Computer-less

I haven't made a post in a long time because I have been without my computer. I had to send it in for some repair work and just got it back recently. Unfortunately, it wasn't fixed and instead they are buying out my contract so I'll start looking for a new one sometime around Christmas. For the time being, it still works so keep your fingers crossed that it will continue chugging along.

I have a lot to update now that it has been so long. The major thing is that Traci left. She decided that she wasn't meant to be out here serving at Maryhouse anymore so she went back to New York. Again, it's been a difficult transition time but I'm doing my best at staying busy. Meghan came up from LA Halloween weekend and we had a really good visit. She has also decided to return to the East Coast so it was nice to see her before she leaves.

The following weekend, my Mom came out to visit! It was a lot of fun and good to have someone around. I'm still in the three bedroom house until the end of this month so it gets a little lonely at times. My mom and I had a nice visit, going to the zoo on Sunday and doing a little shopping on Monday. We also cooked gnocchi on Sunday and went to Ruth Chris Steakhouse on Monday night for two delicious dinners! It was a really great weekend and I'm now even more excited to go home for Christmas and see everyone!

Camping!

Traci, Cara O. and I went camping last weekend! We left Friday night and got to the campsite around 9PM...we were a little late in leaving. After setting up the tent and getting a fire going, we made some hot dogs and then s'mores. It was really nice and peaceful where we went and it was far enough from the city that we could see the stars really clearly.
Saturday, after a breakfast of hot dogs and s'mores, we went for a nice long hike. It ended at University Falls which was an area of beautiful waterfalls. We climbed all the way to the bottom (well Cara and I did, and it was no easy task) and then scaled the rocks with a rope that was attached. It was so nice to get away from Sacramento for a while and be out in the nature. On the way back, we stopped and got some lunch and then made it back to watch game 6 of the Red Sox vs. Rays series. It was a very nice and relaxing weekend. Here are some pictures.

Apple Picking!

This past weekend, I went up to Apple Hill with Traci, Heather and Andrew. It's about 45 minutes away and has about 20 apple orchards, maybe more. We first went to the orchard we went to last year but they didn't have a lot of good apples left so we moved on. We ended up at the third orchard shortly after and finding that we had gone too late in the season, we "picked" some apples out of some bins. It's not quite the same, although we did wander in the trees for a while looking for apples but they taste just as good. After "picking," we went to get some Cider donuts. They were delicious. We stopped for l-inner on the way back at this burger place not too far from us and then returned home. It was a really fun day and we got plenty of apples...next come the pies!

Los Angeles (kind of)

This weekend, I went down to Loma Linda to visit Meghan. Loma Linda is about an 1 1/4 hours south east of LA so it was a 7 hour drive from Sacramento. I left on Friday afternoon and got there late Friday night and then we ended up catching up for a while before going to bed. Saturday, we had a nice slow morning. We slept in, made breakfast and then ran errands. We went to a few thrift stores to find some furniture for Meg's apartment and then we went to the grocery store. Around 4, we went back to her place and watched a movie before going out for dinner and drinks. Sunday, we drove into LA and went to the Museum of Tolerance and then drove around for a bit, catching the Hollywood sign. We stopped at IKEA on the way back and got Meg a new dresser and bedside table, which we then spent the rest of the night setting up. Her apartment is now coming together, bit by bit! I left this morning for the long drive back to Sacramento so I could get some things done before going back to work tomorrow. Despite the long drive, it was a really great weekend and really good to see Meghan.

Nice Weekend

This weekend was just what I needed. It was very relaxing, as I had purposely not planned anything. Saturday I woke up kind of early and made some pancakes and read a bunch. Saturday night I went to Tina's and watched her baby for a while with Traci and we watched some movies while we were there. Sunday, we biked to church and then got some dounuts on the way home. It was beautiful out so I went over to the park near us with a book. There was some thing going on for state employees and they had live music. It was great. I just laid out for a few hours, got some sun and got a lot of reading in. It was a nice and relaxing weekend!

Tamale Festival

Another September means another Tamale Festival for Clean & Sober! We created the World's Largest Tamale again, this year's 2 feet longer than last years and over 1,200 pounds. This year was a little more exciting, although a lot more tiring, because I got to participate in the making of the tamale. It was fun to see how it all came together. We started with banana leaves that had to over lap over each other and the grill. Then we put down masa, which is like cornmeal, about 1 inch thick over the whole thing. Then came the meat and then more masa. Then we wrapped the whole thing up with the banana leaves and tin foil and started cooking it. It took around 4 hours to cook and then we started serving it up. Like last year, we sold out pretty quickly but this year, I managed to snag a plate. It was delicious! There ended up being a part that we couldn't sell because the health department said it didn't come up to temperature fast enough, so I ended up taking some home! Don't worry, it's completely healthy, the grills had just gone out under a small section for a little bit so the tamale cooled down a little bit before anyone noticed.

Around 4:30, we all started cleaning up the park and around 6:30, we all started leaving. I had arrived at 6:30 in the morning, so it made for quite the day but it was fun anyway. I just used the next few nights to catch up on sleep! I'll post pictures when I get them from Dana, it might be a little bit though so don't hold your breath.

The New Place!

First, I apologize (and I feel like this is a common theme) for taking so long to get these pictures up. The past few weeks have been a little trying in terms of community transitioning and I haven't been able to find the time to blog at all. We are now down to a community of 2, just Traci and myself as things didn't work out for Gwen. It has been a tricky experience but we have all learned and grown as a result. Here are some pictures of the new place. It's a little nicer in some ways than the last place and not as nice in others. The picture of the outside patio will be updated as I was recently motivated to get rid of some of the overgrown vines but the project is not yet completed so those pictures will come later.