The Sun, the Sand, the Jumping Chollas

The Blog has really been taking the backseat lately, and I do apologize for that. On our recent visit to California to visit my mom, there were a few references to my lack of updates.

Things have been busy. Sweetie and I resigned ourselves to living in this town, after my job search in more "civilized" areas (ie: cities where we aren't among a minority of people who don't drive a pickup truck -- though nothing against pickup trucks) turned up dry.

So, we bought a house.

And now we must tend to yard of said house. And hire painter for interior of said house (we have -- and he's busy at work -- using no-VOC paint so the place does not smell whatsoever). And choose colors for rooms of the house. And trim the liriope in the front yard (after figuring out that it's liriope and not some other random ornamental grass). And raking approximately three years of leaves from the back yard (ornamental grass in the back remains unidentified). And hire someone to clean and stain the deck. And exterminate the wasps.

But, it's all good. We're looking forward to settling into our new digs. I need to get some custom tea ceremony cabinets made this summer, so there will be numerous boxes left in the garage, but otherwise, we hope it's a smooth move. Certainly better than an international move!!

Hooray for Healthcare

Praise the Lord. I am so pleased that the healthcare bill passed. I don't really care what might be wrong with it. There will always be something wrong with such a bill. But what's right is so much more important. That we will no longer be a country that thinks it is acceptable to leave 32 million people (my mom and a colleague among them) uninsured.

It's quite possible that my taxes or premiums could go up. Even on my pathetic salary. But, maybe I will no longer have to make career or life decisions based on healthcare coverage. And if I have to pay a little bit more so that others can have health insurance, then so be it.

Thank you, President Obama.

Punch Brothers and other fun

On Friday night, Sweetie and I dragged ourselves back to the college after a long day in order to see a group called Punch Brothers with Chris Thile.  I wasn't really sure what to expect.  I had the impression that I SHOULD be impressed that they were playing at our dinky little college.  

Well, they are hard to define.  A bit of bluegrass.  A bit of alternative.  And a ton of technical musical supremacy and creativity.  

There were some rather serious bluegrass fans in the audience and I couldn't help to think that Sweetie and I and many of our colleagues were watching the band as if they were some sort of alien life form.  Studying them, if you will.  But also thoroughly enjoying them.

Good eatin'

As remarkable as it may sound, Sweetie and I have actually found some good eatin' in our neck of the woods.  There's a privately-owned historic mansion in town and they are now hosting dinners twice a week.  So, Sweetie treated me to a Valentine's dinner there.  The chef is a caterer/personal chef (I can't imagine anyone in this town actually HAS a personal chef), and she even caters to my vegetarian needs.  She's a genius.  It was a wonderful evening and we sipped on a wonderful Bordeaux that we managed to smuggle over the Ohio border with the help of various friends and family (we are unable to get wine shipped to Indiana, so we had to have it shipped to Ohio).  Really, really wonderful and we book one of these special dinners about once every two months.  We never eat out in this town otherwise, so it seems worth it to indulge in a really wonderful dinner now and then.

And the owner of the mansion loves Sweetie's accent:-)

And just when we've shoveled the driveway

 There is apparently yet another major winter storm headed our way.  Our weather alert went off today and nearly gave me a heartattack (usually it only goes off during thunderstorm/tornado season).  Just as Sweetie was finishing off our last-ditch effort to clear enough space for two cars in our driveway, I was informed by the National Weather Service that we are going to get hit by massive amounts of snow YET AGAIN.   Please, tell me it's not true.  

Where Am I?

Nothing like a trip to the local mall to remind me where I am living.

I avoid the local mall at all costs, and I don't think Sweetie has even been there once.

But, I needed to get a tiny little battery at Radio Shack. There was quite a line when I got there, but there's always a line, so I decided to just suck it up and wait.

And wait.

And listen to the man in front of me fighting very loudly with his S.O. on his cell phone.

And listen some more.

And more.

And then make a desperate face at a normalish-looking man who was wheeling around a baby in a stroller and debating whether he could handle waiting in line as well. He bailed.

And I listened some more. And of course the two people at the two cash registers were BOTH buying cell phones that needed to be activated. Which means I listened to the guy in front of me fighting on the phone with his S.O. (may I remind you --- LOUDLY) for a very long time.

These are the moments that really make me wonder, How the heck did I end up living here? It must be even more mind-boggling for Sweetie, because this isn't even his country.

After living in places as cosmopolitan as Tokyo, Tel Aviv, Washington DC..... Most of the time I try to look on the bright side. No traffic. A 10-minute commute. Ummmm.....I'm thinking......I'm sure there are other things. Cheap food. No decent restaurants or stores to tempt us into spending money (of course there's the flipside that we're not actually making much money either).

But sometimes, I do wonder how we ended up here.

Winter Tells Us Who Is Boss

Snow descended upon us in mass quantities Friday and Saturday. I love that my employer doesn't allow people to go home until AFTER the county has said NO ONE is allowed on the roads except for emergency vehicles. I love when the head of security sends out a message, that we all read at work because we haven't been allowed to go home, that tell us it's EXTREMELY DANGEROUS to drive and that you should STAY WHERE YOU ARE.

What I really do love

I love being married. This morning I was preparing my grocery list and had assorted recipes and cookbooks strewn about the countertop. I was also simultaneously preparing some food to put into the crockpot for dinner and had used my Vitamix in this endeavor. I did notice that various loose papers blew across the countertop when I turned on the Vitamix.

What I did not notice was what was on the backside of one of those pieces of paper (a recipe).

Sweetie came into the kitchen, glanced at the countertop and read out loud, "How to Break Up With Someone Who Drives You Crazy"?!?!

I laughed so hard I almost fell over.

Sandhill Cranes Part II

Sweetie and I got home yesterday and realized that we hadn't quite found the perfect vantage point for seeing the cranes. So, after a bit more research, we ventured out again this afternoon. We first drove down across a bridge, and turned into a curious little village. If you want to know more about that, you'll just have to ask me.

We eventually reached our planned destination, but there were too many trees in the way. Sweetie scrambled down an embankment slightly, but then the 1000+ cranes all flew up and relocated further up the lake (someone assured us the cranes were NOT skittish...).

So, we rumbled back to the car in the zero-degree windchill weather. And headed back to the state park and our original vantage point on New Year's Day.

We eyed the mudflats, and having heard yesterday that someone else had walked across them, we decided to try. I had my long camera lens and its teleconverter. So, it was worth trying to get closer. We made our way down the mudflats and looked north to find a suitable crossing point (ie: one that did not involve crossing 20 feet of thin ice). We eventually made out way to within about 60 yards or so of the cranes. The low light made picture-taking challenging, and as I told Sweetie, there was NO WAY I was dragging my tripod out there and setting it up. As it was, I think we were mildly hypothermic, certainly I was, by the time we made it back to the car.

At any rate, it was an incredible site to be so close to thousands of cranes. At one point, they started flying around up above us and their sound is so distinctive. Truly a New Year's to remember!

Happy New Year

Today, Sweetie and I drove about 25 minutes south of our house to a lake where we heard cranes had been hanging out the past week or so.  I wasn't sure they would still be there.  It was bitterly cold, but sunny, and after driving cluelessly around a state park that we had never been to before, we finally found what appeared to be the "mud flats" that people who had seen the cranes had referred to.  

So, we got out of the car, and Sweetie stopped and said, "Listen."  We heard birds.  And they weren't geese.  We walked down a short path.  And heard more birds.  Then I looked up.  And saw them.  Hundreds.  They were flying into the mudflats for the night.  They kept coming.  There were about 1,000 in all.  It's very good luck in Japan to see cranes on New Year's Day.  

It was incredible!!!