On Friday (the day after tomorrow!!!), Richard will send in his final papers, and thus will complete his first semester of his PhD! In honor of this momentous occasion, we are having Junk-food-palooza 2009, wherein we participate in copious amounts of all of our favorite activities. First, we will consume copious amounts of junk food (that I never buy/make) including chili dogs, Pringles, cookies, and anything else Richard requests before Friday. Then, we will watch disks 1 and 2 of Eureka Season 1 (which are arriving via Netflix tomorrow). Finally, we will play several rounds of Skip-bo and maybe a round of Ticket to Ride, Scrabble, and Sequence. Basically, we're cramming all of the quality time we missed this semester into one night (sure to result in indigestion and a TV hangover). I can hardly wait!!!

Once in college, I tried to convince a friend to have an all-night Gilmore Girls marathon, jammed full of all the junk food we could eat. She was dubious, but politely ate a slice of pizza and watched a few episodes, but ultimately threw in the towel.

When I mentioned the idea of Junk-food-palooza to Richard, he was not only extremely enthusiastic, but also willing to brainstorm the perfect night of "letting it all hang out" in celebration of the end of the semester. And that, folks, is how I know I married the perfect man (for me).

All over our apartment complex, there are small rosemary bushes (are they called bushes?) planted. Charlie LOVES these things- or more specifically, loves to rub up against them right before peeing on them. Delightful! But it explains why he always smells like my favorite bread from Panera or fancy herb-encrusted soap!

You guys are never going to believe what happened to me today. Are you ready?

I slipped on a banana peel. I KNOW! A BANANA PEEL!? I couldn't stop laughing- and I was in the middle of a pretty busy parking lot, so that was a bit awkward.

In other, less cartoon related news, it snowed (like a week ago)!



The nice thing about snow here is that it only snows above a certain elevation (much higher than where we live), so we get to see incredible snow-covered mountains without the inconveniences of actual snow. While it's cold enough up there for the snow to still be around, down here, it's a balmy 62 degrees today. Definitely warm enough to slip on a banana peel rather than ice.

Did I mention I got a library card? I did!

A cool thing about the library here is that it is part of the LA County Library system, and you can request books from other branches online. In fact, I can access my entire account online. I guess the LA County Library is taking a cue from Netflix, because as you check out books, it keeps track of your "favorite" authors and genres and will then make suggestions based on what you've checked out before.

My first week at the library, I only checked out two books- A Mercy by Toni Morrison and The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski. Which I guess is why, under favorite genres, my account says "Fiction--Fratricide."

So there you have it. My subconscious feelings about my siblings as revealed to me by my library card. Better watch out, Amanda and Andrew.

Tap, tap. Is this thing on?

Sorry for that unintended interruption. Like most things in life, it was my parents' fault. Just kidding. Sort of. My parents came to visit for the entire week of Thanksgiving, and they kept us super busy- in the best possible way.

We showed them around the village, Rich's school, and our church. I took them on a wild goose chase of a scenic drive through the mountains- three out of three plans failed that day, but we still had fun just being together. We took a tour of Hollywood, saw the footprints and handprints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater (oddly mesmerizing), and watched a (five hour!) taping of New Adventures of Old Christine. I hadn't actually seen the show before, but it was a super fun experience. And the only time I've seen celebrities in person- Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Eric McCormack. We went to Disneyland- Rich's first time at any Disney venue. And a lady hit me in the head with a cup full of popcorn (accidentally, I think).

Most importantly, though, I cooked a giant meal including my first ever turkey. Thanks to Martha, I came up with the brilliant idea of spatchcocking my bird (that's really a word), and so that 12 pound turkey was ready to eat in less than two hours. All in all, a great week and a lot of fun to show Mom and Dad where we live and why we like living here so much. I was sad when they left, but Christmas is only a few weeks away, and we will see them then (plus some additional awesome people, including Rich's parents).

Today I was boiling some water on the stove for pasta. As I was stirring in the spaghetti, some water splashed out of the pot and hit me in the stomach, resulting in a slightly burned belly and a damaged ego. I manage to burn myself on anything and everything!

Happy Birthday, Richard!

Today is Rich's birthday! He is a year older, a year smarter, a year wiser. I'm so grateful he's in my life.

Here are a few pictures of the apartment, as promised.


Living room


Other side of the living room (the view to the right as you walk in the front door)


The dining room (the view to the left as you walk in the door)

Yesterday, I went to Disneyland! And today, I am battling Disneyland hangover. Man, going to an amusement park really takes it out of you. A friend from church used to work at Disney World, and he gets into Disneyland free anytime and can bring up to 6 guests for free. Talk about an excellent perk! A bunch of other people had season passes, and so that's how I spent the day with a group of 13 people- 8 adults and 5 kids. We all had a blast, and I even enjoyed hanging out with the kiddos (believe it or not)! Richard couldn't afford to spend an entire day away from the books, so he opted to stay at home. That was really the only downer of the day.

Yesterday was the start of the Christmas season at Disneyland, so there were decorations everywhere and some of the rides were different. "It's a Small World" was transformed into "Joy to the Small World," and the "Haunted Mansion" was decorated like Nightmare Before Christmas. Also, the regular nightly parade was a Christmas theme, finishing with the impressive feat of snow on the parade route. Real snow- blowing out of snowmakers mounted to the top of buildings!

All in all, with the exception of Rich's absence, yesterday was a treat!

Tomorrow, I'll post some pictures of our living room and dining room of the new apt. Get excited.

We had our first house guests in our new home yesterday/today! Our good friends, Abigail and Brett, stopped by on their trans-continental Army-induced adventure. Brett has been serving in Afghanistan, and he has only been back in the country for a week or so.

Brett is a friend from the good old days at TCU. Brett introduced us to his (then) fiance Abigail at a wedding several years ago, and Abigail and I became fast friends at a lingerie shower that weekend. It's amazing how quickly you bond with someone when looking at another woman's underwear. Abigail has the incredible ability to throw herself into social situations I would die just thinking about- for example, attending one of your husband's college friend's lingerie shower. She even travelled from Washington to Fort Worth for another of Brett's friends' wedding last year without Brett! She is one brave cookie, and she is an incredibly graceful person.

Rich and I had a lot of fun seeing them, catching up, and hearing about Brett and Abigail's upcoming adventures. You can read Abigail's blog (which she updates with incredible regularity) at http://abigailsday.blogspot.com/.

Richard and I each recently wrote our senators, Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein, to ask them to support an act we care about. Richard has to date received a response from BOTH senators, while I have received a response from NEITHER! What in the world!? I'm beginning to wonder if they got my letters, or if they saw that we wrote from the same address and only responded once? Rich hypothesizes that he has received responses because he always puts "Rev." in front of his name. I think stretching the truth about your current ministerial status should not merit responses from politicians (or their interns).

Any one else have any ideas about what happened?

I may have mentioned that our new apartment has a dishwasher! We also have about three times the counter space, four times the cabinets, a double sink, and a full-sized oven for the first time in our marriage. And though I've always cooked a lot, since I am home all the time now, I'm making a lot more things from scratch. All of these factors have converged to form the perfect storm for my small kitchen appliance use. I've always loved my food processor, mixer, and blender, but never before have they gotten such heavy duty use.

Last week, I used the food processor three times: to chop veggies for the week's salads, to make graham cracker crumbs for a cheesecake crust, and to chop cranberries for vanilla cranberry coffee cake. The blender is used almost every day for smoothies for breakfast. The mixer is used for every single baked item- pizza dough, coffee cake, cheesecake, bread, whatever.

In the old kitchen, it seemed like using these appliances was often more hassle than it was worth. Each one took up at least half the counter and meant more dishes to wash (by hand). I only used the appliance if the task was impossible (or near impossible) to complete by hand. Now, it's no big deal to get out the blender, and I've gotten much lazier in my cooking (even though I cook more)!

Tonight, we're having butternut squash soup... brought to you courtesy of the blender.

I bake a lot of desserts with apples, especially in the fall. I always end up with tons of apple peels that I feel really guilty about throwing away. But honestly, you can only eat so many apple peels. So, imagine my delight when I saw a suggestion online that, instead of throwing away apple peels, you toss them in cinnamon and sugar and bake them until they are crispy around the edges- making apple peel "chips."



I decided I'd try this today after making Autumn Cheesecake. Sadly, they taste just like you'd think baked apple peels taste- dry and crunchy and fairly tasteless (except for the cinnamon and sugar). I did eat them all though, which is better than throwing apple peels away? Probably not- more like a waste of perfectly good cinnamon and sugar. Try it! You're sure to be disappointed, just like me.

Yesterday, I had the joyous experience of visiting the DMV. I now have a California driver's license, and my Texas license had a big hole through it. I guess that means we're officially staying here (because signing an 18 month lease didn't really make that official). You can make an appointment for the DMV online, which is a great idea. However, when I tried to make an appointment, the next available time was at the end of November, so I just decided to go and risk being caught at the DMV all day long.

The DMV wasn't as bad as I had expected. I took water, coffee, knitting, a book, a crossword puzzle, and a notebook to make lists in with me. They ended up just weighing me down since I spent less than 5 minutes actually waiting and needed to fill out a long form during that time. Though I didn't wait long, going through all of the steps necessary took almost an hour. First, I spoke with the people at the "Start Here" line, who confirmed my paperwork and handed me a number. Then I waited until my number was called and spoke with a woman who entered my information into the computer and took my money. Then I walked to another desk and waited to have my picture taken. My new picture is decidedly worse than my last one. After that, I walked to a roped off area where I waited to take a written test. After I bubbled in all of my answers, I waited for the test to be graded. The three people in front of me failed, so I wasn't feeling overly confident. I passed, though, and then waited in line one last time. Finally, a woman entered my testing information into the computer and printed out my temporary driver's license. In all, I spoke with 4 people and waited in 6 (!) different lines/waiting areas. I also saw one man completely lose it (he was angry they were charging him $18 to replace his title), saw a woman in a full burka, and a man talking on his cell phone while driving in the DMV parking lot (illegal in the state of California).

All in all, it was interesting, though not an experience I'm excited to repeat any time soon.

I forgot to mention this, but Richard had a paper accepted for presentation! He will be presenting his paper called “Excavating the Significance of Nazareth Via the Church of the Nazarene” at the Wesleyan Theological Society meeting in Spring 2010. Conveniently, the meeting is right down the road in Pasadena. I'm so proud of him- this is a huge achievement!

Joshua Tree National Park

We went camping this weekend, and it was quite eventful!

Rich and I left early Friday afternoon and headed toward Joshua Tree National Park. Charlie was comfortably being boarded, as he is the only dog in the universe who hates camping. Joshua Tree is only about two hours away from us, and it was a fun drive down I-10. We saw lots of windmills and saw towns we never knew existed, including Beaumont, California!



When we arrived, we quickly set up camp- we’re pros at putting up our tent now! Dinner the first night was chicken, carrots, potatoes, onions, zucchini, and peppers cooked in foil packets over the fire. Richard and Boy Scouts nationwide call these silver turtles, but no one knows why. We were so hungry while dinner was cooking, we busted out the s’mores early. S’mores are easily the best thing about camping, especially when you’re starving. We made the mistake of eating these around the fire. Our crumbs attracted two, rather bold, mice. So we took bites of dinner between making loud noises to scare off the mice. They kept coming back, though- I guess graham cracker crumbs are more delicious than we are scary.

The next morning, a couple (from Texas, even!) in our campground was escorted off the premises due to an all-night domestic dispute. I slept through the whole thing, but according through our neighbors they were very loud. And annoying.



Breakfast was pancakes cooked on the camp stove. Mine were banana walnut, and Rich’s were plain. After cleaning up, we headed out for a leisurely 4.5 mile hike to Lost Palms Oasis. Just kidding! I thought it was a 4.5 mile hike, but turns out that was only one way! We made it to the oasis, and then rested in the shade, munching on trail mix. After about an hour, we decided to head back to camp. It was a long way back, but we made it- sore, hot, sun burnt and completely out of water.



We spent the afternoon laying in the shade, reading and napping (and recuperating). That evening, we had even more excitement as someone had to be life flighted out of the campground! There was a fire truck, an ambulance, police cars, and at least eight park ranger vehicles. Then a helicopter came, and circled and circled, looking for a place to land. After about 15 minutes, they finally found a spot and got the person out.



We had vegetarian chili, veggies, and cornbread for dinner, followed by s’mores (again). We were smarter this time and ate at the picnic table. Our mouse friends came back, but stayed away from our feet. We got into our tent rather early, and star-gazed through the open tent flap.

Sunday morning, we got up early, packed up camp, and headed home. On the way back, we stopped for breakfast at McDonalds. There’s no better way to end a camping trip than with hot coffee and an Egg McMuffin. Richard seems more relaxed than he’s been all semester. Charlie, on the other hand, is exhausted and has been asleep all afternoon-- according to the people at the boarding facility, he was a “party animal” all weekend.

The one thing that is cheaper in California is produce- probably because everything is grown here. This is a good thing because we eat LOTS of fruits and vegetables these days. We've been drinking smoothies for breakfast lately. Every day they are a little bit different since my "recipe" consists of throwing some fruit in a blender. This morning's smoothies were raspberry, blueberry, banana, and orange. Yum!

Lesson learned...

Last night, Rich went back up to school after dinner to get some work done at the library. I read Dracula in an attempt to stay awake until he got back. At around 11, I gave up the fight and tried to go to sleep. Turns out, if you read Dracula before bed, you won't be able to go to sleep. I kept thinking of gruesome scenarios and how I would react. It was like my very own Worst Case Scenario Handbook being played out in my (very vivid) imagination. In case you were wondering, I am really not qualified to write one of those books. Rich finally got home (after midnight, poor soul), and I finally was able to fall asleep. Dracula is creepy!!

So, if you didn't know we lived near mountains, you also may not have known that we live in the desert. Or so they say. There seem to be an awful lot of trees and green lawns for this to really be the desert, but what do I know? There are some big differences from Dallas- like for one thing, it never rains here (see two posts ago).

For another thing, instead of "palmetto bugs" (aka giant mutant cockroaches) there are giant, mutant black widow spiders. One currently lives under a ledge to the left of our front door. Every time I open the door after dark, I shudder a little thinking of its eight spindly legs. We haven't been able to squash it yet. Hopefully before Thanksgiving, right Mom and Dad?

And instead of the friendly green anole lizards that hid in bushes in Texas, here the lizards are brown and dart in front of you as you walk down the sidewalk. Kamikaze lizards. Lizard guts on the bottom of your shoes are always fun! (Disclaimer: I have actually not yet stepped on a lizard. But I have no doubt that it will happen one day.)

On the bright side, since there is very little standing water in the desert, there are also no mosquitos! Or maybe, the black widow outside my front door eats all of the mosquitos. Either way, I haven't gotten bitten once since we moved. Hooray!

So, no dice on the snow. The weather has turned warm again, and I think there is time reading by the pool in my near future. Rich had to work the conference for his program at school this week/weekend, so he was super, super busy. And NOW, because he spent so much time working the conference (and not so much time working on, you know, actual work), he will be super busy this week catching up. Sounds like fun, right?

I, on the other hand, am blissfully un-busy, though I am getting busier every week, it seems. I have a confession to make to my Dallas knitters- I joined a new knitting group. I only feel like I'm cheating some of the time. It's a really neat group- called Knit for Need. All the projects we work on at the group are donated to the United Way, who distributes them to non-profits in the area. Pretty cool, right? I definitely miss my old group, but I'm enjoying meeting new people and working on some interesting projects.

I was talking to my mom on the phone a few days ago, and she seemed very surprised by how close we live to the mountains. We live really, really close to the mountains. As in, less than 30 minutes from a ski resort. We even have a great view of the mountains from our balcony. Here's a picture of what that view USUALLY looks like (more or less):


That's actually the view from the "village" we live right next to. However, for the past three days, the mountains have been completely obstructed by very ominous, gray clouds. It finally rained here yesterday! The first time since we moved in July. And supposedly, upper elevations around us got pretty heavy snows, so I'm hoping that when the clouds finally clear (tomorrow maybe? I hope!), our view will look something like this:

We had our first "dinner party" in our new apartment last night. Dinner party is in quotes because it was quite casual- just our neighbors coming over to eat dinner with us. We had a great time, and I think our friends did too. Here are some pics of the table/centerpiece, including one in which you can see a tiny sliver of the living room. I will post pics of the entire apartment someday, but not today.

Today, I made laundry detergent. Yeah, that's right. I felt like a pioneer. Not that a pioneer would actually have, you know, an electric washing machine in which to USE homemade laundry detergent. More likely some rocks and a bar of lye soap. However, we DO have a washing machine- and the homemade detergent worked splendidly! Clothes are clean and smell great.

Hey, did you hear? My sister is knocked up!! We could not be so excited for her, Scott, my parents, Scott's parents, and the human race. Every baby is special (or so they say), but this one is extra special because of all the chaos that has entered the Ardill/Harville family realm for the last few years. You can follow her story at http://ardillupdate.blogspot.com/. According to Amanda, nausea from morning sickness is way more pleasant than nausea from chemo. Who knew?!

Things have been a brewing that have increased my and Rich's friends in California tally exponentially. First, a couple of weeks ago we went to a party for an organization at Richard's school. I don't think either of us was looking forward to it, but it turned out to be an okay time. No instant connections, but a few new acquaintances and friendly faces to see around town. Second, our Sunday School class was fun for a second week in a row. Once is a fluke, but twice is a sign of success! I am enjoying getting to know everyone in the class. Third, I joined the church's choir, and I've officially brought the average age down by about 20 years. Just kidding. Sort of. This is probably the most fun church choir I've ever been in (flashbacks to singing "I'm a Yankee-Doodle-Dandy" in youth choir. still having nightmares about that one.), mainly because they don't seem to take themselves too seriously. Which is nice, because I'm convinced that no one in the congregation of any church cares anyway. This is also the friendliest choir I've ever been in, hands down. I think I've met every single person already (after one rehearsal) because every single person has come up to me to say hello and chat. Perfectly lovely. Last, on Saturday we're going to a housewarming party for one of Rich's classmates. Rich said he was surprised this guy invited him because, and I quote, "he's so much cooler than us." Not that it takes much to qualify as "cooler that Richard and Sarah," but it definitely raises my hopes that we'll make some more friends this weekend.

I've said it before (maybe just one entry ago), but living here is showing me just how inhospitable Dallas was. Which is kind of ironic, right, since people in the South have the reputation of being the warmest people on earth. Maybe it's that we are in a far less urban setting? I dunno, but we like it here! Though it is sad to be so far from our families and all the people we love. So you all need to move here, and it will be like Disneyland every day.

I've been reading Lucy Maude Montgomery's Anne books- right now I'm on Anne of Windy Poplars. I swear, every time I read these books, my life is crowded with Anne Shirley moments. This time is no exception.

This morning at the church we've been attending marked the first Sunday in the liturgical season of Creation. I'm not entirely convinced this is actually a season on the liturgical calendar, but maybe. Any of you high church people know? Anyway, this morning, the pastor spoke about creation and understanding our place within creation. At one point, she articulated that while we have words to describe the slaughter of people (homicide, genocide, suicide, etc.), the words "geocide" and "biocide" (words to describe the slaughter of creation) don't really exist.

I hurriedly scribbled on my bulletin, "Actually, "geocide" is the systematic slaughter of small, hatchback automobiles" and passed it to Richard. He laughed silently, but gave me a look that said, "You're HOW old and you're still writing notes in church?" as he passed the bulletin back to me. I put the bulletin on the seat next to me. Soon the sermon was finished, and we all stood to greet one another. I shook a bunch of hands, passing sufficient amounts of peace as I did so. As I sat back down, I noticed the bulletin next to me was gone. I think the sweet little Asian lady sitting next to me picked up my bulletin by accident when she left. So, likely, somewhere in the world, a sweet, elderly Asian woman is going over her bulletin tonight and is being scandalized by my slightly (but not incredibly) inappropriate joke.

My second Anne Shirley moment is more positive, for I am making friends in California. Living in Dallas truly led me to doubt my ability to make friends- people there are generally stand-offish, and it took me a long time (nearly three years!) to find some kindred spirits. I 'm sad to have left those people behind in Dallas, especially since it took so long to find them! I have found some in Cali already, and I have two! hang-out dates this week with potential new friends. I'm brainstorming potential topics for if the conversation falls flat, but I have a feeling I won't be needing them.

Every time a local asks us where we live, the answer Rich and I give inevitably gets a chuckle. Not because we say anything particularly funny (we just say the name of the apartment complex and its location), but because apparently, this place has been under construction for approximately seventeen years. And they think it's funny that someone actually lives there. And I guess that they've now actually MET someone who lives there.

Along with our perpetually-under-construction apartment complex, there is a perpetually-under-construction shopping center right next door. When we moved in, the shopping center was completely empty. Rich and I waited with bated breath, guessing what would go in. "A restaurant," we hoped. "A Starbucks. This place was MADE for a Starbucks." "A Williams-Sonoma," I offered, ridiculously- though the shopping center does have hunter green awnings.

Tonight, we were coming home from a party (Rich's first PhD! Party!), and we saw that there are TWO businesses in the process of being installed in the shopping center. One is a second location of a local burger joint, which we've been assured is excellent. The second was a mystery- we couldn't quite read the sign. As we got closer, we saw it and both gasped in unison. No kidding, guys, it's FRO-YO!!!!!!

I started waxing rhapsodically. "This is going to be THE. BEST. THING. EVER. We can eat dinner at home, then walk with Charlie up to the frozen yogurt shop and get yogurt. We can take it to the park and let Charlie run around while we eat it, and then sit and watch the sunset."

Richard was silent. Turns out, he is wise enough to know 1) this will NEVER actually happen, and 2) if I think Richard will ever have a free evening during the course of this PhD program, I'm totally kidding myself. Ah, the joys of having a husband in grad school.

We rode a ferris wheel again yesterday. I think I'd like to have a life that involved a ferris wheel ride at least once a month.

However, this ferris wheel ride was slightly less fun than the last. For one thing, right before we got on the ride, Richard and I were talking about those old 20-20 shows that exposed neglected maintenance on carnival rides. It made me nervous the entire time- like we had jinxed it. For another thing (and here is where I show what a fuddy-duddy I am), the two guys in the gondola next to ours were swinging from side to side of the gondola to make it rock violently. I was not amused. In fact, when we got back around to the bottom, they got kicked off the ride, and I applauded. Loudly. I may have also yelled, "KICK EM OFF!" The guys kept denying that they had done anything to make the gondola move. Richard and I found that laughable since they were recording themselves on their cell phones the entire time. After those dudes were kicked off, though, the ride was very enjoyable. I am old.

Well, another California first today. I walked outside this morning only to discover a lovely flat tire! Here's the crazy part, though. Even though I know, in theory, how to change a flat tire, I've never actually done it before (before today, that is). Every time I've had a flat tire, some kind person (every time it's been a man) has stopped and offered to help. And every time I politely refuse, they insist. Even the time I had a flat tire on the side of the road at midnight with my trunk full of groceries. True story. This morning, no one stopped to even offer help. Granted, I was in the apartment complex and not on the side of the road, but still, I was a bit shocked. I think 20-30 cars drove by while I was changing the tire! So, while people are certainly friendly in CA, the commandment to go out of your way to help a stranger (even at an inconvenience to yourself) is missing. The good news is I can change a tire after all! Great life skill.

Things I've done since moving to California:
-Been to the beach
-Seen the Hollywood sign
-Eaten avocados and citrus fruits (not necessarily together)
-Met a union leader
-Seen a red carpet
-Eaten at In-and-Out (I much prefer Whataburger, but In-and-Out is cheap)
-Heard a concert
-Lounged by the pool

Things I haven't done since moving to California:
-Seen a celebrity
-Gotten a job (le sigh)
-Gone rollerblading
-Eaten any combination of fried chicken and waffles
-Died my hair blonde
-Met a valley girl

The good news is that the fire nearest us (the Morris Fire) is 85% contained as of last night. The Station Fire, the one making national headlines, is currently a comfortable distance away, but is spreading in this direction. The bad news is that a lot of people aren't so lucky.

Yesterday, we took Charlie to the dog park for the first time since we moved here. Charlie had been getting a bit stir crazy (ceaselessly running up and down the hall, anybody?) since we have been trying to follow the "stay inside" advice as much as possible. When we first got to the park, there were multiple dogs on the big dog side, but no dogs on the small dog side. Knowing how much Charlie likes to play with other dogs (not much), we took him to the small dog side thinking he would be overwhelmed with the other dogs. After a few minutes, he was whining at the fence to go play with the dogs on the other side. We decided to take him over to the other side and just stay close by. Not five minutes after we go over there, a girl arrives with two pit bull mix dogs. And not five seconds after they get off of their leashes, they start picking on Charlie. We just went back to the other side and played frisbee until some more little dogs showed up.

Well, the drama continued with the two pit bulls. They pretty much bullied ALL of the other dogs- regardless of size- culminating in all of the other dogs (on the big dog side) being dragged from the dog park by their owners. The last lady that left got into a yelling match with the pit bulls' owner.

"You need to learn to control your dogs!" she shouted.
"You need to learn to mind your own business!" the pit bull owner countered.
"You just need to shut your mouth!" the first lady yelled.
"No, you need to shut YOUR MOUTH!" the pit bull owner responded.

Ahh, just another idyllic day here in sunny California.

Charlie seemed oblivious to the drama, and he played and played (even with other dogs- shocker!). When we got home, he crashed. He slept for HOURS and was in a much better mood this morning.

Big news here! No, I didn't find a job yet, but there IS a wildfire alarmingly close to our home! The Morris Wildfire is blazing in the Angeles National Forrest... We can see it (and smell it) from our apartment. Because of all of the smoke (and there is a lot), the Air Quality Management District has issued an air warning- you aren't supposed to go outside if you can avoid it. This has foiled our plans for the pool today. It's extremely hot outside today (right now it's 103), and the pool sure sounded nice. Guess we'll save our lungs, though.

In other exciting (but less life-threatening) news, we went to Los Angeles yesterday! We spent the afternoon on Santa Monica Beach and Pier, then we went into town for a concert at the Hollywood Bowl. We had planned to go see the hand and foot prints in front of Grauman's Chinese Theater, but due to some traffic frustrations, we (okay, I) gave up on that idea. Being in LA meant we got to have not one but TWO picnics (lunch and dinner). We also saw the red carpet for the premier to All About Steve, but it was pretty early so no celebrities were actually arriving.

Here are some photos of our day. The full set is on Facebook.

I knew we lived pretty close to some really neat things, but I just found out yesterday that we live about 10 miles from a SKI LODGE! Neither Richard nor I have ever been skiing, so come winter, we are definitely going to take a lesson. It's actually way more affordable than I ever would have expected.

We've been planning to hike to the top of the mountain (Mt. Baldy) for the past two weekends, but we've found reasons not to every week. Two weekends ago, it was too cold (in August, people!), and it would have been freezing (literally) at 10,000 ft elevation. Last weekend was exceptionally hazy, and why hike to the top of a mountain if you won't be able to see anything anyway? (The smog here is unbelievable some days.) And now, I found out this hike is not just a fun morning hike where you can get home and take a nap by the afternoon. No, this is a minimum of a 7 hour hike- and pretty arduous from what I've read. So, I think we're going to put it off even longer until I'm in better shape so neither of us dies on the way up.

In other news, Richard's German test is on Monday. I quizzed him last night, and he passed with flying colors. The three sentences I gave him to translate were, "I like the New Testament," "The gospels are interesting," and "Jesus is similar to Cinderella." (Cinderella ("Ashenputel") was one of his vocab words the other day- should be useful on an exam over passages from the field of BIBLICAL STUDIES.) He translated them all correctly (according to him- I have no idea), so I've deemed that he is well prepared.

One nice thing about moving is that you get a fresh start. Everything is newly cleaned, arranged, and organized. No one knows you yet, and no one knows your vices. You can change- your home and your life. It's like a New Year, but better because something has already changed.

Rich and I have been exploiting this to the fullest, and we are trying to start some new habits and drop some old habits. No, we're not giving up watching overly dramatic, angsty teen soaps (season four of Dawson's Creek anyone? We'll be watching a few episodes tonight!), but we are trying to change our lifestyle. I am cooking healthier, lighter food, and we are actually exercising. Our apartment complex has an awesome gym, and the best part is, it's just a one minute walk from our front door.

On Wednesday night, I decided to make pizza- a favorite at our house. I used to make pizza every Friday night, but then we started getting busy, and then I started getting lazy. Homemade pizza crust is much easier than it sounds, but one does have to plan ahead to let it rise. Anyway, we were having pizza with peppers and onions. I ran into some issues with the crust, and finally decided to use ALL of the dough instead of the typical half of the dough. We ended up with a deep dish pizza- which apparently Richard likes better anyway. It was pretty tasty, but after a while, Rich and I both started feeling pretty icky. Turns out, splurging on something so heavy after eating so light for several weeks is more of a punishment than a treat. I guess maybe we really are changing?

A few days ago, Richard and I celebrated three years of marriage. Crazy, right? I love those things in life that suck you into a time-warp; it seems like we've been married forever, but it also seems like we just got married. The day was pretty low key. We had pretty much finished unpacking, so we didn't feel THAT guilty about taking the day to ourselves. We had an awesome sushi lunch. Sushi shops around these parts are more plentiful than fast food in Dallas, and we were ready to try one out! Even at the middle-of-the-road restaurant we picked, the sushi was better than ANY we'd have in Texas- even fancy pants sushi restaurants. After lunch, we went to the movies. We saw Funny People. Rich and I both thought the movie was great- but everyone else in the theater seemed to think it sucked. Ringing endorsement, right? Rich's parents sent us an awesome potted plant, and my parents called us to wish us a happy day- both special treats. Anyway, we had a great day, and most importantly, we spent the day together, enjoying each other's company.

Hey! We are still alive, and we did indeed make it to California. Amazingly, the trip went almost exactly according to plan. If you've ever made a cross-country move- you will recognize how incredible this is. Exactly two things went "wrong"- and really, they were so minor, that I can hardly complain.

Our loading day was Sunday, July 26. Richard had the incredible idea to take Charlie to doggie day care for the day, since he was nervous before we even started loading up the truck. We went to pick up the truck around lunchtime. I can't recommend Penske enough- our truck was clean and new; it had a working AC, radio and CD player. We drove the truck home, and after trying to back the truck with the car carrier attached into the driveway so pathetically, one of our neighbor's dad took pity on us. He backed the truck up, putting both Richard and I to shame with our crap-tastic attempts, and we were ready to start loading! Our gracious neighbor, Scott, helped us load the truck. His wife, Lindsay, brought us drinks from Sonic. Did I mention how much we are already missing our fabulous former neighbors? Scott, Lindsey, Millie, Jennifer, Lindsay, Andrew, Elaine, Matt, and Amy, we miss you!!! It didn't take us long to load up the truck- only a few hours. Then it was back to cleaning our embarrassingly filthy apartment. We got food from Whole Foods for dinner and ate at Scott and Lindsay's table. Afterwards, Jennifer came over with her sister Lindsay and sat on our floor and chatted. They made us awesome brownies for the road- which got me through many a sleepy moment on our drive.

The next morning, we woke up REALLY early- around 4 am! We loaded the car on the car carrier, which was pretty simple once we figured it out, then we hit the road. Richard started in the driver's seat. We switched whenever we started getting tired. We drove to Lubbock. Our amazing friends, Stephani and Jason, live in Lubbock, and they had offered to let us stay with them. They are even more awesome because they had just had their first baby, Alexander, a mere two days earlier! Alexander was cuddly and snuggly, and Stephani and Jason were so much fun to catch up with!

The next morning, we hit the road again bright and early- 6:00 am. We drove and drove and drove. Really, though, we took our time. We had a goal each day- exactly 7 hours each of the three first days and only 3 hours on the last day. So, this day, we stopped in Cibolas National Forrest outside of Grants, NM. This place was incredibly beautiful, peaceful, and quiet. We got there around 3:00 pm, took a nap in our tent, cooked silver turtles for dinner (go boy scouts!), roasted marshmallows, then tucked in early for the night. As it turns out, Charlie, our dog, hates camping. No really, he is such an indoor dog, it's questionable whether he's really a dog. He is afraid of campfires, marshmallows, rain, wind, thunder, and pretty much anything that is outdoors. He wanted to hide under the truck the entire time, and we were so afraid he'd run off, we couldn't let him off the leash.

The next morning, we got up early, made apple oatmeal, and packed up camp. We were on the road by 7:30 am. Our plan was to stop in the Mojave Desert National Preserve (our newest national park). We drove through New Mexico, Arizona, and California. We saw what we THOUGHT was our exit, got off the freeway, and were sent on a 40 mile round trip wild goose chase. We couldn't figure out where we were supposed to go, and the GPS on Rich's phone was malfunctioning, so we decided to get back on the freeway, drive to Barstow, CA, and stay in a hotel for the night instead of camping (since we couldn't find the campground anyway). We figured, we'd be two hours closer to our final destination, Charlie would be more comfortable, and we'd be in better shape to unload the truck in the morning. When we got back on the freeway, we saw the exit we were SUPPOSED to take (the very next exit). We decided to go to Barstow anyway. We got there around 8 pm and checked into the hotel. Charlie did the most pathetic happy dance ever- lunging onto the bed and hurling himself against the pillows. It was truly ridiculous.

We attempted (unsuccessfully) to sleep in the next morning. The apartment office didn't open until 9, so we didn't need to leave until 8. We both were awake by 6 am, and we enjoyed lounging around the hotel room, eating continental breakfast waffles, and watching cable television (a true treat!). We also kept commenting how great an idea it was to stay in a hotel that night. It was finally time to leave, so we got back into the truck and made it to Upland by 9:15. It took us most of the day to unload the truck, and then we unpacked enough to make up the bed and crash.

Longest blog post ever. I'll update later on what we've been up to since we got here! We love our new apartment, and one day, I'll actually post some pics of the apt.

I knew our new place was pretty close to Richard's school, but I had a hard time visualizing exactly where the apartment was in relation to school. In part, this is because the place is so new, the street isn't even on a map! When you look at Google Maps Street View, all you see is a field. It was definitely not a field when we visited.

So, imagine my surprise when I figured out where the apartment actually is- less than a miles from school! And most of the distance is the school itself- Rich just has to get to the far side of campus. I'm officially the world's best unintentional planner. Maybe the universe isn't conspiring against me after all?

Plan for the next two days

1) Finish and turn in thesis revisions to all committee members. Give self a gold star for excellence.
2) Return all 200+ library books to Bridwell. Huff and puff when lugging the GIANT rolling suitcase up the library steps. Hope the head librarian is working the front desk of the library. Try not to smirk when the desk attendant sighs at all the work I've created.*
3) Finish packing all remaining household items. Hopefully just 2-3 boxes?
4) Go to the bank, and get a money order for the apartment deposit.
5) Start meticulously cleaning the entire house, top to bottom.
6) Revise the road plan. Print out said road plan (before packing the printer, please), and put it in the VERY IMPORTANT papers file.
7) Get a VERY IMPORTANT papers file. Just for kicks, make a copy of it, and put it somewhere you'll never find it.
8) Go through all the remaining papers on the desk (including no longer necessary apartment brochures).
9) Finish getting all the camping gear together.
10) Take apart beds, and lay the mattresses on their sides.
11) Saran wrap all doors/drawers shut on the furniture. Maybe wait on this one.
12) Give all the food that we cannot take with us to someone else. Anyone want about 100 half used jars of assorted condiments? Decide whether or not to incur the ire of Richard's Aunt Alma by giving away the half eaten jar of apple butter (with the jar and ring intact!).
13) Freak out only once about having no job lined up. Then get over it.
14) Try to avoid getting excited about the book club at the public library in CA. Stop searching the library's online catalog "just to see what they have."
15) Catch up with all our friends in the Dallas area.
16) Try and get a couple of hours of sleep, at least.

*It's not that I dislike the library workers- I like most of them a whole lot. But Bridwell has screwed me over one too many times for me to feel anything but glee at the prospect of causing THEM some discomfort. There is one specific policy, on which they refuse to budge, which has created SO MUCH unnecessary work in my life, so no mercy from me. Remind me to tell you about the time the head librarian told me I had racked up over $25,000 in library fines. With a straight face.

Southern California is currently under a Heat Advisory. Their high temperature basically matches Dallas'. Clearly, they know we're coming.

I can see the day we will actually arrive in CA on the 10 day weather forecast. Craziness.

Harry Potter at midnight was, um, an interesting experience. Thanks to Richard's cunning, we were able to walk right past a lot of the people in line and got to our theater remarkably early. Let's just say whoever thought showing the same movie, starting at the EXACT SAME TIME on FIFTEEN screen was a good idea is officially an idiot. Judging by the fact that every theater was sold out and the concession stand line took more than 30 minutes to get through, I think AMC is rolling in it, and probably thinks the night was a success. Let me just say, getting out of that theater, battling the crowd, was only slightly worse than the time we emerged from the theater to a SWAT team who were looking for a shooter (no kidding- ask me to tell you THAT story sometime). I was glad to get home and my agoraphobic self will probably never try that again. But it was fun!

It's been a few days, and even now I'm just popping in to mention what a lovely weekend we had.

Our friend, Kate, stayed with us for the weekend because our other friend, Rachel, was getting married. We had a great time with Kate, catching up, reminiscing, and making new memories. The wedding was beautiful and the reception was fabulous. For all of you freshman year Bible Study gals who couldn't make it- you missed the official BS dance to Dolly Parton... It was just the three of us hopping around on the dance floor, singing "He's Gonna Marry Me!" Debbie, Rachael, Tiffany, Lindsay, and Sarah- you would have all loved it!

Then on Sunday night, my brother, Andrew, stopped by on his way to Houston. We visited the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science, which was clearly targeted to a younger audience- I think it would have been perfect for a five year old. But we did learn a lot about spies and vomiting. Then we went to see "UP." I had seen it in Taos, but I loved seeing it again! Needless to say, Rich and Andrew liked it, too.

Tonight we are going to see Harry Potter at 12:01 because we are dorks. But we're not standing in line all day if that makes it any better- we plan on arriving around 11:00. Our theater is showing it on every single screen, and since we like sitting on the front row anyway, we figured it doesn't really matter when we get there. Famous last words, right?!

This whole moving thing is starting to feel very real.

For one thing, we're living surrounded on all sides by boxes. We have to make sure to keep a pathway clear to the door, just in case of fire.

For another thing, things are starting to wind down around here. Rich finished his last class at Perkins and is an official graduate (once he gets his official grade). I am starting to believe I might actually finish my thesis. Maybe in the near future, even.

And things are lining up in CA. We have a place to live. Things are looking up on the job front, and I have a plan if I don't have a job by the time we get there.

As sad as it is to leave Dallas, it is also exciting to have a new adventure so close at hand! We will miss our friends here, and we will miss being so close to family. But, really, I don't like Dallas very much (for a lot of complex and boring reasons). And looking at the weather report in our new home and comparing it to the weather in our future home is making me very, very happy.

So, so, so, so stinking close. The thesis gets done tonight. The first draft at least.

We're in H-town for the fourth of July, hanging out with my fam. Well, my parents. Ironically, Amanda (my sister) is in California (like 30 minutes from where we will be living in less than a month). Andrew (my brother) is somewhere in Montana, on his way to Yellowstone National Park. I asked him if he planned on stealing any picnic baskets. He is taking a cross-country motorcycle trip with two of his college buddies before heading back to Houston to start his new job. His life is so much more interesting than mine. Actually, our lives have a lot in common these days, I guess- big changes, new opportunities, and driving across the country. Except, he was able to pack all of his worldly belongings in his MOTORCYCLE SIDE CAR, whereas we will be renting a 16 foot truck and towing our car behind. As it turns out, though, packing all of your worldly belongings in a sidecar makes for a rather slow drive, so he shipped it all back home. Mom and Dad were thrilled to receive those six, rather heavy boxes- especially when they saw the bill! It would be nice to go back to those days when somebody else had to worry about how to pay for my failure to plan ahead. Any volunteers?

This is where our office used to live.

This morning, I sent in our applications and deposit for our apartment in California. So, I guess we're definitely going! AND we may actually have a place to live when we get there. SCORE!

These apartments are brand-spanking-new (they had only built the clubhouse and one building when I visited there in April, and they will be finished in September) and a wee bit generic. Rich and I have lived in only "quaint" places since being married (the first place did have GREEN carpet, though. Why??) But, they are nice, clean, and definitely well within the budget. And there is something strangely satisfying about knowing no one else has ever used your toilet, bathtub, sink...

Another perk is the kitchen. Not only is it enormous- sporting no less than 10 drawers! (we currently have 2) and about a bajillion cabinets, but it also has a dishwasher (!) and garbage disposal (!!) and pantry (!!!!). I have a long standing dream that one day, I will have a refrigerator with an ice maker, but I'm not sure if this fridge has one or not. I like to dream big, people.

The thing I'm most excited about, however, is upgrading from one bedroom to two bedrooms. That's right- Chez Harville-Newton will soon be open for visitors! So plan your visit to California soon. You can soon be swimming in this pool while Richard grills you a burger! (Yes, that's really the pool, shamelessly pilfered from the complex's website.)

Every morning, after I stop reading blogs and before I actually get to work, I close my eyes and envision myself finishing this paper. I think about how happy I'll be and how relieved I'll feel and how satisfying it will be to hold the entire thing in my hands. Then I get to work. To say I'm ready to be done is more than an understatement.

Last night, Richard and I went to the Galaxy Drive In in Ennis, TX. We pass this drive in every time we drive to or from Houston, and we're always excited to see it (especially on the way back, as it means we're a mere 30 minutes from home). We've only been once before (in the 7 years! we've lived in the Metroplex).

For the low price of $6 per person, you get to see 2 movies. Quite the deal. We saw The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 and The Hangover. But the thing is, watching two movies, starting at sundown (which is about 9 pm these days), means an awfully late night and then a 30 minute drive back home. Good thing we could sleep in this morning!

I passed the 200 (unique) visitors mark! I put a site hit counter at the bottom of this blog just for kicks, and it turns out someone is actually reading this! Well, maybe just clicking and closing the window before they read anything, but someone is clicking! Hey, hey.

Well, folks, we have a plan!

This morning I sat down at my computer and devised two separate driving plans to CA- one if we stop in Lubbock, and one if we don't.

One exciting part of BOTH of my plans is that we will stop in Sedona, Arizona, where Rich and I honeymooned not to long ago. We are excited to go back. I remember the last time we were there thinking I definitely wanted to go back and spend more time in Sedona. At the same time, there are so many exciting places in the world, it seems silly to spend one's time and resources going BACK to a place you've already been. So this arrangement will be perfect, I think. We are (hopefully) even staying in the same hotel we stayed in last time- swanky!

(The last time we were in Sedona.)


Our plan for the rest of the time, however, is to camp! I think we will be doing a lot of camping once we get to CA (since we're about 4 hours from Sequoia National Park, 4 hours from Death Valley, 1.5 hours from Joshua Tree, about 5 minutes from the Pacific Crest Trail, San Bernadino Mountains, and Angeles National Forrest). It seems logical to invest in supplies. Rich's parents gave us a tent, and we bought a camp stove and camp chairs. Richard sighed when I put long handled turning forks in the basket ("We can make those out of hangers!" "We don't HAVE any wire hangers!"), but what is camping without S'mores?

This is starting to get exciting!

We are keeping our neighbors' dog, Abby, for the week. We like Abby, and she's pretty easy going (though certainly not nearly as easy going as Charlie). Another set of our neighbors asked us if their dog, Gracie, could hang out with us for a while this morning while they had some movers at their place. So, instead of just Charlie, Rich and I had three dogs to hang out with today! Quite the puppy party. Charlie could have cared less, Gracie was (strangely) terrified, and Abby became suddenly very territorial. As much as we will miss our neighbors when we move to CA, we will also miss their canine companions. I don't know if Chuck will notice or not, but Rich and I definitely will.

These are pictures of Charlie while we watched President Obama's speech today. Charlie is not easily amused, nor easily deterred from his morning/afternoon/evening nap.

Today I made an attempt at being proactive. I called the apartment complex in CA and asked if the floor plan I wanted was available and could I reserve it and start the application process. Turns out- no. They will only hold an apartment for a month. I'll be calling back on July 1. I'm officially a moving failure.

Rich and I took a (sort of) impromptu trip to Houston yesterday. It was planned for Rich, but unplanned for me. Since I'm not working in the office anymore, it doesn't really matter where I work from, so Houston was just as good as Dallas. Plus I got to see my mama.

This trip home reminded my why I will never get cable. I am a bad TV junkie. It sucks me in, and I can't look away. Even network TV has this effect on me- but on network TV, there's not as much crap to choose from- and there comes a point when even I realize how bad the shows are. Not so with cable. When Rich and I go on vacation anywhere, one thing I look forward to with a kind of morbid fascination is having cable in the hotel room. I love HGTV, Food Network, TLC, and MTV. Just between those four channels, I could occupy 24 hours a day. It's one of those things I like least about myself- how much I love TV.

Another interesting thing (or perhaps the first interesting thing) that happened on this trip was when we stopped for dinner on the way home, we got our meal for free! At Dairy Queen, we waited about 20 minutes for our order to be ready. When they (finally) called my number, the man informed me he'd be giving me my money back since it took so long. Score!

When I was in college, I told Richard I was addicted to hot drinks. And it's true. In the winter, I down mugs full of (pretty much any) hot drinks by the score- daily!

In the summer, my addiction reverses. Popsicles, ice cream, watermelon, anything cold and juicy. Today I indulged my cold addiction- I bought our first box of popsicles of the summer. Richard ate two. I ate four. In my defense, they are sugar free, fruit based, and only the "half" popsicle sized. Still, I think I may need to slow this one down.

Sitting in the Perk (dumbest name ever), working on my thesis. Selecman Hall is a little eerie with no other students around.

But, I'm getting lots of good work done (despite this interruption to post). I'm up to about 25 good, solid pages, and I still have lots of facts and figures swimming in my head (and in my notes). This brings me to the halfway point- although, I'm really well past the halfway point in my timeline. See, I screwed up and did a lot of research before I ever started writing. Take it from me- this is not the way to write a paper. You have to read, write, read, write. And for me, who loves to read and hates to write, that's difficult. Okay, I don't hate to write, but I like to read much, much more. All that to say, it looks like I have a lot more left to do than I actually do.

So, after a lot of desperation, I see an end in sight, and that end is fast approaching. Back to work, my friends.

Home again, home again

Well, I made it back to Dallas. Our power was out for almost 2 days from the huge, tornado filled storms that hit the Dallas area last week. Thankfully, it came back on literally hours before I arrived home. It's like TXU was throwing me a welcome home party. "We think you're great, Sarah, and we're so glad you're back, we'll let you have a lightswitch disco!"

Last night Rich and I went to a going away party for our neighbors (and friends), Matt and Amy. To say that Matt and Amy are good neighbors is like saying that Richard likes the West Wing- the understatement of the century. Matt and Amy let us borrow endless cups of sugar (and dog food), listen to our endless stories, put up with my bad attitude about life (and particularly about life at Perkins School of Theology), and are always ready to talk about Boy Scout Jamborees of yore. Matt and Amy are moving to Georgia in a few weeks, and we are so sad to see them go! Our other wonderful neighbor, Jennifer, threw them a Texas-themed party- complete with burlap tablecloths, mason jars, and a homemade Georgia peach shaped pinata! Dude, we are going to miss this place and these people.

Tonight, we had our own little goodbye party of sorts at the church Rich helped start, New Day. They gave us some gorgeous beeswax candles- hand dipped and filled with prayer by monks in Ohio- and a blessing jar- handmade by Randy! Rich has been fortunate to be around such awesome people every week, and I'm lucky to have been along for the ride. Thanks, New Day! We are certainly going to miss you.

Tonight: homemade marshmallows, open fire, melty chocolate, starlight.

Tomorrow: long drive, jet plane, puppy, husband, my own bed, home.

Your opinions wanted!

Tonight, I went with my friend Cyndy to see the movie Up.

One of the best movies I've seen in a while. Hopeful, whimsical, charming, hilarious, heartwarming, endearing.

After the movie, we came back to campus, sat in Cyndy's home, drank wine, and talked. About life, love, things we can't change, crazy work war stories, and on and on. The older get, the more amazed I am at the people I get to call my friends. Cyndy eased my job worries. "Don't think about what you want to do for the next thirty years. Think about what you want to do today." Wise words from a woman who has clearly taken life one day at a time, who has an amazing life story, and who is just an all-around neat person.

Tomorrow is my last day in Taos. Bittersweet (sort of). I am sad to leave this magical place. But I'm equally (possibly more) happy to be going home to hubs and pup and moving boxes to fill.

A sign of good things to come...

Sock in progress, book notes, books for my thesis, coffee, and yarn (project TBD). Looks like a good day ahead of me.

Better News

I wrote four more pages of my thesis today. I can go to sleep satisfied. I'm gonna make that deadline, by golly.

Bad news on the moving front today. First, I found out yesterday that the job I had placed many of my hopes on has been put on hold for the unforeseeable future due to a hiring freeze. Come on, Obama! Quit bailing out worthless car companies, and bail out universities instead! What is this particular university going to do with no one to deal with misbehaving students? And does anyone know anyone in higher ed in southern California?

Second, I had gotten a quote on a moving truck about 4 months ago. Today, I went online to make the reservation (since we now have a definite move date), and holy moly! The quote has tripled! Something about the difference in winter rates vs. summer rates. Moral of the story, don't wait to hear about a specific job- just pick a stinkin' move date and reserve the truck!

In happier news, I had a fire in my fireplace last night. It was toasty and mesmerizing and lovely. For those of you in Texas, a fire in June sounds awful. But Taos nights are freezing! Literally- it gets down into the 30s!

Spoiler alert: This may be an incredibly boring post for those of you who don't knit. Just sayin.

I've been occupying some of my time in Taos by knitting. Let's be honest here, though. Even when home, I occupy a good portion of my time with knitting. I brought a project with me, which I promptly put down in favor of visiting some local yarn shops and finding new projects to work on. Indeed, I'm nothing if not committed.

Here are two projects I have completed while here, though!

This is the Penobscot Silk Lace Scarf from Interweave Knits, worked in Malabrigo Silky Merino, colorway Redwood Bark. It does look like redwood bark, too!





Close up on stitch detail. This was a simple project, and I think it is destined to be a gift to someone. Not sure for whom though.

Second, a pair of socks. I knit all of my socks toe up these days, and I have a standard pattern I follow for the toe and heel. I just insert whatever stitch I like on the top of the foot, and voila, a sock is born. This is a pretty simple 2 x 1 broken rib. I'll be keeping these for myself because 1) the yarn is not machine washable- stupid and impractical for socks, and 2) they're ugly!



I have a terrible habit of buying yarn I don't like- I don't know why. I think I like it at the store, and then when it's knit up, I realize, "Hey, this is ugly!" This yarn, for example, is variegated (which I always hate- screams grandma) and is variegated purple and orange (why??). I hate purple, too. It is Farmhouse Yarns, Fingering weight merino/nylon blend, colorway "Pansy." A more appropriate name might be "communion vomit," if you'd rather.



The rest of the yarn I bought, however, is comprised entirely of winners. These are all my favorite colors right now, and that yellow sock yarn is the softest sock yarn I've ever felt in my life.


Yarn stores visited:
The Yarn Shop
Weaving Southwest

The past couple of weeks have been a wee bit busy for Rich and me. We've been traveling all over the place!

I have been in Taos, NM at SMU-in-Taos for the past two and a half weeks as the resident "Conduct Officer." Thankfully, it's been rather boring (which is a blessing after the nonsense of last year!). I've been able to do several fun things, as well. But, overall, it has been pretty slow and solitary. For one thing, the social climate is weird. I hang out with students- but only to a certain point- and professors- but, again, only to a certain point. Being in limbo is no fun.

Yesterday, I took a long walk, and I took my camera along. I'm determined to improve my photography skills. I bought a fancy camera before our trip to Hong Kong and Taiwan (in January), and it's high time I learned to use it beyond the automatic setting. Here are some of the pictures from the walk.







Richard, meanwhile, has been equally busy. Last weekend, he went to Houston. He led a class on Israel/Palestine relations for the United Methodist Women at First Methodist Houston. This weekend, he is in Nashville at Vanderbilt for a conference for the Fund for Theological Education Fellows.

And poor Charlie has been passed from gracious neighbor to gracious neighbor. Richard said he's pretty sure Charlie would rather live with one of them, at this point.

If you haven't heard, we're moving to California so Richard can start a PhD program at Claremont Graduate University. His degree will be through the Religious Studies department, and he will specialize in New Testament- specifically in anthropology and archeology. He could (and, I guarantee you, would) tell you more, but he's not writing this post, so there's that. It looks like our move date will be July 27. Or at least that's the assumption I'm operating on right now.

Since we're moving away, I thought it would be nice to have a way to keep everyone updated on our lives- what we're doing, how we're doing, and what we're thinking about. Some of you may not care, but the beauty of a blog is that you can easily look away- you are under no obligation to read- unlike if I called each and every one of you and gabbed about the monotony of daily life. All of my previous blog attempts have been dismal failures, but hopefully, I'll be able to keep this one up.


I like blog posts with pictures included, so here's an entirely unrelated picture of Charlie (aka Sir Chuckles). He's so handsome!