Never have I ever .... until now!

We've been having a lot of fun adjusting to this new country of ours, though some things are more fun than others. For instance, I had never had the delicious experience of being the oldest and only married couple on campus for a week solid. We happened to arrive at the same time as all of the freshers so we were constantly surrounded by tiny, giggly girls and awkward, staring boys. The thought crossed my mind that we would be alone for the rest of our year here without a soul to talk to - no fun! Fortunately that changed as the rest of everyone came and we met others in the post-graduate department.

I have also never moved into what is basically dormitory housing to find a plethora of drinking glasses specifically designed with alcohol in mind. We have two whiskey shot glasses, four small wine goblets and several pint glasses. There hasn't been much in the way of tastiness to grace those glasses yet but we'll get around to it. By that time, perhaps we'll be comfortable toting our various beverages home from the store without the discreetness of bags like the rest of our town. Very interesting indeed.

Never before have I been able to see a sea from my apartment! We have the extreme pleasure of looking over the North Sea each and every day. There was one day that we could not see it but that was due to the amount of mist in the air so we couldn't really see much of anything at all.

A new experience I have more than thoroughly enjoyed was our mini pub crawl. This is not at all to say that I had loads to drink or did foolish things or go into any trouble. My enjoyment stemmed from the mere fact of being able to go with my friends to an actual pub and not leave reeking of smoking or having a headache. Smoking is banned in all shops here! The entire pub atmosphere is rather different than what you would find in America. During the day, it's a family friendly establishment and you'll often see kids there. Night time is more adult only but the seedy characters are missing. You can order food from a fairly extensive menu till rather late into the night and it isn't so loud that you can't have a conversation with the friends across the table.

I love this country.

Perfect Weather

A tasty cup of tea.
A good book, perhaps one I've never read before.
Comfy clothes.
An art project. Or two if I'm feeling particularly inspired.
A movie as twilight decends.

That is what today should consist of. True, rain and thunderstorms is more than a little bit unusual for this time of the year, but that's what we find outside our windows today. It is drippy, grey and a little bit dreary. No matter! As you well know, this is not something I mind. The activities mentioned beforehand are some of my favorites and days like today are the perfect ones for them.

Instead of being at my house however, I find myself alone at work. Not a dreadful thing by any means and I did try to rise to the occasion. Rainboots and a scarf about my head made for a delightful walk over while a bright, summery skirt adds another spot of color to this sunshine filled room. This shop is truly charming. No matter what the outside happens to be handing out, the room is bright, cheery and refreshing. I adore working here. Even if I would rather be curled up with my husband and a cup of blueberry vanilla tea.

The end of the shift is still a couple of hours away and I am rather looking forward to it. Another jaunt through this pretty little town in the bright colors I have on today. An evening with Nathanael. A warm cup of tea and a movie as twilight decends.

Something is not quite right...

Let me begin by saying that I love our little apartment. It's cozy, finally looks how I want it, and most things have found a way to be organized. I love living there and being there with my husband. It really is great.

Downside - serious lack of insulation. Serious. There's a place on the floor where, if you set your feet about a foot and a half apart, you can tell where the basement and the apartment below us divide. How? One foot is merely cold, the other foot is frigid to the point of frostbite.

Another favorite spot we have recently discovered is the back door. We don't really use it much and it's basically just another part of the wall that we don't pay much attention to. However, it came glaringly into our vision the other night when Nate noticed that the bottom part of it looks like the inside of a freezer you haven't cleaned in awhile. Yep. At least a half inch of frosty ice on the piece of metal at the bottom.

The plastic sheeting over the old windows is foggy most days and the new windows have ice on the inside.

The furnace can't keep a constant temperature to save its life and the little space heater is trying desperately to make up the difference. Not working out so well but it's sure trying.

All told, we spend most of our time in several layers and wrapped in blankets. At night, we pull the space heater into the bedroom, crank the heat up to 70 in a last ditch effort before turning it back down and then close the door behind us. A new TV and VCR provide reason enough to retire early and the chance to be warm for a bit is incredibly enticing. We've even fortified one window with a spare blanket and used another two as thick rugs on top of the carpet.

It's an adventure and a good topic to blog about. I don't really mind all that much. It's when I can't feel two of my toes even after wearing socks and slippers all day that sort of gets to me.

Christmas for real

It was good!

:)

The sparkle wasn't like it used to be, but I truly enjoyed our first married Christmas. All of the presents were wrapped and waiting, parties were planned and attended, the apartment was cleaned.... it was all lovely. We even got a song message from the party people in Pennsylvania. I think that may have been one of the moments that made it really feel like Christmas. Made me cry a little bit too.

It's still strange not being at my parents house this year but I find that I don't really mind. We had a good time with Leilani and her family on Christmas Eve - even got some presents. Really wasn't expecting that one. And Christmas morning was lovely. A little too relaxed and rushed at the end but not enough to make it bad. We got up late, opened wonderful presents, cleaned up and got on the road. The Squires adopted us for the day so we had lunch with them and then spent the rest of the day loafing. It was very relaxing.

And now I'm at work. Only one lady has come in so far and I rather doubt anyone else is going to come. It's the day after Christmas!!! I don't really know why we're open in the first place - no one else is. Regular opening time too. Bah. I'm getting paid so I'll not complain too much. Have to eat somehow!

:)

So we hang around here for the rest of the week and then head back East. Out of this icy flatland and back to hilly scenery for two more Christmas days. Not a bad plan really. We'll end up with five Christmas's altogether and that is not at all bad. Nope! We get to have our own time together and make new traditions and still be taken care of by parents. Best of both worlds.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Christmas? Really?

It doesn't feel like Christmastime. The concert last night and the concert Friday night didn't work, changing the background here didn't work, and the complete lack of snow certainly isn't helping. Even my little decorated apartment isn't cluing me in. Perhaps the lack of a tree is influencing as well. Is Christmas really next week?

I'm not sure I believe it.

Remember Christmas as a kid? All of the sparkle and anticipation. Parties and decorations, staying up late, hot chocolate and cookies, listening as closely as you could when you fell asleep to hear those bells.

Growing up is a funny thing. I love working. I love having our own little place and making sure that everything is as it should be. As close as it can be anyway. :) I love having meetings and grocery shopping and cleaning and all of the things that make us grown ups.

But.....

I wonder if that has something to do with this feeling. I wonder if all of that hides the sparkle I usually see this time of year.

Mission: find the sparkle again. Really look for it. Show it to others. Make it come back.

This post seems a bit sentimental and overly nostalgic bordering on cliche but it certainly isn't intended that way. I really do want it all back.

I think I'll plan on listening for those bells again. No matter where we find ourselves on Christmas Eve.

a non-post

I don't find myself in a particularly "blog-y" mood but changing my background while still having a post about fall just didn't work for me either. Here's a few updates just for kicks:

-We've had several snowfalls already though once December came, the snow left and the temperature climbed. Very strange.
-I love my work! I love working with all of the groups that come in. Trying to get handprints from the babies is another favorite. They're so adorable.
-Our little place is all decorated for Christmas. I had just enough to make the whole place pretty and I love it. Perhaps I'll remember my camera one of these times and I'll post some new photos in here. My favorite feature is our wreath in place of a tree. I very much wish we could have a tree but we just don't have room. Next year!
-I don't know if we'll be going home for Christmas this year. Nate wasn't able to ask off work since everyone else already had. We might get lucky again and be able to leave last minute but there's no telling. That's sure to go over well with my parents.

All in all, life is so good. I love my husband. I love using the word "husband." We have a lot of our friends here though we miss the ones that are elsewhere. Stephanie is here! Just for the day but it's better than nothing.

Hooray for friends.

Wisps of Memories

I think autumn came today. The sky is full of cold clouds racing overhead. The wind has arrived with gusto and insists on blowing any girls hair into whipped frenzy. Colors have started to appear on trees and a few leaves have made their way into piles on the ground.

Walking along with my hair twirling about my face, I caught a scent of something ever so briefly. It was like a memory sitting on the edge and trying to dive into the now. The moment ended quickly and left me wondering what it was that had crossed by me and my little nose. I suppose I won't ever really know but I am now flooded with memories. Fall memories. My favorites.

Raking piles of leaves in the backyard to jump in but stopping that activity as soon as I realized those leaves weren't soft pillows
Pulling out the box of sweaters for the first time that season
Wrapping up in a puffy vest, scarf and my sweet hat for a stroll about the village
Football games with the band playing and eating pizza from the best shop in town
Coming home to find fall themed cookies decorating our dining table
Bonfires
Apple cider with caramel
Hot chocolate with marshmallows
A trip to Chicago with wonderful friends
Walking to work every day
Apple pie
Surprising Nate and touring Greenville

I love fall. It's almost absolutely my favorite season. Now I really need to get my hands on some apple cider.
Yum.