Backyard Goodies!

The pineapple starts from the couple who left.

The hub's Habenero pepper which has begun to turn since this picture was taken.

The tomato that while short has finally put on a few blossoms and the yellow bell pepper.

Geico, the lizard, who shed his dark skin two weeks ago and was green as glory one morning!

I don't have any current pictures of the basil, but it's filled out incredibly. All the produce was planted in organic feed material....so it's the closest we may come to having organic produce! Hopefully they'll produce something, but we'll have to see how it all progresses. We had some massive rains lately that almost over watered the plants, but they seemed to survive in tact.

Introducing Anna--the Pound Pup!

As mentioned, the husband and I had stopped on Monday to look at dogs. We've been discussing the idea of getting a dog/cat since before I got here, and I definitely wanted us to get one from the Humane Society. During the last week we'd looked at several dogs online and discussed what we were looking for in a potential dog for our home. We both wanted a gentle female dog, and I wanted one that would be larger so I could run with her. My husband hoped for a short hair dog and I wanted one that was so ugly it was cute, so how we wound up with what could very well be a full bred 9 month old German Shepherd puppy I'm not entirely sure! But upon meeting her we just couldn't resist her sweet demeanor and felt that she would be right for our home.

The first place we had stopped had several adorable dogs but none of which were larger dogs, although there were several we were potentially interested in. (And ironically there is a kitten there that stole our heart, so he/she may be joining us later.) However I think we both felt guilty not adopting a dog from there as the place was rather depressing and smelly to be in. The first place was in a smaller county (here called parishes) and is staffed and run by volunteers only. Whereas the second place was government run and appeared to have cleaner and more organized facilities.

Our dog we selected had been there for a few weeks after being relinquished by her original owner who no longer could care for her. We have a few concerns that she may have been mishandled as she cowers upon meeting new people, but hopefully time and love will soothe her worries. She was one of the few dogs in the shelter who actually didn't bark even though the rest of the dogs did. She appeared incredibly sweet and was adorable to boot, so we didn't hesitate on selecting her. She had to be spayed and the facility had a two day wait period after selecting dogs, but we picked her up on Wednesday afternoon and brought her home.

Ironically we already had to take her on a vet run yesterday and discovered that she has intestinal worms and what we hope is only pneumonia. The old saying that "free" dogs are never free continues to ring true, but we are happy to be able to provide her with a comfortable and loving home. She's on two different antibiotics at the moment and seems to be feeling better. The vet techs were also the ones who mentioned the fact that she probably is actually full bred. So while I've never been one to think I need a full bred dog, we still rationalize that what we've paid for her is actually cheaper than what it would have cost for the spaying and all the immunizations that she has already had and definitely cheaper than paying for her "full bred" cost.

Luckily at 9 months she appears to be fairly well house trained. So as long as we can continue to train her and get her over these initial ailments, then hopefully it will be an easy transition for her into her new home.

We ended up naming her Anna. And if we go back for the cat s/he will be named Louis/e. That way we'll be sure to remember our time here in this state with Louise Anna in our lives for years to come! ;-)

Sharing Spaces/Sharing Lives

As discussed in a previous post, part of the military life to me (and what makes any good community) is taking care of one's own. While I haven't seen this occur within our neighborhood per se, I did describe the generosity of several others in helping my husband and I set up home. I think I also mentioned how part of me feels that God has us here as a means to help support and provide for others who may need it. And since that realization we have had several opportunities to put it into practice.

We currently have another couple living with us. They just recently got legally married and were put on the post housing wait list for their own home with an estimated wait time of six to eight weeks. Until the home would become available they had planned to stay mainly in the barracks but also spend some time here. However the day that she arrived on post, the Army also issued her husband a roommate for his barracks room, so the two of them are living here with us until their own home is available. Luckily for all of us, we had plenty of space for them to join us and I'm pretty sure my hubby's been glad that I've had something else to occupy my time during the days.

Sharing the space has been going fine, although I'm trying really hard to not let my old organizational nature get the best of me. Since I've been occupying my time mainly by cleaning and organizing, my preference has gone back to the days when I really liked things to be just so. However it's got to be an adjustment for both of them living in our home, especially with many of the lifestyle choices that my husband and I do make. I've been impressed with both of their willingness to recycle and conform to some of our "funnier" ways (aka washing out plastic sandwich bags, etc), and rather appreciate that they don't seem annoyed when I do go around turning off lights and moving more items into the recycling. Lately, I can't help but wonder if some of these funny ways of living might stick and be implemented in their own home, but we'll just have to wait and see. It's a hard place to be--not wanting to impose your beliefs and choices onto someone else, yet also wanting them to understand and implement those practices for good.

In the last month or so we've had quite a few individuals over for dinner or BBQing, as we'd really like to have our home be a comfortable and open place for many others in my husband's unit to enjoy. Last evening we all had another couple over for the first time, who also are fairly recently married and newish (May) to the area. Sometimes I feel quite like the old wife amongst the 19-21 year old wives, but I can't help but think there is a reason for this too. Many of the other wives also spend most of their days sitting at home, alone, without any real resources or involvement on post, so the gal who is currently staying with us and I are attempting to pool together some of the wives to see if we can get some support started. If there's one thing I'm learning from my observations around here, happier wives lead to happier marriages which also, of course, lead to happier husbands.

In other news, I have been longing for many Oregon-esq things lately. Mainly being produce, sea breeze, access to a variety of natural products, like-minded individuals, and of course my family and friends (who also tend to fall into that like-minded category). The highlight of my afternoon on Thursday was having a 5 minute conversation with another wife in the on-post store about which water filter was better and why. To actually converse with another person who cares about these issues, takes steps to protect her family's health, and appeared worried about the local pollution....I seriously wanted to take her by the hand and ask her right then and there to be my new best friend! (I hesitated cause a) I didn't want her to think I'd gone crazy and b) she appeared at least 15 years older than me and with 4 kids in tow.) However I'm hopeful that maybe, just maybe there will be others like her at some point and I'm encouraged to even run into one somewhat like-minded individual at this point!

And with that I will close this posting for now. Still working on the volunteer/job thing. At this point, I think almost any job would be worthwhile just so I'm contributing something and utilizing the gifts that I do have to give. Hope everyone has been enjoying a wonderful weekend!

We Found the Gulf of Mexico!

Smoke from the fire and the swamp fire on the way back.

The Gulf of Mexico!

The husband finally had another day off on Monday and for the first time in a while, we headed out for a bit of an adventure. The night before had been a tough one on me, as it was the first time in a long time that I had come face to face with some racist comments, and the experience left me shaken and longing for my like-minded friends and family back in the Pacific Northwest.

A day away and exploring proved to be restorative and energizing for both of us, and was the opener for a really good week actually. So on the said Monday we headed south, stopping along the way to look at animal shelters for a potential dog to adopt. I had scoped out the map and discovered that there is a highway that makes a big loop from one of the major cities an hour and a half south of us. The lower end of the loop runs along the Gulf of Mexico, and much to our suprise also included a very short ferry ride. (Very exciting as I don't think I've ever been on a ferry before AND there were porpoises that swam along side of it!)

The scenery was very swamp-esq and we were able to see and learn so many different things. We discovered that alligators can be road kill in that area. There also was a large variety of birds; mainly cranes, herons, and the like. The surrounding land also was widely utilized for grazing cows, which was something I definitely hadn't expected but I was glad to see the cows happily free ranging and usually with a funny white bird standing right next to them. The return on the loop also let us witness that swamps can catch fire--we think it was due to the lightening.

Altogether the day was an incredible experience in which we got to observe more of this area that is our new home.

Some Things to Soothe the Soul:

--Posting here yesterday made me feel accountable about trying to get more involved, so I put in a call today about volunteer opportunities and will go in later this week to continue the process.

--30 minutes or 3 miles of straight running at 6mph on a slight incline not only gets the heart pumping but clears the head of frustration too

--25 minutes of prayer for others during 30 minutes of cardio and reminding oneself of everything that she does have can also chase away the blues

--receiving two new books via delivery and putting in an order for replacement bath goods that are healthier for the hubby and I

--spending time to really catch up on fellow simplicity/earthy bloggers postings reminds me of the joys of taking it easy and makes me think of more ways to bring peace to my soul and increase my natural existence

--seeing the growth in our few garden goods: the pineapples' greenery has grown, the tomato (which hadn't been doing very well last week) finally has a blossom or two, the basil looks amazing, and the hubby's spicy pepper is getting a little bit bigger

--Geico, our lizard, shed his skin this morning and was a striking green color when I found him!

Am off to do a bit more fitness with the Wii Fit and then sit on the back patio reading the local newspaper and hopefully diving into one of my newest books. Aim to post pictures of the plants growth soon!

Searching, Searching...

The randomness and continual work days of my husband's schedule is ongoing, but it's still a joy to spend time together in the evenings at least. I spent most of this afternoon searching around online for opportunities to get more involved on post. There are some options for volunteering and others for getting involved in Bible study groups. I also decided to apply for a job that I'm over-qualified for and that isn't in my usual area, but at least would be a way to be helping out and bring in some extra funds. One of my primary goals for this next year is to really try to get our debts paid off.

I was hopeful I'd be able to find some interesting workshops or groups on post or in the local community, but thus far I haven't been able to turn up much of anything. However, in my searches I also discovered a bunch of wonderful and insightful blogs written by a variety of Army wives that entertained me for hours and left me feeling uplifted. It was especially great to find so many other liberal, educated, and independent military wives writing on the Internet about their transitions into this life.

I've just started reading the book Deep Economy and it looks like a good read. The husband and I also were able to attend the same church on Sunday and it dawned on me that maybe God has us here as a means to help other people.....there are a lot of people here who it seems don't have other individuals to depend upon. Since we've gotten here, we've hosted a lot of individuals in our home and hopefully will continue to reach out to others who could use a friend.

The one thing I will say about this life is that with so much transition, those that do interact with each other seem to take care of their own. One of the first couples we met here got out of the Army the beginning of July and we inherited quite a lot from them: baking goods, various food stuffs, house plants, and cleaning supplies. I've mentioned the rocking chairs we have on the patio left over from another soldier who left, and our futon and TV stand were also given to us by a fellow soldier that is an acquaintance of my husband. There is a baker's rack that is also waiting for pick up for our dining area that is coming from yet another soldier who works with my husband. Add to all that the continual garage sales from families moving from post to other posts and there's quite a lot available if you're open and willing.

Now it's just trying to improve community beyond the granting of free stuff and increasing my own involvement here as well. I finally put in a call to the Housing company today inquiring about whether or not they promote proper disposal of CFL lightbulbs. They do have a take back and free replacement policy, but the woman reported that they've never had issues with people wondering about the mercury in CFLS and how to properly dispose of them. Hmmm....maybe that's because most people don't know that CFLS actually contain the chemical and need proper disposal! So there might be some health promotion for me to do here after all.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and is off to a great start of this week!

Some Days are Easier than Others

Today's been one of those days when my brain feels anything but simple, or maybe it's that it feels too simple. Now that the house is settled for the most part, it would be wonderful to have a more established routine that I could follow. I've been searching for jobs throughout the last few weeks though and have mainly come up empty handed. Thus my days are intermittently "filled" with working out in some fashion, picking up the house on a daily basis where it needs it, checking for jobs, and thinking...probably a bit too much. I'm not one to really believe in being bored, but I can't help but wish that there was a little bit more for me to do.

In my searches of the local area I can't seem to find available produce, otherwise I'd love to be trying to increase my skills of canning and jamming. In this hot weather, there's really no reason nor desire to be knitting much of anything. I've learned my way around the surrounding area, but most days there's no real reason for me to be out and about using the car. My stack of books continues to stay stacked as do my magazines, and while I've been cooking somewhat there's only so much that two people can realistically eat!

So here's me being authentic and admitting that I'm more than ready for a job, for a bit more daily purpose, for a little something more. Although, honestly and truly I couldn't be more glad to be here finally with my husband.

So that being said here are some more pictures of the inside of the new place and some recent blessings: -Moments of time together, fixing meals, laughter
-Attending a very welcoming church last Sunday
-Phone calls from my dear friends
-MAIL & Netflix
-The puppy next door who continues to be able to slide under the adjoining fence even as he continues to grow larger
-My clothesline that is strung up across the garage
-Blue skies and sunshine
-The camo lizards that come out at night and blend into the color of our home, the toad we found on the patio, and the continued presence of Geico our lizard patio pet
-The joy and comfort of having a wonderful first home, a roof over our heads, food in the fridge, clothes on our backs, and living in a nation where for the most part we don't have to worry about our daily needs or safety

The Kindness of Strangers

This morning I was thinking about the kindness of strangers. Its been one thing that I've noticed more about the south---just how much more people seem to go out of their way at times down here. Several times now I've had gentlemen and women go out of their way to open a door for me when my hands have been full and it just seems that so often people operate on a different level of respect here than what I have been used to experiencing. On my first visit down here I had noticed this difference when a man about my age went out of his way to wait for me and get my bag down from the carry-on compartment. This is the type of thing I rarely experienced in the Northwest, although even there....I've seen plenty of moments of kindness....

My husband and I had witnessed this first hand on our marriage weekend when we watched a SUV flip on an icy snowy road as it was headed toward us. The husband and several others all pulled over to help the man get out of his vehicle and get assistance, but I was amazed even more that almost every single car that passed the scene of the accident stopped to ask if they could be of service. It's moments like these when I feel the reality of humanity and believe that in the depths of our souls we do remember our connections to each other.

Thus its been nice to be somewhere where people seem to demonstrate these moments of stranger kindness on a more frequent basis. And its sort of renewed my own faith in humanity just a little bit more. Now I just need to remember to do these small acts of strangerly kindness myself.....