belated UP photos

i'll post some photos of alex's visit later this week, but at the moment i'm catching up on my UP summer vacation photos--or at least a few highlights.

adam and anne's friends michael and melissa came to visit little traverse, we spent some time w/ dad and kelly in the front porch (aka, the place where, as grandpa burt says, "the damn thing [the lake] looks different every night).



jeff grills a duck beer can style:



this is me after performing katri and dan's wedding ceremony. i look very reverend-y don't i?


jeff and anne dance weird:


adam, jeff and anne do the traditional billy idol sneer:


my ladies!


ani is a bunny, matt is an angry bunny:



post-suomi breakfast. my people.


so that's that for now. i started teaching today, and i am a sleepy beaver. more later...

vacation!

Jeff and I had the incredible burden this weekend of having a free cabin to use in Hope, Idaho (just near Sandpoint) overlooking Lake Pend Orielle (pond-er-ay). God bless generous colleagues. We headed out Friday afternoon, stopping at the coop to buy salami, mozzerella, tomato, basil, bread, wine, cereal, milk, and beer. It took about 1:45 to get to Coeur d'Alene and then another hour to Sandpoint. Finally, from Sandpoint to the cabin took about 30 minutes. Sandpoint is like Traverse City. A real mix of tourists and locals, and amazing views. Lots of cute shops, restaurants, etc. As you drive north and east around the lake (Hope is actually southeast of Sandpoint, but you have to go around the lake to get there) it becomes much less touristy, although it's definitely still got that vibe--just much less Traverse City feeling and much more Copper Harbor, if that makes sense.


The drive from Sandpoint to the cabin is crazy beautiful, weaving through the mountains and popping out periodically on the lake. See:


The actual town of Hope is teeny, with a few marinas, a few restaurants, and that's about it. The cabin is a little outside of Hope. You drive up this dirt road up a big ol' mountain. There is a real mix of cabins on the road. Some are trailers w/ junkyard dogs, some are really big ol' fancy log cabins, and everything in between. On the way you go by our favorite place, appropriate for north-Idaho (think militia):


We then found the cabin, just as the sun was starting to get low in the sky. This is a photo on our way out actually, but you can see the cabin:


It's on a sloping 5 acre lot, with a mix of grassland and big ol' conifers. It's a great 3 bedroom place, nice kitchen, and lots of windows. The best part is the view, and the front porch. We probably spent most our time on that porch.

Here's me when we first got there, opening my beer and prancing about the grassland:


Ok then, the view:


Not half bad eh?

Friday night we drank some wine and ate our coop goodies, as we were too fried to go back to town for dinner. It was quite lovely. We got up Saturday, hung out on the porch for awhile--see Jeff eat breakfast:


..and then we headed down to check out the water. There is a campground/public beach just down the hill from the cabin. It's really nice, and far less busy than the ones at Sandpoint, but still very popular.

Walking up to the water:


The lovely lake, as clear as Superior:


The beach, it's quite rocky:


And then, the self-portrait:


We wandered about Sandpoint later Saturday, and then eventually headed back to the cabin. Grabbed a belated birthday/anniversary dinner down at a place on the water, just a few miles from the cabin. It was really nice and quite tasty, plus it had a hell of a view.

Today, Sunday, we got up late, did our porch breakfast and eventually packed it up and headed out. Overall a really great vacation. Could've used about 2 more days of staring, but still, this was good.

sort of unpacked

so the upstairs of the house is about as put together as it's going to get until we finish up the basement and move the tv. so....pictures:

the kitchen, notice the nice new black fridge. oooh, and we sold our old fridge tonight which was incredibly exciting and a bonus $200. yippee.


the dining nook, although we're pondering moving it to the office space. that won't make much sense via these pics, but if you were in the house you might get it. still, it works good for now.



the living space. that chair is sort of floating right now, but it works. also, the tv won't be staying there, but again, it works for now.



the office/bar:



and finally, the back stairwell which is going to be our picture hallway.


and there you go. tahdah.

we're still alive!

So yeah, it's been awhile. The past month has been a blur. We went to the UP on July 12, got back here late on July 24, and then had a week to pack, move into the new place, and clean the old one. Needless to say it's been a pretty crazy month. BUT, we're now in the new place, our HOME, and are feeling really good about it. The main floor is almost unpacked and settled, but things are in a bit of disarray in that the TV is up here now, but once the basement is set up we're going to put the entertainment center down in the family room. Therefore, things aren't quite yet where we want them upstairs, thus: no pictures for you! Once the upstairs is feeling more like the way we want it, instead of in a bit of transition, then the pictures shall begin.

I've also been working on the yard a bit. I bought a few plants at the farmer's market last weekend (some black-eyed susans and some echinacea) and am cleaning out an old icky garden bed and getting those plants settled. The backyard is going to be really cool eventually, but is going to take some time and money (which is running low right now....i don't get paid over the summer and while we saved for it, the house ate up more than we sort of imagined...september 10, the 1st payday, can't come soon enough!).

Everyone who has come over since we moved is really surprised at how different the place looks. It's nice to have other people notice all the crazy hard work we put into it, it truly does look way different and really feels like ours.

So, I start school on August 20. Kind of crazy how quickly that's sneaking up on me. Bah. Oh well. I'm almost looking forward to the mundane again instead of this bizarre and hectic summer. Before that starts though, we're headed to Hope, Idaho this weekend for my birthday getaway. A colleague has a cabin up near Lake Pend Orielle and he's letting us use it for the weekend. It's near Sandpoint, Idaho, but just around the lake. We're looking very forward to it. The cabin has scrabble and a ping pong table, so I'm looking forward to wine, cheese, ping pong, scrabble, and naps.

Also, before school starts, Jeff's cousin Alex has decided to come and visit. He'll be coming on August 15. Our first house guest! This will force us to actually start unpacking the basement, as the guest bedroom is down there. Someday we'll save the money to put an egress window down there so that the bedroom is legal and so that the room feels a bit more hospitable, but for now it'll do.

Anyhow, yeah, that's us lately. Busy, but good and onto a new adventure--living in our own home! Hoorah :) Hope you're all doing well.