My new home in Texas:

I live 10 miles away from San Marcos off the I-35 and I have to say, it's pretty much paradise. The house sits on an acre and is surrounded by a huge open sky and one or two never-seen neighbors. Living in San Marcos was not an option because no houses were available in the sweet old part of town, and the areas zoned for multi-family housing were college party blocks that would have made for a very sad and irritated Anna. I popped into Austin one day to check out the housing scene and get an idea for the length of drive to get in/out from different sections of the town. I came to the conclusion that day that Austin was not the place for me right now. After living in Seattle for the last two years, I relished the idea of living away from "fun".

When Jeanette and I saw this house we knew we had something special. And it was SO cheap. Well, Seattle cheap. It is not perfect and sometimes smells a little funny, it's as hot as a baked potato, and we have had to remove all sorts of wildlife from the inside of the house to the outside - but its got character and it certainly charms the socks off of me just about every day.

This photo of the back yard shows the potential for a chicken coop (structure on the left), a vegetable garden (started last week, in front of the chicken coop), and maybe a boarding place for some goats if anyone asks!? Anyone? Ah well, chickens and vegetables for sure.

Jeanette and I have spent the last 20 days exploring our surroundings - mostly the three towns of size within a 10 mile radius and the little establishments in between. We are learning the local customs and native language, which - although spelled the same - sounds very different! For example: a beer cozy is a "coozy", said in a sentence, "ya'll wanna coozy?" I have also found that some bars do not carry "Obama" beer (aka Corona) and close at 9 pm.

When I am not driving around to get glimpse of cowboys and fuzzy farm animals, I stay home and indulge in domestic activities. I have cleaned out the garage and made it into a recycling station and wood storage room. Jeanette and I put together the garden and I have seedlings of okra, cucumber, beets, collards, and eggplant poking out of their egg carton temporary homes. This week I went on a stenciling frenzy and made a couple art pieces for our ranch. And of course I cook. Today I made a wonderful potato and roasted garlic soup made from chicken bone broth.

So "boiled down", my life here is going famously and I have appreciated the huge outpouring of support and love from friends and family on my transition to this new place, new time in my life. Next week orientation for my internship begins. This time between Bastyr and Texas State University has been a beautifully relaxing and rejuvenating time and I feel ready to jump into my career path and hopefully inspire others to live, love, and eat with joy.