A Long Time Coming

Christmas and New Years have both come and gone and I haven't posted a single thing. Well, I intend to remedy that right now. Christmas was great. We spent it with Joel's family on the 23rd, with Linda's side of the family a week prior, and Mike's family a couple days after that. I managed to remember my camera for our immediate family Christmas, thankfully. All three Christmases were lovely and Joel and I definitely had a good time.

Here is how Mike and Linda's cat, Piano, spends most of her days.

We spent Christmas in Mike and Linda's new house, which is a cute little ranch just down the street from where they use to live.

For New Year's Eve Joel and I went down to Cincinnati to spend the weekend with Will, one of Joel's college friends. He just moved into an apartment that his firm helped design and develop. Will also has an impeccable style that is very fitting to his apartment.

Since I've been without a job, I've been spending my time drawing and knitting. Most recently I knitted up these little wool baby pants for some friends who just had a baby, as per the mother's request.

And I've been working on a drawing project that has no end in sight.

Upcoming

I will be posting sometime next week of all our holiday celebrations (not all of them caught on camera) once I get my laptop back. As of now, I am studying for the GRE like crazy and am looking forward to having that be done and taken. I am taking the GRE in Columbus on January 3, so those of you who pray: please pray with reckless abandon! I am understandably nervous and am hoping I only have to take it once, it isn't a cheap test by any means. I should hopefully know where I've been accepted to by March. Oh boy!

Sears Woods Walk

Today Joel and I went to Sears Woods for a little hike. Everything looked very wintry and cold but still on the cusp of autumn. There were leaves on the ground that still had their shape, they weren't covered in snow or disintegrating. We saw two birds during our entire walk, but everything else was sleeping or had migrated. It was a pleasant walk, if a bit cold, but one gets use to that after a while.

The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

A couple weeks ago Joel and I cat-sat for our friends in DC while they were in Japan on business. It was nice to get out of Ohio for a little bit and get back to our old stomping grounds. The two sundays that we were there we went up to Ellicot City (outside of Baltimore) to go to church and visit our old friends at Metanoia. I wish we had taken photos of everyone, but alas we didn't. It was so warm and wonderful to spend those sundays with everyone. On wednesday we went up again to go to a Bible study with folks from Metanoia. Between trips to the Baltimore area we visited the National Cathedral where they were having a retirement ceremony for the head of the American Episcopalian church. I forget the technical term for her position, but neither here nor there, it was amazing to see so many colourful vestments and beautiful people.

After we walked around the National Cathedral, Joel and I had a picnic in a park nearby. The sun felt great and we're still relishing how often the sun shines in other parts of the country outside of the Pacific Northwest.

We also got to have dinner with our friend Beth and her boyfriend Carson twice, once at Beth's parents house in Virginia and once in DC. It was lovely to see them twice. On saturday we went West of Ellicot City to see where my friend Patty is apprenticing at a pottery studio. You can see some of the work they do here . Amazing stuff and really lovely people. Then we headed back to Ohio, Joel had an interview the next day at the local German butcher/deli (which he got, and more). I've been making books and knitting. You can see more of the books on my art website.

Today I finished painting the master bathroom. I'm pretty excited about it.

I've finished my applications to the University of Wisconsin and the University of Iowa. I'm also applying to the UI Certificate of Book Studies in addition to the MA in Library & Information Science, that application isn't complete yet but we're getting there. I am probably going to volunteer at the Bucyrus Public Library. The lady in charge of volunteers seems to be kind of a grump but I suppose that's going to happen sooner or later. Oh well. Things are going well though. I'm looking forward, nervously, to hearing about grad school. Please pray for me!