By that, I mean that all my stuff is here at the new apartment.   All my stuff is not put away yet.  I'm still working on that.  I am exhausted.  Isaac
says he is worn out, too, although I'm not sure why because he did not do much work.

We are both adjusting to being in a new place.  I didn't sleep well last night, which is nothing new for me, and I expected I would have some trouble sleeping in a new place.  It's hard to get used to new sounds and stuff like that.  I had nightmares about the hospital last night.

I'm working with Isaac, helping him get used to things here.  We've been practicing turning on lights in all the rooms, so he can get used to where the light switches are here.  I've been having him bring me my medication, so he can get used to where it's kept here.  There is an elevator in our building, and Isaac has learned the word "elevator" now; I ask him, "Where's the elevator?" and he trots down the hall to it.

He barks sometimes when he hears someone in the hallway or hears another apartment door slam shut.  He's just letting me know he heard something.  He's not real worried about it, but he's not sure what noises are normal here and what noises aren't.  This afternoon I started rewarding him with a yummy treat if we hear a noise and he doesn't bark.  I say, "Quiet," and praise him, and give him a treat.

Virtual Tour of My New Apartment: Before

Here is the "before" tour of my apartment.  There are some things in it already, it's not completely empty, but there's no furniture yet and it's pretty disorganized.  It might be a couple weeks before you get the "after tour," we'll see how quickly I work.

Here's the outside of the building.

And here's my front door.

The sign on the door says, "Working Service Dog Lives Here."  At the bottom it says, "In Accordance with ADA Regulations, Dog is Non-Aggressive.  Do Not Separate Service Dog from Handler."  That's for emergency purposes, like if the building is on fire and the fire fighters have to break down the door to rescue me and Isaac.

And this is the entryway of my apartment.  There's Isaac, lounging on the floor.

This is the living room.  That's Isaac's blankie in the floor.

Here's the bedroom.

And here are a couple pictures of the kitchen.

And the bathroom (which is mostly done already).

Driving to My Apartment

I'm going to post a photo tour of my apartment soon, but I thought I'd post some pics of the drive to my apartment first.  My apartment is in a tiny town in the middle of nowhere, which is one of the things I like about it.  Whichever direction from which you approach, it looks pretty much like this.

Update: Doula Agreed to Refund

That was actually easy.  Thank goodness.  It's about time something was easy!