Fall!

So! The temperature's been in the upper sixties, and dropping down to the lower forties at night. I am overjoyed. Sweater season! Jacket season! Boot season! Scarf season! (I would add "Chai season!" except that I'll drink hot chai in the middle of the Texas summer. At night, of course--I'm not crazy--but Texas summer nonetheless.) (That said, I've been drinking twice the chai now that autumn's settling in.)

I'm trying to make it to City Park three to four times a week. Failed completely this weekend, but after I've digested this delicious baked potato soup I plan to get out there. Last time I went was Thursday morning. It was gorgeous, of course, and I managed to make two laps around the walking trail, though my hips were pretty sore toward the end there. It was a six-mile walk, so I think the soreness is understandable. Nonetheless, I'll probably only do three miles today.

Anyway, I have a bunch of photos to share. Starting off with a few from my Labor Day trip down to Texas! I took hundreds of photos, but most of them involve my family, and I don't want to post those without permission. I do mean to send the whole lot over to my parents, but it's several gigs and . . . I need to get some blank discs to burn them on to. Who's been super lazy these last few weeks? That'd be me.

As always, click an image to see it at full size!

Here's a lovely view of the landscape. The greenest things around are the mesquite.

Spunky is a camera hog.

Nana decidedly is not. But she made for several quite excellent still life shots.

I have no idea who this dude is, but he appears to have a lion's mane.

The Texas trip was amazing, and I was glad that the kitties and Andrew were waiting for me when I got back home--otherwise leaving Texas would have been much more depressing. But who could be depressed with these around?

Sophie took to sleeping in Andrew's sock drawer, by the way.

Probably because whenever she sleeps on the bed, Augustine jumps up, streeeetches, and settles down to nap in positions specially designed to annoy her.

They've worked out a good system for sharing me when I'm in bed with them, though.

Andrew and I went to Water Fire again recently! I won't bore you with more shots of the bonfires themselves, but here. Have some more building pictures.

In preparation for our trip to New York in October, we went suit-hunting for Andrew. Found one! Let me show you Andrew's hotness.

The blazer is a little too wide in the shoulders, but they didn't carry a smaller size in store; he's going to order one from the website to see how that fits. But oh my goodness he looks amazing. =D

His classes started last Wednesday, by the way, and they're going really well. He even managed to get both a desk and a drawer in one of the studios! Desks and drawers are given out on a first-come, first-serve basis, by seniority. Andrew was in the last group to have access, so it's wonderful that he managed to get them. They aren't strictly necessary for underclassmen, but it'll be helpful for Andrew when he has stuff to work on that Sophie and Augustine shouldn't, ah, help out with. They like to help.

Here's another random photo for you; it's some graffiti on the wall of the CVS down the street. Andrew and I grabbed some sandwiches at the creamery next door and were headed home when we walked right by it. I stopped several yards away, then backtracked to actually read it.

In other news Sophie peed on my chair early last week, then spent the rest of the day sleeping under the bed. It was all red flags: she never has litter box problems, she never hides, and although she is even lazier than I am, she's never been lethargic like this. So, being the kitty parent I am, I dragged her to the vet asap. She'd rather hide until the vet leaves, thanks.

Poor kitten got her blood and urine tested, but was (of course!) very well behaved. When the vet and vet tech carried her back to me in the private room, both of them were grinning. "This is the best cat in the world," the vet said. I replied with: "I know." The vet tech added that she'd always thought that her cat was the best in the world, but she was wrong. Sophie's the best. Do you know, every single vet she has ever been to has said that? Who's surprised.

Anyway, the vet called yesterday afternoon to give me the lab results. Sophie has a bladder infection. No wonder she hasn't been feeling well. She's on antibiotics for the next two weeks, and lets me know that she hates her liquid medicine by curling up next to me and purring when I've finished washing the syringe. It's a very unhappy purr, of course.

The infection doesn't prevent Sophie from enjoying her daily nap by the window.

Oh, in other news, I almost got skunked while leaving the apartment the other night. Looked up just in time to see the skunk--a measly two yards in front of me--turn around and lift its tail at me. There must be something wrong with my reflexes, because all I did was freeze. Took me a while to register that getting out of there was the smarter idea. Maybe only a second or two, but still. That was a very kind skunk.

Berry Bushes

Andrew and I drove to Warwick late this morning to explore the City Park--which despite its baseball diamonds and playgrounds is much more like an arboretum than anything else. It's a small peninsula shaped like a manatee's face (that downward-pointing bulbous nose that also brings to mind a young male elephant seal, you know?) framed by narrow coves and gazing southward toward Greenwich Bay. The flat tip of its nose is a slim beach, accessible by an equally slim road or--as Andrew and I found--the walking trail.

Well, it's really a walking/biking trail, paved and with a white stripe painted down its center. Bikes to the right, pedestrians to the left. One way. Of course half of the (two dozen or so) people we encountered had completely ignored all this, and were walking on whatever side they liked in whatever direction they liked.

It was a three mile walk, and the path was never straight and flat for more than a few steps at a time; it's all low hills and twists and dips. The trees were incredibly green and tall enough to give me a cramp in my neck (because I apparently like to look up at the tops of the trees more than at the not-straight-and-level path I'm walking, like an idiot. Miraculous I didn't pitch over into the bushes at least once).

Through the trees you can gradually see one of the coves widen from streams into real bodies of water, complete with very loud birds and very quiet sailboats. It was gorgeous.

After about two miles, I noticed that some of the bushes we passed were sporting some kind of berry--I think raspberries, though I didn't want to taste them to find out. Just in case.

Another hundred yards along I heard a very cautious crash, crash coming quite close to us on the other side of a very tall and thick wall of bushes--including raspberry(?) bushes. The signs at the beginning of the trail warned us that we're sharing the peninsula with deer, coyotes, and pheasants, and I was determined that we'd see all three of them today. So of course when I heard what had to be something large and four-legged coming toward us, I had to get a look. Except I couldn't. Because of the giant wall of raspberry bush. And whatever thorny bush it was sharing space with. We spent a good five minutes trying to find a hole in the wall to look through, and although we did see a number of cute little birds moving expertly through the thorns, we couldn't figure out what big thing was moving around back there.

So naturally I started imagining all kinds of wonderful nonsense, mostly about mythical creatures and magic and walls between worlds made of raspberry bushes and thorns.

I can't wait to get back there.

India Point Park

Andrew and I toured approximately one hundred yards of India Point Park today, and those hundred yards were lovely--green grass, green trees, sea-scented air, and water that was the same color as the sky (that is, silver). As soon as I got out of the car I was nearly overwhelmed with joy: the place smelled exactly like Galveston. (Seven years later and I'm still homesick for Galveston. Not to say I don't miss the Austin area, too!)

It's there on the map. To get from the park to our place, just take Gano north until it runs into our street; by car it takes just two minutes or so. Assuming you don't encounter more than one person who accidentally tries to go down a one-way street the wrong way, then proceeds to back up into the intersection at a terrible angle as you're trying to go through it.

That's a sign describing the history of India Point Park. Click on it to be able to read it!

And now a video, because that's probably a bit more interesting than pictures.



And now pictures in case the video doesn't work!

Bent tree trunks!

Are those the corpses of more trees? Or a destroyed dock? They're in an almost perfect wedge formation, but not evenly spaced. There is another outcropping of wood further down the coast a few hundred yards.

I love that mill/factory on the other side of the river over there; it's giant and pretty, but I have no idea what it does. Never seen smoke coming out of those three smoke stacks. The double-arches directly to its left is a the giant I-195 bridge over the canal, located on the bottom left/center of the Google map. I'm not sure why, but I love that bridge as much as I love the factory thing next to it.

We plan to go back and really explore the park. Can't wait!

By the way, a house on our block has the most gorgeous flowers growing along their fence, including tons of lilies. Even a stargazer lily! The stargazer died yesterday, before I could remember to get over there with my camera; these are wilting, but still quite beautiful. I love walking by that house.

By the way, Massachusetts welcomes visitors with images of a very plump turkey. Because that's just what Massachusetts does. I guess.

All I Really Need Is Ice Cream

Several updates!

The morning after I sent those resumes I received two responses. One (a data entry position) that initially sounded legitimate turned into something that sounds like a get-rich-quick scam. The other was a real estate agent who wants an assistant to work from home while he's overseas, someone who can set their own hours and such. His email sounded kind of . . . off. So I decided to wait to get some more responses before replying to him.

And it paid off! Yesterday morning I received an email informing me that I sound like a very good candidate for a job, and asked me to fill out a form with more info about myself/how I work/etc, in preparation for an interview next week. The trouble is, I don't know which job it was for. You see, when I sent out my emails of inquiry, I was very careful to reference the job position and identification number, because when you reply to a Craigslist ad (which is where all these jobs came from), you send them to an _____@craigslist.com address, which forwards your email to the recipient's personal email. And then the recipient replies to you from their personal email, not from the @craigslist.com address that you originally emailed.

So in this case, I sent an email off to the @craigslist address, and the people replied to me with their @company address without copying my email so I couldn't see which job they are. So, uh. Guess I'll find out which job that was when I get an interview next week! (Assuming they like my survey answers well enough to interview me, at least.)

Just in case though, today I went out and bought two skirts (one below-knee length and the other just-above-knee length) to match my blazer. I'm assuming below-knee is more formal for an interview. And I'm about to go out and get panty hose and mascara and a portfolio thing to carry my necessary information in. It's interview season!

A P.F. Chang's is going to be opening at Providence Place Mall sometime in the next month or two. This guy was established on the sidewalk outside what will be the restaurant's outer entrance. He's maybe twenty feet tall, and clearly intent on terrorizing the passers-by. (Or maybe being terrorized by them? His face is not a happy face.)

 And another capitol grounds shot, since I was wandering by it.

In other news, I was social yesterday! There's a writer's group that meets at the Warwick Library (about fifteen, almost twenty minutes south of our apartment), and I braved up and went to their July meeting. Only three other people showed up: Rob, Jen, and Emily. Rob is the group's organizer and writes sci-fi. Jen is a new member (though she and her husband grew up with Rob), and writes YA and memoirs. Emily is trying to break out of a several-year-long writer's block, and submitted a kind of magical realism short story that was amazing. She wrote it several years ago, before the funk set in, and I was just completely in love with it. She's quiet and quirky and reminds me a lot of Katie. We bonded a bit over the writer's block thing, since I'm in the same position. I'm hoping to strong-arm her into being my friend. =D

The group is only for people over twenty-one, which is incredibly nice. And usually, Rob told me, there are closer to six or eight people at a meeting; this was a rare occurrence. But whatever the case, they were all incredibly friendly and I loved spending two hours with them. Can't wait for the next meeting, at the end of August! Hopefully I'll even find a way to get together with one or all of them before then.

And also, last night was another WaterFire night. Took more pictures!

You can kind of see a road block protecting the white tents from oncoming traffic. And yes, those roads around WaterFire that aren't blocked off entirely are filled with almost as many people as cars. And the people tend to think that they have the right-of-way, even though they don't. =/

Buildings! Guys, my camera was taking these pictures without flash or tripod. Not bad at all!

Okay, this one's a little blurry. That's a gondola going under the bridge, and another one coming up to it.

That's Providence Place Mall rising triumphantly over the canal. The canal opens into a big circle here, with water flowing out at about 6:00 and flowing in at about 2:00. (I mean, location-wise, if looking straight ahead at the mall is 12:00. Not talking time.)

Under the bridge, chandeliers are installed, and big mirrors to reflect their light. From the surface of the water to the bottom of the bridge's arch is maybe eight feet--those fires are big.

I'm pretty sure he's Saint Francis? Need to find out. That pillar is several stories tall; I'd have to go back during the day to get a decent picture of him.

I took some videos, too, but those will have to wait until later!

People-Meeting, Place-Seeing

Friday night (I think?) I took my notebook down to the Starbucks a block east of home, settled down on one of the little round metal tables outside, and proceeded to . . . not write. Mostly because the two late-sixties or early-seventies men sitting at the table beside mine were speaking French to each other. Both were American; it was clearly a lesson. The one was reading out of a novel (in French), and after his pronunciation was adjusted here and there, they'd discuss (in French) what was going on in the book. Their conversations kept wandering away from the book to current politics, the area around us, and places to visit in France. Their vocabulary was more advanced than mine, but they were speaking very slowly and clearly, so I actually understood maybe seventy-five percent of what was said. I haven't heard French in years, and it was incredibly enjoyable to eavesdrop!

At around 10:00, two more men came along and sat down on my other side. One of them immediately turned to me and asked how long the giant eighteen wheeler had been idling in front of the coffee shop; it had been there for maybe twenty minutes. He went on to describe how lovely it was, and ask if I was writing my memoirs. (I still had my notebook and pencil in hand.) I laughed and said Sure, and he guessed that I was currently detailing how the noise of the eighteen wheeler--which, according to him and I had to agree, looked like a combination of Darth Vader and a Transformer--was whittling away my will to live.

He chatted with his companion for a little while before turning back to me and asking what I was really writing; it turns out he used to be a professor of English and a keen people-watcher. We wound up talking--wait, no. He wound up talking, and I almost entirely wound up listening, for the next two hours. His companion went home pretty early on, and Richard was incredibly happy to fill me in on the history of the area, his experience as an English professor in the midwest, various family stories, and a lot of random history tidbits. (He has two PhDs: one in Renaissance Literature and the other in History. Mostly Jewish history, he said, but most of the history things he told me were Renaissance Europe related.)

I learned that H.P. Lovecraft, he of Cthulhu fame, was born less than a block from our apartment. And when he was fourteen he moved another block further away. And I live within walking distance of his other homes. I am so incredibly excited, you have no idea.

We also talked about Flannery O'Connor, one of my (our) favorite authors. That was really about the extent of my contribution to the conversation, though!

Today I finally went out for a walk! Here's a map, since I'm adding a bunch of photos I took while walking. Started off on the red track, heading east on Angell until I hit River Road, then started going north.

(I probably no longer need to remind you to click on the pictures to see them full size, huh?)

There were a good number of cars parked along the road, and some people relaxing by the river or on park benches facing it. But the quality of people wasn't the greatest, if you get my meaning. Didn't see any families down there, mostly adult men.

Still, York Pond turned out to be really picturesque! Lots of lily pads and green trees and such. As you can see:

I'm just starting to figure out the new camera's outdoor settings. Not too shabby for my first attempts, unless you don't like sunbursts discoloring the image. *Wince.*

Anyway, that's York Pond. If you turn around and look at the river, you'll see, well, river. The far bank is green, but pretty well populated with not-very-pretty buildings. I did manage to get this, though:

Not bad looking at all!

After leaving the water, I met a very kindly man in his seventies who warned me that the area isn't very safe for someone walking alone, especially after dark. We talked for a few minutes, and I promised him never to come around after dusk by myself.

And then, if you look at the map again, I hit Blackstone Boulevard. That's the wide boulevard that was designed by the same man who built Central Park (something else Richard told me!), which explains why I got such a Central Park vibe from it when Andrew and I first saw it two months ago. Large, expensive, gorgeous houses line the boulevard on both sides. Down the middle is a green belt with a walking/jogging trail, dotted frequently with park benches. I wanted to take pictures of some of the houses, but a lot of people were out, and I didn't want to look like a thief scoping out her next target, you know? I'll be braver if I go really early in the morning, I think.

Also, it took me a long time to get decent shots without fellow walkers/joggers in them. Didn't want anyone yelling at me for taking pictures of them exercising or whatever. So here are just a few Blackstone Boulevard photos:

In this last one you can see the roads on either side of the jogging path.

After leaving Blackstone Boulevard, I met Andrew at the CVS, where we loaded up on ice cream and Dr. Pepper. Like true Texans. By then, my feet were very glad to take a break while he drove us home.

And here are a few other pictures for you.

Above is the vet that's about half a block from our apartment--a three minute walk, if that. I bought the cats their low-allergen food there a few days ago, and they seem both nice and competent.

This is how we get to Target. Massachusetts. (It's a ten or twelve minute drive, no big deal. But I just love passing under these "Welcome To" and "Leaving" signs.)

On Thursday, our car informed us that it was a tad bit warm outside. (We had already noticed.)

When Augustine mews and looks up at you a certain way, he's asking to be picked up. And this is his favorite way to be held. No kidding. He'll just relax into a little fuzzy puddle, eyes closed or--at most--half open and back toes pointing straight up. Cutest thing in the world.

Sophie decided to help Andrew with his self-portrait by, you know. Fuzzing it properly. And making sure his headphones were properly inserted into his phone, for prime audio book listening. (Augustine is stalking her from behind a giant pile of Sophie Fluff that I managed to get off her with the Furminator. No joke, that fuzzpile is half the size of the cat it came off of.)

She also recently found out that some centuries ago, cats were believed to get onto the chests of sleeping children and suck out their souls. She found this information inspiring.

And yes, she will fall asleep on our chests if we let her. We almost never do.

But don't pity her too much; she knows how to make herself comfortable elsewhere.