Looking Good

Greg made it home from Idaho the other day, and it's good to have him back. The animal children didn't know what to think about the fact that he had been gone. The dogs did not enjoy his absence. Lily, on the other hand, quickly took over his side of the bed, so she seemed a little disappointed when he returned :-) The other day I came home from work, and something looked different about our condo--pleasantly different. First of all, the pretty tree in the courtyard had blossomed, and then I noticed that the landscaper had come and made the grounds look really nice. Also, the condo located two doors down from us got new siding. That made a big difference! Its original stucco exterior had been peeling and didn't look very good, so now everything looks really nice.

I like our birdhouse by the front door with the cute, funny decoration that David and Teal gave us. He's a little dog-shaped solar light. He looks especially cool at night (but the real dogs are kind of scared of him).

So the other day I was driving home from work, and I passed three car accidents! The first one really threw me off course, and I found myself kind of lost in the Springfield ghetto. Luckily I was talking with Mom on the phone at the time, so she looked online and got me back to familiar streets. Then I passed another accident, and then as I approached the street where I turn off to the condo complex, I noticed that the traffic was getting really heavy. About 200 yards from my turn, traffic stopped moving all together. Mom read online that there had been a car accident on Peoria Road, and that Peoria Road was closed from Veteran's Parkway to Dirksen Parkway. Uh-oh--that was a problem, considering that our street falls right between the two parkways. Finally I got up to the Peoria Road turnoff and the police blockade. I could see our street, and the car accident was down past our street, but the blockade wouldn't let anyone through. There were two other cars stopped there, as if they were wanting to turn, so I pulled up by them. It turned out that we all lived in the blockaded area. Then this police lady came over and started freaking out. We were not in the way of the traffic, but she said we had to move. We asked her where, exactly, she suggested that we go, seeing as the only entrances to our streets were blocked. She said, "I don't care, just get out of here." So one guy started kind of getting in her face, and then I got out of my car. Everyone kind of stopped and looked at me. I had forgotten that I was still in my uniform! Anyway, finally another police man came and let us through. It was crazy and very stressful. My ten minute drive home turned into about 50!

Speaking of stressful, the heart of bus season has arrived at the Lincoln Home (we've been having days with 21+ buses and 700+ wild kids). And they fired one of the rangers the other day (surprisingly it wasn't me!). So we're pretty short-staffed, but the public hasn't gotten that memo yet, so they keep coming in droves. A few of us really needed a break from work, so Melissa, David, Teal, and I are headed up to Chicago tomorrow for our friend Rosie's wedding reception. Rosie used to work with us at the Lincoln Home. Melissa is going to be my date since Greg is unable to go :-) I am really excited, and I'm sure there will be some funny pictures to post!

Back to Charleston

While Greg has been away I've been keeping very busy! On Saturday I returned to good ol' Charleston, Illinois for the Historical Administration program symposium. I realized that I hadn't been to Charleston in over a year, and it was fun to be back on campus (especially since I didn't have homework or anything to worry about this time). There were four of us there from the class of 2007-2008: Sarah, Catherine, me, and Dan. It was great to see them, and we were able to swap stories about the funny places we work. We decided that the real world isn't all it was cracked up to be when we were in school, but we agreed that we all enjoy not having homework any more. It was also great to see our professors and to walk around campus and see a few changes that have taken place since we were there. The best part of the trip, however, was visiting my favorite Charleston family: the Stowells! It was great to see them. The kids are getting so big, and they were as cute and funny as ever.

On my way home, I stopped at one of my favorite Illinois eating establishments (I hope I can write about this one as my next freelance assignment): Krekel's Dairy Maid in Decatur. Decatur is not my favorite place--it smells like burning corn flakes and cat food (from all of the soy plants), and the whole city is kind of like the ghetto, but Krekel's is the one bright spot. They have delicious hamburgers and ice cream. I especially like it because it reminds me of the Malt Shop in Natchez. So I had fun adventures on Saturday, then I went to church, relaxed, and hung out with David and Teal yesterday. And today I got a lot of work done, including cleaning our bedroom. Since the bedroom is now clean, I was finally able to take pictures!

Here are the before and after shots of the entrance to the master bedroom at the top of the stairs. The linen closet had no door when we moved in, and the master bedroom was a really dark shade of red. I liked the color, but it made the bedroom feel too small. So here's how it looked before and how it looks now:

And here is what the master bedroom looks like inside. Greg and I bought some delightful new bedding a couple of weeks ago. The color is kind of washed out in these pictures, but the bedding is a really pretty mixture of green and gold.

I love our bedroom! The windows make it so nice and light, and we have a really good view outside. So that's the latest from the condo.

Sandwiches and Storms

We hope that everyone had a happy Easter! We enjoyed watching Conference and having dinner here at the condo with our friends David and Teal. Greg whipped up quite an Easter feast. And today I found out that I got a new job! Well, it's not really a new job--just an additional job. I am going to be a freelance writer for a small company that provides articles about quaint Illinois eating establishments to newspapers and travel guides. My first assignment is to do an article about Maid Rite in Springfield, so Greg and I went there today for lunch. It is supposedly the first drive through in America--and it's right smack in the middle of Springfield! They make really good Maid Rite sandwiches, which are basically sloppy joes without the "sloppy." And they have delicious root beer too. So I am excited to write an article about it. I wish that this could be my only job, but it's not steady enough. I mean, I am really grateful for my Lincoln Home job, and I am still in awe of the fact that I get to walk where Lincoln walked every day, but the people running the show have created a very unpleasant work environment.

But anyway, after lunch Greg and I went to buy some plants and some new dining chairs, when we saw this coming--black clouds. I hate black clouds. We had some thunderstorms last night, but the weather people said we would be getting worse ones today. The storm that blew through was indeed very bad, and it dropped some tornadoes after it crossed into Indiana. Luckily it didn't drop tornadoes here! But we're still under a tornado watch all evening.

After we were done shopping for plants, the sun came out and it turned into a beautiful afternoon. Here is our cute back patio--with some mud that washed up during the storm. I'll have to take another picture once things dry out and I can sweep the patio, but I love how our cute black chairs look with the flowers.

Unfortunately Greg's grandpa passed away last night. :-( I never had a chance to meet Grandpa Bowles, but he was a very generous man. So Greg is leaving tomorrow to head out to Idaho for the funeral, but thanks to the Lincoln Home people, I can't go along and visit Utah. (Cue the Travelocity gnome song.) But I hope Greg has a nice time with his family, and I'll stay here and try to protect the Lincoln Home and the animal children from any tornadoes.

Meowy Easter to You!

Dis mowning I wokes up, and what does I find? Eggs! I sayz to meself, "Did I lay dese eggs?" I has found dat I can cluck like a chikin, but now I layz eggs? Oh no! I's becoming a chikin! Den my mom sayz dat she bot me de eggs to play with fo' Easter. I wuz welieved dat I not have to sit on de eggs and wait for baby chikins to comes out. I's too young to be a mommy chikin. I hopes you all has a meowy Easter!

April Fools, Indeed!

Yesterday, April Fool's Day, was a weird day. First off, the weather played a funny trick on everyone. It has been such a cold spring here, and then all of a sudden, wham--it's summer! It got up to 85 degrees yesterday. And then Mom told me that it snowed seven inches in Springdale--I'm sure everyone there in southern Utah thought that was a funny April Fool's joke too. So it was scorching hot here, and then our supervisors at work conveniently "forgot" to tell us that we could wear our summer uniforms to work. All of us, being tired of getting in trouble for menial things, dutifully wore our thick, polyester winter uniforms--but our supervisors showed up in their summer ones. All they could say was "Oh, sorry." Fooled again! Needless to say, those of us who actually had to be outside working were very hot and uncomfortable. Then, the phone rang at the Visitor Center, and I answered it. A lady's voice said, "Yes, is Mary Todd there?" I paused for a second. I wanted to say, "Are you serious?" But I just said, "No." The lady said, "She doesn't work there?" I said, "No." Lady said, "She's not a patient there or anything." Me: "No." Lady: "Oh, well, sorry--I guess I have the wrong number." Was that some kind of April Fool's joke? It had to be, right? So I was hot and confused after that phone call, and it didn't help that I was also sick (some sort of cold, allergies, or sinus infection). By 1:30 in the afternoon, I was literally about to pass out, so they sent me home. Anyway, Happy post April Fool's to you all (I'm glad it's not April Fool's Day any more)!