I've been with Dan for four days now. What a roller coaster it has been!
We arrived in Victoria late on Friday night to a house of smiling faces. Welcome! Your bed is made! Do you need help bringing stuff in? We have plans for Thanksgiving! After about an hour of talking, we made our way to bed.
Yuki the house cat has been here a long time. He has some vision issues which makes him seem like a not to bright kitty, but really he just wants to be loved. Apparently he has issues with other cats, and there are many in the neighbourhood. We brought Sam upstairs and although we've been here for two days now, I don't think they have met yet.
What a marked difference. It took about two weeks for Sam to feel comfortable at the farm, what with the other cat, the puppy, and the two small (read: noisy) children. Sam has been pretty good here. The house is pretty quiet, Yuki is the opposite of aggressive and thus far absent, and we have spent most of our time in the privacy of a closed room & bathroom.
I worry about Sam a lot. She has travelled more than most my family. She is from Korea, flew to Alberta, flew to Victoria, flew to Edmonton, drove to Victoria, drove to Ucluelet, drove to Alberta, drove to the US border (sadface), and now back to Victoria. She has never liked travelling but this leg from Alberta was especially good with her cute kitty loft. At any rate, Sam is pretty happy in this house and I'm not worried about her.
Dan and I have arrived at a conclusion. The most important thing in our life is to be together. This may sound simple and obvious, but before we had this big continental separation, years ago, we talked about lots of places we'd be willing or unwilling to live. We know now for certain that as long as we are together, we can overcome any hardship, make a go of it no matter where we are.
We just have to be together.
Dan will take the Clipper to Seattle on Saturday, then fly back to Raleigh that night. That means I have just under a week to relearn what it is like to be with my husband, for us to etch some new memories, go to our favourite restaurants (Carlo's Cantina, here we come!), and to settle me in with my in-laws. We're trying not to think about our impending separation, just to enjoy the time we have together.
We've both lost weight and changed shape. We discovered the other night that we fit differently. We have less padding. With Dan getting his brewing muscles back and me training for a marathon, by the time we next see each other, there will need to be further readjustment when cuddling. Who knew?
I have been pretty low-key on Twitter over the last few days as Dan and I have been hanging out. I haven't been interacting with my Internet friends very much at all over these last few days and I am extremely behind on listening to podcasts. I might not get back to them until after Dan leaves. I am fairly certain I will be available for the upcoming #knitchat (6:30pm PST, the "fastest hour on Twitter").
Food. O. My. Goodness. Victoria has food. As in food culture. I didn't realize what a food desert I had been mired in until I realized that I could get good Japanese food, I have a whole wealth of excellent restaurants to go to, and I don't have to worry about the tastes of picky eaters. (I love my sister and her family, but they are certainly not very adventurous foodwise). I will get to do some cooking of my own too. Dan's mom & stepdad will head south for a month or so, and when Dan leaves, I'll be sharing the house with two of Dan's siblings. As they are both students and we are approaching winter, I'm sure they will be happy to come home to soups & stews in the slow cooker, some sweet & savory snacks, and my cooking experiments. I want to learn how to do Japanese cooking, for when I'm in a place that has no good Japanese food I know how to make it. There are several Asian markets in Victoria that I can get groceries at. It's good.
The other thing I will need to work on is clothing. I have very little clothing left that fits me and that is appropriate for winter on the Island. I made due with little all summer, as Dan told me to wait until I got to North Carolina to buy clothes. What do I do? My style is changing so I'll have to go hunting for some clothing. How long will I be here? Long enough to want to invest in some good pieces? I don't want to be frumpy any more. There are dozens of used clothing stores in town and I'll have time to haunt them. I'll need some shoes. Some of the pieces I acquire will depend on the job I end up getting. It will certainly be interesting.
So yes, I'm making lemonade of the situation. When I have some more time and feel a bit more settled, I'll have a bunch of other stories to share with you as I am planning to blog way more regularly.
We arrived in Victoria late on Friday night to a house of smiling faces. Welcome! Your bed is made! Do you need help bringing stuff in? We have plans for Thanksgiving! After about an hour of talking, we made our way to bed.
Yuki the house cat has been here a long time. He has some vision issues which makes him seem like a not to bright kitty, but really he just wants to be loved. Apparently he has issues with other cats, and there are many in the neighbourhood. We brought Sam upstairs and although we've been here for two days now, I don't think they have met yet.
What a marked difference. It took about two weeks for Sam to feel comfortable at the farm, what with the other cat, the puppy, and the two small (read: noisy) children. Sam has been pretty good here. The house is pretty quiet, Yuki is the opposite of aggressive and thus far absent, and we have spent most of our time in the privacy of a closed room & bathroom.
I worry about Sam a lot. She has travelled more than most my family. She is from Korea, flew to Alberta, flew to Victoria, flew to Edmonton, drove to Victoria, drove to Ucluelet, drove to Alberta, drove to the US border (sadface), and now back to Victoria. She has never liked travelling but this leg from Alberta was especially good with her cute kitty loft. At any rate, Sam is pretty happy in this house and I'm not worried about her.
Dan and I have arrived at a conclusion. The most important thing in our life is to be together. This may sound simple and obvious, but before we had this big continental separation, years ago, we talked about lots of places we'd be willing or unwilling to live. We know now for certain that as long as we are together, we can overcome any hardship, make a go of it no matter where we are.
We just have to be together.
Dan will take the Clipper to Seattle on Saturday, then fly back to Raleigh that night. That means I have just under a week to relearn what it is like to be with my husband, for us to etch some new memories, go to our favourite restaurants (Carlo's Cantina, here we come!), and to settle me in with my in-laws. We're trying not to think about our impending separation, just to enjoy the time we have together.
We've both lost weight and changed shape. We discovered the other night that we fit differently. We have less padding. With Dan getting his brewing muscles back and me training for a marathon, by the time we next see each other, there will need to be further readjustment when cuddling. Who knew?
I have been pretty low-key on Twitter over the last few days as Dan and I have been hanging out. I haven't been interacting with my Internet friends very much at all over these last few days and I am extremely behind on listening to podcasts. I might not get back to them until after Dan leaves. I am fairly certain I will be available for the upcoming #knitchat (6:30pm PST, the "fastest hour on Twitter").
Food. O. My. Goodness. Victoria has food. As in food culture. I didn't realize what a food desert I had been mired in until I realized that I could get good Japanese food, I have a whole wealth of excellent restaurants to go to, and I don't have to worry about the tastes of picky eaters. (I love my sister and her family, but they are certainly not very adventurous foodwise). I will get to do some cooking of my own too. Dan's mom & stepdad will head south for a month or so, and when Dan leaves, I'll be sharing the house with two of Dan's siblings. As they are both students and we are approaching winter, I'm sure they will be happy to come home to soups & stews in the slow cooker, some sweet & savory snacks, and my cooking experiments. I want to learn how to do Japanese cooking, for when I'm in a place that has no good Japanese food I know how to make it. There are several Asian markets in Victoria that I can get groceries at. It's good.
The other thing I will need to work on is clothing. I have very little clothing left that fits me and that is appropriate for winter on the Island. I made due with little all summer, as Dan told me to wait until I got to North Carolina to buy clothes. What do I do? My style is changing so I'll have to go hunting for some clothing. How long will I be here? Long enough to want to invest in some good pieces? I don't want to be frumpy any more. There are dozens of used clothing stores in town and I'll have time to haunt them. I'll need some shoes. Some of the pieces I acquire will depend on the job I end up getting. It will certainly be interesting.
So yes, I'm making lemonade of the situation. When I have some more time and feel a bit more settled, I'll have a bunch of other stories to share with you as I am planning to blog way more regularly.
Wow Stacey, you are an excellent writer & I see a book in your future should you want it. I had no idea you were training for a marathon, that's awesome! I am doing a half in a couple of weeks myself. Enjoy your time with Dan & I pray you will be together soon.
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