apartment photos, as promised

Please note, tomorrow after church we're going to IKEA with Fox, so there will be some additions — mainly more lighting in the living room and some window treatments (have the stuff, need something on which to hang them). Also, there are no photographs of the bedroom. Eventually, when less than half the floor is covered with boxes, I'll get photos up.

Here is our living room, courtesy IKEA. You can buy a lot there, even on a small budget. The sofa, both bookshelves, rug, lamp and TV stand are all new.

Here's the media setup — the new TV is a housewarming present from Ian's folks (Dane found a sweet deal online... it's one of his talents). Thanks again — it's amazing!

The bookshelf that killed us to carry up (in three flat boxes, but BOY is it heavy).

The biggest kitchen we've ever had — please remember what we had before this. In Philly it was an easy-bake oven that didn't open all the way and a pantry on wire shelving in the hallway. In Jardine at least our oven opened, but it was a hallway of a kitchen — a one-butt kitchen. Here, we can both cook AND a guest or two can sit at the table at the same time. It's like kitchen heaven.

The happy Kitchenaid, nestled neatly in it's corner.

The bathroom tile is a lot prettier looking than we were expecting (a creepy aqua-green) and thanks to an IKEA over-the-toilet shelf unit, we don't have to keep half of our bathroom things (blow dryer, makeup, lotion... okay, MY bathroom things) in our bedroom. We even have a LINEN CLOSET so the towels and bedding have a home. I feel so grown up.

So that's our apartment, minus the bedroom. Which is big, even if the closet isn't. I'm sure you're waiting on the edge of your seats to see bedroom photos. Please don't fall off. It might be a little while...

Bertha, our first turkey

Our first full week here, we got to celebrate Thanksgiving and decided to attempt a traditional Thanksgiving meal. Caleb joined us, as a fellow holiday orphan.

The night before, Ian picked up a turkey and a box of Stove Top. The day of, we took it pretty easy, getting Bertha (the turkey) ready after lunch. Mashed potatoes, gravy and stuffing would wait until right before dinner. Bertha, however, required some extra attention.

Here she is oiled and massaged with some sage.

And here is Bertha and I before she indulged in her sauna. Please pretend I look perfectly domestic.

The whole meal turned out great and we had lots of fun catching up with Caleb. We haven't really spent any measurable amount of time with him since spring break 2005 (me)/that summer internship in 2006 (Ian). Then all in one week, we go with him to see a screening of The Road (well done but very depressing), join him and some of his friends for his belated birthday lunch at The Gourmet Dumpling House, and spend Thanksgiving together. It's been lovely. (Fox went home for Thanksgiving, in case you're wondering why he was not also with us.)

We packed up the rest of Bertha... the turkey (too weird using a name post-roasting) and froze it. We've got four bags of what we're guessing are a pound each, and we sent home a bag with Caleb. How's that for frugal meal prep! We'll probably do it again, non-holiday, to have some cheap and pre-cooked meat in the freezer.

Friday, i.e. Ian's last pre-work weekday, we wandered around a bit, took a test commute on public transportation to the office, and stopped at Sovereign Bank to start a checking account. I realize Bank of America is the go-to bank for people of our age here, but I researched and we decided the free checks and waiving of the fee for using "foreign" (non-Sovereign) ATMs would come in handy when we go home, where some places don't take plastic (debit or credit) and where there are no Bank of America OR Sovereign ATMs. We can work around their Monday-Friday work week, as we're used to banks like that anyway. And I appreciate they give their employees the weekends off — why should I make people work weekends for my convenience when, given the choice, I'd pick weekends off? Anyway, our decision was reinforced by Connie, the very friendly and helpful bank officer who helped us set up our account. Sold!

Sunday, Fox took us to Reunion, and we're very excited to get plugged in. It's a very passionate community and they care about the issues that are important to us — relief work, relational missions, fair trade, the environment, AND they're doing Advent Conspiracy, which I learned about last year and am excited about.

Monday was Ian's first day of work. As requested, I took a photo of him before he left. Not a great photo in terms of composition, as I was still in the process of waking up while I was attempting to take the photo.

On Wednesday, our Verizon internet modem arrived (we ordered internet over the weekend) and it miraculously worked — our official start date was supposed to be today. Super exciting and I have catching up to do (like blogging...).

Today, I applied for a job at a local independent bookstore, and also explored a bit. I accidentally got on the outbound green line car, so I decided to ride it to the end of the line. Interesting to see more of our surroundings and get some ideas for places to apply if the bookstore doesn't work out. I'm hoping it does though, because it's like ACME Gift and The Dusty Bookshelf smooshed together. I then rode the train inbound all the way to Copley Square to get a library card at Boston Public Library. Which closed 10 minutes before I arrived. So instead I took a photo of the Copley Christmas tree. They perhaps call it a holiday tree. I won't.

By the way, I took this photo around 5:15 p.m. It gets dark that early here. Lots of things to get used to, but I think I'm adjusting!

Orville and Buck

Friday morning we left Albany and finished our trek across the states of New York and Massachusetts. And please note, if you ever drive around the East Coast, be aware of expensive tolls. I think we probably spent about $40 on tolls, mostly crossing New York and Massachusetts. Dad pointed out these states have large snow removal costs, and I can't complain — the roads are in good shape with lots of clean food/gas plazas (unlike 1-70 through Pennsylvania).

(I like how the sign is slightly different than the standard state sign: "Massachusetts welcomes you" as if the whole state is happy you are there.)

We stopped at one of these plazas before heading into the city of Boston. We hadn't heard the accent until we made this stop. It didn't really hit me until that moment, how different our new home is from our old one. And I confess, we did eat McDonald's. But it was cheap. You can't do healthy and cheap very well while traveling, and with no income yet, cheap wins.

We got to the apartment just a bit after lunchtime, and Micki and Grandma Judy arrived almost at the same time. They said everyone was very helpful as they navigated public transportation from the airport to our doorstep. Caleb, fellow Kansan and grad student at BU, also came to help us move. And Caleb, I can't tell you how much that helped. Without you, we would still have been moving boxes the next day.

After all of our possessions were out of the truck and in our new home, we crossed the back parking lot to a pizza place to order out some dinner. Exhausted but full, Caleb headed home and we got settled as much as possible. This involved an unsuccessful attempt to find the shower curtain hooks, baths, and beds. I, however, couldn't retire until I got out the KitchenAid from Grandma. It patiently waited 1.83 years for this day. I didn't want it to wait any longer.

The KitchenAid and I are both happy it's home.

Saturday we took the Penske, dropped off Grandma Judy and Micki to get groceries, and headed to IKEA for our missing furniture (sofa, bookshelves, lighting for the living room which has no fixture, etc.). We went in with a list and a $1000. I felt like we were on an HGTV show, coming in just under budget. We love our new furniture, despite the difficulties in getting it up to the third floor. The sofa required two attempts — Micki and Ian finally got it. I'll post photos of everything once it's all presentable (not perfect, just not obscured by boxes).

Sunday was our exploring day. Grandma Judy had never been to Boston and we wanted to show her around. So we started with the office. They have a beautiful view of the Charles River, and the building, an old paper mill, is very interesting. After Fox gave us the Sasaki tour, we went to his favorite restaurant in Watertown — The Upper Crust.

They serve fantastic pizza by the slice!

After lunch, Fox headed back to the office and we took the bus to Hahvahd. When we got off the bus, a nice man named Orville helped me get Charlie Cards and figure out our best options, as new residents. A memorable name for a memorable man. It's very nice to find someone so friendly and helpful!

After a stop at The COOP, Ian led us around campus. I think the ivy isn't QUITE as big as Cornell's (Dad) but it is a beautiful school.

We also managed to accidentally wander in the student dining center. I snapped a photo before a staff person very politely asked us to leave. It looks like Hogwarts.

We next headed to the Holocaust Memorial. On the way, Grandma Judy met a guy.

I don't think it will get very serious though. He's not much of a communicator.

The New England Holocaust Memorial is a very moving experience. Six towers of glass representing the six main Nazi death camps funnel steam, evoking the images of the crematories. Covering every inch of the glass towers are numbers, just like the tattooed numbers of holocaust victims. Although filled with visitors, it is peaceful, allowing visitors to reflect on the quotes and images of the memorial. Small stones resting on top of the entrance markers are placed by visitors — I was told its Jewish tradition to leave stones to remember things (like in the Old Testament).

After spending some time at the memorial, we took a trolley tour of the city — our feet were tired and it's nice to hear extra info about the places you're seeing. Buck, our tour guide was great — lots of fun stories and interesting facts. I'd definitely recommend Old Town Trolley Tours.

We finished up the day with dinner at The Barking Crab, where Fox met us. Great food, but the portions are huge. If we do it again, we'll definitely be sharing more.

Yesterday, we enjoyed our final moments with Grandma Judy and Micki before accompanying them to the airport and seeing them off. It was strange saying goodbye. After being with family since July, it's different now that it's just the two of us, asking "what now?" But we're excited to find out!

Niagara Falls

"Slowly I turn. Step by step and inch by inch..." Every time I hear "Niagara Falls" I think of the Three Stooges bit. When I was younger, we checked out a lot of videos from the library (no cable, no regrets), mainly of the old movie variety. Think Cleopatra. Also included was a Three Stooges collection, and Nathan and Caleb reenacted this particular skit countless times.

Ian and planned our Niagara Falls pit stop as soon as we knew we were moving. I introduced him to the skit, and he found Flickr photos of when the falls froze. We were excited, and we were not let down.

Yesterday morning we loaded up, then drove the Penske around Ohio State's campus. Ian will be working on the campus master plan, and Fox specifically requested photos of certain areas on campus. It's not easy to drive a moving truck around a campus during classes. To get the requested photos, I hopped out of the van with the camera, walked the full length of 17th Street snapping photos as Ian drove around, then jumped back in at the other end of the street. Despite it looking like I was casing the joint, I only got a few funny looks. Armed with photos, we headed back to interstate and on to Buffalo, New York.

We passed through Pennsylvania, and through a miscommunication, barely got the state's welcome sign.

We continued on I-90 along Lake Erie and the state of New York welcomed us as well.

We drove on to Buffalo and crossed two scary toll bridges to Niagara Falls, New York. It's not exactly a picturesque town, and it was a challenge to navigate past all the tourist traps and "official welcome centers" for the falls. Peering through the drizzle we managed to avoid crossing the Canadian border in the truck (we have passports, but didn't want to deal with customs coming back in a moving truck). We parked (free, as we got there later in the day) and went in to the state park (i.e. official) welcome center. The nice people at the desk told us we were just in time to go up to the observation tower before it closed. And what a view!

It started to get dark (earlier than we're used to) and we left the observation deck. We took the Penske around to the other side of American Falls. It was getting very dark by that time, but it made for some great photos.

After filling up with gas, we headed back over the toll bridges and back on I-90. We originally planned to stay in Syracuse, but Ian was wide awake and decided to continue driving. As we reached Albany, we saw the interstate ahead of us was closed, and I noticed a news van. Forced to pull over, we found a motel at the exit and checked in.

This morning, Ian flipped on the news as we got ready, and we were surprised with a video of our Penske on interstate. Apparently a trooper pulled over a car and the driver ran for it. I found the story and the footage online. You'll have to wait for the 10-second ad to run, but after that you'll see the news story. Our Penske is the third vehicle to pass.

Now it's onward to Boston!

greetings from Columbus, OH

also known as the move to Boston so far.

This move is perhaps our easiest to date, as most of our things were already packed up. It also is the most drawn out, as we had our things in three locations and needed to coordinate the schedules of three different families (mine, his, and Britni and Joe) to get everything back together.

We started last Wednesday. Micki and Pfluff helped us pack.

Finished there, we spent a few days with my family. I sorted through my old things and we loaded up everything from both homes into the van. While there, we got to see Caleb in fall play for his senior year. They did Twelve Angry Jurors and performed wonderfully — I'm so glad we didn't miss it. We also got to see Nathan and Grandma at home, since they came to see the play as well. After the Saturday performance, we took some fun family photos.

Sunday, I said goodbye to my first car. It was an emotional moment.

After the goodbye, all of us (Grandma and Nathan included) formed a caravan to get us and our things to Britni and Joe's house. For the first time since we got married, all of our things were in one place. It was a good feeling. The family headed back that afternoon, to get Caleb back Monday for school and the second fall play performance.

The next two days we spent seeing friends and family. I'm so glad we got to see all of you before we left — you mean so much to us. Nathan, in an act of great-brotherness, surprised us with several Jones Sodas to review on our way, just like we did on the way to Philadelphia (the pie-flavored Jones Soda was a Christmas present from him). Don't worry, the reviews are coming! We also had some great help loading up the Penske, and had fun hanging out with Britni and Joe. We appreciate so much everything they have done for us.

This morning, we left at 6:30 a.m. After fourteen hours of travel and five states, we're getting much needed rest at a motel here in Columbus.

Missouri.

Illinois.

Indiana.

Ohio.

Tomorrow we'll explore Ohio State's campus, see Niagara Falls (a first for both of us) and hopefully make it to Buffalo, New York.

And for those interested, the frogs are doing swimmingly — they enjoy a good road trip. But as fun as the trip is, we all (frogs included) are very excited to get to Boston and see our new home.