Thanksgiving

Bobby and I are really enjoying this four day weekend. On Thursday and Friday we were in Annapolis with Bobby's Aunt JoAnn and Uncle Jim. Their kids are grown and live far away (Colorado and Alaska) and as we are way out here away from our California roots, it was a great time to get together with family.

On Thursday we walked along the Chesapeake Bay shore, on land owned by the US Naval Academy but not developed. It is such a different body of water than the Pacific in so many obvious ways, but it was beautiful none the less. The rest of the day was spent in feasting and in a couple rousing games of Quibbler.

On Friday we walked around Annapolis and did a brief tour of the Naval Academy. The weather, for those of you who can relate, was like Santa Cruz in the winter - not too cold, but brisk enough; cloudy, with the sun shining through. Bobby bought me some beautiful earrings in a little shop and Jim and Joanna treated us to a lunch right next to the harbor - crab cakes and oysters, mmm.

They drove us home in the early evening Friday, and Bobby and I walked to Union Station and watched Austrailia. I either love movies or find them so-so, and I loved this one. It is definitely a pastiche of different genres, with some campiness thrown in - but the director/screenwriter is Baz Luhrman, so that is to be expected. The cinematography is beautiful, the story engaging, and Luhrman does not hesitate to display in all its awful reality the country's Aborigine re-education program, which took Aborigine and half-caste children away from their mothers to re-educate them to be 'fit' for white society (see Rabbit-Proof Fence for more on this). Austrailia is an epic romance/ cultural history/war movie/commentary on the director's own native country, and I highly recommend it.

In other news, we have secured our next home! Bobby is going to post soon detailing more of the work he will be doing, but for now a brief summary - for the next six months Bobby will be working as a writer for a non-profit that is run alongside our church called 9Marks. At the end of that time (July) he will (most likely) be coming on church staff as a pastoral assistant, a one-two year position. This would probably include housing, so from the time we move out of our church-supplied place until then, we will be renting a basement unit from another church member. It's a great little place and the rent is really reasonable. It's a bit farther away from the church but still on the Hill and close to a metro. It's a very kind provision of God and we're excited to move in (excited too because the reasonable rent means we can buy the furniture that we need - good thing, as we left all of ours in CA and have been using church-basement finds : ).

So, life is good. This weekend has been extremely restful and there is still a day and a half left. May all of you enjoy your time off as well!

Curb Shopping

Something I love about living on Capitol Hill is all the amazing stuff people leave on the curb on trash day. Now, being a dog walker I am out before most people get a chance to sniff out the good stuff. So, here is a list of the stuff I have scored since being in DC:

• Lightly used Ann Taylor brown leather boots (original price, according to the box $130.00)
• Nine sturdy plastic rectangular storage boxes with lids
• Small bookshelf
• Small end-table
• Drying rack
• Shelf with Hooks for the front hallway
• Working vacuum, with tools
• Kitchen cart, with three pull out drawers and a chop block top
• Cashmere sweater

Good things, good things.

*EDIT

I forgot the great wicker hamper with linen liner, and this Wednesday I found a five shelf narrow pine bookcase...woo.

Somewhat Scattered Thoughts From The Transplant

First, the purpose of the blog is to keep you updated, which doesn’t work if we don’t post for three weeks. So today, a long post…with thoughts AND pictures!

Bobby went hiking at beautiful Shenandoah National Park with some guys from church:

Four blocks away:

Goofy shadows taken outside the American Indian Smithsonian Museum.

Great Falls National Park, Virginia side:

In other news...
On Tuesday it was cold enough to briefly snow “flurry.” I was out walking dogs, and my first thought was “ASH!” I looked to the sky, wondering about fire, and in the same split second realizing, duh, these people have brick buildings, basements, and snow – not earthquakes and uncontrollable wildfires. It was hard to be convinced though, mostly because I was just wearing Target-brand Under Armor, jeans and a fleece and wasn’t that cold. Didn’t everyone tell me that the cold would get into my bones? It was about thirty-three degrees, with wind chill twenty-six. It feels like Northern California in the morning.
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Produce is pretty sad on this coast. I didn’t realize until we moved here how fully California supplies the rest of the country with fruit and veggies. Everything is from California (I learned about this in fourth grade, but within state I never thought about it). In California, I would never buy produce at Trader Joe’s because it was prepackaged and I could get better stuff at Ralph’s, a Grower’s Direct, or the Korean market. It’s the best out here, so I always load up. TJ’s is my California fix – it’s a little bit of something normal in the almost foreign country of the District of Columbia.
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When Bobby and I commented on how driven and workaholic a lot of people seem in DC, a guy from church told us that likely the most caffeinated, driven person in California would probably seem somewhat laid back compared to a Hill staffer. We both agree.
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Maybe some of you would feel differently about this, but we had a choice to tour the West Wing or go to small group. I chose small group, and Bobby said that was fine with him, too. Apparently, this is weird to some people.
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I also miss the boho fresh cafes that so liberally populate Southern California. I have started to make almost all breakfasts and coffee at our place, because it saves money, and the cafes here don’t seem to have the same choices as say, Alta or Gypsy Den or Urth Café (imagine that). It’s little bit more “hungry man” than say, homemade yogurt with fresh berries and fair-trade coffee. Haha.

That's it for today...expect more soon.

Things I Am Currently Enjoying About Life

Lists are good...so here goes.

1) Struggling to wake up at 6:00 so I can have a quiet time before the day begins. Somewhat achieved it this morning (6:30) and reading through Psalms and 2 Kings and some prayers from Valley of Vision was worth it. Going for the 6:00 again tomorrow.

2) Hospitality. We've been having lots of new friends over for dinner, and we had Jason here from CA last weekend. I always thought I am an introvert but time (and my husband) insist that I am not.

3) Leaves changing color like I've never experienced. It's so beautiful - golds, reds, and oranges. I'm going to take pictures and post them.

4 ) I take the metro to do most of my errands. No car, no car! Public transportation!

5) I walk a couple miles every day for my job. Today I started with a new client: a beagle/lab puppy. Yes!

6) Fall food. We've been eating lots of soup and home-made bread...because soup fits in the fall when the fall isn't 75 degrees and balmy (O, Southern California!)

7) There is a Happy Land. Our church sings hymns the way churches in old movies do...a piano and everyone's voices. In 2003 they recorded the congregation singing hymns for four hours, the result of which is the "There is a Happy Land" cd recording, which Bobby and I listen to frequently.

8) Being married. My husband rocks.

9) We can walk to our church.

10) Wool socks I bought at Costco today. I've never needed them before and they are very nice.

It's the simple things. : )