Randal and I continue to fill our days with new projects and friends. We did have a discussion recently that perhaps we should not take on any new projects for the time being and we held to that for about five days. Then he saw some old ladders on the side of the road that would make a great table.
Controlled and delightful chaos is how we roll.
Heather and Andrea came to visit in February for Valentine's Day and it was a wonderful visit. Heather has now left Oregon and is working in Arizona. We miss her in our beautiful state and are looking forward to our next visit together.
After our dear Baltimore friends left, we [we being the operative word... I hammered about 10 nails] scurried to finish our chicken coop. Our friends had three grown chickens that they couldn't incorporate into their flock, so handed them over to us. They had just started laying, happily, and we've been enjoying their eggs. They have a pretty luxe coop with a skylight and window as well as cedar siding (not pictured here). Unfortunately, they figured out how to get out and so now we only have two, but Randal is reinforcing their yard, so we don't anticipate anymore deceased birds in our yard. (Thanks a lot, Maizie...)
Of course, although these chickens can provide enough eggs for Randal and I, they don't produce enough for us to give eggs to our friends. So, we picked up some baby chicks from our local co-op. We are raising 6 for friends of ours and have 4 more for ourselves. They're adorable and poop a lot. Our friend brought her three kids over yesterday to play with them and despite the 10 month old's best efforts, the chicks lived through the visit!
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| Delicious? |
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| Bogey feigns interest. |
Randal has been scouring the internet for reasonably priced electric vehicles for years. Fortunately, Turlock, California had such a vehicle for sale for a low, low price. (Seriously, about 10% of what the price normally is.) So, Randal threw together a makeshift trailer and we drove the 5 hours to Turlock to get our new mini-truck.
It was an adventure getting it on the too-short trailer, making sure it was centered, and not too heavy. But, after a inauspicious beginning, we dragged this beauty home. (Only having to stop once along the interstate because the back windshield blew out.) I am sure that it's because of my excellent singing, "Mini-truck! Mini-truck! Now we will really have some luck!" (So many verses to this song as mini-truck has a lot of words that rhyme with it...)
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| Sculpture from the surprisingly fantastic sculpture garden in the middle of nowhere northern California. |
We made a weekend trip out of the mini-truck voyage, of course. We stayed near Sacramento and drove through the snowy Mt. Lassen National Park before staying in McCloud, CA. It's a tiny town with very little commercial business, but our B&B was historic and beautiful (and from the same era as our downtown building, sporting the same trim, doors, and other features) with a delicious restaurant.
On the way home, we learned about the Modoc Indian War, which was fascinating and tragic. When you come to visit, we will take you on this historic tour, which shows you much of the Lava Bed National Monument. There are many lava tubes dispersed throughout the park for all skill levels and Randal and I enjoyed the easy ones. It was an educational and entertaining visit and we highly recommend it.
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| Doesn't it look like he should teach a course on lava tube formations? |
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| It was rather low in this part. |
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| Lava Bed National Monument from above. |
Randal however wanted to see if our new mini-truck would work (it didn't run, which is why Turlock was selling it). We hoped that it was simply dead batteries, but expected it to be something else. So, it was quite the happy surprise when, after placing new batteries, the mini-truck jetted around town. And so as soon as we throw some license plates on, the Popes will have the coolest commuter car in town.
Life with Randal is fun. Which is really an understatement.
As I sit in my little upstairs office, Randal is downstairs, working on taxes (as we realize that marriage isn't actually as tax-friendly as we had anticipated). We ate breakfast together and check in now and then to see how the other is doing. Tonight, we'll go to a birthday party together. I have to say it... he's the best. He is attuned to my moods, constantly encourages me, and always laughs at my jokes. As ever, I am the luckiest girl in the world.
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