Ukulele Goddess

Jason and I are learning to play the ukulele. I find it much easier than playing the guitar, which I briefly started playing when I was 9 and then again at age 20. Both times resulted in my quitting because my fingers were too small. The ukulele is way more manageable. Additionally, it is cute and slightly hip, which supplies the "cool factor".

Learning how to do something new with a loved one is very gratifying. We play. We sing. We drink beer.  It's a great indoor activity for the rainy, Oregon winer ahead.

"There's not much you can do for a broken toe, right?"

I'm about 72% sure that I broke my middle toe yesterday. I rammed it into a hard, little stool very hard.  It hurt like hell. I'm now hobbling around.

 It must be broken, right?

All my life I've heard that "there's not much you can do for a broken toe". Upon purusing the internet, I've deduced that this old adage is in fact true. Unless your bone is sticking out or you've punctured something, there really is very little to do about a broken toe.

The best you can hope for is some medical tape so you can "buddy tape" your toe. It's really called that. I learned it on the Internet. "Buddy Taping" is when you create a splint for your 72% broken toe with another toe, like buddies do:

And there you have it. The saga of my most likely, but possibly not, broken toe.

Advice from a Tree

Good stuff.

Me, the Vintner

My very first weekend back in Eugene and we're invited to a wine making party!

Seventy degrees,  sun shining, wine flowing, and I even got to turn the crank.

        

Ode to Lil' Car

Oh lil' car, you've traveled far

From east to west,

You're still the best 

So many roads and miles

So tough and full of smiles

You carried us near and far

Safe and sound

Lost and found

Thank you, lil' car. 

When you move across the country...again (day 2)

To keep it spicy, and by "it" I mean this drive, we've decided to literally "bust ass", "drive like bats out of hell", "ride like the wind" and all other fast going places euphemisms. Another cross country move and the 6th time I've driven across the country, I'm catching mostly sites from within the car. Such as

Piles of stuff at my feet:

Animal companions:

The great Mississippi River (from the passenger seat window):

And, a pretty amazing Nebraskan sunset (as seen through a screen of bug guts on the windshield):

Made it!

After 4 consecutive days of pulling 12-14 hour driving shifts, we made it. We are officially back in Eugene. With all the intense car time, there wasn't much enjoying of the sites this time around, but we did manage to catch a few cool sites.

As far as being back in Oregon goes, I can't really say too much right now. I think my feelings will slowly be revealed to me as time progresses. What I can say right now is that as weird and transitiony as I feel, it's not a bad weird. I think that's good. Most importantly, right now I feel really grateful. I feel grateful for the love and support of friends and family during this time. I am 100% aware of how completely insane it is to move across the country, move back, and then turn around and go back! Yet, no one ever said that to me (or at least not to my face). The love and understanding that I've received from friends on both coasts has been amazing and ultimately what has empowered me to move through this time. Thank you all for that.