It's July. In Kansas. Which is not as hot as July in South Carolina yet, and for that we are extremely grateful.
Here's a quick update:
We moved to Kansas. Manhattan, Kansas, in fact. January 26 we loaded up a U-haul and hit the road, pulling over long enough to drop a sweet pup at the cargo area of the Atlanta airport, so he could fly to his new home in Tucson, Arizona, where we hear he is extremely happy playing with his new doggie friend Oscar the boxer mix (I think!)!
January 28 we pulled into our new driveway in frigid Kansas. The wind blows a whole lot in Kansas during the winter, by the way, which we did not realize until we moved there. And it makes it significantly colder than a South Carolina winter. Brrr.
Almost 6 months later here we are still in Kansas and loving it. We miss our family and friends and church and small group, but we feel like we are right where we need to be right now and that is a blessing.
Oscar, the dachshund, had to be put to sleep Wednesday, March 10, 6 weeks after we moved. It was so very sad; he had a tumor that kept him from eating or drinking and there was nothing that could be done to improve his quality of life. It happened very quickly; the tumor was suddenly big enough to bother him and he was put to sleep the next day. I still hadn't found a job, so it was very hard to lose my little shadow who kept me company every day at home. I am thankful he didn't languish and suffer.
We have since gained a cat, Molly. She is very fluffy and quite affectionate, and while she isn't Oscar she is lovely to have around. I quite like her.
The girls we were caring for last fall went home December 22. I enjoyed the peace and quiet, but I missed them! They are with us this summer; we are going on our fourth week of summer fun and, boy, now I wistfully dream about the peace and quiet sometimes :) But we are so glad they are here! We have been to the splash park (free! I love Manhattan, KS!), several playgrounds, the recycling center (anything can be an adventure, right?), the farmer's market and the Hawaiian ice stand several times. We still need to visit the zoo and the new city pool with the big slides. And we need to eat a lot more ice cream.
Tonight I made an amazing dinner. Not necessarily because I am amazing, but because I had amazing recipes to use. We had:
White Bean and Mushroom Ragout over polenta; I used the instructions for polenta from this recipe. I just used some whole grain corn meal I had on hand, and it worked wonderfully.
Oh. my. goodness. It was delicious. The girls loved it. Hubs and I loved it. It was flippin' delicious. I will be making this again.
I miss you bloggy folks. I gotta get my bloggy mojo back.
Happy Summer!
