Ok the title is actually two seperate stories not to be confused as a statement. As much as you’d like to believe that there is something as exciting as blueberry sunsets here in Hamilton, there is not. I still find Tulsa to have the most consistently incredible sunsets I’ve ever seen. In Colorado Springs the mountains were always in the way and here there are trees everywhere. I love the big open sky of “Oklahoma where the wind comes sweeping down the plains”…ok I’ll stop;-)

Since I ended up staying home and didn’t meet any politicians or have a dog bite me, I thought I’d write about a story from my first night here in the apartment. Yes this is where the blueberries come into the picture. My drive to Hamilton from Tulsa was absolutely crazy. I’ve made this drive about 5 times before with little problems. However what should have been a 8&1/2 to 9 hour drive turned into 12 hours due to highway construction. There were other humorous events that took place but they are irrelevant to blueberries. I arrived at my apartment around midnight. I unloaded all of my necessary items including groceries which I placed on the floor of the kitchen. I brought some of my frozen fruit from Tulsa that should’ve lasted just fine with the drive time I’d planned. As I unstacked some cups from home, deep blue liquid went flying all over the counter, wall, and floor of the kitchen! I was shocked and confused. Apparently a bag of frozen blueberries leaked out of the plastic Whole Foods bag and into just one of the cups. Thankfully only that one cup had juice and it hadn’t spilt on my other things or in my car. However it was spilled all over the kitchen. At this point I was so tired and frustrated that I just laughed and scrubbed down everything I could and decided I’d figure something out the next day. I showed my boss the stains the next day when she came over and I told her my story. What a way to make an entrance to my nice new apartment right?! These are probably the newest and nicest apartments in Hamilton and because of that the land lady is understandably super anal. We have thorough inspections once a month so I have to make it appear as if nothing happened The walls are flat and stain if you get water on them let alone blueberry juice. There is evidence everywhere that previous tenants have repainted parts of the walls. For my own comfort I’d like to think they spilled blueberries too! :-) I’ve now primed and painted our wall, a job I never foresaw myself doing in the first two weeks living here. When I went to get the paint at…wait for it…Walmart (of course! Where did you think I went?), I was thoroughly entertained at how the mixing machine worked. Yes this city gal has never seen a paint mixer before. I honestly assumed that you just bought the can of color.

Walmart count for today is 1 :-) I went in sporting my hot pink Texas shirt (don’t worry Oklahoma you are still my #1) and I was asked about it twice haha! I FINALLY bought a loofah which I kept forgetting to get “in all of my other trips. I spoke with my current favorite clerk, Billy. He is mid age with long hair and commutes from Fayette, Alabama every shift which is over an hour away. I told him I saw a sign for it on my drive to Windham the other day. He is very friendly and since I am a frequent shopper there, it makes me feel like I actually know someone here.

Tonight I especially miss Tulsa and all that entails from sunsets to my dogs, my family and friends, and Victory. Probably the biggest adjustment living here is not being around an average of 100 people everyday. Maybe that’s why I don’t mind the trips to Walmart that much ;-)

Crane Flies killed today: 2
I now know why none of my neighbors put their porch lights on. I know that is common sense, but I was thinking safety. Now I’m thinking whatever minimizes bugs at my front door.

Tonight’s serenade is a lot of dogs barking in the distance as well as crickets. It beats the cow mooing that I heard Friday. More on that topic soon.

Lights out on all fronts. Goodnight!

“Hello?” “Are you there?” “Did I lose you?” This has been the story of my life the past eight weeks as my boyfriend has been in Africa. The initial excitement that a phone call comes through is soon lost in the frustration of a dropped call. Now it seems that there is a bad connection for me in general with phone calls now that I live in Hamilton. It is understandable being in a different country, but I am still in the USA (right…?). You can imagine how difficult it can be receiving calls from Africa when both signals are weak. To talk this morning I stayed home in one place and got close to a windows upstairs where I had enough signal. It is kind of amusing to figure out places I can at least get 2 bars of 3G network. In Tulsa I had full 4G at my house. Just another small town adjustment. Bad connections aren’t limited to just my cell phone though.

While there are many great connections I’ve made in Hamilton, here are some examples of things that just don’t connect well with me.

*Humidity.
I naturally have wavy, curly, red hair. (That made me think of the girl on Charlie Brown Christmas…moving along…) When I blow dry my hair and style it straight or curl it, it goes crazy in humidity. The past couple of weeks, I’ve spent an hour getting my hair ready only to have it flat by the time I got to work (which is a 3minute drive away). Also I’ve learned that my clothes that I hang up to dry as opposed to putting in the dryer never really dry here due to humidity. I now understand why people hang their clothes outside around here. Brings a new meaning to “fresh spring scent”

*Slow paced life.
While I enjoy having a few hours to wind down and read, this slower paced life really takes some getting used to.

*Allergies.
This has already been mentioned but bares repeating. I’m not connecting well in this area.

*Bugs.
I’ve never seen so many bugs in my life. Honestly. It is a fight to get into my door especially at night with all the flying creepy things. I’ve always been the extreme girly kind of girl. When I was outside as a kid I was never playing in the dirt or handling rolly pollies. I instead enjoyed collecting smooth rocks (true story I had a large collection) and writing with chalk on the driveway. There is a type of bug here that looks like a daddy long legs. My best friend swears they aren’t that, but I don’t know what else they would be. They are everywhere but my favorite is when literally dozens spray up off the sidewalk of my apartment when I walk by. Now I know what you are thinking. Its kind of magical right? Sweet swarming serenades of these little critters greeting me, cheering me on as I go about my day. It reminds me of moments in Disney movies where animals serenade whatever Princess and her love. If their intent is to woo me, I’d rather they not. Instead of being a graceful Princess I usually have some random darting and hopping to get through them. Yes I am really girly. Where are my two brothers to kill bugs for me when I need them??

The great thing about bad connections is the opportunity to still have a positive outlook. Among these situations I just find myself laughing and thinking at least I have something to write about :-)

Until next time I’ll breathe in the freshly cut grass smell and listen to the crickets chirp away!

Today’s Walmart count:1! I ALMOST hit my two day goal, but I needed scotch tape and soy milk. I have high hopes for this week though :-)

Remember my introduction to Coco from a couple of days ago? Well he bit me today!! He is a puppy so it didn’t hurt but it shocked me and snagged my jeans a little bit. When the neighbor drove by and saw Coco she apologized for him getting out and coming over. She told me if he misbehaved to roll a newspaper up and smack him. I shouted to her that he had bit me and her response was that he was just playing. It was a little odd to me to be so casual about your dog roaming around and biting a friend of your neighbors. Anyways another difference of the south I guess :-)

I’m going to bed early due to the allergy attack I had this morning. The trees look beautiful but they are certainly dusting the town with pollen. Tulsa has a lot of allergens and I’ve always had problems in the Spring, but being in a more deciduous place I’m not used to the tree pollen. There is also a significant amount of bumble bees and wasps here in Hamilton. Additionally I’ve had numerous bug stories since I moved here. I’ll have to incorporate some in the days ahead.

Walmart count for today was just one for a work errand. Although I needed to go and return a few items. I’ll have to make one of my daily trips tomorrow! I’m probably traveling some in state this weekend so I will blog more soon!!