More Catskills

Take 2: Rhythmic gymnastics audition footage.

Catskills

Since we are living in upstate NY at the moment, I thought I'd include a few video clips of Cat under the title "Catskills." You know, like the mountains. And besides, this cat has got some mad skills.

Take 1: Catdog.

Schwinny Schwinn Schwinn

Craigslist find of the decade! On a random peek through the bicycle section of the Ithaca Craigslist, I found a posting for a vintage Schwinn. (I swear, post anything with the word 'vintage' in the title and my heart is already in love!) So I mosey on down on the gloomy, rainy Sunday that yesterday was, and locked my gaze on the vintage red cruiser that needed to be in my life.


After some research online, I'm able to make a pretty good assumption that this is an early 1960s model of the Schwinn Tiger. I worried about taking it to a bike shop to assess any extra costs related to my purchase, but the tires turned out to be just dandy--a little extra air was all they needed! (Bike shop lady judgment averted, for now.) I doubt I'll be taking it out on the Ithaca hills--it's only a one speed after all--but it should be just perfect riding around Richmond (the terrain feature of Google Maps shows the streets of Richmond as flat flat flat).


Betty, my other lovable cruiser, is being housed in Portland right now because she didn't quite fit in the packed trailer we brought out here. I'm sure Betty won't mind having an older sister from the 60s....


And now I introduce to you...the slightly rust-spotted, still-needs-to-be-cleaned-up, but ever-so-lovely...Trudy.

Cat

When we moved to Ithaca, we met our new neighbor and found out she had the same name as our cat. Since we share a wall with said neighbor, it just didn't feel right to go around saying, "We love you Annie" or "Annie, you're the best!" or "Annie, you sure are bad today." Neighbor might have found that a little creepy. So we started calling our cat by a new name: Cat.

It's fittingly descriptive, to-the-point, and a truthful representation of our sweet little pet. I'll let the pictures introduce the two of you.

hiding

waiting

pounce!

Zimmer

My mom says I'm a mover and a shaker. Sometimes I like to sit back and be a spectator, but in this case, she's right. A week has gone by since we booked our tickets to Europe for this summer and I've already mastered foreign email correspondence with kindly Italian women with rooms to rent, increased the hits on Trip Advisor by about a thousand, and made the new-looking Rick Steves library book I borrowed look like I've owned it for years (sorry, library!). Our four and a half weeks of travel are booked (at least the sleeping parts of the trip) and at budget-friendly prices too!

Here is the plan: one week in a rented one-bedroom apartment in Paris (complete with washer/dryer, air con, and kitchen!), five days in Bacharach (Rhine Valley, Germany), four days in the Swiss Alps, five days in Vernazza (Italian Riviera), one week in a village an hour outside of Rome, and three days in the heart of Rome in a guesthouse run by a woman named Sylvie (I think I already love Sylvie, just because).

I can't believe this is happening! My next task is to figure out exactly how we are getting from place to place...

Oh, and find an apartment in Richmond.

Busy Bee

Well, since I haven't been able stand still or wipe the huge smile off my face, I'll just come out with it. 
...


We're going to Europe this summer. For a MONTH. Eeeeeeeeee!!!


The job offer in Virginia has been officially accepted, and we'll be moving down to Richmond in late July. We decided that since there is a convenient gap of time between Cornell graduation and the start date of the Richmond job, we'd wipe out our frequent flyer miles, borrow a stack of Rick Steves' books from the library, and figure out how to see the sights of Europe on a post-grad school budget.


I was searching for budget friendly hotels with doubles--I figured it might not be as fun to share a bunk-bed with husby in a room with eight other people. When I went to Europe with my best pal from college three years ago, we stayed at this fantastic, artsy hostel in Rome called the Beehive. The owners of the Beehive--transplants from L.A.--now also operate a site called Cross-Pollinate. They list studio apartments, B&Bs, and guesthouses in major European cities. We just booked a lovely little guestroom in the heart of Rome through the site. I can't wait! 'Bee' sure to check it out. :)


I also wanted to show off the new Old Navy dress I got today on clearance--a whopping $6.49! (I couldn't help myself--I also got it in navy blue.) They're definitely making the cut for the travel wardrobe.


Au revoir!