35 and a Day

When I was younger, the day I reached "35 and a day" was going to be significant.  This was the day I was supposed to get married to a Tommy Lee Jones type of guy.  I was going to meet this guy the day before my birthday, and get married after a 3 day courtship.  I mostly dreamed up this plan so I wouldn't have to worry about dating nonsense for a long time (and I thought I would never be so old).  Also - just to be clear - I'm pretty sure my friend added the Tommy Lee Jones part, although I did love how he talked in movies.

Happily, I did reach this significant birthday and celebrated with an amazing weekend sans dramatic marital twists!  We escaped to a distant city and had a relaxing weekend.  A favorite moment was dinner on a patio with the most fantastic view I think I've ever experienced in restaurant dining.

So, according to my 18 year old self - I am now officially an adult.  This means I should seriously think about getting married (yay - already done), can stay up as late as I want, and eat an entire jar of black olives by myself - even when it is not Thanksgiving.  

Cozy Corners of the New Home

With temperatures consistently in the triple digit range, moving was a bit of a challenge, but also fun when applying a broad definition to that word.  To avoid the heat, we moved in the middle of the night, and I for one pretended it was a covert operation.  Once again, we were made to realize what great friends and family we have - our life is seriously blessed with amazing people!!!!

After a couple of chaotic weeks, the corners of our house are ready to be displayed.  The dining room is organized in a sense; all the stuff that was cluttering it up is now stashed in a closet for sorting at a later date.  But, we can now comfortably invite dinner guests over:)

One of the best features of this house is the claw-foot tub, which thanks to a master carpenter can now be enjoyed in solitude with a fully functioning bathroom door.  (Yes, it is the quirks of old houses which makes me enjoy them, but some modern conveniences like working locks are still necessities.)

This entry makes it easy for our non-committal friends to drop in and take a moment to decide if they dare continue.  The area also serves the shy who can sit and warm up before fully entering the conversations of the house.  (OK - I will probably be the one using this "warm up" area, but watch out for witty conversations after my rocking time!)

And finally, with much assistance from a master gardener, my lifelong dream of planting sunflower seeds has been realized.  It has yet to be seen if a totally different, yet not unrelated, goal of seeing sunflowers in my own backyard will also be realized - sadly the master gardener had to go home.

Overall, it has been fun to organize (using the broad definition again), and although they are clean and spider-free, we promise not to stick you in a corner if you happen to visit.   

Goodbye to Jump Rope Pl

Once again, it is time to revise your address books.  Thank goodness things like this are going digital since I probably long ago used up my allotted space.  (On a side note - I am having serious issues trying to remember my own new zip code -who said engineers were good with numbers?)

I was definitely losing the skip in my step while living at Jump Rope Place.  Despite the fun name, it was not the place for me.  It is so exciting that by putting my eavesdropping skills to good use, we have successfully escaped and found an amazing place to live.  In fact, if certain people (I believe you know who you are) would move to the City of Trees, I could see myself staying here long term - and yes, long term means at least a year!

Is it strange that I never noticed our garage doors were different colors until the photo was taken to sell the house?  It then started to bother me!!

 The other survivor - hopefully as happy as we are in the new home!

I do not eat jello or pudding, however, whenever I move there are always one or two packages in the back of my pantry.  How do they get there?  I always donate them to the food bank so I know I'm not just moving them from house to house...  Any information on this mystery would be appreciated!

We are now open for visitors - let us know if you are going to be in the area!!!

Beware of the Theoretical!!

On a recent road trip, Phin and I were asking each other theoretical questions.  The question I had to answer was, "Who would you like to be sitting next to in a plane crash?"  I'm afraid Phin freaked out when I said I wanted to be sitting next to him.  After a week of trying to explain that answer (which really has no explanation), he is still half convinced I want to murder him.  Not only do I wish I had answered differently to keep Phin's mind at ease, but I am also no longer convinced he would be a good plane crash companion.  I may have been mistaken about the calming presence I had envisioned him bringing to this scenario.  For our next road trip, I will make sure our Ipods contain hours of entertainment and continue my usual policy of never answering questions - theoretical or not.