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I took this on my way to an ESL class the other night, in which a student from Chile tickled me by saying, “I used to be athletic, but now I am a potato couch”.  The blue of the sky reflecting from those buildings in the center glowed electric.  It shimmered and looked ready to dance into life.

I took this one after class, on the walk to the train.  The partially frozen river appeared golden and deceptively warm in the wash of city lights.

I love that a purely functional walk here is exploring an outdoor art exhibit.

It’s 25 degrees outside. I took two buses to McFetridge Sports Center so I could buy a $10 membership card that will allow me to reserve indoor tennis courts. This means I can play now, while the outdoor courts are still snowy and wet.  Last week I put an ad on Craigslist (have I mentioned how much I love Craigslist?) and got a number of responses from people who were also looking for a tennis partner around my level, and I’m meeting up for games with two of them next week.  I am very excited about this!!

So, I was outside for at least half an hour, and you know, I wasn’t even all that cold!  Granted, I was bundled up in my knee-length down coat, scarf, hat, gloves, and snow boots, but I am still amazed at how I have adapted.  Just a few months ago, I was perfectly comfortable in 100-degree temperatures with no air conditioning in my car, and I grew up near Houston, where 100% humidity is not uncommon and I was shivering as soon as it dipped below 70.

Now I’m standing around in below-freezing weather, crushing little balls of sidewalk ice with the toe of my boot while I wait for the bus, not giving any thought beyond “it’ll be nice when this snow melts so I can play on an outdoor court for free” to the weather.  The body’s ability to adapt is pretty cool.

My apartment is really coming into focus now. I love it. The only major thing I need yet is a couch. Since there’s so much red already, I’m considering baby blue. I would also like a big cozy chair for the corner in the studio, as well as another lamp or two and some rugs and curtains, but those are no big rush. Here are some pictures!

I loooove the door and window frames, as well as the crown and baseboard moulding. LOVE.

This is the coolest dining room set I have ever had!

I love my giant desk. It’s Finnish (from Ikea) and supersolid. I work, write music, and record here. I can be so productive in this room. It’s a sanctuary for me.

I love the huge picture windows!!

I put the public transit map up in the entryway. I love public transit!

The light pulls that came with the place were old and plastic and ugly. I got these faceted crystal ones on e-Bay for a few bucks. They’re all throughout the house.

I couldn’t get enough of these punched tin tiles from New Mexico. I didn’t bring much with me when I came, but I had to bring this, along with another smaller one that I put on the wall in the hall.

Paul gave me this shortly after I moved in. It lights up neon blue around the edge. I have never owned any sports paraphernalia ever, but I love this.

He also gave me my first coffeemaker ever for Christmas. I drink it rarely, so it gets used most often when he’s in town. It’s cute, and the metallic red matches the awesome blender I got when I was out with Cheryl and Val perfectly.

This is the first gumbo I ever made. It was very tasty, but it needs okra! The recipe didn’t call for it, and it didn’t even occur to me at the time. Mmmm, gumbo.