We're going to miss this view

When I arrived in Unalaska, Rich was living in a studio apartment with a Murphy bed. From July till October that year, I was still living out of boxes stacked against the wall, and spent every day negotiating around the bed jutting out into the living room. Needless to say, I was happy to move to this duplex with two bedrooms and our own washer and dryer, even though they were crammed into the bathroom (at least no more trudging down the stairs to the laundry room). One of the best things about our house is the view out our front door--the bay, the boats, the hills, the sunrises and sunsets over the water, the eagles playing in our yard, and the freedom our cats have to run around outside without much fear of anything happening to them.

Over 5 1/2 years, I've gone from being grateful for this house to being a bit gripey about its size. Funny how that happens. I say "I" because Rich has been pretty content. I've been the one saying, "I wish we had more room! We can't ever have anyone over!" Seriously, we have a table and two chairs squeezed into the already-small kitchen, not too conducive to a dinner party. We can fit a couple of extra people into the living room (if we take the two chairs out of the kitchen). Rich "makes do" really well while cooking, but even he admits he'd like more space.

But we live in company housing and it's FREE, so how can I really complain?! I am truly grateful for this wonderful benefit, I promise. However, over the past several months, there's been talk of an open apartment up on the hill--a downstairs duplex that's been remodeled and has a bigger kitchen. I've been sorta nagging Rich about it--"just look into it and if you really don't want to move, I will stop bringing it up!" Last week we went to see it and it seemed HUGE! The kitchen is much bigger, there's a separate small dining area, the living room is larger, there's a laundry room, even a dishwasher! (Yes, I am currently the dishwasher in our house). We both fell in love with it. Rich put in an application and, coincidentally, the housing committee was meeting within a few days. I haven't wanted to say anything in case it didn't work out, and we steeled ourselves that we might not get it so we wouldn't be disappointed. But yes, as you've concluded by now, we were approved! Yippeeeeee! I am so excited!

I'm not exactly sure when we will move in, but I have spent Saturday packing boxes while Rich was working a 13 hour day. It's amazing how much stuff we have accumulated! We will certainly miss the sights from this place--we have the one of the best views in all of UniSea housing, but I have to admit I am willing to trade it for more space. From our new spot, we can still see Bunker Hill and can keep an eye on the comings and goings from the Harbor View Bar and Grill. haha We are a little worried about the cats but hopefully they will quickly adjust to their new environment.

Before any of this came up, Rich had arranged to take off this coming week since he has not yet had any vacation this year. Bless his heart, guess how he will be spending his time? And he just thought he was going to get to laze around the house for a week. :)