The orange room is mostly complete! (Better photos to come, hopefully!)
We had a really quiet Thanksgiving and Christmas at home. It seemed like many people we know were either sick or also trying to save money so they also laid low during the holidays. This was just fine, and allowed us a really stress-free time, including two 4-day weekends in a row between Christmas and New Years. We got a lot of rest and relaxation in.
A few weeks before Christmas we went to see my favorite band in the whole world, Mew. The venue was pretty crappy and small, it was a Thursday night, we had to pay a crapton for parking, the bands were over an hour late starting, and both of us were in terrible pain from standing/leaning, BUT…the second they appeared on stage, all of that washed away and I was completely entranced. Aside from the aural delight their music evokes, their live shows also present a rich and stimulating visual component to supplement the sound. In short, they put on the best damned show ever. It is an all-encompassing experience which touches all your senses at once. I have seen many a concert in my time, but that was by far the best. It is evident in their presentation that they absolutely love what they do, that they give 100% no matter where they play and who is in the audience. The lead singer, Jonas Bjerre, has said in interviews that he creates the animation & lights to go along with the music to take attention from him, as he is incredibly shy, but for the most part I could not take my eyes off him. It is precisely that shyness that makes him such an attractive frontman; he is the anti-rockstar. I clung tightly to Jules’ arm and squeezed him a bit too hard when my favorite song was played, and at that moment felt like one of my life’s wishes had been granted. After the show my appreciation for Mew climbed to a new level entirely and has stimulated my passion for music after a few years of sliding further into musical burnout.
As I mentioned before, Jules has begun playing the guitar. He’s using an Epiphone DR-100 Acoustic (Vintage Sunburst) which seems to be a really great instrument for a beginner. Both of us are very excited about it, and he’s been trying to convince me to try playing an instrument. I am still unsure about that idea, as I feel like I don’t really have any sort of natural musical ability, and that my contribution to music could probably be best manifest in my passionate support of other people’s talent. I know a great deal of success has much to do with practice, but I guess we’ll see how I feel down the road. I might surprise myself, who knows? For now it’s just Jules and his scale and chord practice.
Ivan (Jules’ little brother) got his American visa, and he will be moving over to the US at the end of May! He won the green card lottery after applying half on a whim, and after his online animation course with Pixar is finished he will be looking for work in the states. He’ll be staying with us for awhile as he looks for work and gets himself situated, but it’s unclear what will happen after that. We are so excited to have him come over because he is one awesome dood and it will be so much fun. I am really looking forward to seeing how American girls fawn over him because he is quite a catch. :3 Heehee. Our main task before he arrives is buying him a “bed” which will be a sleeper sofa we can keep in the craft/guest room. We will buy it from Sleepers in Seattle. Seriously. Yep.
We have yet another new kitty named Leela. Our friend Max got married and had a baby so he was looking for a new home for his kitty as she wasn’t getting enough attention in their house. He couldn’t find a suitable home so we agreed to take her, and she fit in pretty much immediately. Unlike our other cats, she is not demanding at all, and mostly just keeps to herself. She is sweet and friendly, and really tubby. She’s lost a bit of weight since we took her in but she still has a way to go. The vet told us she’s actually just a big cat, and while she could stand to be a bit lighter, it would only have to be about a pound and a half. We took all 4 of them in last Saturday and everyone is healthy, so hopefully that’ll be the last time we have to do that this year!
I’ve been exercising several times a week on the recumbent stationary bike we got in November, which is so much better than the Gazelle. I am able to get a much more satisfying workout and am able to read at the same time, which makes the time fly by. This was a fantastic investment, much cheaper than the treadmills we had been considering. I love it.
I’m currently working on another granny square blanket, the Weighted Companion Cube from Portal. I know it’s a bit late for that but I really like the design of it and I had some pink yarn I have been stashing for over 7 years that I really, really wanted to get rid of. It’s working out quite well for that! Unfortunately the thing is like 7′x7′ so it’s ridiculously big. I just hit the halfway point. I’ve mostly been doing that while Jules plays video games at night (Assasin’s Creed 2, Brutal Legend, Dragon Age Origins, Zelda Twilight Princess, Uncharted 1 & 2, Bayonetta, Bioshock, Mass Effect to name a few) and during our Friday D&D sessions and Saturday get-togethers at Nat’s place.
In other news, Jules got a much-deserved raise at work awhile ago and shortly after that his boss quit, so he is running the department now. He’s working long, tiring hours, and responsible for more than he should be able to handle, but he handles it anyhow. Really hoping they hire him an underling soon. I remain the sole member of my team at work, and it definitely has its ups and downs. Still not my dream job by any means, but it’s a steady paycheck (currently very, very important!) and I am clearly making a difference here. I am not sure what I will be doing in the future yet but for now this situation is acceptable. The commute still isn’t great but for the most part I can come in prior to 7:30 and leave before 4 most days so I can often avoid rush hour and catch the express bus home, which shortens the trip by nearly 45 minutes some days. I don’t like getting up at 5:30 but keeping this schedule allows for much more quality time in the evening so it’s worth it. The Kindle helps.
Mum & Dadcaster have preliminarily invited us to come stay with them in the south of France sometime at the end of this year. Very excited about this as the place they are staying in is gorgeous and I have never been there before. We’ll have plenty of time to save up some money for tickets too, yay!
I’m sure there’s tons more noteworthy things that have happened since I last wrote, but that’s all I can remember at the moment. I’ll try to make this more of a regular thing so this doesn’t happen again. Having these details written down in a proper timeline helps me keep track of things too.
Stumble it! | 
