November 11, 2009. Chevy Chase, Md. Our Condo.

We are pleased with the purchase of our little place in Mississippi. It looked better than we remembered. The former owner left the furniture, dishes, vacuum cleaners, cutlery and glasses, so all we needed to purchase was a new mattress and box spring. Christina and Andrew made up the bed with their sheets and Ken found a comforter in the closet, so we were ready to move right in when we arrived. They also left us with towels. When we drive down for Christmas, we will bring our own belongings from here.

In addition, we left a box of our clothes and supplies with Andrew and Christina, so when we put away our belongings, we could function quite well. The first thing the next morning, we shopped at our closest grocery store. Fortunately it is a wonderful store, so we have supplied the apartment with every essential object. Now we are ready for Christmas in Mississippi. I have been packing dishes and glass wear and teapots and towels, so we will have a full truck for our journey.

Now we know where to put the trash and retrieve our mail, and how to open the gate with the remote control button. But the best part is the view from our condo at night. The large homes opposite from us on a channel of the lake look so appealing. And when we drove away, a big blue heron was sitting on the rock, right in front of our place, fishing for breakfast. I hope he is there when we return.