Getting settled

Our place is looking better and better each day. So great to have a full weekend without anything but our stuff to deal with. I begged Jeremy to cover our PAWS shift on Sunday and he agreed even though he'll be covering my shift next Sunday when I'm out of town. I'll be taking a couple extra shifts later this month to compensate.

*The kitchen is unpacked. Darren cleaned all the shelves and we started unloading our goods. Still disorganized, but we aren't tripping over boxes. Have yet to find that last box of spices, we really wanted the no MSG Johnny's for steaks on Saturday, we survived with plain ol' salt and pepper. Also discovered most folks down in the south end likely bbq with charcoal briquettes, we drove for quite a while before we found a gas station with propane for our gas grill.

*A couple outdoor plants are in the ground. Our sweet old neighbors at our last place dug up some plants for us: pinks, daisies, and this one plant with cool red flowers. We might go back once more to dig up our irises and dahlias. While checking out our yard I came across a large (bigger than my head) yellow jacket's nest in the tree in our backyard. Just above head height hiding hidden among the leaves. Eek! Good thing when my friends (who were hiding in the tree's shade with popsicles after our move) and little 2 year old 2nd cousin (my cousin's child--is that a 2nd cousin?) who was running around in the yard a couple days later (wearing a bright yellow t-shirt and all sticky with popsicle, big no-no's when it comes to yellow jackets) were not stung!

*I took a very pleasant 3 hour nap. I had no trouble falling asleep at my regular time that evening. I think my body was telling me something. Rest! With the longer commute I am now waking up at 7ish AM and catching my bus at 8 (takes me about an hour to get into work) whereas before I used to wake up at maybe 8:45 AM for the 25 minute commute. I had it easy for 2 years while Darren had the long commute, it's my turn this time. I need to unpack my books so I have something to do while on the bus.

*Friday night Erica and Roxy came over to catch up. We went out in search of dessert and coffee. The Starbucks in Columbia City was closed so we checked out Lottie's Lounge. We weren't in the mood for alcoholic drinks and enjoyed our chai tea (Morning Glory is the best) and chocolate torte. Yum. Erica used to work with youth in this neighborhood back in 1999. She said it's changed a lot ('everyone's white now').