Daddy's girl

So, it's a rainy Friday morning and Justin had his 8am class. He gets home and decides to rest on the couch and watch the Today show with me. Eventually, I look over and see the one-and-only Neela sprawled out on top of Justin and taking a snooze. She is not a dog. She is a princess. In her world anyway.

"POW!"

I have ten minutes before my next class. But before I leave, I wanted to share a bit of progressive news. After the looming fears of Greek began coming in waves, I had my first quiz on Monday. Yesterday, I received my grade. While I am fairly convinced the TA overlooked one little mistake, I got a 100 for the first time in many moons.

And to make me feel even better about it…he put a “POW!” next to the grade. So here’s to you old school Batman fans; written sound effects to aid your approval of my good grade!

For the Birds

Yesterday, we made our first trip to one of the local beaches. How nice is it to be able to drive 10 minutes and be at the beach?! Sadly, it costs money to go, but since off-peak season just began, it was much cheaper. So we packed our lunch and headed out to enjoy a 75-degree day with not a cloud in the sky.

The beach is on a reservation so there's no commercial nonsense, just unadulterated sand and ocean. The crowd was light and the seagulls were aplenty. The gulls were well-trained in the art of stalking. They would watch and stare at you waiting for a single crumb to drop. Then, if you happen to get up and leave your food unattended, they'll come get it. Don't be fooled into thinking you can just sit it in your bag because they'll come right up and stick their head in to find it. They don't even move when you see them from afar and start yelling at them. But we, Lewises, are too smart for them. We zipped our bag. Ha - take that, birds.

Anyway, here are some pics from our lovely day out.

Fun in the City

Today was our let's-do-something-fun-in-the-city day. The forecast said rain, but we said we'd try anyway. Our first stop was lunch with our friend Sara. We ate in the North End (aka Little Italy) at a great hole-in-the-wall place. Veal parmesan and chicken marsala...yum!

Then we walked to the Museum of Science with hopes to see the really cool Body Worlds exhibit that's supposed to be amazing. But alas, our hopes were dashed when we realized that our special pass didn't apply to that exhibit. Boo. It also began to rain pretty steadily, so we opted to hop on the T and head home. Oh well, maybe next time.

First day of classes

Have you ever had one of those dreams where you are looking for your college class, but can't seem to find it. Well...I had that dream, then I woke up at 6:43 AM, so I believed. (In fact it was 7:43...and my very first seminary class began at 8:00.) After a pleasantly long shower and a trim shave, I stepped out, turned on the coffee pot, and sat down at the computer to find my class location. And there it was, sitting neatly on the bottom-right of the screen: "8:01 AM". The next 120 seconds involved a quick tooth-brush, throwing on a belt, and a kiss good-bye to Holly. ...And there it was, my first day as a seminarian was off to a beautiful beginning.

"He's her lobster!"

That's right...tonight, we dined on our first lobster. You see, the seminary has an annual clambake where students and families are able to meet and greet before the semester begins. Upon registering, you have the option of ordering lobster or chicken for your main course. Seriously, who passes up free lobster? Not us. I must say that for our first time out it was quite good. We met some new friends, learned how to be prepared for a nor'easter, and told stories about our adventures at the booksale (see post below).

Tomorrow, church and possibly watching a Panthers game. Then on Monday, it begins! School for Justin and job interview #3 for Holly.

Warehouse Madness

Rumor has it that if you attend the CBD (Christian Book Distributers) warehouse sale, you could get thousands of dollars worth of books for pocket change. Of course we knew that it was worth a trip to Peabody, Mass. just for the experience. Though the doors opened at 7 AM, Holly and I casually strolled through the doors of the warehouse around 9, (hours after the best items were picked through). We were astonished at the insane atmosphere as people (mostly women) were pulling their roller suitcases and thrusting themselves into any available space to glance at the book selections. We were there for the spectacle...and to get some sweet deals.

My personal highlight was this moment when the Bible table was getting rather empty a couple of guys started bringing boxes containing the second wave of overstocked Bibles. I stood there, somewhat frozen, fascinated by the scene... It was entertaining and heart-breaking. I began to think of so many people who have never owned a Bible, perhaps living in a poverty-stricken country. All the while, we jump all over a table to get our 8th version of the same translation.

In spite of that scene, we'll be going back in November. So make your lists (http://www.christianbook.com) and tip us well. We may find a good deal for you too.

Runaway puppy

Today, Neela ran away. It started with a small bark at the cracked door. As she has learned so skillyfully, certain gates are left open and she can get where she wants. Over the deck, through the pool gate...and poof! She was gone. In mere seconds, her greatest adventure began.

After a full out gallup she reached an open field where large mounds of hay sat by the road. With her nose high in the air, a new aroma breezed in, alerting her of a new kind of creature. She had never seen a horse before, let alone three of them. One was far away grazing at the far side of the fence. The other was walking gracefully by the gate, with a bit of arrogance. The last one was white and stood tall and still within the stable. She approached the window with her casual shyness, but curiousity building. "What do you want?" An old voice from the window above contained a bored and annoyed tone. "Hello!" Neela said, excited to hear a horse speak. "Can't you see we're busy." At this, our dog also realized that she's never heard a British dialect (from humans either). "Ah! Leave the little buggah alone! She ain't hurtin' nobody!" The voice came from the first horse that was eating. "Hey there! Welcome to the fahm!" His Boston (Bahston) accent was thicker than the British she had just heard. But it was kind and light.

"Hi. I've never seen a farm before. I'm from North Carolina and I don't think I've seen a dog as tall as you before!"

"What!?! I ain't no dog...you mean you nevuh met a horse? That's wicked crazy! What are you doing all the wayz up here if youz from down there?"

"Well, actually...we just moved up here. My dad is going to school not far from here. We live down the road." At this a sudden shrill of fear came over the dog as she realized that this was new territory and she wasn't sure how to get back. "I think we live down there." She pointed her nose North and as she did she saw a human running from afar. He had a funny stride, but she decided it was from the flip flops he was wearing...ones like her dad wore. Realizing her predicament and being caught away from home she offered a quick goodbye to her tall friend and scurried toward the furless man.

There's more to the story, but right now, she's reliving the whole thing again in her comfortable, safe bed. Maybe tomorrow she'll meet someone new. Or maybe the newly installed baby gate will remind her that her next adventure will probably be on leash.

Home Sweet Home

Yes, aren't they cute? I think they've gotten used to our new home. The flower bed is just outside our front door. They like to perch there so they can see inside and watch our every move.

As for us, we're getting used to our new home as well. Most boxes are unpacked and we've been enjoying a time of rest before the semester begins. I (Holly) am still on the job hunt. Justin is studying for a pre-seminary exam. We've done a minor amount of exploration and found some cool places. Marblehead and Gloucester are worth a revisit. They are both sailing towns and we found some great parks overlooking the water. We'll take you there when you come visit!