A heat wave in san diego county is not the same as the heat of my childhood. Here you can fix it with an iced coffee, a dip in the icy ocean, or a fan (A fan! Not air conditioning. Just a fan. Blows my mind.) Labor day here feels like a celebration of summer just beginning to me. It is a weekend where we spend all day Saturday spring cleaning, Sunday with friends seeding pomegranates we picked from a neighboring tree, and Monday eating French food al fresco and then swimming, laying, reading.

We have been comparing the water temperature here with the temperature we grew up with. The warmest this ocean gets here in summer is how cold our Atlantic gets in the early springtime - when no one swims in it unless they are feeling particularly frisky, or have been dared.

And here, when we have made it past the white water and are up to our shoulders, when our bones are starting to feel numb and we are done asking each other if it was this cold the last time, we look back to land and there are trains, houses, roads, and cliffs where we used to see nothing but dunes. I like that we moved from one ocean to another. There are a lot of things to compare and wrap our minds around. I keep wondering when I'm old which one will feel like home. 

One of our favorite things to do is ride around our neighborhood with the top down and look at houses. We love our little apartment but we are always dreaming and looking. I always did that with my family growing up. Three girls in the backseat riding and reading and looking out windows. Every block has a different feeling…yesterday we saw a little girl riding her bike down the street with her feet up on the handlebars. I thought she was the coolest. For a minute I remembered what it was like to spend every moment practicing those sorts of things outside until dinnertime.

Today we bought plane tickets to North Carolina for Christmas! Seems so far away but it won't be long before we are there, baking and visiting. 

This weekend we are going to see two friends, bandmates, perform a backyard concert. Instructions are to bring blankets and food and drinks. I'm excited for it. 

jeff took these photos and i love them (giraffes!!). if we ever move from california i think we will miss the zoo the most. 

june already.

How quickly life changes on us. 

I got a job. I didn't do much to get it, actually. It was one of those things that happens to you and you didn't have anything to do with it at all. But I work now. I handle the administrative needs of a small nonprofit organization that does great things for underprivileged children. I never thought I would enjoy administrative work until it fell into my lap and I felt I would have been stupid not to take it.* I am busy but not overworked. Although I work enough that the weekends have morphed into this glorious two day period where everything seems amazing and is filled with caramel apple pancakes and zoo animals and catching up on doing things around the house.

Just realized it's almost March. Happy Easter season! More photos soon.

 *Especially with this perfect, massive St Bernard as a coworker. 

iron mountain trailhead

Our weekend included a spontaneous hiking trip after church that ended with a ridiculous sunset view over both mountains and ocean followed by burritos and beer. Hiking in the desert is a much different sport than hiking through forests laid with moss and mushrooms. The sun was hot on the way to the top but there were spots between the rocks that shot out cold air. On the way down when the temperature dropped and the sun fell the cold spots felt just like when you swim in the ocean and you come upon a part deep in the water that hasn't been beaten by the sun. It was breathtaking and invigorating and made me feel like a Californian.

january

January is promising me that things will become routine, and our life here will feel whole and full soon. 

We got year passes to the zoo so we can go whenever we want. I think of this as a good investment for us. So many animals to see and it never gets old because they do different crazy things every day. 

The view of the sun from the giant pier that is a short walk from our house…this will never get old either. I could watch the sun and the sea there in any weather, at any time of day. It's a magical place.

One favorite daily ritual: My coffee sometimes gets cold before I finish it. There is about a third of a mug left some mornings. When that happens I add a drizzle of maple syrup, a few ice cubes, and top it with milk. It is the most deliciously easy iced coffee.

Happy long weekend! We're gonna explore. And maybe go to the zoo again. xo

 

p.s. photo credit to Jeff for taking 90% of these.

I've become an elf in the past couple of weeks. I made the star on our tree, Christmas cards, peppermint mochas, bread, pom poms, and other knitted goodies. There are a few secret surprise gifts I wish I could post here but I have to wait.

It has rained here off and on for a few days and I have been cozied up inside for the most part with sniffles watching Christmas movies while I make. I am getting used to the idea that Christmas this year will not be spent laying around while my mom and grandparents do all the feeding and taking care of everyone. We will have a California Christmas. Presents will be mailed instead of handed. It's a little bit exciting and a little bit sad. 

This weekend we held candles and sang Christmas songs and listened to the Christmas story read under twinkly lights in a park outside with new friends. We had free chili and cornbread after church. We went to a couple of Christmasy parties. It didn't feel like Christmas very much in the beginning of December, but now it is all around.