My Blog List

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

A Vacation To Home


Over last weekend, my husband and I ventured out of a cloud covered city to our old home town of Manhattan, KS...breathtaking as it was I looked at every building, street, landmarks like I was still trying to hold onto something. I knew it, the next 24 hours were all mine and I was home...I took pictures of almost everything that had some significance in my life. When we got to our hotel room, it felt so awkward, staying in a hotel in a town you once lived in, my old apartment was right there, but someone else now lives in it.

But for some reason, I felt a small tug from Lincoln...could it be true??? was I actually missing Lincoln? It can't be! Maybe it was because I left my 2 cats behind at my house? maybe Manhattan now seems like a small town? what the hell?

My hubby and I went about and tried to do as many normal routine things as possible like we lived in Manhattan...we went out to coco bolo's for lunch went to radina's coffee house for pre-dinner coffee, visited my in-laws, and shopped the next day...but when we were at hasting's book store, we both were trying to hold onto Manhattan as long as we could, the sun was past it's high point, the afternoon was rolling on, so we knew we had to leave and go back to Lincoln.

So we just decided to leave then and there instead of doing more things to keep us in town longer, or we would just never leave! So we started the 2 and a half hour long drive back up north to Nebraska. Of course after seeing tuttle creek lake, I started crying like a baby...it's true I am tugged between 2 states now, and every time I cross the Kansas/Nebraska border I will always blow a kiss to Kansas.

Monday, February 1, 2010

3 months and counting

Ok, as of today I have resided in Lincoln for exactly 3 months now. 12 weeks. 90 days. 2,160 hours. 129,600 minutes. Or 7,776,000 seconds. However you want to put it...I have spent 7.7 million seconds in this strange town, 1 second seems real quick, but nearly 8 million seconds equals 3 months. The winter is rough, the traffic is life threatening, the people are reserved, and my gas bills are high. So now living here 12 weeks, it has been a little easier now that I have total lay of the land. After 2 months of grey skies and nearly 4 feet of total snow accumulated, the sun came out for nearly 6 days straight and the temperature actually went above zero, the snow started to finally melt away showing the sleeping grass and dead twigs. Of course I speak too soon, it is now currently snowing AGAIN and 2 inches are already on the ground after only 1 hour, if it keeps this pace up all day, I will see another 18 inches by dinnertime. I have now seen enough snow to last me almost 3 lifetimes and there is still 7 weeks of winter left. I dream of leaves on trees, 70F weather, sunshine, and my tulips and daffodils at full bloom in my garden I tended just last November before the snows came. I dream of rainstorms, thunder, lightning, rainbows in the eastern skies, the air thick with moisture, lower gas bills. I dream of the yellow breasted meadowlark bird coming to my home and singing me a past time Kansas song. I dream of wearing cute skirts and short sleeved shirts instead of 3 layers of clothing.
I have always hated winter and it's blues but this winter has tested my will and strength like never before. I am already dreading the winter season of 2010-2011....will I ever see spring again? I still see beautiful winter birds fly around, and when the harsh north wind isn't blowing, there is momentary tranquility. I haven't seen my cat friend Jacks in 2 months, I miss him. Maybe he will show himself when the snow is gone, I hope.

Fail...


This is what I'm talking about when it comes to really deep snow...It was mid afternoon in late December. I was in my kitchen making some lunch when I heard an engine revving over and over again, so after 5 minutes I looked out my kitchen window that over looks my backyard, and I see this mail truck stuck in almost 3 feet of snow! This mailman was in my alley behind my house, well it was directly behind my neighbors house. He must have been there for over an hour until a tow plow got him out...