The "Since-Christmas Status-Quo"

Christmas was a little different this year, as our Scotland family flew over to the States (we haven't had all 5 together here for Christmas before!) and some job scheduling factors pushed my immediate family's "Christmas" a week later (no problem at all though!). My mom had a medical procedure that kept her from being able to travel to the larger family party, so we stayed in town with her, and our flight schedule unfortunately caused us to miss (by less than a day) the family gathering on my Dad's side for my Grandpa's memorial service. All this, combined with having to mooch rides and borrow vehicles, meant of course we didn't see as many people, nor for as long as we'd have liked, but we did value the time we were able to spend in Michigan, and will try again (but probably fail terribly all the same! lol- it's pretty much an impossible assignment) to make the most we can of our next visit. :)

Patrick with the two youngest nephews: Isaac (furthest left) and John.

I suppose the slightly unusual Christmas might have been an omen for a year that seems to have started off feeling differently than the last one ended. You'd think it'd pick up the everyday routine same as before, but for some reason it's like a dial was turned to a higher notch. For me,work just seemed to grow even more stressful and hard to stay caught up with; Patrick's job has put him in the path of some out-of-the-norm and frustrating situations ("Jimmy and the snow chains" is a good one for a campfire sometime if you think to ask); and like much of the nation we fell ill at one point too.

To my inconvenience, and later my amusement: I reached for a tissue at my bedside during the middle of the night and it was kind of wet which surprised me. In the morning I realized the last tissue I pulled had another outstretched from the box still attached to it. It landed in my water glass and proceeded to soak it all up until the rest of the tissues and the box itself were soaked.

Patrick has had to travel out of town and away from home in higher frequency the last month or so (including some weekends), which can be exhausting and expensive for him, a little lonely at times for me (and nobody to split the chores with!), we miss each other a little more, and it does mix up our dynamic a little bit. At least he's been in hotels more this winter field season, which means we get reception to talk at the end of the night.

Certainly we don't want to seem like we're whining- we know we have it WAY good compared to the majority of the world- we're just reporting how things have been lately, which honestly is a little less ideal than our personal, previous status-quo. But, we've managed to squeeze in some fun too. I've been exercising 4 days a week after work (2 days on campus in a HR-sponsored workout class; 2 days with some coworkers in a conference room doing circuit training) which has helped me burn off some stress before going home, and has helped me grow closer with a few of the women at work. Patrick has been able to put the skis he purchased from our AK pals to use during some of his trips, and joined some guys from church on a snowshoe trip (future blog post in the works). And here are a few other cheering items:

My Aunt was eager to see the outcome of some knitting materials she gave me at Christmas, so I set to work on the scarf. Many of my attempts to progress beyond knitting washcloths have not turned out too successfully, so this was a rather encouraging project!

Patrick's coworker Phil had a mini "pre-bachelor" party for friends that couldn't accompany him to Denver for the actual bash. The bride-to-be, Vanessa, invited me to go hang out with her while the guys went on an overnight trip to Santa Rosa. So we carpooled to Davis- where Phil & Vanessa live- the first weekend in February. I was very envious of their Farmers Market which had a drool-over collection of food trucks and bakery wares, in addition to the fresh produce.

The poor boys exchanged some of their plans for disc golf and a few breweries to wait in line for 7 hours at Russian River, where one of the currently best-rated beers in the world was having a limited release. Very daunting for sure, but it was a bonding experience! Meanwhile, I experienced some of Davis, via a rarely-enjoyed greasy giant burger, a walk though the UCD campus arboretum (where I just happened to meet someone from Kalamazoo), and an entertaining performance put on in part by Vanessa's sister's dance company.

From the arboretum walk: quite a group of cacti with "red skin potatoes, as I call them.

Patrick and I got President's Day off, and his coworker lent me her skis/boots, so we went to Badger Pass at Yosemite National Park for the afternoon. It was my first time in about 8 years by my estimate (and I can count on one hand the number of times I've gone in my life), so I was a little wobbly at first and acquired a sore hip from falling a few times, but I think I caught on ok and had fun overall, considering!

Spring yields Merced's most pleasant temperature and fauna of the year, by my vote, so we've been enjoying 70 degree days, honey-sweetened air, and gorgeous greenery and flowers while it lasts (soon enough we'll be cursing 105 degree days). Our first real indulgence in the season was a couple weekends ago. We worked in the garden and relaxed at the end of the day with grilled veggies & pineapple, and a warming campfire.

 

I bought this wood bookcase at Goodwill for $20 with the intent to refinish it..... 10 months ago! It needed some structural reinforcing first though, so Patrick said it's finally time and went to work. To my immense luck, he has even spared me hours of sanding work on a volunteer basis! Hopefully we'll have added this to our living room before the 1-year mark. :)

So there's an update on the last few months. We'll provide a more in-depth look at the more interesting parts soon. I know it's not a replacement for direct contact (sorry- we usually get home at 7pm or later and delve into cooking supper, which places Michiganders nearly in bed; and weekends are riddled with travel/errands or reserved for catching up with parents), but we hope you can still feel somewhat connected via the pictures and stories!