Things About City Life

I really do love living here in this city.  The lights, the noise, the surprising friendliness of neighbors.  But some parts make me horribly sad.  It's cold and rainy here a lot, and I see plenty of homeless on our drive towards and coming back from base.  Garret had bought apples the other day and gave one to a man he saw, feeling bad that was all he had.  So we try and pack sandwiches and apples in the car when we're heading out and about.  The economy kinda sucks here, (as in a lot of places) and so we try to do a little.  I encourage you to consider doing similar things.  A peanut butter sandwich can sit in your car for a bit, and it's a source of protein.  We're hoping to remember to do things like baked potatoes as it gets colder.  Pop them in the oven an hour or so before you're leaving and it's something that provides some heat and a lot of nutrients.

We've been in the house a little over a week, and while it seems like there is always something new to worry about, we're loving it.  Baby steps, deep breaths, and lots of coffee!  This city is full of life, and the homes are colorful.  This is what I see when I look out our back window, the colors are stunning.  

Our heat hasn't been on in a few days.  It's cold outside, but our house is quite well insulated apparently.  The thermostat is set to 65, and yet it's been 70+ in here with our furnace turned off.  I don't think we're going to mind this next bill too much!  We got our new laundry machines this past week, and I am loving the little music they play when they begin and end.  Because our house is so empty with hardwood floors, you can hear it in the kitchen (and our laundry is up on the third floor).  G's become our local handyman, installing blinds and curtains.  Last night he went downstairs to check the breaker box, and accidentally set off our house alarm....boy is it loud!  I think he nearly had a heart attack as he came up muttering about needing to stick his finger in a light socket to re-start his heart!  

Sorry for the lack of posting and the lack of pics.  The house still has plenty of boxes as we figure out what will stay, what we're donating.  It keeps us busy, running errands, picking up things we forgot we would need.  I hope everyone is enjoying the fall, it's been beautiful around here, I need to take pics of the changing trees! Here is a pic on base of a grate that I fell in love with the pattern.  Very Moroccan tile-esque!

Oh, and our sweet realtor brought these over this week:

A book on Baltimore and pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting (that she made from scratch!).  The muffins were delicious and she was kind enough to give me the recipe, making G a very happy man.  Ahh, making a man happy by feeding him simple quick breads!