Sleepless in Seattle

I woke up this morning to a dump truck outside my open window.  And a dog barking at the dump truck.  And a person yelling at the dog.  I've woken up to that same dump truck every morning since we've been here.  Well, except for the times that I'm woken up by vulgar cursing and altercations at the bus stop.

All that to say, I'm not in love with city life right now.

I miss the sounds of robins and mockingbirds in the big maple tree in our big yard.  There are birds here... seagulls. But have you ever heard a seagull cry? Not charming.  It sounds like a child screaming.  I think one is actually living in the elevator shaft of our apartment.  I don't blame him; it's cold out there.

I don't hate it here, I mostly like it.  I like the way .....  well... I can't think of anything right now.  

But there are things that I like.  

The farmer's market! There's one.  I really like the farmer's market.  I like doing my shopping with a big basket and getting to have one-on-one conversation about what I'm buying.  Like, what are purple potatoes? And, why the heck are those blueberries so expensive? I usually have lots of questions when I'm shopping and it's cool to be outside amidst other foodies who like conversation.  Oh, and they give you free samples.

I also like that I can walk to things.  Even though we don't have a car, I feel more free to be "on the move" than I do at home.  I can just grab the stroller and go!  No gas, no car seat, no parking.  I can walk to church, the library, Starbucks, the mall, Ross, Starbucks, the farmer's market, Starbucks... the possibilities are endless.  

And as long as we don't get shot, it's fun to be out on the streets instead of stuck in traffic.

And I really like our church here. 

We started coming here last summer and were excited about returning.  Have you heard of Mark Driscoll or Mars Hill Church in Seattle?  He can be controversial but we really enjoy his teaching and in-your-face style.  It's kind of necessary in this kind of culture, I think... to be bold and no nonsense.  His latest sermon (the first that we were here for) was about Christianity and "tolerance" which is kind of society's buzz word these days.  I'm looking forward to the rest of this series.

My husband just got home so my blog time is up. 

Oh, by the way, that's something else I like love about Seattle: my man comes home and doesn't have homework!  He gets off work around 4 p.m. and drives 45 minutes home in traffic to a patiently-waiting us.  And we get to have dinner and play dinosaur and go for walks. 

 Or maybe not the evening walks.  

But still, it's cool that he's not busy after hours.

We're committed to making the most of this summer in Seattle!

P.S. My goal is for my next post to be the next How-To with Annika video!