Tuesday, July 13, 2010

It's been so long

I haven't blogged in about a month, and for that, I'm sorry.  Some of you have been guilting me into writing again, and some of you have been harassing me on Twitter, and it makes me feel truly loved.  And ashamed.  Bad blogger, bad blogger!

Ok, enough of that.  Truthfully, things have been busy around here in the last month.  From a little legal battle with our landlord (he wasn't making repairs) to finding a new apartment (we move in a few weeks) to five days of camping in Yosemite (our families met each other for the first time), well, blogging has just taken a back seat.

I will definitely share photos of our new place when we have them, but for now, I will tell you that it has almost everything on our wish list (hardwood floors, laundry in-unit, plenty of storage), and a few things on our "don't even want to say it out loud" wish list (dishwasher, garbage disposal, wood-burning fireplace).  The landlords are wonderfully nice, and we can already tell that they care about maintaining the property.  Not that it's hard to care more than our current landlord, but let's just say that the look of pure shock and horror on our new landlord's face when I told him about the lack of repairs in our building won me over.  And we'll be living by a lake, which is pretty cool too.

Yosemite was wonderful, as it always is.  Our families met for the first time, and everything went well. We went on some great hikes, and grilled some delicious meat.  I got a ton of mosquito bites, but it was worth it - I miss the mountains already.  Note: the "Four Mile Trail" is actually 4.8 miles, and it's all uphill, gaining 3,200 feet in elevation. Grueling, but the views were unbeatable.  We also hiked to the top of Sentinel Dome and then around to Taft Point.  We saw Bridalveil Falls (my favorite) and Yosemite Falls (and again at night, all alone), and hiked to Carlon Falls on our last day in the park.  We camped at Hodgdon Meadows, in the two best sites in the campground, slept under the stars and swam in the ice-cold river.  On the way home, Will and I stopped at a Gouda cheese factory, Big Dipper (I think that's what it's called) for homemade ice cream, and at a farm stand (Costa Farms?) for fresh-picked corn...10 ears for $1.00.  The shower I took after a quick unpacking burst felt amazing, and now we're turning around to go on a short camping trip again this weekend.  

For now, enjoy some Yosemite photos, and I'll return with a giveaway soon!

 Tunnel View

 At the top of Sentinel Dome

 Checking out the view atop Sentinel Dome

 I love Bridalveil Falls!

 Carlon Falls

Yosemite Falls and the Merced River

7 comments:

  1. Welcome back!! Great pics :) And I'm SO happy to hear about the new place! It sounds wonderful.

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  2. Aaaaaahahahahahahaalaaaaaaa!! Your new apartment sounds amazing!!! You give me hope that maybe, with some patience and crossed fingers, we'll find a place with most of the things on our wish list. (Hardwood floors, huge sunny windows, 2 bedrooms, garden, laundry in unit.) And your trip! It sounds absolutely wonderful. I am so happy for you and I can't wait to hear more!

    xox
    t.

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  3. Thanks, ladies. We have had a gross black fly infestation the last two days (no idea where they came from), so now we're especially keen on moving.

    And Trish - patience is key.

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  4. Yay, Kim! Beautiful pics, and congrats on the place! So happy for you guys. :)

    P.S. Landlords (generally) suck. BOO.

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  5. You had me at Gouda cheese factory. Also, about those black flies? I have them too. I am paying far too much money for an apartment with no screens in the windows.

    Glad you're back my friend!

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  6. How do you get rid of them? I thought we got them all the first night (8), and then there were about 7 more killed last night and I thought we were done. I killed 2 when I came home for lunch and there were still 2 more buzzing around. Where are they coming from and how do we make it stop!?

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  7. Check to ensure that you don't have any fruit or veg going hairy and demanding equal rights--I found several potatoes the other day (while rooting around in a closet to see what was in there--purchased long before I moved in) that were marching around with "Suffrage Now!" signs. Flies seem to magically appear out of them. Kinda like snails magically appearing under one's (finally growing and healthy-looking) aubergine leaves.

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