Since so many people have emailed, Tweeted and texted Mom wanting to know the status of our my house, I figured I would update you. If we wait for her to do it, you’ll be waiting a long time. Luckily, I’m up for the task.

It’s been a long road to this point. We packed up our San Francisco apartment in April 2011, then spent the summer going on an epic road trip, then came back to Tennessee where I have been living with my grandparents, great-grandfather and six five other dogs (RIP Kasper, who passed this summer) for the past 14 months. It’s hard getting a little peace and quiet when you live in a circus ring.

Then, after purchasing our new (old) house—it was built in the 1800s!—we spent nearly two months renovating before moving in. And when I say “we,” obviously I mean “I.”

I went all Dexter on this joint. On top of doing all the grunt work myself, I also have to manage these amateurs and make sure they don’t screw anything up.

Sigh, it’s so hard finding good help these days.

We officially moved in 12 days ago and finally have rid the house of the rooms full of boxes full of crap that Mom and Dad accumulated over the years.

The house is far from done—I will be painting and scraping ceilings and other small tasks for months to come; Mom agreed to host a handful of Christmas parties and guests so we’re on a tight deadline…for now—but my bedroom is more or less set up, which is the most important part, wouldn’t you say?

All this dust and paint means I’m subject to the dreaded “b” word every few days. LAME.

Still, I’m just happy to be away from my pesky little brother—though he doesn’t live too far, so I wind up seeing him every couple of days anyway when we go to my grandparents’ house for dinner or Homeland marathons.

But my new house and yard are killer—there’s so much space for me to roam, and I’m no longer subject to doing my business on puppy pads as I was all those months as a San Francisco city dog.

Except for that pesky Squirrel Team 6 that lives out back and taunts me from the window. Much of my afternoons are passed barking at those disgusting rodents from the upstairs. One day, they will be mine. (You have been warned, Squirrels.)

I’ve also spent time getting to know the locals (aka dinner).

So yeah, life is good at the moment.

No complaints from this pup.

xo,

Ella