soon and very soon

I have been thinking of witty things to write on the blog to explain such a long absence. However, I am really tired and can't think of any of them right now. Aaron is gone and I am going to do a massive 20-minute cleaning raid on the whole house before going to bed so that I can take a bunch of pictures tomorrow and put them up for all to see. In the meantime, here is a list of things that have happened since moving in to the new house:

- we found a nest of baby raccoons in the chimney. They didn't make it, which is sad when you think about cute baby raccoons and relieving when you think about how nasty adult raccoons are.
- Aaron planted a garden. I am trying really hard to remember to water it. I am not usually very good at this.
- we found a robin's nest in our apple tree. I decided to stop pruning the tree for now to just let them be. A sort of apology to nature for the baby raccoons.
- we have been inviting the local Jehovah's Witness door-to-door evangelists in to our home and politely ripping their heretical christology to shreds. They're really nice ... but they're still wrong.
- Our friend Cameron and his lovely mom stopped by to be our first overnight guests ... we hadn't even been here a week, but we always hoped this house would be a great chance for hospitality and it was nice to start that off with a visit from a college friend. Kind of blew my martha-stewart-entertainment ideals to shreds. (Martha says: "Set out a full set of towels for guests". Abby says: "Give your guests a general idea of which room has the boxes of towels so they know where to look for them.")
- I refinished a desk. It was a LOT of work but very much worth it!
- Brutus has a new friend! We now have a small warmouth sunfish named Rameses in the tank with him. Brutus tries to eat Rameses. I was hoping they would be friends.
- I have a to-do list that is 3 pages long.
- We're trying to avoid buying a lawn mower and cutting the small patch of grass in the backyard with an old electric weed-whacker the previous resident left in the garage. Yeah... awesome.
- I started using white vinegar as fabric softener.
- This house is twice the size of our apartment and we don't know why there is still too much stuff here ... I already have another big bag to take to goodwill.
- We really want a piano and a 2-person kayak and to go camping sometime soon!
- I started getting migraines again. Boo.

(I feel very, very, boring when I look at this list.)

Please remember: Iowa might not be a hot destination, but it can be a great stopping point for cross-country trips, so we would love for any and all friends to come by at any time!!

ps, read this: um, yes!