Mr. Ward and I have been having such a nice time lately. Vowing to take more photos of our newlywedded blissful selves, trying to develop good habits like reading important books and eating healthy food, and working really long hours. We leave at 7 am and we're back around 6 or 7 or 7:30 pm depending on the night. We watch Wheel of Fortune while I/he cook/s if we are lucky enough to be home, we surf the Internet, and we get ready for bed and talk for a long time across our pillows. That is my favorite time. I know when he says "Goodnight" he really means "I am going to sleep now," but I just can't help myself. I want to keep talking. He is so snuggly like a bear cub.
We went home to California for Thanksgiving. I wish I had taken pictures (hence the vow). I gave Kimba, my dad's beloved Australian cattle dog and my third sister, a hot dog costume I found on 90% off clearance at Target for $1.29. She looked so cute! No, she didn't like wearing it. Maybe it made her feel too much like my mom's mini dachshund.
Thanksgiving dinner was delicious. Jeff's friend Jordan and his wife Christina came over to my parents. Christina made a lovely chocolate cream pie that Kimba couldn't keep her tongue out of no matter where we put the pie. Mom's turkey came out moist and golden. My stuffing with mushrooms and chestnuts and fennel and La Brea foccacia bread and SAUSAGE and whatever else was excellent (Mom knows how to pick 'em recipes). Our dear friend Ernestine's sweet potato casserole was nothing short of divine, three cubes of butter later. After a summer in Cairo, my jet-setting brother Robert apparently now only drinks Perrier water, which he sipped languidly across the table from me all night, while I tried to keep from laughing. After we watched "The Muppet Christmas Carol" as we always used to do. My favorite Muppet movie, tied with "Muppet Treasure Island."
Yes, it was a delicious feast and I was thankful for it. And mostly thankful for my family who could be there.
As is Ruefenacht tradition, we spent our Friday at the International Auto Show, hosted annually by the Moscone Center smack in downtown San Francisco. The funnest part was the Range Rover 4-wheeling course, set up right within view of the MOMA and other essential SF landmarks. It was so neat! I rode while Katie drove. Mom and Dad were in the Rover in front of us; Jeff closed in the rear. We had a great time! If I hadn't watched all the other people driving on that course, I seriously would not have known how bumpy the course really was--Range Rovers are THAT amazing!
I had a stark realization while I was home--my birthplace--and I championed a yearlong lack of self-discovery. It started as I cleaned out my desk, looking for my expired passport as Jeff and I are going to Costa Rica in March and I need to renew it. My desk is a time capsule of my life. I sifted through old choir mementos, gifts from long gone friends, photos of past loves and friends, poems, unlabeled cassette tape mixes, thrift store finds, all sorts of objects and memories. I'll spare you the drama that happened next when my sister found me sorting through things she thought to be hers (they weren't), and conclude with the results of a psychologically telling conversation she and I had after she had calmed down. I have been home from St. Louis for a year. In that space I've felt disinterested with aspects of myself and my life from before I left. I didn't care as much about thrifting, vinyl, good literature, even music. I realized that I was somewhat depressed, or even repressed, by myself and what I thought I should be.
I'm so glad that surfaced. I feel passion again, for those things that really made me happy before.
I finally bought my dream vintage receiver last week, a Sansui 8080. Pictures and video/sound forthcoming, as soon as we get our new speakers (for Christmas I hope!)
Check out Jeff's blog for photos of where we honeymooned. Mar Vista Cottages--we hope to return to you soon.
I will leave you with Christmas pictures of the grandest "old money" neighborhood in Houston: River Oaks. (Thank you Hipstamatic).
1 comment:
That receiver is pretty. Also, I was just talking to someone abou going to River Oaks as a kid, but couldn't remember the name of the neighborhood, so thank you.
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