What-What?! Week of June 29th

Life here is moving onward.  It feels more normal now, though I still reach for the drawer in the bathroom to get my hairbrush, and I caught myself thinking that I could visit my parents, since we were going to Costco and all.  I've been taking the children down to the local park nearly every day, both to give us something to do, and just to get out of the house and see the sun.  The weather's been good -- a bit like California in the spring, really.

Early this week, the husband and I got our Washington drivers liceneses.  It was surprisingly efficient.  In this state, the drivers licensing and the car registration stuff happens at separate locations; this means that the only issues happening are drivers license related.  To get my Washington DL taken care of took maybe 10 minutes total, from the time I stepped in the door to the time I left.  It was so easy.

Last Sunday, we also attended the Everett farmers' market.  I wasn't sure exactly what to expect, but was disappointed nonetheless.  The husband and I will miss the produce and farmers markets in California greatly.  In contrast to the neat rows, and the division between producers (farmers) and purveyers (prepared food vendors), the Everett market was a giant mess.  Its rows went this-a-way and that-a-way, and the produce was all mixed about.  The selection of produce was also pretty small, especially in terms of veggies (I wanted to buy carrots, but found none to buy).

And there were lots of dogs in the market as well.  Not that I dislike dogs, I just don't particularly care for them around my food that much.

News:  Time Stands Still in Locked Off Cave via The Japan Times

This is a fascinating article about the Chauvet Cave in Paris.  Discovered in 1996, the cave holds some of the oldest and best preserved cave paintings in the world, and now stands locked and monitored 24/7, to ensure its longevity.  The article discusses more of the details, as well as the replica cave being built not far away.

What-What?! Week of June 22nd

The view out our back porch.  You can see the playground, geese, and lake.

We're approaching a week of living in Everett, Washington.  It is very different here.

One of the most stark differences between our old apartment and this one is the noise; at the previous place, we were very near both a highway and the main street of Hollister.  Even late at night, there would be sirens, and the low din of traffic.  Here in Everett, the back of our apartment faces a lake.  We're the fourth aparment building back in the complex, so we're pretty far from the street.  In the evenings, after the children go to bed, it is extremely quiet.  Sometimes you can hear the ducks or geese.

Peter with some neighborhood children.

Our first day here, the husband and I decided to unload some of the lighter things out of our truck, in preparation of having movers help us the next day.  After 20 minutes or so, this kid comes up and asks if we need help.  By the end of the day, we had four of the neighborhood kids helping us -- we thanked them with some pizza.

The first kid who came to talk to us actually thought that my husband was my father.  Even kids think I'm 12. D:

The other day, we went down to the local park.  I was expecting a small neighborhood playground, but instead it was huge, with all kinds of climbing equipment, and many spinning things.  It's only about three blocks from here, too, so well within walking distance.

We plan on going to the farmers market today, which I'm pretty excited about.  At the Safeway here in Everett, the term "local" is defined as coming from Washington or Oregon.  Coming from California, that's a pretty broad definition of local.

The apartment itself is pretty nice.  The flooring is all new.  The kitchen is very small, which presents some issues just finding places for the basics.  We've set up a bookshelf next to the counter on one side to give us some extra space.  I miss the counters and cabinets from the last apartment, but it seems common for apartments here, as most we looked at had kitchens set up like this.

My small kitchen.  This will take getting used to.

Next week, we need to work on car stuff, getting more things unpacked, and maybe looking for jobs.  Oh, and figure out how washing clothes works. xP