The Driving Chronicles 3

Today I was on my lunch break and as I was headed back to work I pulled up to a 4 way stop. It's one of those ones that's gearing up to have traffic lights, the traffic lights are there just not working so for now 'tis just a stop sign. So as I approached, there was an Andy Gump truck at the stop sign/traffic light. I slowed as I got toward the stop sign and he still didn't go through even though he was the only one there. I pulled up to the stop sign. Looked at him. Came to a full and complete stop. Looked at him. Paused. Looked at him. It was his turn. It had BEEN his turn. He stayed put. I assume he was waiting for the light to turn green and hadn't registered that it wasn't even red.

Also in my lunchtime drive. I was behind a 7-Up big rig. We got to a stop light. I got in the left turn lane he stayed in the straight lane except he stopped WAY WAY behind all other cars, gave a short honk on his horn, and stayed put even as the light turned green. I made my left turn and was able to view him for several seconds just hanging out in the road. He seemed fine. I wonder what he was doing.

FlowerMaking

Mobile Uploads

I love this guy. We were at The-No-Name-Store (Wal*Mart) picking up a few essentials for our new apartment. We saw this pillow that matched Adam perfectly! Kinda funny!


This is the view of our apartment complex if you put your cellphone through the wooden posts and take a picture from the front gate. =) Isn't it so cheery?

And these are a few of our pics, waiting to find their place on our wall(s).

Also

From the thrift stores yesterday I snapped this photo:

This is like an EXACT replica of the Treehouse Studio. Same style. Same color. SAME size.

And this is currently at my desk at work:

The Driving Chronicles 2

Yesterday's drive involved the 126 to Ventura, pouring rain, and my good friend Sarah.

The rain was really coming down as we neared Fillmore. Up ahead I could see something in the road. I thought it was a crow. As we got closer, the bird wasn't moving. It was definitely not dead because it was rigidly standing there. I had my lights and windshield wipers on and as I approached I looked and saw a sopping wet, drenched feather, wide eyed, terrified owl. It's wings were slightly spread and rain was pouring down on the owl and as I approached, it stood there not moving, staring, helpless. It didn't know what to do.

It was the most heartbreaking thing I've seen in a long time and I can't shake it. I felt so bad for it.

The Driving Chronicles 1

I think I should start some sort of regular feature on my blog called The Driving Chronicles becuase I always see the most interesting things when I'm driving.

Today features Adam and I sitting at a traffic light next to a white van. The driver of the van was holding a frozen soda and hitting it repeatedly with a hammer. I don't know how that was supposed to defrost it.

The Treehouse Studio

Adam and I have been madly searching for an appropriate living space these last couple of weeks. We've looked in classifieds, networked through friends, and searched Craigslist.

We found this ad on Craigslist:
Cute Unusual Guest House/Single
All new
Small Dog o.k. upon approval, please email for more information
Rent+ small deposit

It was within our location and budget preferences so we called them up.

Tuesday evening we got a chance to check it out. We were told to knock on the door when we arrived.

*Knock knock*

Door opens, we couldn't really see who was talking because it was evening,"Hey, are you Adam?" we hear as the guy steps outside and extends his hand. Adam says, "Yes," as he shakes hands with Dan and says, "..and this is Erin." I shake his hand, "Hi, nice to meet you."

Let's talk about Dan for a second. He is in his 60's and wearing dark brown polyester pants, a leather jacket with fringe, and a dark brown hat with a feather. He looks like he has had some adventures in life and has a low raspy voice - from too many cigarettes (at least that's my conclusion).

Dan leads us around back. Cautions us to be careful of our step. Asks if we like dogs because he has 2 and tells us he built the guest house for fun. We get to the back and his wife steps outside.

Let's talk about Lynette for a second. Lynette is in her 60's and wearing jeans and a t-shirt and a purple jacket. Her hair looks like this. (Note to self, be careful on google when searching for mullets. )

We introduce ourselves to Lynette. The couple is very nice. The backyard has a fishpond which is awesome. Surrounding the fishpond are varying trees and hanging from one tree was a version of a Tiffany Lamp. SO cool. We loved it. I loved it. We see the guest house. It's up on a semi-deck. It's painted green with white trim. I loved it. There was a tiny porch out front. Dan and Lynette said "Just go inside. Spend like 10 minutes in there and we'll come and check on you." Then Dan walked up the porch and opened the door and went right inside the guest house. =)

First whiff. Cigarettey. (That should be a word.)
First sight. Tree trunk.


Let's talk about the tree trunk for a second. I would say The kitchen was approx. 3ft by 7ft. The bathroom 7ft by 7ft. The living/bedroom area approx. 10ft by 13ft. The tree trunk ws approx. 2ft by 2ft. It took up a LARGE portion of this NOT large studio. It also offically made it a treehouse.


The studio was really cute. Hard wood floors. Beige walls. Several windows. The kitchen was painted GREEN. I know. Right?

Dan and Lynette told us they are planning on putting a sofa bed and an armoire in the studio. There was also a table and 2 chairs in there. And for now a blow up queen mattress. The window in the back was level with the deck. That was interesting. But we liked it. After they showed and informed us of everything they told us to look around then just come knock on the door when we were ready to talk.

Adam and I strategized. The place is teensy. (Doesn't teensy sound smaller than teeny?) Eventually we headed to the door of the main house. Dan opened it up and invited us in. (I just want you guys to know that a car had hit a power pole down the street so the electricity was flickering and browning out and we were supposed to go in?) We went in. They invited us to sit at the dining table. Their 2 dogs were old and their black lab was one of the fattest dogs I've EVER seen. We pulled up a chair and sat down. Conversation began. It ended 2 hours later.

These folks are sooo interesting. Dan has lived! He had some great stories to tell. We found ourselved having similarities to this couple. Common grounds. We also got to give them the gospel. Lynette seems to be saved. Dan knows the truth but has some theological hang-ups that keep him from committing. God crossed our paths that night to encourage Lynette in the Lord and to challenge Dan. We're sure of it.

In all the 2 hours we didn't get to talk about the treehouse studio. When we left Dan told us to take the application and give them a call, but that "even if we said, "No." to make sure that if we ever see them on the streets to be sure and say "hello.""

It was a really interesting night. Very cool in so many ways. Imagine Adam and I telling our kids we lived in a treehouse the first year of our marriage. The place was SO us, but just so small.

And cigarettey.