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!