Where is home, anyways?

So even though I'm off jetting (driving?) all over the country, I want to give you an idea of my home base!

I live in Seattle, WA, with my boyfriend Matt and our two adorable kitties.

See?  Adorable.

Oswald is the older, bigger cat on the left - he's probably around two or three years old and he's absolutely huge.  Not fat-huge, just big-huge.  When we took him in to the vet, we asked about his weight since we were concerned he might be getting chubby as he was getting fed regularly again.  (He was a stray, and from some behaviors we've observed, we think he was kicked out of a home at some point - who would want to get rid of such a handsome kitty?)  The vet looked at him, and as she went to pick him up, started to say, "Well, he's overweight, so..."  Then she picked him up, and felt how little of his weight is fat, and corrected herself: "No, he's just big!"

He's a very affectionate cat.  The whole reason we settled on him can be summed up in one word: headbutt!  He nuzzled right up against Matt even in the cage at the animal shelter, and so we couldn't help but take him home.  He's a champion purrer and much calmer than his adopted sister!

Lina is the little black cat on the right.  She's probably about a year old now (the shelter wasn't really sure of her age when we got her), and she's rambunctious and inquisitive!  Surprisingly enough, she's also the lap-kitty of our two cats - Oswald is calmer, but doesn't like laps too much, so it's Lina that curls up in my lap when I'm at my computer or against my side when I go to sleep.  She purrs and flops over quite contentedly.  We call her our "little" kitty, even though she's definitely grown a ton since we adopted her!

Of course, they both go crazy when we bring out the laser pointer Lisa gave us for Christmas, but that's another story...

Anyways, home!  Beyond the kitties and the boyfriend, Seattle is a great place to live.  Don't get me wrong, I still miss living in Spokane sometimes - I miss my gaming friends, the group of good friends and the LARPing that I was just getting into when I left, Jack and Dan's grilled cheese sandwiches, the Spokane River, Gonzaga, and even just the whole laid-back, slightly redneck feel of life there.  But for a girl who always swore she'd never live in Seattle, I think I've adapted pretty well!

Home is a fantastic apartment with a walk-in closet, a folding table instead of a real dinner table, the comfiest couch in the world, two racks of DVDs, five bookshelves, no TV (my sixth-graders are aghast), a well-stocked pantry, and embarrassingly white and undecorated walls.  (Seriously, we have four things hanging in this whole apartment: my whiteboard to-do list in the hallway by the office, a painting Matt's dad gave us in the hallway to the bedroom, a framed sampler my mom gave me in the office, and my DIY quote from Transmetropolitan over my desk.  And I've lived here for ten months!  I have a goal for this summer, obviously!)

At least it's an awesome quote.

Home is rain every month of the year, and hail when you least expect it.  Home is predicted snowstorms evaporating but snow days in February because my school is above 1200 feet.  It's living in one city but working in two others.  It's ice cream for dinner some days (because I'm a grown up, darn it!) and date nights with Matt other evenings.  It's Tuesday night games with the guys and random days when Matt's brother comes over to hang out.  It's sitting on the couch with my laptop and going off on field trips with my middle schoolers.  It's driving too long in traffic to get to school but seeing Mt. Rainer over the freeway on clear days.    It's a Starbucks on every corner, rainboots exchanged for sandals come nice weather, and dozens of places I just haven't found yet since I haven't lived here long enough.

Crossing the floating bridge over Lake Washington on the 90 on my way to work.  That's Mercer Island in front of me.

This summer is going to give me a chance to appreciate being both home and away - I'm going to have the chance to travel, but also the chance to be home in between trips.  Even though I'll only be home for about two weeks this summer, I have some exploration planned (hikes! picnics! farmer's markets!), some apartment work to do (garden! non-blank-walls! cookie experimentation!), and some lazy me time scheduled (books! video games! more books!), all of which you might hear about on this blog.

What can I say... you can keep track of me even when I'm at home!

This post is scheduled to go up at 8am on Sunday morning, just as I'll be boarding a plane for Atlanta, GA and the third part of Trip 01.  I'm putting together a recap of the first parts of the trip (Tampa, FL and WA), and should have that ready for you all soon!

-Beth