Just the Facts.

July felt a little busy. At the tail-end, we bid farewell to Christopher and Nancy and the girls, who's visit was a whirlwind, but lots of fun. Maverick was very sad to have his happy pack diminished, but Scuttle was quick to re-claim her lost territory. By the way, I've revised my understanding of the expression "pitter patter of little feet"; these little feet belonged to a stampede of angry bison.

Within a week, we attended the wedding celebration of our good friends Jennie and Kevin. It was a delightful party with dancing and punch and video messages for the bride and groom to review later. I wonder if they ever did? I think our message was far from eloquent. No one warned me we'd be on camera! I could have prepared notes!

Naturally, we were both busy with work, and I had also decided to apply to the Institute of Children's Literature. I had to write a short story for submission and analysis and managed to meet the deadline despite feeling pinched for time and terribly distracted. I heard back a few weeks ago; I was accepted and am now feeling pinched and distracted about completing my first assignment. Naturally.

As many of you know, Phillip and I prefer to take our time when it comes to anything we deem a significant purchase. In this case, we had been considering a new dining table for a while and finally took the plunge when the piece I'd been admiring was optioned for free shipping during the month of July. The table arrived in time for Nancy and Christopher's visit, but it had to be covered with a plastic table-cloth because the wood was unfinished. Once the house was again empty of little children prone to poisoning themselves with such things, I began the long process of treating the wood with tung oil.

This particular table is made with reclaimed saal wood and is quite dense (not to mention incredibly heavy), so the first few layers were cut 1:1 with citrus solvent so that it could better soak in. Each coat was left for several hours over a period of a few days until the wood was saturated. After letting it dry for a day, I began another series of coats using pure tung oil, leaving it overnight before wiping off excess and adding another coat. Directions that came with the oil and solvent indicated that one should let the wood tell you when it was finished. This seemed to happen for the table after six coats. I'm quite pleased with the result.

It has been over a month since I finished the project, during which time we kept the table covered so it could fully 'cure'. In the interim, another surprise was added to our busy month. We gained a flat mate.

I will not reveal personal details here, but suffice to say, Doris, a good friend of mine that I met at Mueller College, found herself in a very difficult situation. I knew things had been rough for her for a little while, but hadn't realized the extent of it until she asked to meet me for coffee to say goodbye. I was very saddened to learn that she was planning to move to Texas even though she really wanted to stay in San Diego. She was hoping to find work there and save up enough money to return for her graduation ceremony here. All of this seemed so unnecessary and complicated that I spoke to Phillip that night about it. The result is that Doris will be staying with us until the end of October so that she has a safe opportunity to get back on her feet in time for graduation.  She is already working, and the bonus is that when we leave for Oregon next month, Doris will be here to look after our house and pets.

Speaking of which, we have another wedding coming up, and with a nod to our old tradition, we are using the event as an excuse to take a little breather from work for ten days. Phillip will be in San Francisco for a conference the week before, which works out rather well.  I will fly to meet him, and we'll rent a car to drive from there to Portland, Oregon. We anticipate a leisurely pace by way of some beautiful coastline and national parks, including a day of hiking among the the redwoods. Visiting these ancient giants has been on my 'must-see' list since I learned about them as a kid. I plan a full recharge of my inner dryad!

And so, another month has rolled over us, leaving us blinking and wondering where the time goes. When we're not crazy busy, we're grateful for long walks with the pooch on Sundays (when we're both free), beautiful weather and good fortune.