It’s been a full and relatively productive few days for us. We’ve been trying to make the most of the time before John’s classes start this week. Here are a few highlights from the weekend:

Stores are finally stocking plants! We had to give away all of our plants before we moved and I’ve been eager to replace them. Somehow, adding something green and living makes a room feel so much more complete. I planted herbs several weeks ago too, so we’re looking forward to fresh cilantro, rosemary and basil.

Kaia got a bed for the living room. She seems to understand that this is her place. She does not understand that wood decorative balls are not for eating.

For the most part, she’s doing great. We try to remind ourselves in her more trying moments that she’s a ten week old animal and that this is an excellent exercise in patience for us.

On Saturday, we started the day at Black Creek Farm. We found Scott and his farm on localharvest.org and visited for the first time a few weeks ago. We are so happy to have discovered this place! I love washing dirt off my produce because it came out of the ground only hours before hitting my plate. This week, we came home with a pound of three varieties of kale, some mizuna, and two dozen eggs. Later in the spring, we plan on returning to help process (the nice term for slaughter) some of the older hens in exchange for a few birds to stock our freezer. We’d like to be able to live with an awareness of exactly where our food comes from and this seems like it could be a perfect opportunity.

After the farm, we ran errands in town. We stopped at Lowe’s to pick up some stuff for a few home projects, including these newly updated lamps for our guest room. A five dollar can of spray paint can make all the difference!

I, Kirsten, was in serious need of coffee by this point. Providentially (or because John missed a turn), we stumbled upon Beans and Cream. I enjoyed a vanilla latte, my litmus test for any coffee shop, while John ate a cinnamon roll. And milk, naturally. We chatted with the barista, who happens to be one of the student spouse reps here on base. It seems like it’s safe to assume that 90% of the young people we meet are probably affiliated with the base. It’s a small town.

We then went to Ashley furniture for the third time in the last two-ish weeks to sit in a recliner we’ve been mulling over. We confirmed that yes, it is still the most wonderfully comfortable chair out of any we’ve seen. And then we left. I’m sure we’re scoring huge points with the commission-only sales associates.

On our way home, we stopped at Antiques, Almost Antiques and Junk just for kicks and finally found a reasonable chair that works for our little kitchen nook. It could use a bit of love- maybe I’ll paint it down the road. Also, note the nifty $7 espresso machine I nabbed from a consignment store a few weeks ago. For $7, it works quite well!

John and Kaia took a little bike ride. We won’t be able to do this much longer!

She’s learning to run alongside the bike instead of attacking John’s feet on the pedals.

We played in the backyard and explored the woods behind our house for a bit.

In the afternoon, John worked on our taxes while I made his mom’s chocolate hearts- a Valentine’s tradition. We met our friends Zack and Cassi for bowling (we’re slowly improving) and a few games of Dominion in the evening. We hung (and rehung) curtains, too. Next we’ll learn how to patch unneeded holes in our walls!

Today we visited Fairview Baptist Church. It was definitely Baptist. And also huge. We’re still organizing our thoughts and impressions, still unsure as to where we’ll end up. We’d appreciate prayers as we make a decision about which community we want to plug into for the next year.

We enjoyed a tasty frittata for lunch and I wondered why we don’t have them more often- so simple, so versatile, so good. It’s been storming all day and, thankfully, Kaia could care less. She’s not phased in the least bit; she tries to catch the drops in her mouth and I’m sure she’d roll around in the mud puddles if we let her.

And now, we plan to observe a Richards’ family tradition: popcorn and M&M’s while we watch a movie.

Happy Sunday!